Thumb grips.....Help me to help you

[Russo]

What I want is three people who would be willing to test my latest thumb grips. They are made of a dark grey / black polyurethane plastic with some flex and we hope will outlast the rubber items you have at the moment. These are a development prototype as in they are a direct copy of some original rubber grips that have a few cosmetic marks but I need to know if they fit OK and people are happy with the material. Once we are happy then I could make fresh moulds with one of these grips filled and fettled with a perfect finish ( well that's the idea ).

So if your genuinely interested and willing to rip your knackered grips off all I'd want is some honest feedback and thoughts. Fitting wise should be a case of peeling the old rubber items off and sticking the new plastic grips in place. I've got three sets for testing that would be sent FREE of charge

Please only put put your name down if your willing to test them. First three user names will be contacted.
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Thanks Phil


Some photos of what we've got at the moment,

 

[guysy]

I expect you will do well out of these if they fit good, Id put my name down for some but mine are in OK condition and planning to have my wheel retrimed which to me was the only option apart from the carbon fiber ones you could buy.

Glad someone has finally made some up !

 

[bloke]

i'm up for it

 

[Ross-gt128]

I'm up for it too!

 

[DaveDreads]

I'm up for it, i've already ripped one of mine off because it disintegrated.

 

[182Trophy]

Im game as mine have gone. If they are an easy fit i will buy them off you as my wheel looks properly s**t.

 

[Russo]

Thanks guys, I'll be in touch with guysy, bloke and Ross-gt182 to work something out.
You lot where quick off the mark

 

[Ross-gt128]

Couldn't miss this opportunity, always happy to help!

 

[guysy]

Russo cheers for the offer but ill let someone else take it, i might buy some off you if you sell at a later date. Thanks though

 

[182Trophy]

How much? Lol. Let me know if you have a set for sale.

 

[Russo]

'If' things go to plan then they will be a lot cheaper than the other aftermarket carbon ones

 

[SamHowell]

Finally someone has made some!
Hopefully all goes well with the feedback and I shall be purchasing some in the near future! Good luck!

 

[Dan@Greenlight]

Missed the boat here!! Need some quite urgently! I would be interested in the result of this and buying a set!!

 

[Diagro]

Mee too. I need some Now damnit!

 

[koi]

Still need any testers?

 

[Russo]

koi wrote;
Still need any testers?

No thanks, not at the moment the three set of grips have been sent out awaiting testing.

 

[DaveDreads]

First test fit.

I just slotted them in to see how they fit and overall they're quite good,
the main place they need manipulating into place is at the top,
in order to get them to fit flush you have to push them in with a decent amount of force,
so when it comes to glueing i'm not quite sure how i'm going to get them to sit right without
holding them in place until the glue's set, which might be a problem as you need
to press quite hard.

But all in all they fit extremely well, a little too well in fact as I can't pull them back off. lol

Not that i've tried too hard, i'm sure once I need to get them off for a coat of satin black
all i'll need is a butter knife to gently lift them back out.

 

[Cookie]

First test fit.

I just slotted them in to see how they fit and overall they're quite good,
the main place they need manipulating into place is at the top,
in order to get them to fit flush you have to push them in with a decent amount of force,
so when it comes to glueing i'm not quite sure how i'm going to get them to sit right without
holding them in place until the glue's set, which might be a problem as you need
to press quite hard.

But all in all they fit extremely well, a little too well in fact as I can't pull them back off. lol

Not that i've tried too hard, i'm sure once I need to get them off for a coat of satin black
all i'll need is a butter knife to gently lift them back out.

Sellotape or masking tape wound round them whilst they dry would fix them in place. String might work too.

 

[Russo]

Dave, thanks for sharing with us. I've had a few different wheels and believe it or not all the grips are not the same!!!! I think Renault realised they had a manufacturing problem and changed the manufacturing process. Some grips have a thick plastic backing under the rubber skin and some are rubber skin on to compressed foam backing.

Back to your grips, you can use a heat gun or hair dryer to warm the grip and tweak it to suit your wheel prior gluing

Keep us posted.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[Jaff.]

Dave have you been letting Erik chew on your wheel? Or even worse have you been chewing on your wheel lol?

looks fudged!

 

[Advikaz]

That wheel looks decidedly second hand

 

[DaveDreads]

Believe it or not, the wheel was near perfect when I got the car,
then there came a day that was so hot it could melt steel,
and in one day the wheel turned to liquid and melted all over the shop,
plus on warm days the rubber wears off in your hands like powder.

 

[bloke]

got them today cheers, think chi was going to pinch them though

will chuck them on over the weekend and see how they go.

 

[Darius]

I've got a spare wheel if u want me to test on it

 

[Ross-gt128]

Got my grips today and fitted them straight away! And I must say outstanding! No imperfections and fit straight on (Clio gt and doesn't come with grips) went for a wee run up the B road and they feel good! Going to have to secure them on properly at work tomorrow but was expecting to do that anyway, they fit snug on the wheel and also look the part, very good workmanship aswell, pictures to follow tomorrow, top Job Russo

 

[Chi]

Lol I was very tempted bloke they looked great

 

[Darius]

Fancy sending some lol ??? Please???

 

[Dan@Greenlight]

If these go well, what sort of price are you looking at selling them for?

Or have you not thought about that yet?

 

[Russo]

Positive feedback coming back from the test grips so we are now on with making a set of perfect grips to make a mould

172TK wrote;
If these go well, what sort of price are you looking at selling them for?

If we get something that I'm happy with then a set of grips might be as little as £30, all depends on how much work/time to finish them after moulding.

 

[Dan@Greenlight]

Positive feedback coming back from the test grips so we are now on with making a set of perfect grips to make a mould



If we get something that I'm happy with then a set of grips might be as little as £30, all depends on how much work/time to finish them after moulding.

Seems reasonable to me, put my name down when you get round to it

 

[Diagro]

And me. I'm up for a set

 

[Russo]

Just hold on a bit guys not got a finished product yet LOL

 

[Diagro]

Haha

 

[Dan@Greenlight]

 

[nathlegend]

Dont suppose i can buy a pair of these to review ? mine look awful!

 

[Russo]

Don't worry guys I'm on with it, sure you can wait a couple of weeks
The 'master' grips for moulding off are nearly done but wasn't happy with the left grip so flatted back and re-painting and polish ATM.
Just a little teaser with the flatted / filled grip ( and no they aren't going to be blue!!!! )

 

[Dan@Greenlight]

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

[kyle.prince]

I'd be interested I only have one right now and even that's dropping to bits... along with the rest of the wheel mind lol

 

[hoobla]

Looking forward to these been done , I can't wait for you to take some of my monies

 

[Russo]

Your wait is nearly over :approve:
We now have a set of good moulds making these,

These grip are not bonded on and they fit pretty much perfect.

Just waiting for an order of resin now and we can get cracking on knocking a few more sets up. The next problem might be getting these grips out to you boys and girls as the club has quite strict rules about selling on here. May well have to go on a well known auction site but will let you know nearer the time.
Thanks to the guys who tested the original items and the feedback was welcome and worthwhile.

Phil