Standard Center Cap
Now that I have your attention, this post has nothing to do with the price of the Model S. During my long days of planning and waiting on the delivery of my Model S I researched some after-market items. One thing I saw that I really liked were some custom decals for the wheel center caps of the Model S and the “S” logo at the rear. I’m generally not an aftermarket modification type but I liked the looks of the stickers and applying seemed possible even for someone of my low mechanical skills.
Ordering
These stickers are after-market and not officially provided or sanctioned by Tesla. They are just stickers so they will come back off again if you ever need them to. They are made of high strength vinyl with an adhesive backing and the vinyl is the normal stuff used on cars/trucks etc. There’s no store to buy these from, you go to the Tesla Motors Club forum area for the stickers and then private message (PM) the guy who started the discussion (“rogbmw”) for purchase instructions. What it amounts to is your color selection, which stickers you want (he has a few options), and if you’re paying by check or PayPal.
For the wheel center caps he has the following colors: Multi-Coat Red, Black, Signature Red, Blue. For the “S” of the “Model S” on the rear it is only available in Multi-Coat Red. He also offers Multi-Coat Red and Black colors for the raised TESLA logo on the chrome strip on the back of the car.
To go with my Grey Model S I chose black center cap stickers and I also chose the multi-coat red “S” sticker. I ordered them following his instructions using Paypal and they arrived in a week. The total cost for was $15.00 US.
Center Cap Sticker Installation
With each kind of sticker Roger includes the stickers plus one extra “just in case” and a detailed color set of instructions on how to apply the stickers. Very thoughtful and very clear.
Black sticker applied to center cap
For the wheel center caps the instructions tell you to remove them to apply the stickers. I tried all the techniques recommended in the instructions and none of them worked for removing the center caps. This could perhaps be because my wheels are coated with Opti-Coat and its more difficult for anything to stick to surfaces treated with Opti-Coat. I was very hesitant to use any kind of device to try to pry at them and ended up opting to apply the stickers while the caps were still installed on the wheels. It was actually really easy and i’m not sure why anyone would do it any other way.
The process was pretty simple. Wipe the area down with a wet cloth and then dry it. Then remove the white backing from the sticker which leaves the image on a sticky clear back. Next you align the image with the target spot and just go slow until you have the alignment perfect. Then you press it all in place, remove the clear part and press again and you’re done.
“S” Logo Sticker Installation
For the “S” logo it’s a very similar process. The challenge here is the “S” is pretty small and a “S” shape is flimsy. After I had applied the sticker I had to use what nails I have to try to re-align it a few times to get it “perfect”.
Before
After
These after market stickers were inexpensive and easy to install
Summary
These after market stickers were inexpensive and easy to install and I would definitely recommend them if you like the look. Will anyone else notice and have sticker shock? Perhaps not, but I like the look they add to the Model S.
The stickers do look very nice indeed. Since you have them for a while, can you confirm they stay on the car? or do they get off due to using a carwash? (or do you only wash by hand?). Thanks for the info.
They’ve been great. I’ve had them on about 8 months. Some are on the wheels and one on the body. They all stayed on. I switched to winter wheels (that don’t have the stickers) in November but they’re still firmly attached on my summer wheels. The sticker on the body (red S) is still firmly attached despite a lot of driving/weather. In the summer/warmer weather I hand wash. In the colder weather I use a touch less car wash. They hold up great through all that. They’re also not very expensive.