need help modeling wheels

[Spizzy]

I got a little bored working on the body of my first project so I wanted to get started on the wheels. I have no idea how to start though, I've tried starting 3 or 4 different ways and none of them turned out with any potential. How does everyone else go about modeling wheels and how would you recommend I start? I'm trying to model the wheels for the BMW M Coupe, picture below.

[XSImatrix]

hey, i had the same problem a while ago and i learned that if their arents any shortcuts, use polymodelling. You have already learned that technique through modelling cars, just apply it here. What I would do it split up the rim to what section i only need to model.

In this case 5 Spokes/360 Degree Rim
=72 degrees.

Plus you want symmetrical spokes, so 72/2
=36 degrees.

So move your plane with the bitmap applied so that it is centred, (not 0'0'0, but centred so that the middle of the axle orr.... how i did, the little bolts that run along the rim just outside of the axle hole, align your vertical axi with that.)

create your guides with rotation/move pivots at 0'0'0. (i would make on verticle, copy it and rotate copy 32 degrees.

Modelling rim, startanywhere, it doesnt matter since your gonna have to model everything, So make a plane and adjust verts. Start in a 2d form, dont add depth untill you have a flat rim. then start adding chamfers and dragging vertices/polyrown back.

hope i could help.

[Spizzy]

Thanks, polymodeling is probably the only method i hadnt tried.. thought it would be inefficient but now I see how it would work, thanks again!

[XSImatrix]

no problem man, gudluck. (thats one tricky wheel)

[Spizzy]

Yea I knew it was a hard wheel to model, but I'm gonna try my best and if I'm just too unskilled then I'll just use the 1998 M3 wheels instead

[Spizzy]

Alright I have a mesh which i think is pretty accurate for one spoke. How do I change the axis that it rotates about so that it rotates around the center of the rim, instead of the end of the spoke?

[XSImatrix]

so wait, go you havea full spke or half,

mirror and weld if you only have half.

ok so you should now have 1 spoke outta 5, what your gonna do is go to where you have the create, modify, hierachy, motion, display, and utilities (top right)

with your spoke selected go to hierachy and choose affect pivot only, and right click the move icon and set the pivot to 0'0'0

now go back to modify.

So your set to rotate and make 4 last spokes, heres where max is smart.
Go to Tool>Array and use these settyings, you might need to change the axis on which its rotating on (X,Y,Z) i set mine to z. (remeber you want a 360 roattion with 5 instances.

[Spizzy]

Youre the man :mrgreen: thanks a bunch!

[XSImatrix]

heh, np.

also if you want to get vertice welded for you, aslong as you made those guides before and everything lines up, apply the weld vertice modifier to your collection of spoke. (im assuming you alreadyattached each spoke to eachother so that when you select it is one object.) and set the weld threshold to whatever grabs your verts. but the problem is if you got the verticy not lining up that well using a stronger threshold might weld verticy in chamfered areas.

[Spizzy]

thanks for the tip

hopefully this is the last thing, how do I get rid of bad polygons like this when i cut my mesh to make holes for the lug nuts?