I just got new wheels, SSR Type-Cs. The wheels are fine, but the centre caps are dorky, and they stick out over an inch. I'd be quite happy to leave the centres uncapped, but the front axel looks rather exposed to the elements.

Where can I find alternate caps? The supplied caps seem to be 62mm diameter, and just clip in. Just something plain and flat and silver/gunmetal would be fine. I could make some by cutting and caping the supplied caps, but as they want $35 each for the caps I'm a little hesitant.

 

Having the same problem as you, and not able to find anything online, I decided to try to make something........still very much in the prototype stage at this time.



I recently found this set of Exel Maj wheels on Craigslist minus center caps. Went to HomeDepot and bought 4 2" electric panel knockout plugs and painted them black. In my drafting program I drew up the MINI logo surrounded by the red ring which I think goes nicely with the CR paint on the car, although I do have to make the red a deeper shade. Laminated the logo with clear masking, glued in place in the recess of the plug and then oversprayed the whole thing with clear.
Although I do like what I have better than having the wheel centers open, the execution of the idea still leaves a lot to be desired. Gives me a fun little project anyway. Not sure if there are any knockout plugs that will fit your particular wheels but it might be worth a look. (I paid about $1.00 a piece for these.) Hope this may be of some help!

 

Thanks, that make me want to run down to Home Despot right now. 62mm isn't quite a whole number of inches, near to 2.5. I'll see if I can find anything.

I did wonder about a lens cap. I have some old lenses with 62mm filter rings on them. I'm not sure they'd grip on well enough though.

 

I'm back from Home Despot now. The 2" covers fit about about a 67mm hole, but can be persuaded to fit with a mallet. The problem is the front axel bits I was worrying about, the wheel hub is so recessed the bits stick out about a 1/4". A little modification with a hammer and 2 of the caps are now domed, and fit over the axel bits. They look a bit garish in the silver they come in, I'm just going to use the flat black rustoleum I have lying around, I don't need fancy graphics.

Thanks again for the idea, I'd never have thought of it myself.

 

You're very welcome! I have been able to benefit from the wealth of information on this site and I'm glad that I can finally contribute something!

 

They look fine!

Could you please explain what exactly the 'clear masking' is and how you laminated the logo? Thanks!

 

Shawn with the new centre caps ($1.04 each from Home Despot).

(Not a very good photo of the centre caps, but I like it.)

 

Wow looks good, how bout a close up?
seems like you could almost put an oem MINI or JCW sticky back logo on it.

 

HI ofioliti, sorry I couldn’t get back to you yesterday. This is the process I used ,keeping in mind that it was basically to see how the whole thing would look and realizing that it was not going to stand up to time.

After printing out the logo I placed the paper between the pages of a book to keep it from wrinkling while the ink dried. After that, but before cutting out the logos I put a strip of 2” clear packaging tape on both sides of the paper over the logos. This helped seal it as well as giving it a little more bulk, and made for easy cutting with the scissors.

I used 3M Super 77 spray contact adhesive on the back of the logo and then pressed into place on the knockout plug. After this had set up for a while I oversprayed the whole thing with a couple of light coats of clear Plastidip. Although the Plastidip does give a bit of a frosted look ,I felt it might have a little more flex and help seal the whole thing a little better than a clear lacquer might.

I think this worked out well for what it was intended to accomplish….to see what it looked like with minimal expense and easy to change if I wanted, (logo color, font, etc.) Using the inkjet printer will not give long lasting colors and, even with the light Plastidip spray covering, the edges of the paper logo are susceptible to water getting in.

As an aside, I don’t know if it is the correct MINI font, but I used Franklin Gothic Demi in .75” for the logo. To my eyes anyway it seems very close to what it should be. Not sure what the 2nd prototype is going to be here. I think I like the design enough to stay with that, now I have to work on making it look and last more professionally. I’d be happy to answer any other questions or clarify things if you’d like, and hope this is of some help to you!

 

Thanks!

 

A sticky logo would work on the back, the fronts being domed wouldn't work too well.

Here's the close up.

 

This is an awesome solution. I had similar gripes about the center caps on my Team Dynamics. I did the same thing after reading this thread. I couldn't find plastic ones at my local hardware stores, so I went with metal. Still around $5. Instead of 2" I used the 1.5" and just expanded the prongs out a bit. They sit in the hole perfectly flush.

They were rattling like crazy as I tried driving so I wrapped like 6-10 winds of super 77 electrical tape and popped them back in. Super snugg. I went to the dealer and bought some of those sticker backed metal wheel cap covers and "Goop"ed them permanently to the wheel caps. They look really slick! Match my wheels perfectly and very OEM looking.

Plus, I can very easily pry them off and pop them back on without damaging them if need be.

 

pics corduroy

 

Here are some pictures. Sorry about the quality, they're off my phone.

 

Cool looks nice!
I gotta figure out something for the Motegi centers, I want the JCW sticky back center on them.

 

Does MINI make JCW centers pre-made? With these that I bought from the dealer, they have a bit of a radius to them so I ended up using "Goop" to stick them on there and fill the gap. If you can't find those JCW caps, you might consider getting a vinyl shop to make custom stickers for you. It'll cost a little more, but then you can put any design you want on there

 

Yes they do. They're curved, with an adhesive strip, to fit the stock center caps.

They're also available here:

http://www.minspeed.net/products.php?cat=23&pg=5

Other center cap designs are available here:

http://new.minimania.com/web/item/G2.../InvDetail.cfm

Hope this helps...

 

Nice! Those JCW caps look pretty sweet

The ones from minimania look nice too. But, $32?!

 

Looks to me like you can print a logo on a color printer, go to a craft store, buy a 2" button, pop it in and glue it down with liquid nail to the hub.

The local MINI dealer sells a set of 4 vinyl decals for the wheels for a few bucks... I may go that route first.

One of my wheel "MINI"s fell off somewhere and I checked the others which flaked off after I stuck a finger nail under them. Six years of motoring will do that I suppose. They're made of metal and had a plastic clear laminate on it (that was also in a state of falling apart). There were no tabs on them, just glued down in place, even though there were slots on the rim that looked like they were built for something like a cap.

We'll see what I can manage to do.

 

They sell those exact MINI metal center cap stickers at the dealer. They're what I used for mine. ^ They have a bit of a convex radius to them and have strong double sided tape on the backside.

 

I had th same problem with my rota wheels I just purchased. check ebay. I found a set of BMW center caps that fit mine!!!

 

Yep! All better. Thanks for the pointer... took me 30 mins to explain to the parts guy that it was just the decal for the center rim not the whole wheel. oy.

 

i wento my mini and they said they dun exist.....

 

anyone knwo what are thye called at the dealership?

 

Ask the dealer for part # 36136758687 ("MINI plaque with adhesive film"), item # 5 here: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...82&hg=36&fg=15. The same cap is used on all factory wheels. There is also a JCW logo version.

Some vendors carry them, such as: http://www.minicarparts.net/Parts/36_13_6_758_687.cfm