Wheel covers

[pollenface]

Best done on a cold day without gloves. Seriously, i hurt my fingers taking mine off, they are damn tight

 

[Tone68]

Getting them short valve caps off can take ages !.
What can make lift a little easier, is to fit the longer reach caps.
At least you can get your fingers around them.

Pardon our interruption...

That's a good point, I didn't know you could get long reach caps. The plastic wheel trim gets in the way. I felt rather emasculated when I struggled to get a cap off and put some air into a tyre, especially as I dropped the cap inside the trim where I couldn't get at it ?? and there's no way I'm attempting getting the plastic wheel trim off without breaking it ? Not a great design imho.

 

[Lovemyev]

That's a good point, I didn't know you could get long reach caps. The plastic wheel trim gets in the way. I felt rather emasculated when I struggled to get a cap off and put some air into a tyre, especially as I dropped the cap inside the trim where I couldn't get at it ?? and there's no way I'm attempting getting the plastic wheel trim off without breaking it ? Not a great design imho.

Tyre shops have longer tyre valves that would be perfect to correct this issue and are cheap as chips.
However unfortunately this simple fix is not possible, because the tyre valves also incorporates the TPMS sensors inside the rim of the road wheel.
The extended valve caps are a simple cheap fix that makes things a little bit easier.
You can purchase metal / brass extenders, but these are affected by bad weather conditions and can become seized onto the original tyre valve stem.

 

[Susanna]

@Tone68 I saw a tip from an Aussie member about using soft surfboard wax on the wheel trim clips, but obviously you have to take the covers off initially! I am not the strongest, but I managed it okay. I have some thick gloves I keep in the car, just in case I get a puncture and need to take a cover off. The wax has certainly made the task easier. Just make sure when replacing a cover to put it on the correct way. One of the ‘apertures’ is flatter at the outer edge, to accommodate the tyre valve. I also installed longer dust caps, as I needed pliers to remove the originals!

 

[Tone68]

Tyre shops have longer tyre valves that would be perfect to correct this issue and are cheap as chips.
However unfortunately this simple fix is not possible, because the tyre valves also incorporates the TPMS sensors inside the rim of the road wheel.
The extended valve caps are a simple cheap fix that makes things a little bit easier.
You can purchase metal / brass extenders, but these are affected by bad weather conditions and can become seized onto the original tyre valve stem.

Sooo no fix then. It's not really the dust caps that are the issue, but attaching and un-attaching the inflater without losing more air than you were originally down. It's a ridiculous design flaw tbh. The only sensible answer to this is to be able to remove the plastic hubcap, but the only advice I've seen about this has been pretty impractical. I'm going to swing by an MG garage, and hopefully discover a simple knack for doing this ?If there isn't, I nay well have the hubcaps removed and just leave the alloy wheels exposed.

 

[Ruislip Resident]

I have never found getting the dust caps off problematic. Screwing an inflator on though was difficult so I got one of those extender clip on things. This is it which solved the problem.

Hands DIY Locking Tire Chuck,... Amazon product ASIN B08RYX5C53

 

[ozzz]

Hi has anyone thought what the hub caps / wheel trims are fitted for? My thought is greater air flow into the wheel brake area. I am in Australia so cooling is important. Any thoughts?

 

[Keith Harris]

Off and looking great.

 

[Tone68]

Hi has anyone thought what the hub caps / wheel trims are fitted for? My thought is greater air flow into the wheel brake area. I am in Australia so cooling is important. Any thoughts?

Yeah, I've been told the same thing - not so important for me as I'm in the UK ?

 

[Tone68]

I have never found getting the dust caps off problematic. Screwing an inflator on though was difficult so I got one of those extender clip on things. This is it which solved the problem.

Hands DIY Locking Tire Chuck,... Amazon product ASIN B08RYX5C53

That's the most useful solution I've seen. Thanks for sharing ?

 

[Tone68]

Off and looking great.

Ah...so you removed the hubcaps? Are you able to send a picture? How did you get them off?

 

[Keith Harris]

Ah...so you removed the hubcaps? Are you able to send a picture? How did you get them off?

I didn’t, i asked garage to do it with my first service . They're in the garage now until I change the car.

 

[Susanna]

I have never found getting the dust caps off problematic. Screwing an inflator on though was difficult so I got one of those extender clip on things. This is it which solved the problem.

Hands DIY Locking Tire Chuck,... Amazon product ASIN B08RYX5C53

I have this, and longer dust caps with better grips. Now it’s very easy to put air in the tyres. If anyone is experiencing difficulty getting at the valves, check that the wheel covers are in the correct position. There is one ‘aperture’ that is flat at the outer edge. The others are sloped.

 

[Waterstoney]

The 5 slots on wheel cover for ZS are not symmetric. One slot is larger than the other 4. It is easier to take tyre dust cap off without removing wheel cover if dealer put them on correctly.

 

[Mgzs ev]

Spray first hot water on it at the carwash

 

[profdraper]

Apparently (read somewhere on the forum) the covers go on a certain way. one of the openings is flatter and this opening should be where the tyre valve is? I have not checked but I have read this somewhere on this forum.

Correct, I posted on this forum about this last year.
The covers are not necessarily fitted the right way; only one of the slots fits the air valve correctly to make filling up the tyres easy. One slot is a different size to the rest, so take the caps off, examine this & rotate to fit as it should.

Taking the covers off is not that hard really, just a knack. Insert fingers close to the centre of the wheel on both sides (not the outside edge). This is where the clips are. Outside edge will get you nowhere & the plastic hub will simply bend. Close to the centre & pull hard, they won’t break.

Pull them off, find the odd slot to suit the valve & push back on. That’s & you wont have to do it again beacuse now the valve can be accessed easily for tyre top-ups.

If you really cant manage it due to strength or age, then just take it to a mechanic and ask them. My son is a mechanic, knows nothing about this car but had it sorted in a couple of minutes. Easy.

 

[Jeremy Lenaerts]

Here’s my hack!
Get your fingers in between the hub cap and rim. You will see the clip. Just squeeze the clip with a pair of long nosed pliers and give it a little tug. BINGO!

 

[Mickandsej]

Late addition but keep the thread up!!
Don’t know about ZS but 5SE was an absolute bar steward to remove. Only took one off to see what was underneath and if Amazon caps fitted.
How the hell anyone is supposed to get that cover off at the side of a dark wet windy road I’ve no idea. So much so that they’re now on a shelf in the shed. Inevitable chips in the process of getting them off but even had to move the car fore and aft to reach the clips.
On a positive note they’ve got a decent stance and I reckon they look ok like this!

 

[Susanna]

As @profdraper said, it’s a knack, and I do it exactly as described. I bought myself a pair of thick working gloves, and can remove my wheel covers without too much difficulty. Changing the wheel would be a different story - I would leave that to the breakdown service, as I wouldn’t know where to place the jack. I’d probably struggle with the weight of the wheel, not to mention getting up and down, being the wrong side of 70!

 

[Mickandsej]

I don’t yet have a jack & spare, but I agree with your sentiment! Most tyre places wouldn’t be very patient either hence damage limitation I suppose, rather I did it now than they gouge the wheels if they do the job. Will see if I get fed up with the extra cleaning involved!!