Rattling centre cap advice

[polynesian2]

Hello all,

When I bought my E91 B3S, it very quickly developed a set of rattling centre caps, I padded them all out with padded tape which remedied the situation for a while. When it developed again, BMR ordered the correct sticky pads and I’ve had a couple of years of peace and quiet.

One centre cap has developed a very obvious rattle again- it loose to the touch. The pads are still in place. Does anyone have any advice on fixing this? I can shake the cap around by hand.

These are the 19” classics on the late E9X- where you press in the “I” of ALPINA and rotate the badge to access the lock.

Ot seems to me that both types of wheel centre design I have owned- these and the early E46- have been very poor designs.

Thanks for any solutions!

[Rav]

I have had similar issues and have corrected it by taking the wheel caps off and bending (please don't cringe) the metal arm a bit. It's trial and error and you need to be quite careful.

[Meister]

Bending the tab offers a little respite. Might be worth obtaining 3M velcro pads off of Amazon and using them as they are a little thicker than the O/E Alpina pads.
That said, here's the kicker! The discs, as you are most probably aware, are aluminium. On one of the B4 caps, I had a constant rattle no matter what I bent or adjusted and stuck 3m pads upon.
In the end, I really had a look and an idea. I used a wooden block and hammer and tapped the inner ring of the disc so pushing the centre of the cap outward. That meant the 3m pads were squished more and the lock tab also gripped the inner ring of the wheel. It's trial and error, there wasn't any cracking on the paint either as the movement was slight.
Give it a go, somewhere along its life it's been warped or the concave profile has collapsed slightly.
Regards
Carl

[Charles]

I have had similar issues and have corrected it by taking the wheel caps off and bending (please don't cringe) the metal arm a bit. It's trial and error and you need to be quite careful.

This is exactly what you need to do - this is how Alpina designed it. The pads are there just to prevent contact between the paint surfaces on the cap and the wheel.

I did this with mine 15 years ago and haven't had a rattle since. Mind you, I also coded each cap to a specific wheel as each one fits slightly differently due to manufacturing and paint thickness tolerance.

[Charles]

Bending the tab offers a little respite

I completely disagree - the advice I received from Alpina was to adjust the fixed tab on the underside of the cap as that is what it is there to do. If the cap is rattling, then the "fit" is too loose and adjusting the tab effectively pulls the cap closer into the wheel when located.

However, in your case, it sounds like the cap had been knocked out of shape but you have discovered this and rectified it.

[Meister]

Charles,
Most probably it was. As above tho I always stick the same caps back on the specific same wheels on both cars!
Regards
Carl

[polynesian2]

Thank you for the help.

They seem to be of a poor design, in order to achieve a sleek appearance. I bent the clip as much as I felt comfortable to do, and it still rattles. So I’ve effectively packed out the fit with padded tape. I think it’s likely that the centre caps have been moved between wheels while the car was being worked on.

If I had more patience and less frustration with the car right now I’d probably (sensibly) take all 4 caps off and identify the best fit to each wheel and then code them, as Charles has done.

[rc944]

worth checking all the nuts on the rear of the barrel are nipped up. there should be two; one that keeps the barrel tight in the cap and another that keeps the locking tab tight on the rear of the barrel. should have these funky washers with a tab (that easily breaks) from working loose

[Fast3000]

+1 bend the metal arm a touch. As mentioned the sticker pads are just to protect the paint contact. I also found that having a small strip of foam tape or automative tape on the locking arm also helps as it makes contact to the inside of the rim.