Centre caps, hub caps, call them what you like, some alloy wheels can just be a real minefield when its time to replace either lost or damaged etc caps.
For owners of platforms such as early TT, some RS4 variants, A2 etc etc , there are quite a few that use the, for a more commonly used wording "TT" 9 spoke style alloy wheels.
Sizes may vary 17/18/20" as genuine Audi parts, there is a 19" out there, but they are aftermarket as Audi, for some reason, never made a 19" version.
Now they all share a common feature, the centre caps , which 99.9% for genuine Audi rims is the same part number, which for ease of reference is 8D0 601 165K ,now thats the main most used part, there are a few slight variations but thats colour not fitment so the same part number with the addition of a different letter on the end, otherwise they are all the same part and fit all those previously mentioned alloys.
To replace them with genuine parts is going to be a costly affair and to be honest, is not really necessary in this day and age of suitable alternative solutions....
, you know what i mean,,Lol
This can be a straightforward process without fitting issues or, as most will find, if they are cheap or not, they don't fit or don't fit properly.
Now, with a little care and patience, they can be trimmed to fit perfectly, thus leaving you with that highly desired finish that the wheel needs.
I have encountered the problem many times over the years, all with differing levels of success, some using blue tack, other times double sided tape to stop them rattling when loose.
All that said this thread is more concerned with them not fitting at all when they just appear to be too big.
I recently acquired a set of Audi D2/3 20" alloys without caps, no way I was being held to ransom by Audi prices so I opted for an alternative set from eBay, still not cheap at £70 for a set of supposed perfect fit quality copies.
Overall finish was excellent , but fitting , nope a non starter.
After some thinking, I tried without the circular spring, nope, well they went in but were sticking out proud, so not ideal.
A bit more thinking time and measuring indicated the moulding section, which controls the depth was too tall , so trimmed down those lugs and tried again, better but still wouldn't go in until the spring was removed, bingo they fit in but not as secure enough as to be ideal on a bumpy surface.
So, back to the cause of them not fitting with the spring clip fitted, the solution was pretty easy once the cause was identified, the springs are too stiff and just make forcing the cap in almost impossible, let alone getting them out again. But if the spring clip length is reduced by around 5mm and then compressed a tad, that makes a massive difference to the spring clip tension on the retaining lugs.
So with that done and spring clip refitted, they fit spot on and with enough tension to hold them in place but not so tight that they can't be removed.
Job done
So teh motto here is , dont be afraid to go with aftermarket caps , they will fit if you take your time to adress teh root cuase if they are not.
Pic attached
Yellow arrows are the tangs that need to be trimmed with a file or similar to facilitate sitting flush, blue arrow is the tangs that spring clip forces out to secure the cap in place, just trim that spring enough to your preference and you will be rewarded.
Just trim a bit at a time off both parts until you get that perfect fit, probably 10 min tops to do all 4, yes it's pain and yes they should fit out of the box, and some do, but most don't.
But then they are a lot cheaper so takes your choice.
So there you go, going cheap doesn't have to mean looking cheap.
For owners of platforms such as early TT, some RS4 variants, A2 etc etc , there are quite a few that use the, for a more commonly used wording "TT" 9 spoke style alloy wheels.
Sizes may vary 17/18/20" as genuine Audi parts, there is a 19" out there, but they are aftermarket as Audi, for some reason, never made a 19" version.
Now they all share a common feature, the centre caps , which 99.9% for genuine Audi rims is the same part number, which for ease of reference is 8D0 601 165K ,now thats the main most used part, there are a few slight variations but thats colour not fitment so the same part number with the addition of a different letter on the end, otherwise they are all the same part and fit all those previously mentioned alloys.
To replace them with genuine parts is going to be a costly affair and to be honest, is not really necessary in this day and age of suitable alternative solutions....
, you know what i mean,,LolThis can be a straightforward process without fitting issues or, as most will find, if they are cheap or not, they don't fit or don't fit properly.
Now, with a little care and patience, they can be trimmed to fit perfectly, thus leaving you with that highly desired finish that the wheel needs.
I have encountered the problem many times over the years, all with differing levels of success, some using blue tack, other times double sided tape to stop them rattling when loose.
All that said this thread is more concerned with them not fitting at all when they just appear to be too big.
I recently acquired a set of Audi D2/3 20" alloys without caps, no way I was being held to ransom by Audi prices so I opted for an alternative set from eBay, still not cheap at £70 for a set of supposed perfect fit quality copies.
Overall finish was excellent , but fitting , nope a non starter.
After some thinking, I tried without the circular spring, nope, well they went in but were sticking out proud, so not ideal.
A bit more thinking time and measuring indicated the moulding section, which controls the depth was too tall , so trimmed down those lugs and tried again, better but still wouldn't go in until the spring was removed, bingo they fit in but not as secure enough as to be ideal on a bumpy surface.
So, back to the cause of them not fitting with the spring clip fitted, the solution was pretty easy once the cause was identified, the springs are too stiff and just make forcing the cap in almost impossible, let alone getting them out again. But if the spring clip length is reduced by around 5mm and then compressed a tad, that makes a massive difference to the spring clip tension on the retaining lugs.
So with that done and spring clip refitted, they fit spot on and with enough tension to hold them in place but not so tight that they can't be removed.
Job done
So teh motto here is , dont be afraid to go with aftermarket caps , they will fit if you take your time to adress teh root cuase if they are not.
Pic attached
Yellow arrows are the tangs that need to be trimmed with a file or similar to facilitate sitting flush, blue arrow is the tangs that spring clip forces out to secure the cap in place, just trim that spring enough to your preference and you will be rewarded.
Just trim a bit at a time off both parts until you get that perfect fit, probably 10 min tops to do all 4, yes it's pain and yes they should fit out of the box, and some do, but most don't.
But then they are a lot cheaper so takes your choice.
So there you go, going cheap doesn't have to mean looking cheap.
