Problem fitting E34 wheels on E24?

Hi, I was mounting the 15" (7X15, 20 Offset)baskeweaves wheels on my '85 635CSi this afternoon and discovered that the front centre cap will not snap on to the front wheels when installed on the car. The wheels are from an E34 and I assumed the wheels would be a direct fit but discovered this little glitch.I am sure the problem is with the cap hitting the wheel bearing grease cap. I am thinking that a wheel spacer of maybe as small as 5MM would solve the problem. Any ideas on how to get the hubcaps to fit appreciated?

Originally Posted by norseman1867

Hi, I was mounting the 15" (7X15, 20 Offset)baskeweaves wheels on my '85 635CSi this afternoon and discovered that the front centre cap will not snap on to the front wheels when installed on the car. The wheels are from an E34 and I assumed the wheels would be a direct fit but discovered this little glitch.I am sure the problem is with the cap hitting the wheel bearing grease cap. I am thinking that a wheel spacer of maybe as small as 5MM would solve the problem. Any ideas on how to get the hubcaps to fit appreciated?

Maybe you can modify or replace the grease caps with ones that don't stick out as much.

The grease caps are very short as it is. I did some minor trimming of the supports that hold the spring with my Dremel. I removed about 1/4" from the top of each support and it now fits fine. Thanks.

Originally Posted by norseman1867

The grease caps are very short as it is. I did some minor trimming of the supports that hold the spring with my Dremel. I removed about 1/4" from the top of each support and it now fits fine. Thanks.

Thanks for the heads-up. I have a set of the same wheels that I'm planning on putting on my E28, so now I know what I will probably have to modify.

Norseman, you've hit a nerve with this post. I drove all the way up to Long Island, NY (I won't tell you where from) to pick up a set of these same wheels for one of my '85s....and the damn front center caps won't fit, bummer, although I'm startin to think these wheels look pretty good without the caps, even though it's not a real classy look. What exactly did you trim 1/4" off of to make yours fit and is it a good snug fit? I'd like to be very sure what to trim before I whip out the Dremel and make plastic fly. Any way you could show us a picture? Also, I didn't get a tool with these wheels to install/uninstall the center caps, I'm just using my grip to twist the rears on and off - is there a better way?

Thanks!

Bob G

Bob, Sorry for the delay getting back to you but I don't visit this site often. After I trimmed one cap with my Dremel about 1/4" from each tab I discovered that the there is a replacement grease cap that is made to allow the use of the basketweave hub caps. Part # 31211130124. I ordered two and they are just the ticket so I didn't cut the 2nd cap. My cap centres just snap on with no twisting; they are not the screw on type. Picture of grease cap attached.