BMW E30 BBS RZ Style 5 Centre Hub Cap 15" by renglish

Last crawled date: 2 years, 11 months ago

BBS RZ Style 5 Centre Hub Cap 15" BMW E30
As you will know the centre caps for these wheels are becoming more expensive than the wheels themselves. I have tried to create this so it is more secure than the originals and easy to 3d print.
This has taken me a very very long time to design. Once you've printed yourself some, if you like them I would appreciate it if you buy me a beer. http://www.paypal.me/renglish12345
Each cap requires 4 parts:
Plate
Nut
Thread
Insert
Also requires:
8x M8 bolts
4x 68mm BMW wheel badge (36136783536) (clips on the back need to be like in the picture above)
Thread and Insert are designed to stay in the wheel and should only need to be removed when tyres are changed or balanced.
I have made prototypes out of PLA and ABS but I am using ASA for the final version as it has better weather and temperature resistance. Be aware that they will get hot under heavy braking so PLA and PETG might not be suitable.
I haven't tried painting them but it should be possible.
At the moment these are only for the 15" wheels but I might redesign for the 14" wheels too.
Printing
You will need to work out your own settings as everyone's printer will be different. I have been printing the insert, plate and thread without supports and the nut with supports and upside down.
Assembly
Firstly slot the insert into the centre of the wheel, with the tapered side facing out. Then put the threaded part on to this, line the holes up and bolt together. Then put the plate on by locating it on three slots in the threaded part and on the three pins on the wheel. This stops everything from tuning and the nut can now be put on.
You can print a BBS Wrench (80mm) to help you undo the nut but you should only need to tighten them by hand.
Make a note / take some pictures of the position the nut in relation to the tyre's valve so you can check it's not coming undone.
Assemble everything off the wheel first to make sure the threads are ok and it goes together well.
Can all be done with the wheels still on the car but if you have the wheels off it might be worth putting some M8 nyloc nuts on the back of the bolts if you don't trust the printed threads.
I have found that there are some small differences in the wheels depending on when and where they were made. I have tried to make this design to fit as well as possible on my wheels. You might be able to improve the fit on your wheels by scaling the parts by ± 1% or so. Comment if you have any other issues and I'll see what I can do.