Just use a wooden hammer handle or dowel and tap it from inside the wheel. Gentle love taps and it will back out. When it comes it will launch itself so have it over grass or a protected floor, don't want that chrome scratched.

 

No hammers required, you barbarian! Remove the darn ring first. Unless you've seen a different design...

 

I don't have a picture, but it's easy.

Imagine you've taken the wheels off and are behind the wheel, looking at the back of the center cap. It has a few tabs that push outwards from the center, gripping the back of the wheel. Inside the center cap there's a groove that runs through all the tabs. There's a steel C-ring that lays inside the groove, pressing outwards. That way there's always pressure pressing the tabs towards the wheel.

Sorry, picture is worth a thousand words.

Long story short is that removal is a 30-second process once the wheel is off. Use a screwdriver or needle-nose pliers to pry the C-ring out from its grove. This is very easy. Then press the center cap. The tabs happily bend inwards (no risk of breaking, trust me) and the center cap pushes out.

Shorter: remove ring, push.

That's it.

 

I said hammer HANDLE. And the key word is love taps. The ring does'nt apply that much outward pressure on the fingers. Either way, ring in or ring out you need to give her a love tap to get her started. As stated it's not a big project.

No dynamite plz!

 

thanks guys i had my little screw driver and it seems like i could get it out that way but is it going to be hard to get back in if i do this. do you have to take the ring out first?

 

just tap it out with the butt end of a screwdriver or a hammer. I take out center caps all day everyday.

 

just tap it out with the butt end of a screwdriver

That's all I did. Nothing fancy about it. No need to deal with tabs or rings or fancy tools. Just grab the closest screwdriver, hold it by the business end and use the handle to pop the caps off.

As for painting, I dunno....

But BT has some nice replacement caps. :rocker:

-=FLEX=-

 

so has anyone ever painted the center cap? i am thinking of painting them and of course my wife thinks it would not look right. what do you all think? has it be done?

 

I pop mine out during wheel rotation and wash & wax the entire center area. On the Aluminum rims that is an area of corrosion.
I think water and salt sit between the plastic caps and the wheel. I'm also guessing the vary parts that hold the cap against the wheel cause the chrome/clear coat to chafe and eventually blister when the caps are popped in and out of the center.

-GB

 

maybe i will check with bt and see what is up with them. because i really don't know about painting them, thanks for the input