I have the 20 spoke alloy wheels on one of my cars and can't figure out how to remove the wheel lug nut caps. I certainly don't want to destroy anything while trying to remove them. Are they permanently attached to the lug nuts or are they just a press on fit? I watched a video where they just push on and pull off of a newer Jaguar, but then I watched one of a Land Rover where they appeared to be permanently attached to the lug nut. Please advise.

 

Rick,

Just out of interest, why are you trying to remove them?

Paul

 

I'm thinking of buying another set of the 20 spoke alloy wheels (for my 1996) and I just wanted to verify the size of the lug nuts. The caps will move from side to side a little but won't pull off. I'm afraid of ruining them if I just try to remove them with a lug wrench. It may be that they are permanently attached and that is the only way to remove the actual lugs.

 

Rick, the caps are not designed to come off. They are an integral part of the wheelnut. Sometimes you get corrosion underneath them which causes them to smell a bit or create a bit of play.

IME, you almost have to destroy the caps to get them off the wheel nuts.

Good luck

Paul ​​​​​​​

 

Thanks Paul, that's exactly the answer I was looking for. I just want to remove the lug nuts without destroying the caps.

 

1/2 - 20. if using stock rims make sure they are mag lug nuts (nut plus separate flat washer).

 

I've destructively removed the stainless caps from my stock lugnuts. The bare nuts now accept a 21mm lug wrench and I use them under the hubcaps of some 17" X308 'Solar' wheels.

That same 21mm lug wrench works on these new Gorilla 73187SMB lugnuts that I use on the original 16" 20-spoke wheels during the cold season.

 

Ah another lovely British idea to take a simple, non-failure part and make it more complicated that it needs to be and prone to failure. Land Rover does the same damn thing. Ask me how I know about these useless lug nut "caps" when they get buggered up and rounded off by some noob at the tire shop, turning a simple job into a nightmare. First thing I did on my LR4 was buy a set of solid lug nuts and toss those capped nuts in the garbage where they belong. Actually I held on to them in contemplation of sending them back to Land Rover and asking "Why?" - but I digress. Unfortunately the Jag lug nuts are rarer than hen's teeth and are unique under the sun in their stupid design, so no solid replacements to be found that I know of.

Any person who had a hand in designing or approving of a "capped" lug nut should have a special place in hell reserved for them and never work in the auto industry again.

 

Ya know, you really shouldn't hold back like this, it isn't good for you.
Just say what you Really think and you'll feel better.

 

Lots of cars have these caps, so it's not strictly a British thing. Some Chrysler/Jeep cars use them.The thing about them that causes issues is that they get distorted and slip when some tire shop jockey greatly overtorques them with an air impact gun. If properly torqued, they usually work ok. The problem is no tire jockey actually ever uses a torque wrench, and you end up dealing with the mess.

 

Correct other mfgs are dumb enough to use them too. Why anyone would take a simple .29¢ part that cannot fail and turn it into a part that not only can fail, but will fail, is beyond idiotic. The cost savings, if any, cannot be justification. It's a lug nut for chrissake. Life is too short to live with someone else's stupid decisions.