The stainless steel trims on my 18" BBS Milan rims are damaged. They are thin and very prone to damages from curbs and at tire replacement. I think they only have a cosmetic function, so I want to get rid of them when I refurbish the corroded rims.
I see only benefits to use the BBS rims without the thin trims. Any opinions?

 

Yes you can take them off I think they look better without.

 

Well.. Best to avoid curbs then, and make sure the tire shop uses the correct machine

Of course you can remove them, as was already stated. It just comes down to personal preference. In my case, I want to keep the "special features" of my XJR 100 as they were from the factory, so I chose to buy new trim rings. But it sounds like you would benefit from having them removed.

 

The chrome rims in the UK are £125 each.

 

The wheel Trim Rings are heavily damaged on my BBS 20" 'Detroits'; all but one is beyond any type of repair as mounted. I guess the Previous Owner was unaware of the side mirror auto dipping function, or parked by 'feel'. I would like to remove my Trim Rings as well, but I have read, only in one post, that the wheels have to be split at an authorized facility familiar with disassembling and refurbishing BBS wheels properly. To remove the Rings, the wheel has to be split, as the Trim Rings are captured by the inner and outer halves of the wheel, and cannot be pried off due to this. I had intended to use a pair of needle nose pliers to remove the Trim Rings, but decided to read about the subject first, before tearing at the rings with pliers, I am glad I did. However, they can be cut off using a 'Dremel' or another type of rotary tool, to cut them off and grind them down, I have not yet had the nerve to do so, cut them off that is, but I plan on painting the Trim Rings Flat Black, so at least the damage is not so obvious.

 

I think trying with a dremel would be very hard, the wheels are split rim but the wheel faces can be taken off without removing the tyre. You will have to deflate the tyre and take the valve out, you do have to be careful with gently taking the bolts out bit by bit, I did not have a problem.

 

I talked to a fellow the other day who had sent his rims back to BBS to have them rebuilt with new rings, he said that BBS had a limited number of the rings left. His wheels really looked sweet!!

 

My favorite modern jaguar wheels.

 

I see them as being sacrificial.
Without, the wheel gets trashed.
18" and 20" can be found here- BBS alloy wheel | car wheel chrome trims rim protector wheel trims Leics Notts Derbyshire Sheffield Hull Lincoln Southampton

 

I had a local custom wheel shop do the work and replace the rim I bought from the before mentioned shop. They said it was no problem.

 

I replaced a trim ring last weekend. It took about 20-25 minutes for the one wheel after I removed it from the car. You'll need a 12 point M8 triple square spline bit (hex allen) socket which probably needs to be ordered on line or found from Snap-on or MAC Tools. I could not find one at Sears, Home Depot, Lowes or Harbor Freight. The best operational description on how to do it that I found was at jagwheeltrims.co.uk where you can also buy the rings at $150 each plus shipping. I bought 4 to reduce shipping cost each and knowing that I would find more curbs. I actually like these rings as they save an expensive wheel from being permanently damaged.