Wheel Centre Cap Removal:

[Coupeboy]

Had a quick search but is there an easy (any) way to remove the multiple-tab Lotus wheel centres? I just know the local tyre fitter is going to break them! I'm already trying to reduce the risk of damage by just giving them the wheels. Thanks

[HJ2]

Depends if they are S1 or S2!
My guess with your wheels: Remove wheel, and press cap into the wheel.

[theelanman]

S2 has caps that can be removed from the outside...ie with the wheel insitu.....however its pretty difficult to do
SE has caps pushed through from behind...ie hub side...so the wheel needs to come off to remove them

[dapinky]

Assuming the wheels are as per your thread on tyre sizes, I suspect you have the 15" OZ wheels - as Gareth says, they push out (in?) towards the car, and the easiest way to wreck them is to try and hit them the wrong way!

Once the wheels are off the car, a light top with a rubber mallet will unseat them and they can be lifted out by hand.

Should they get damaged, then they were fairly cheap (a fiver a piece) on the aftersales list, but come under the Esprit section, not the elan!!!! ('coz they also fit the esprit OZ wheels)

[Dave Eds]

or just pop them back in with a bead of mastic around them - they ain't gonna go far if they come loose

[HJ2]

Just like i said before

[Coupeboy]

Thanks all. Yes they are standard 15". Didn't occur to me to keep pushing in the direction in which they are fitted, I was trying to devise a way to squeeze all the tangs simultaneously and push it outwards.

[chrism]

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I still couldn't figure out how to remove these SE wheel centres so I had a go myself and thought I'd post some pics...

On the 15" SE wheel they are removed from inside the wheel to outside - so you have to take the wheel off first.

From the inside I soaked the black tangs in release oil and used a plastic trim tool as a lever to ensure they 'moved', then later gently went around with the shaft of a hammer on each pair of tangs - hitting the hammer shaft gently with a second hammer, slightly angled towards the centre, then firmly once in the middle - and out they popped, undamaged

To reinstall they go back in the same way (from inside to outside - which originally seemed confusing to me) and are held in place by the black tabs (that you have moved then tapped in pairs) like in the 2nd pic. They don't go back in from the outside 'cos they can't, as shown by the last pic...

Hope this helps another 'newbie' like me who wants to get a front wheel balance...