I learned this too late, but be sure to take off your SSR Comp center caps before any track days. The caps are very cheaply made, and are made entirely of plastic, covered with plastic chrome. There is no wire circlip to support and tension the little plastic tabs that hold the caps to place, (like other makes of wheels have, including stock wheels). Heat build up at the center caps are far less than at the rotors, yet after just one day at track, (just a driving school, not racing), there was so much warpage at the tabs due to the minimal heat there, that all four of my center caps were ready to fall off. They would just rattle around as the car rolled along. This is very disappointing for such a expensive, high end wheel, supposedly fit for competition.

Tire Rack kindly sent me another set with an admonishment to remove them before any track time. (I was not told to remove them at purchase). However, when new, they are so tight, that it is impossible to remove them without jacking up the car, and removing each wheel first, so that they can be knocked out from the back side. There is not even a small notch to allow a gentle prying off from the front surface. This is unbelievably inconvenient.

Even a local five star rated tire shop recommended by Tire Rack had no solution to remove these, other than to remove the wheels first. Tire Rack claims that SSR makes no other center caps for this application. If so, SSR is needs to get their act together here. No, I do not race, and do not intend to leave my center caps off all the time. (I bought these SSR Comps for their appearanace also and IMHO, they look hideous without them!) I track just a few times per year.

So, if you intend to track your car, and if you don't want to deal with routinely removing and reinstalling these cheap center caps, AND you still want your wheels to have centercaps, you should consider getting another brand of wheel. Many of these other brands cost a lot less, look great, and have centercaps of superior design.

_________________

'03 MCS, EB/B, pkgs#1,2,3, Nav, H/K, PDC, Anthracite w/blk leather, Alta pulley, Anthracite SSR Comps w/Goodyear F1 GS-D3s

 

i use 17x7.5's on my wrx and i never put on those center caps in the first place.
they look better without. :smile: if you want aluminum centercaps, opt for the
IntegralA2's. i used those on my other car which i sold and those were full aluminum.

but come to think of it, i think my ssr comps' center caps are actually aluminum,
not plastic.
_________________
2003 Cooper-S IndiBlue/Black Top: #1, #2, #3, Factory aero kit, R90 wheels.

 

>> if you want aluminum centercaps, opt for the
>>IntegralA2's.

There is not enough extention to clear the stub axel on Mini's with comps to use Integral caps

>>but come to think of it, i think my ssr comps' center caps are actually aluminum,
>>not plastic.

Yes they are aluminum - Any competent tech session should tell you to remove or wire in any periferies like caps or fluid covers. Its just track ediquite. You should see what they used to make me to with the Ducati.... LOL

Alex

 

Any pictures of the center caps? I have always seen them without the centercap.

 

>>>>but come to think of it, i think my ssr comps' center caps are actually aluminum, not plastic.
>>
>>Yes they are aluminum ....
>>
>>Alex

That's interesting....they must have changed something since I got my SSR Comps over a year ago. The Tire Rack sent aluminum caps with mine but they don't fit - they fit the wheel of course but don't clear the center of the hub. I spent about a month explaining, complaining, etc - they even had me send them back so they could take them to a machine shop to cut them down but that didn't work either. They eventually sent me the cheapo plastic caps as SSR's "fix" for the MINI problem saying SSR finally tested them out and realized there isn't enough clearance for the aluminum caps to fit.

 

yah, that may be the case.

wat size s03's are you using on your mini? I use those tires on my WRX and they are awesome tires. they're very wide for its size though... tirerack ripped me off when i bought factory size tires for my 98 lude and endedup being too wide. i returned them case it would rub the fenders but they won't give back my $120 (freight + dismount) even though it was in their error. :evil:

 

Why not drill a very tiny little hole in them somewhere and make a small wire removal tool? So you don't have to take the wheels off and pound them out.
I promise I won't tell where the hole is....

...Or you could get extravagant and drill a hole in the middle of the cover, bond in a nut on the inside rear of the cover, (epoxy) and find a nice shiny matching screw to put in it. Then to remove the wheel insert, just screw out the screw and pull on it... Or screw back in a really long screw and it would dead end against the axle cover and as you tighten it...well, it would push the center out for you...

Or, I guess you could just wait for the factory to make a good part.

Yfoiler

 

>>Why not drill a very tiny little hole in them somewhere and make a small wire removal tool? So you don't have to take the wheels off and pound them out.
>>I promise I won't tell where the hole is....
>>
>>...Or you could get extravagant and drill a hole in the middle of the cover, bond in a nut on the inside rear of the cover, (epoxy) and find a nice shiny matching screw to put in it. Then to remove the wheel insert, just screw out the screw and pull on it... Or screw back in a really long screw and it would dead end against the axle cover and as you tighten it...well, it would push the center out for you...
>>
>>Or, I guess you could just wait for the factory to make a good part.
>>
>>Yfoiler

Thanks for the thoughtful ideas Yfoiler!

I like the one with the hole in the side. I might consider doing something like that near it's base, though the sides of the cap are somewhat tapered towards the face, and not exactly cylindrical, so that you could easily see any hole looking directly at the cap. But this is certainly an idea worth considering.

The nut is a cool idea too, but it would involve drilling a hole right through the "SSR" stilcker on the face of the cap.

I think for the time being, I'll wait to see if the factory comes out with anything better, but you've given me something to think about.

Thanks again. :smile:

LetsMotor0_0

 

>>wat size s03's are you using on your mini? I use those tires on my WRX and they are awesome tires. they're very wide for its size though...

I'm using 215-45s. Between that profile and the 42 offset I ended up with a bit of rubbing on the rear fender liners. It's confusing because I've read of others with the same setup and no rubbing. But I've also had a few people ask if my MINI is lowered and I noticed last week when I parked next to a stock MCS that my unlowered MC actually looked almost a half inch lower and there was a matching difference in the gap under the wheel arch. I wonder if MCs come lower than MCSs...or maybe mine is an oddball. I don't mind! Besides, I had them dial up 1.6 degrees negative camber when they put in the ARCAs and that was enough to coincidentally eliminate the rubbing as well!

_________________
'02 IB/IB MC (name=ZIPPY) w/ assorted factory extras + SSR Comps (17&quot w/ B-stone Potenza S-03s + RDR rear swaybar + B&M short shifter + HSport ARCAs + Racing Dynamics strut brace + RSpeed exhaust + PiperCross Viper CAI......etc

 

kurvhugr-thanks for the info on the tire size. dang 215/45 is pretty wide to put on the cooper without the aftermarket flare fenders, huh? but should look awesome on your car.

btw, do you notice any pulling of the steering wheel following grooves on the
road with your S03's?

 

>>kurvhugr-thanks for the info on the tire size. dang 215/45 is pretty wide to put on the cooper without the aftermarket flare fenders, huh? but should look awesome on your car.
>>
>>btw, do you notice any pulling of the steering wheel following grooves on the
>>road with your S03's?

They look good to me! With a little camber to eliminate the rare rubbing they're a perfect fit - any wider or any more offset and I wouldn't be able to use them. They fill out the wheel wells and greatly improve the stance.

I haven't had any problems with tramlining, if that's what you mean.

 

I want to remove my center caps for the track but between the tightness of the caps and the aluminum centering ring being in the way I can't get them off. Any hints on removing them w/o mangling anything? Thanks.

 

Wiggle, gentle tap with a dead blow hammer.
Turn, repeat.

 

<Wiggle, gentle tap with a dead blow hammer.
Turn, repeat.>

From the front or the back?

 

My Koseis look the same way...good tip because I planned on running a couple of autocrosses in the future and it reminded me to take off the caps...