Removing Aero Covers from the new 2024 M3PL

[82killawatts]

Jesus I did this yesterday by reaching behind the spokes and removing the wire spring retainers. Moving the car forward/backward to avoid the calipers. My hands are destroyed. I plan on burning the pile of plastic as a final F you to those ridiculous things.

 

[82killawatts]

I’m hoping more companies make this. Never heard of this company so not sure about the quality of the product for the price.

I bought various rubber and plastic plugs on Amazon to do exactly this. $120 is nuts for rubber plugs

 

[cxm3p84]

I bought various rubber and plastic plugs on Amazon to do exactly this. $120 is nuts for rubber plugs

Post up a pic when you get those plugs installed. Would love to see how they look. Thanks in advance!

 

[TheMossberg]

Thanks for posting this! I was hoping to be able to remove those without taking off the wheels. Did any part of the inserts/clips/etc get damaged to the point where they might not reattach securely?

Answering my own thread. Wasn't hard, you need a decent plastic pry tool to pop the outside rim portion of the cover off. I popped off one side, then did the other to get enough finger clearance, then pulled it off to disengage with the center.

There will be what looks like scratches and you might start crapping your pants, but is actually plastic residue from the clips. I was able to wax these marks off for the most part, I used Meguiar's cleaner wax and a good amount of elbow grease. There were two instances where the cover clips did actually damage the rim slightly but it's extremely minor. Check pics below. If it's two scratches or these horrid looking covers, I'm okay with it.

View attachment 1053549

Scratches

View attachment 1053563

View attachment 1053564

Before

View attachment 1053566

And After! Mucho better
View attachment 1053567

View attachment 1053568

Perhaps next I'll get lug covers and wheels caps, and remove the Tesla one. For now, I'm happy

Thanks for posting this! I was hoping to be able to remove those without taking off the wheels. Did any part of the covers/clips/etc get damaged to the point where they might not reattach securely? I plan on keeping the large covers off 99% of the time, but also hoping it isn't too difficult to reattach if needed.

 

[chewyc]

Jesus I did this yesterday by reaching behind the spokes and removing the wire spring retainers. Moving the car forward/backward to avoid the calipers. My hands are destroyed. I plan on burning the pile of plastic as a final F you to those ridiculous things. View attachment 1053876

I have a question. You did it the "Unplugged" way. Did you have any permanent clip damage on the rims as my pictures show?

Man I admire you, that must have been a huge pain in the hole. Although, if there is zero damage removing this way, maybe this is "the way"... I just wonder if the (minor) damage I have is from the install... or the removal. Nothing you can do about the former, which is why I ask!

Specifically it's the leftmost clip, tire side where I saw the clips removing some of the wheel paint. Again, SUPER minor.

 

[chewyc]

Thanks for posting this! I was hoping to be able to remove those without taking off the wheels. Did any part of the inserts/clips/etc get damaged to the point where they might not reattach securely?

Thanks for posting this! I was hoping to be able to remove those without taking off the wheels. Did any part of the covers/clips/etc get damaged to the point where they might not reattach securely? I plan on keeping the large covers off 99% of the time, but also hoping it isn't too difficult to reattach if needed.

No the covers didn't have any damage at all. Pry pry pull, boom. They are meant to be removed so they're pretty durable.

 

[chewyc]

I'm going to do an experiment. I bought bolt covers and gunmetal grey covers for the center caps. Once I get everything I'll install one and get everyone's opinion.

P.S. I don't mind the stock look without the aero caps!

 

[cxm3p84]

I'm going to do an experiment. I bought bolt covers and gunmetal grey covers for the center caps. Once I get everything I'll install one and get everyone's opinion.

P.S. I don't mind the stock look without the aero caps

Cant wait to see it.

 

[GreenHokie]

A suggestion/tip to avoid scratching the rims, for anyone who wants to remove the wheel covers with a pry tool:
Apply a layer or two of painters tape between the cover material and surface of the rims. There is enough of a gap between the cover and rim that you can easily insert/slide painters tape to cover/protect all parts of the rim that will make contact with the pry tool and wheel cover during the prying/removal process.

Personally, I’ll be removing the wheels before unclipping those covers, because I am curious to see the back side and have the means/tools.

 

[chewyc]

A suggestion/tip to avoid scratching the rims, for anyone who wants to remove the wheel covers with a pry tool:
Apply a layer or two of painters tape between the cover material and surface of the rims. There is enough of a gap between the cover and rim that you can easily insert/slide painters tape to cover/protect all parts of the rim that will make contact with the pry tool and wheel cover during the prying/removal process.

Personally, I’ll be removing the wheels before unclipping those covers, because I am curious to see the back side and have the means/tools.

The minor scratches I had I'm fairly certain were not from the pry tool I used, but from the clips on the cover. Only happened on one rim, in two spots (pictured at top of thread). If it were the pry tool I would assume they would all be scratched up.

 

[chewyc]

I'd still like to know if the "remove the spring" or "pull all the wheels off" methods create NO damage. Again, I don't know if my (minor) marks are from removal or installation. I had no control over the latter.

 

[jose3030]

Those aero covers should be optionally installed.
IMHO

 

[chewyc]

Those aero covers should be optionally installed.
IMHO

Funny. I considered mentioning this prior to delivery. But I figured Tesla might do even more damage than I could, so I didn't do it.

 

[pinchi]

I'd actually like to see what it would look like to have smaller inserts to match the Tesla provided smaller ones, so that it is uniform all around. I'm not sure I'd like it, but would want to see it first.

 

[Adam3]

I'd actually like to see what it would look like to have smaller inserts to match the Tesla provided smaller ones, so that it is uniform all around. I'm not sure I'd like it, but would want to see it first.

The 19" version:

 

[chewyc]

I'd actually like to see what it would look like to have smaller inserts to match the Tesla provided smaller ones, so that it is uniform all around. I'm not sure I'd like it, but would want to see it first.

That’s a China market performance rim. They have the two holes on each spoke. Our 20s only have holes on half (smaller covers pictured) so there isn’t a cover like what you show that will work on the places where the aero covers were.

 

[sdiver68]

Wonder if spraying a bit of WD40 where the clips are might provide enough lubrication to lessen chance of clip scratching? Or even try it wet with soapy water.

 

[pinchi]

The 19" version:
View attachment 1054269

The fat tire throws it off a bit. Not sure how I feel about it. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Former_Porsche]

Answering my own thread. Wasn't hard, you need a decent plastic pry tool to pop the outside rim portion of the cover off. I popped off one side, then did the other to get enough finger clearance, then pulled it off to disengage with the center.

There will be what looks like scratches and you might start crapping your pants, but is actually plastic residue from the clips. I was able to wax these marks off for the most part, I used Meguiar's cleaner wax and a good amount of elbow grease. There were two instances where the cover clips did actually damage the rim slightly but it's extremely minor. Check pics below. If it's two scratches or these horrid looking covers, I'm okay with it.

View attachment 1053549

Scratches

View attachment 1053563

View attachment 1053564

Before

View attachment 1053566

And After! Mucho better
View attachment 1053567

View attachment 1053568

Perhaps next I'll get lug covers and wheels caps, and remove the Tesla one. For now, I'm happy

Looks good! So much easier than how I did it. Congrats!

 

[Kilotango74]

Not sure how I feel about this yet. I like the idea of ditching the aero covers, but also feel like it makes the brakes look comically small. Makes me want to buy bigger brakes.