How to change tire from Alpina Wheel on 1995 BMW 740i (E38) ?

[1995/E38/740I]

I'm just reaching out to see if anybody has any insight on how to change a flat with Alpina rims. I've had a lot of people look at it and none know where to even begin. I've seen videos on the internet demonstrating the way to do it, by pressing on the top of the Alpina logo in the middle of the rim and rotating it counter clockwise to reveal a lock which can be opened via a silver metal key, however I have multiple problems with this:

1. I was never given a silver metal key for the rims, just the main set of keys, the spare keys, and a black plastic key for the glovebox.
2. I can't seem to get the Alpina logo to rotate and reveal the lock. I can press it down slightly but it won't rotate whatsoever.

This brings me to the main question(s). Is it possible my wheels are fake? I was pretty confident they were the real Alpina's and the 20 spoke test checks out. The fact I can't move the logo and reveal the lock however is what has me second guessing their legitimacy. Not to mention I wasn't provided with a key by the (private) seller when I bought the car. I will provide clear pictures of the wheels for examination.

Finally, if anyone here is able to determine that these are in fact real Alpina's, how would you recommend I go about trying to take these off? Is there another way to change the wheels, perhaps specific to E38 Alpinas (I have no clue if the year frames make a difference or not) and that's why the videos I am seeing for newer models isn't working for mine? Any kind of info would be great and a huge help as I really just want to get some use out of this car before I have to pack it away for the winter.

By the way I have staggered rims and it was the back right tire if that tells you anything.

Thanks in advance for any kind of help and here are the pictures:

[SVD115]

just pop the centre cap off, they're not genuine alpina's so there's no key to unlock the cap.

Genuine modernlines would have a hidden valve.

[Vorsprung46]

SVD115 is correct, the center should just pop off. On this style Alpina the lock is hidden behind the emblem (push on side and spin to reveal a lock) but these are replicas. The valve stems are usually the dead giveaway

[1995/E38/740I]

I have gotten the centre piece off, and there is definitely no lock and key mechanism. Finally got the cap off as one piece and underneath are the spots to take the wheel off. So I know 100% now that at the very least, the centre cap is a fake. I found the identical one on Ebay and it appears to be "after market" which you can tell based on the sticker logo, the difference in the shape of the edges of the cap (mine are more rectangular and the genuine caps are circular), and the back of the cap which is clearly unofficial. I will include pics of the front and back.

With all of this being said, I have read in another BMW forum that a lot of times the centre cap breaks, gets a dent or scratch, or something like that, and the owner will simply replace the cap with a replica instead of spending crazy amounts of money buying the official one from BMW.

So I am wondering if it is possible that the caps could be fake and the actual wheel could be genuine? I know another red flag is the visible valve stems but I read in the same forum ^ that older Alpina wheels did NOT have the hidden valve stem. I also want to point out again that I do have 20 spokes (see first 2 pictures from original post) so in that regard the legitimacy checks out.

Could be a reach but I just want to be absolutely 100% certain about the authenticity of these wheels before I officially commit to them being real or fake.

Please let me know any thoughts or questions you might have, I really really want to get to the bottom of it with these wheels. Here are the pics:

[DennisCooper]

Hi,

Take clear photo's of the back of each wheel and post here. Also, post a clear picture of the front side of the wheel hub , i.e the part exposed once the cover is taken off.

Genuine Alpina wheels will have the word 'Alpina' as part of the technical identifier as part of the mould used to make the wheels. Similarly, there'll be an Alpina part number too.

There's no 'nic name' or official name for Alpina wheels of this or any other design called 'Modernlines' - as far as I'm aware! if there is, well, learn something new every day!

https://www.alloywheelsdirect.net/alpina_alloys

Also talk to Alpina USA - https://www.alpina-usa.com/ check the cataloge section of this site as part numbers are listed along with the official name.

I'm in agreement to the above that the wheels you have are counterfeit, the rubber valve hole being the give away as mentioned above. The sweatshops some where in china won't spend the money needed to copy the air channel in the hub face that leads through one of the spokes to the wheel barrel like the genuine article has.



These style of Alpina wheels came on much later BMW's than the E38. Most owners of E38 (and era BMW's) who want Alpina wheels go for the period correct ones - usually the 20" Classic C94 or C95 (whichever or both of the two that had the 20" option)

Let us know how you get on with the investigation!

Cheers, Dennis!