BBS MAGESIUM RACE WHEELS (R.I.P)

[flamespitter]

Guys,

A while ago there was a bit of interest in BBS race wheels.You know the ones, the gold centred megabucks split rims seen on GT Race cars especially Porsches,but never advertised for sale in the mags.
Well at Le Mans this year (HAIL LE MANS! LESS THAN 11 MONTHS TO GO!!)I spoke to a few of the GT3 RSR teams and they were running BBS wheels with aluminium (gold painted of course)centres.
They told me they were fed up with replacing cracked magnesium and BBS were now producing aluminium alloy centres which won't crack and are even lighter than magnesium.A real got to have!!
Anyway I've just received a set DIRECT from BBS Motorsport Germany.Gorgeous!You can specify gold or silver centres although it does have to be gold!
I've got prices and specs in the office if any body is interested.


>> Edited by flamespitter on Thursday 21st July 23:47

[flamespitter]

I MUST IMPROVE MY SPELLING............IT'S MAGNESIUM!

[johnny senna]

Very interesting indeed as I was going to go for the BBS mags when funds allow.

Are these aluminium alloy wheels really lighter than the mags? Did you get them laquered so that they are easy to clean?

Please e-mail me with details, although you could post the details up here if you like!

[993rsr]

Flamespitter, have a contact also within BBS AG, you are correct, no more mag. centres, all the wheels are being produced with ally centres from now on.

[flamespitter]

WILL YOU ALL THINK IM A GEEK OR ANORAK IF I WEIGH THE MAGNESIUM OLD AND ALUMINIUM NEW AND POST THE RESULT OR SHOULD I KEEP IT AND MY REPUTATION INTACT?

[993rsr]

Would be very interested to know, btw are you a 993GT2 owner??

[993rsr]

Johnny, outer rim will be the same, just the centre/spider will be painted ally. Smoother than the mag. centres. You would still need to get the outer rim lacquered/anodised to save constant polishing to keep clean.

[johnny senna]

993rsr said:

Johnny, outer rim will be the same, just the centre/spider will be painted ally. Smoother than the mag. centres. You would still need to get the outer rim lacquered/anodised to save constant polishing to keep clean.

Oh I see, obviously the centres don't need lacquering then. Just the (lovely) polished rims.

God, I'm all excited about these wheels now but I can't afford them at the moment. Damn. Oh how I love gold centres!

[Paul Y]

johnny senna said:

[ God, I'm all excited about these wheels now but I can't afford them at the moment. Damn. Oh how I love gold centres!

Buy a Scooby doo Gold as standard!

P

[flamespitter]

Don't all the problems start with lacquering wheels ? Those beautiful 3.6 Turbo and RS 3.8 wheels used to pit dreadfully after a few years .The standard unlacquered BBS wheel rims won't degrade will they?

[ultra violent]

Seriously I would never buy lacquered wheels again. My unlacquered wheels, on the car, sit outside every day and they only need cleaning every few weeks. It also makes sorting out curbing very easy, just a bit of wet'n'dry and you're done.

[roygarth]

flamespitter said:

The standard unlacquered BBS wheel rims won't degrade will they?

If unprotected aluminium they will deteriote very fast. I can't believe thay have no protection at all.

[flamespitter]

Are the outer rims aluminium? Thought they would survive much longer than lacquer.

[DanH]

Aluminium is a fairly reactive metal so they'll need laquer and looking after too.

If these are the wheels I'm thinking of, I bet they are a right pain to clean with all those spokes!

[johnny senna]

Hmmm, we don't have a concensus on lacquering, any more thoughts anyone?

[flamespitter]

Ok Guys,

My shiny BBS gold centred aluminium wheels are in their delivery boxes in the garage.What do I do with them next?Lacquer them? Wont this end in tears a la 3.6 Turbo?

[silver993tt]

can't you just lacquer them and then if/when they do get a bit scruffy, get them refurbished with new lacquer??

[993rsr]

flamespitter, best bet is to have them anodised. This will stop the problems the lacquer suffers when changing wheels, and the peeling around the bolts over time. This will mean having your lovely shiny new wheels stripped down.

Or you use a decent chrome polish to get rid of the stains/marks when they get grubby. I've given up to be honest as I only use the BBS wheels on track and keep the speedlines for road use.

Oh and it's bloody hard work getting between the bolts. You can take out a few bolts at a time to clean, and then torque back up to 14-16nm.

[johnny senna]

993rsr said:

flamespitter, best bet is to have them anodised. This will stop the problems the lacquer suffers when changing wheels, and the peeling around the bolts over time. This will mean having your lovely shiny new wheels stripped down. Or you use a decent chrome polish to get rid of the stains/marks when they get grubby. I've given up to be honest as I only use the BBS wheels on track and keep the speedlines for road use. Oh and it's bloody hard work getting between the bolts. You can take out a few bolts at a time to clean, and then torque back up to 14-16nm.

Can you anodyse the polished rims with the gold centres still in place?

[993rsr]

No. You need to seal the complete area, i.e the outer rim as part of the anodising process. It's something I'm looking into as our business outsources metal finishing.

I'll get a set of BBS mags done and let you know the results. Could be a few weeks mind.