zweebach

I acquired a set of BBS E88's that I needed to reconfigure to fit my car and in doing some research, I was unable to find clear directions on how to properly assemble them, so what follows is a collection of what I learned from talking to BBS America, Bob Woodman tires and from my experience own experience. This guide may also be suitable for other multi-piece wheel sets. As always, I am not liable for any failures, damages, injuries, etc. that result from following these instructions.

Used race wheels can show up with all kinds of battle scars, so I disassembled mine and cleaned them up. I also need to swap the outer rim from 2" to 1" for the front wheels. The following steps demonstrate the assembly of an 18" x 9" wheel.



First, collect the necessary tools, hardware, and wheel pieces. As a minimum, if the wheel has been run on a car since the last time the wheel was assembled, you'll need new sealing rings and bolts. If you have the smae style sealing rings shown, then just the o-ring can be purchased. You also need to know the length of bolt used (measure the length of the threaded portion only) those shown here are 26mm long.
Here are the parts of a disassembled wheel: The center star, inner rim, outer rim, and the sealing ring, bolts, and washers (washers can be re-used).



Here are o-rings and fresh bolts:



Tools used: (An air rachet or electric driver are optional, but make assembly much faster.)



An 8mm 12 point socket is required to drive the bolts. My socket set did not have one.



I also made a sophisticated suport for the wheel center. It is easiest if the center star is supported and keeps the wheel rims off the work surface.



Another shot with a microfiber towel over the foam - I had my wheel centers re-painted as they were a bit rough when I received them, and I wanted to keep them pretty.



To replace the o-ring, peel the used one off of the metal sealing ring frame.



Fit the new o-ring over the frame (there is a groove in the rubber ring). Use a clip or two to hold the ring in place so you don't end up going in circles. Make sure the ring is well seated.



Start assembling the wheel. Start with the center star:



Place the outer rim on the center star. Now is the time to think about how you want the valve stem to line up with the markings on the center star (aligned, opposite, etc). This only matters if you care about that kind of thing and making all of your wheels match. Otherwise, just line up the bolt holes.



Install the sealing ring - also lining up bolt holes.




Then install the inner rim - line up the bolt holes.


I like the labels on my rim halves to line up, but it's not critical to the wheel function.



Install the bolts. You may need to wiggle the first one to get it to drop in all the way.



Use the appropriate sequence when tightening the bolts. Here is the appropriate start pattern sequence for a 24 bolt flange. I used the one below. There may be other published sequences that differ somewhat.



I use a dry erase marker to number the bolts per the pattern above. Later the marker can be removed with dry erase marker cleaner or isopropyl alcohol. Sharpie can be used and remvoed with alcohol as well, but it could be more difficult to remove.





Run down the bolts until they touch. BBS did not seem to think the order ws critical for this step, but I tighten them down in number sequence (1, 2, 3, etc.)You can this by hand or with a power tool as long your torque does not exceed the target torque of 155 in-lbs.



Now torque the bolts down to 155 in-lbs following the sequential number order in the chart.
Then torque all the bolts again running around the rim clockwise or counter-clockwise. This is mostly making sure no bolts loosened as the o-ring compressed and that no bolts were missed.

Now your wheel is assembled. Admire it for a minute.



Appreciate the attention to detail with the media-blasted bead seat to help keep the tire from rotating on the rim.



Measure the wheel width to make sure you made the right size. Wheel width is measured between the lips.



Install the valve stem if not already done. Tighten until snug. I use 25-35 in-lbs.



That's it.

If you plan to follow these instructions, wait a week or so for me to have tires put on these wheels so that I can verify that my process yields a non-leaking wheel.

stujelly

thank you for throwing this out there. Just saved it to my favorites. Getting ready to clean up 3 sets of my wheels.

good info.

Toby Pennycuff

Thanks zweebach! Great job documenting the process.

tedean

Thanks for taking the time to post!

993Godspeed

I did all my BBS wheels the exact same way. Nice DIY.

ir_fuel

Nice post!

chsu74

Awesome! Where do you source your 1 inch rim halves?

zweebach

I have purchased used rims from Bob Woodman Tires (bobwoodmantires.com) and also directly from BBS America. Both offer great service; I have no offiliation with either.

zweebach

Following-up on the results, I had no issues with leaks after mounting tires, and have run the wheels at the track now with no issue.

V

Great thread zweebach, thanks for doing this!

Two questions:

1. Is BBS North Americas (Eric) prices on par with Bob Woodman in terms of new rimhalves?

2. Where did you source the washers?

I've bought most of my stuff from Gert, excellent service and highly recommended, especially for europeans but also for you guys in the states.

zweebach

Glad to help, I really like the product BBS has and it's actually kind of fun rebuilding the wheels. Well, if you're into this kind of thing, that is.

I haven't ordered rim halves directly from BBS America, I usually call Bob Woodman Tires to see if I can get some used ones first. And I've ended up with new rim halves dropped shipped from BBS after some conversations. I've gotten valve stems and gaskets from BBS directly.

I re-used washers, but BBS will also sell you those. There does not appear to be anything special about the washers, so you could probably substitute washers from another source if you maintain the same dimensions.

I'm not familiar with Gert, is that a European supplier? If so, the main obstacle there would be shipping cost.

V

Gert is Gert Carnewal www.carnewal.com

Excellent customer service . Shipping is not that bad actually. No affil.

Peter Carroll/Toronto

I have rebuilt a few sets of 3pc wheels. Only thing I would add is a bead of RTV silicone around the joint to seal the rim halves. I know there is a gasket. But this is a small extra precaution. Bob Woodman built my original E28s and they included the silicone seal. HRE does as well. It's a little extra piece of mind. Bob Woodman has always given me excellent support. Never thought to BBS directly. Bob is practically next door.

BTW... I had a cracked E28 center and could not find parts. I rebuilt them all with E88 centers (@$600ea), new gaskets and hardware.

This leaves me with 3 good magnesium E28 centers left over. I know they are impossible to find. So I have 3 if you need them.

2x 0228041 (930/911 front) - gone sorry
1x 0228291 (930 rear) - this incorporates the OEM 930 27mm spacer into the hub. Otherwise it's about the same offset as the 041 with the spacer - also gone now sorry.

Peter

tedean

+1. I bought a set of BBS wheels that a guy rebuilt and shipped to me. This was to be my rain tire set. Being the ever cautious/testing/verification person that I am, I had the tires mounted ahead of time (COTA club race weekend) and tested them. One leaked! Disassembly revealed a new gasket (seller had done the right thing). So I reassembled and ran a bead around the inner joints, covered with tape, mounted the rain tires and it held. Whew...... then it rained and all was good.

V

Hmm. BBS recommends not to do this but to use the gasket only. You need to check the bolt TQ after a few heat cycles though and tighten if neccessary. Replacing parts of a wheel which has silicone in between can be quite messy, I suppose that's why they don't like it.