blau928

Ok, here goes..

I was going to keep it a surprise, but I thought I would share and see if there is any interest for a group deal etc.

I bought some magnesuim Centerlock BBS E28 3 piece wheels for my car, and am thinking of making a centerlock application for the 928.

The rears are a done deal.. (I have had them on the car with wheels attached, and no problem whatsoever...

I know that the front can be done, just some minor details for the front hub to be able to keep the ABS sensor ring on the hub while modifying the hub a bit...

So, if there's any interest, let me know in this thread.

And, no, it won't cost $13k like porsche charges.. Also, no, I don't have a price yet on package as well, as I am trying to figure out if there is interest prior to sharing further.

I will most likely make a setup for myself in the shortly, and the machining is cheaper by doing several sets of parts.

I added these pics of the wheels to show what they look like, and also what they look like on a Cup Car. I will be doing this for a 928, ad will post pics of the rear setup on my 928 the weekend of 14th Feb..

Thanks,

S4ordie

Richard, sounds like a great idea. Can you share any pics?

Imo000

Is this for racing only use?

Jim M.

Very unique, but what advantage do they offer for a street car?

Centerlocks go back to the wire wheel days, later for faster tire/wheel changes for pure track cars. For a street car or even the dedicated track car, pit stop times are not that critical unless your competing in the American LeMans or similar events. (not likely in a 928.) Even NASCAR doesn't use them. Wheel selection is also very limited, spare parts non-existent.

Other than unique I don't see any advantage, just additional cost.

blau928

Hi Dan,

Thanks, I will post some pics of the rears attached to the car this weekend.

blau928

If there is enough interest, it will be offered for "off road use" only, as I am unwilling to go through the DOT certification etc. for the front. The rears are going to be purchased from a racing supplier, and that will be for off road use as well. However, Porsche is now offering a centerlock for 911 cars, and has already offered it for the Carrera GT which has DOT hoghway certification with the car. In addition, the race parts are stronger than the street parts such as the aluminum front hub on the 928.

The parts will be steel, heat treated treated etc. so it will be strong. I actually found out today that the 928 front hub is aluminum with steel bearing races.. Whatever I decide to make, the weakest part will be the hub itself.. 4340 is much stronger than the aluminum. I was told that I should consider 300M, which is a heat treated, hardened silicon vanadium alloy used on aircraft landing gear. I thought this would be a good thing, as I plan on using it on my personal car on the street....

blau928

Jim,

This is not about any advantage other than being able to use the best wheels. (BBS Racing magnesium Alloy E28, E88, E26, and a few others).

The centerlock system offers no advantage over a regular 5 bolt pattern other than above, and being able to change the wheel faster in a race.

The NASCAR rulebook is the only thing that determines if NASCAR teams can use centerlocks, not the desire of the team, nor engineering soundness.

FIA rulebooks allow it, so it is used in F1, ALMS, LM, and FIA GT etc... as they have to follow the FIA rulebook.

However, it is an idea I have and thought to share as I am building a combo Street - DE car that I can use locally at Laguna Seca or anywhere else for that matter. Porsche also chose to offer it, and I thought it just looks really cool. Besides, the components are much different than the large nut used in LM prototype racing. I am going to use something similar to the system Porsche is offering for their street cars, and again, thought to offer it here just to share.

It's not for everyone, and I am surely not doing this to make a business out of it. Just like my Twin Screw system, I am making an extra, and will offer it for sale after testing it on my own car. Mainly to defray some of the cost of engineering and manufacturing these very unique parts for my 928.

So, if you want to be different, or have something extremely unique, then this will offer an option. I have never seen a 928 with the system, and I think I am the first to get something like this done. The rears so far are a done deal, and they setup works perfectly. (I will post pics over the weekend.) The fronts I am still working on, but I believe it can be done.

Oh, another note about better and cheaper...... I don't really need to build a 700hp 928 with 15inch front brakes and 14 inch rear brakes either, but I am in process of building one. It's not cheaper, and better is subjective...

Some aspects of the setups I am doing are more about artistic expression, nothing to do with cheaper... However, the engineering is entirely sound, and the parts quality is top notch. That's just how I am, I wouldn't have it any other way...

Thanks,

stuartph

Richard

Look forward to seeing pictures

Hows the brakes coming along

White Lightnin'

Some of the mods that are already being done quite regularly to our 928s could fall into this category as well... it boils down to personal aesthetics.

The 'uniqueness' factor of making our 928 a reflection of ourselves has led to supercharging/turbocharging; GTS quarters; custom interiors; etc. that essentially ends up being a LARGE additional cost with the lurking question of whether it's an advantage or not.

Most 928 owners say the car is already the representation of mechanical & design perfection... how can it really be improved upon?

I myself, was contemplating putting the centerlock wheels from the GT3 onto a 928 -and how it could be done... the visual impact alone would be worth it!

I'm glad someone else had the same idea and look forward to seeing the complete package!

blau928

Hi Stuart,

I will post the pics of the rears over the weekend... Fronts I have to get parts made etc.

I spoke to Carrie at BG, and I am still working out some details. I have a meting this week with my engineer to draw some front caliper brackets along with some Centerlock parts for the fronts.. I will now use 380mm front rotors, as the BBS wheels clear the caliper even at 18" diameter, as they also do on Cup Cars.

I will most likely make the brackets here once I draw the stuff in CAD, and just buy rotors. The brakes got delayed due to the desire to run bigger brakes, and use the BBS Magnesium wheels..... Then I got a deal I could not pass on, so I jumped on it..

Thanks,

hacker-pschorr

The Porsche Carrera GT has centerlock wheels.

Ferrari had Centerlocks on almost every model up until the 90's. IIRC had to do with DOT regulations to drop them. The CGT has backwards threads on one side to prevent them from self unscrewing.

mark kibort

that is real cool! I would love to be able to just use that long wheel nut wrench one time to loosen the entire wheel! The look is very cool as well.

Yes, post some pics as soon as you can. do the offsets of the cup car wheels work, or do you just buy new centers for a 3 piece wheel. Heck, it almost looks like you could have a stock wheel drilled out. Is that possible, or not advisable due to a slightly different stress profile of the wheel mounting?

great job!

svp928

2010 GT-3 has the centerlock wheel as standard, also. They use an aluminum nut.

stuartph

Richard

Glad you spoke with BG carrie is lovely

So i should be able to go upto 380mm disc as well then, i was going to get some CCW wheels but think i shall wait and see what you do.

docmirror

Having owned a car with centrelock wheels, I would never ever do it on purpose. Single point of failure, weaker hub/axle interface, dirty, spline interface problems, etc. To each his own.