gharold

Does anyone know where these wheels can be purchased in the US? I would normally just order from Gert, but the dollar is not in a good place from a conversion rate. Thanks.

BBS 18" Racing Wheels - Aluminum
Lightweight 18" wheels.
The center is aluminum while the outer rim is enforced aluminum.
Available in most sizes and offsets.
The wheels with alu centers from the latest evolution -shown below- are more suitable for street use .

JC3D

Tire rack sells most BBS

mklaskin

Try Bob Woodman Tires. Their number is 843-524-8473.
My other suggestion would be to contact Kelly Moss @ 608-274-5-54. I ordered my last set through them.
Good luck.

gharold

Thanks guys, I do not believe you can get them from Tire rack.

JimB

You can contact BBS in Atlanta. www.bbs-usa.com I think they will sell you the wheels directly. I know I've purchased wheel rebuilding kits from them. If they won't sell to you directly they can certainly tell you who can.

These will be track wheels right?

LVDell

Not the Motorsport line. If you want the race wheels your best bet is one of the vendors already specified or call places like TRG. I know Austin gets them.

gharold

Since I do not have a trailer, I would like to be able to use them a little on the street, that is why I thought the aluminum would be better than the magnesium. I drive less than 3K on the street in a year.

LVDell

I would NOT run motorsport wheels in the street. Very easy to damage and not cheap.

gharold

Good point Dell, maybe I need to go a different direction. Any ideas on lightweight durable wheels?

gota911

Dell, I like your new avatar. Here is another copy of it which I straightened for you!

JimB

The problem with racing wheels is that the halves are pretty thin and bend easy. Having said that, they are every bit as strong as the light street wheels you see advertised at 20 lbs or less. There are only so many ways to make a wheel light. I'd be more inclined to run an aluminum racing wheel from BBS or Jongbloed on the street than a light wheel from Kinesis or others on the track. Just be aware that you are one pot hole away from rebuilding a wheel.

If you are going to use these wheels on the street does that mean you are using street rubber on the track? If so, is wheel weight that important?

Benjamin Choi

that's what i figured.

jim, are those 20lbs champion wheels "strong"? i way i'm thinking is, if BBS can barely make their forged LMs (two piece) lighter than 26 pounds for 19s... but then champion touts their forged one piece as stronger or stronger at 20 pounds each... what gives?

from people who do track and are generally in the know about what gets fuqed up in "race" conditions, they say there are no shortcuts. if you want a strong wheel that's durable, it's goign to weigh more than the super lightweight one piece wheels no matter what the copy writer pushes thru.

JimB

I really don't know much about the Champion Wheels. In general a three piece wheel is made up of the center, the bolts and the halves. The centers can be made lighter in two ways. You use lighter material or you use less material. Magnesium is light and strong but needs more maintenance than aluminum. It’s probably not appropriate for the street. Bolts are either steel or titanium. The halves are all aluminum. Lighter usually means weaker although all companies have tricks for putting the thickness in just the right places.

If you really want light, the one piece forged magnesium BBS LM racing wheel is the only way to go. I’ve got one set. They are beautiful, strong and very light but also pretty expensive. Around $8500.

Benjamin Choi

Are the mags called the LMs for real? i thought there was on one Le Mans wheel which is the one I had on my M3 (aluminum).

JimB

Ben,
Here is a pic of the mag LMs. They are pretty rare. I think they were developed for the Supercup series in Europe. I can use them on my cup car with centerlock hubs or on my 996. As you can see, the spokes are similar to your LMs.
Jim