Greetings all. I've read with great interest the threads regarding the pros & cons of aftermarket wheels and am familar with the appearance of many of them. My personal preference is the "forked" style. A number of forum members are very satisfied with CCW, but I've never seen anyone mention BBS which makes a C5 (2) pc. wheel called the LM (Le Mans) that is sold with the pressure sensors included . Most of the C5R pictures I've seen show them sporting "forked" style BBS wheels with the BBS logo on the lower front fender just ahead of the wheels. They also supply a lot of Formula 1 teams with a similar design. So here are my questions - how come they never get any mention on this forum ? Does anyone have them and if so what's your opinion. I realize that the price difference is substantial ..about $1,100 more for BBS compared to the CCW but they are probably in line with HRE, Fiske, etc. Also how much should I expect to pay for having a shop remove my Goodyear EMTs and put them on a new set of rims and balance. ( I know, most of my fellow Vetters hate the runflats, but they only have 9,100 miles & I'm too cheap !!) Great to finally be on this forum !!

 

BBS LM not in same league as HRE or FIKSE wheels. $100-150 to transfer your runflat, choose your shop carefully. Tip : use masking tape around the rim during transfer of tire, save a lot of heartache.

 

There's a set for sale here:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=239466

 

Cricket has them on his convertible and he really likes them.

Welcome to the Forum!! :crazy: :yesnod: :blueangel: :hat

vetterdstr :cheers:

 

Thanks boblackhardtop. What do you mean when you say that BBS is not in the same leauge as Fiske & HRE ? Is it the style or quality. If it's the quality please be specific if you are aware of any quality problems BBS has. I'm pretty technical so don't sugarcoat it. Heck, you would think that if the C5Rs use them at Le Mans and other tracks they must be pretty good. I know it's probably custom made for C5R bit they also are being used on Porshe 911s. I really like the CCW for $1,900 but not crazy about how shiny they are.

ANYBODY OUT THERE THAT ACTUALLY HAS THEM ?

 

Are the BBS available in the custom larger fitments, ie: 11.5" x 18 ??
The chromed version is nice. Saw them on a new Porsche Turbo this morning.

 

I've got the BBS LM wheels on my car. I love the way they look :cool:
I've gotten many compliments on them

The only problem I've had in 2 winters and 50,000 miles is that the clear coat started to chip off on the outer edge of the rim.The centers still look good.

This was under warranty, but BBS warranty policy is that you have to dismount the tires and ship them to GA. for repairs :mad Since my car is a daily driver this is not very practical for me so I will get them stripped and polished locally with no clearcoat this time.

Other than that no problems.

Bob

 

I don't think there is anything wrong with the BBS rims and they are very nice. I think they aren't that popular anymore because they are one of the first rims available for the C5. Also they are only available in stock sizes and finally most members either buy cheaper rims or pony up the big bucks for the HRE's or Fikse's.

 

I've got them on my car a love 'em!


I'm curious too as to why they're not in the same league as some others. I can't imagine they're priced at over $5000 for the wheels and tires and run on the C5R because they don't stack up to the HRE's or Fikses. What makes you say this?

 

Well, the $5000 figure I saw was at the Tirerack and that included tires too. I guess that may have been an older issue of MotorTrend that I saw the ad in. That set the guy has in the above link is a great deal at $2200.

 

I'm referring to the LM in particular. I almost bought a set, like them a lot, but thought them awefully hard to clean. BBS makes many diff. line of wheels w/ respect to quality, performance & aesthetic. The LM is by no mean the top of the line, it's somewhere in the middle as far as quality & value/pricing. BTW BBS has an upgraded version of the LM w/ mag. spoke (pewter in color) & forged aluminun outer rim. Sweet looking, that one will compare more favorably w/ HRE or FIKSE & it's priced accordingly, about $5000 for the set. :) Just the rims, no rubber.
As far as pricing I've seen new set in shops on the net for as low as $2300. Used set in as new condition go for about $1500.


[Modified by boblackhardtop, 4:53 AM 2/27/2002]

 

I got my BBS from Nate. They showed up exactly as described. Good guy to do business with :cheers:

 

Also got my BBS from Nate. Love the look,but as a daily driver, I have picked up a good many nicks on the rims, a problem i did not have on previous BBS (on Acuras). Still think they are the best looking of the aftermarket wheels

 

I need some! I think they look awesome and was all set to get some but my "deal" fell through.

 

I've had the BBS LM on my C5 since day one. For some reason, the dealer wanted to make this C5 his flagship model on his lot. HE added the BBS wheels and a few other goodies...and of course, added the "dealer add-on" price sticker as well. I think the wheels are great. If I remember correctly, back in 1999 only BBS and maybe one other had aftermarket wheels for the C5..with the sensors and all.

On the price, I don't have a clue. My dealer had a sticker of $4,995 add-on (ha ha ha) and I told him that I hoped he really loved that car because nobody would buy it! Also, I just put new tires on about one month ago. Here in my area of Virginia, I checked with four or five shops and they were all consistent...their charge was $200 to mount and balance.

Hope this helps you...
Good luck. I have some recent close up pics of the wheels/tires. Will post them later from my home computer. :cheers:

 

Thanks everyone for all your comments. I was pretty well sold on the BBS but I wanted to check with other Forum members before I made the plunge. I ended up getting a set from Nate at Extreme.

Anyone in the metro Detroit area know of a good shop to mount my Goodyear EMTs to the BBS ?

 

Heikar, see Mile Gibbons at Discount Tire on Hall Rd. and Tilch. Great equipment and hi-tech high speed balancing. Would like to see your car when mounted. I like the BBS RXII's, though I can't find supplier for application. JR

 

Sorry, missed typed. Mike Gibbons.

 

Although I don't sell them anymore, I couldn't resist replying to this post. The first set of BBS LM design wheels imported into the U.S. were on my '98 coupe, which sadly, I do not own anymore. This picture was shot at a studio here in Atlanta in November of '97 for the introduction of the wheel:



The wheels you see are the only two on the car at the time, they were the actual prototypes. The first set was flown into the country in March of '98 and were on my car at the first C5 Birthday Bash at the NCM. :cool: The LM design wheel is a two piece wheel with a forged center and roll-forged outer rim, the fasteners used to hold the assembly together are titanium.

A little known fact about the cross spoke design wheel made famous by BBS is that the design was developed in the early 70's for use on Jim Hall's Chapparel Can-Am race cars. At the time, BBS was primarily a manufacturer of aereodynamics, they adopted the design when they started building their first 3 piece racing wheels.

I can't recall the other two names, but one of the names on the original patent drawings of the cross spoke design was a name most, if not all, of you will recognize; Larry Shinoda.

The LM design is in fact one of BBS's highest quality wheels, it is by no means the "middle of the road" in their product line. Unfortunately, the wheel I think is their best looking and most technologically advanced is not available for the C5, the RC design. Another thing you may or may not know is that all of the LM design applications are built at BBS in Japan, not Germany. All of their forged road wheels are, except for the actual race wheels which are forged magnesium and built in Germany.

Sorry this was so long winded, hope some of you find it interesting!

Rob

PS- That's a great picture of your car Quicksilver97!



[Modified by CruiseControl, 1:35 AM 3/3/2002]

 

Thanks for the interesting thread CruiseControl! Thanks for the compliment too! :)