Deep Dish

 

pic courtesy of Stephan735i

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Simple

Less is more

E36 (don’t think it’s an M3 based on the mirrors), heavy drop and classic BBS. Done and done

Tucked In

sitting low!

Simple and Clean

Doesn’t take more than a drop and some BBS’

More Modern Vintage

Additional pics and specs on the car

Engine bay:
ARC Air Chamber
Apexi Air Filter & heat shield
HKS Header
HKS Drager SS Exhaust

Suspension:
Zeal Coilovers 12k 16k,
Mazda Speed Strut bar
Flyin miata sway bars

Wheels:
Black BBS RM 15×8.5 and 15×9.5

Exterior:
PitCrew Front conversion,
Garage Vary rear Classic Tail
Rear R lip
Project-G Roof Spoiler
Classic Carriers trunk rack
JDM Chrome mirrors

Interior:
Nardi Steering wheel,
Cs Short Shifter
Racing Beat Style Bar

Have Case, Will Travel

Even the packaging for the BBS Lugs is official….

Expensive? Yes, but you’re in exclusive company. Not many lugnuts come with luggage

You’ve Got to Coooooordinate!!!!

If you are looking for a classy way to dress up your BBS wheels, and keep them safe at the same time, check out these locking lugs from BBS. These are made exclusively for BBS by McGard, one of the best lugs in the business! No soft aluminum here, these are steel with steel threads, so they won’t strip or wear out and the color won’t fade. What’s more, the seat of each lug rotates freely 365 degrees, so when you’re torquing it down, it will not scratch the inner seat area of the wheel. Set includes 20 lugs, available in red or black, with the key. Available in 12×1.25 or 12×1.5 Priced at $250 for the set in red and $450 for the limited black. Contact us at z1sales@z1auto.com to order yours!

What’s in a Wheel?

We get this question all the time, and figured this would be a good opportunity to shed some light on what goes into making an aftermarket wheel. Most tend to think a wheel falls into 2 categories – forged and cast. While this is generally true, there are variations that make a very big impact in the finished product.

At the bottom of the pyramid you have Gravity Cast wheels. This is a fairly simple production technique whereby molten aluminum is literally poured into a mold. Because of the simple process, the mold can be quite complex and intricate. This affords the manufacturer a wider range of styles to play with, and offers the greatest flexibility of design. The downside of course is the technique itself. Since you’re relying on plain old gravity to fill the mold, it’s not perfect. The net result is a wheel that has more empty space between the molecules vs. more involved manufacturing processes. They also tend to be on the heavier side of things, as the goal is style in design vs all out strength. The upside is the price for these wheels can be downright cheap. But so can the quality. Often times, the wheels are made in plants of dubious quality, and attention to detail is sometimes shoddy. You can tell the el cheapo stuff by casting flash on the backside of the spokes and hub.

Next up you’ve got Pressure Cast Wheels. As the name implies, this technique relies on external pressure to fill the mold. As you can probably guess, the result is a wheel where there is far less empty space between the molecules. This method is a bit more limiting in overall style, but the strength to weight ratio is much higher compared to plain gravity cast wheels. This is the most common method used by the larger OEM manufacturers, because it affords them a good compromise between design and strength. Within the Pressure Cast family you have both higher pressure and low pressure. Differences are as stated – the amount of pressure exerted on the aluminun in the mold.

The next technique is relatively new compared to the above, and is employed by several manufacturers such as SSR, Enkei, etc. It’s called Flow Forming, or Spun Form, Hybrid Forged, etc. This process employs a pressure cast technique at first, to achieve a general shape. Rollers are then used to literally pull, or press, the material to shape the final design. Many high end OEM manufacturers use this technique on their wheels. While it’s still technically a casting technique, the process allows a wheel to be incredibly strong (since the molecules are very densely packed), and light weight at the same time. While the production costs are the highest among the cast methods, it still allows the wheel to be about 50% less costly than a forged variant. SSR Type F, Type C RS, several designs from Weds and BBS and several in Enkei’s Racing series employ this technique. Enkei has licensed the process to several other traditional cast manufacturers such as Konig and AME over the years as well.

The pinnacle of the wheel production pyramid is of course forging. In this process, a single, billet hunk of aluminum is literally stamped into a design using very high pressure applied to a die. Because of the costs involved from the raw materials, to the production equipment, these are far and away the most expensive types of wheels. However, they also tend to have the best weight to strength ratio. The designs are often quite limited because of the cost to produces the dies. These tend to be simpler overall designs (aka Volk TE37, BBS LM and LMR, etc.).

From there you get into a variety of materials. Aluminum and Magnesium are the most often used metals. In recent years, we’ve also seen hybrids employing both carbon and aluminum bonded together. The cost of these more exotic materials is high, but it’s done in the pursuit of the lightest weight, and highest level of strength.

When you begin to examine the above in greater detail, you also begin to see that the process is only part of the equation. There are bad quality cast wheels and good quality cast wheels. There are wheels who’s designs are based on a forging model, that are replicated in cast models. There are wheels who’s design is based upon a low or high pressure, or spun technique, and some company turns around and does a low pressure cast version. From the outside, it all looks the same. The price is certainly more attractive. Sometimes it works well, sometimes it doesn’t. This is why the better cast manufacturers don’t replicate every wheel under the sun – because they know it’s an accident waiting to happen. Another important consideration is who is making the wheel in the first place. Some firms own their own factories, some simply come up with a design and broker manufacturing out to the lowest bidder. The problem is the consumer never sees this side of the market, they only see the finished product. When it arrives to you new in the box, it can look all shiny and pretty. Turn the wheel over and examine the spokes, and you can begin to see the origins, and the quality of the wheel. The better quality wheels tend to be finished in very great detail even on the backside, and no casting flaws can be seen, and no extra flashing. The cheap stuff looks…well, cheap.

Hopefully that helps shed some light on what some differences are between the various wheel manufacturing techniques.

Risi Competizione F430 GT in the Nude

Lol at the thought of driving something that looks this aggressive and badass on public streets. Talk about road presence.

New BBS CH-R

BBS CH-R on an Audi S5

Audi and BMW fitments below:

BMW Applications

Audi Applications

BBS CH-R on an Audi S5

The perfect car in the perfect color on the most perfect set of wheels with a perfect stance…

I ran across these pictures on m3post.com courtesy of “m3V8.” What a beautiful car, I’m in love…

White R34…

I just really really love the way this car looks. I know my post title is lame but whatever, I’m tired and hungry.

Phoenix Power Z34

I actually like this body kit from Branew that they fitted on this car. The gay pride sticker on the side has to go though as it throws the car off.

BBS LMs are like…

… Sweet Baby Rays Barbecue sauce; no matter what you put them on it just makes it THAT MUCH BETTER!

Yeah thats right! I’m black and I made a reference to BBQ sauce, so what? 🙂

Turn My Swag On…

Yeaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…………..

Audi TT meet BBS LM