BBS Wheels & Rims

Custom wheels are typically purchased for two reasons, appearance and performance. There are many brands offering wheels that are ideal for enhancing visual appeal, but if you’re serious about improving your car’s handling and responsiveness, and want wheels made by a company that is steeped in performance, you only have a handful of choices. Only a few wheel manufacturers have cut their teeth building wheels exclusively for racing, and BBS® is foremost among them. BBS® built their first racing wheels over 40 years ago, and they engineered and developed only racing wheels for many years before producing wheels for road cars. BBS® has succeeded at the highest echelons of motorsport, with over 250 championships in Formula 1, World Rally Car, Prototypes, Touring Cars, and more. The company’s motto is “Technology through Motorsports” - the know-how gained through racing experience goes into the design and technology used to build every BBS® aftermarket wheel.

In 1970, Heinrich Baumgartner and Klaus Brand, amateur racers from Schiltach, Germany, were looking for ways to shed weight from their race car so they could go faster. To that end they founded BBS® to produce lightweight fiberglass body panels. Subsequently the decision was made to concentrate on reducing unsprung weight, the weight of the wheels, tires, brakes and part of the suspension mass, because while less weight is better for performance in general, fewer unsprung pounds also allows the suspension to work better. And if the wheels in particular are made lighter, rotational mass is also reduced, enabling the vehicle to accelerate faster and brake harder. In 1972, the company created a ground-breaking lightweight wheel of 3-piece design, which quickly became popular with racing teams, including factory level programs at companies like BMW.

That 3-piece wheel was the forebear of the legendary RS, a forged 3-piece road wheel that was introduced by BBS® in 1983. These iconic wheels, with their cross-spoke design forged aluminum center sections finished in gold or silver, were the rims to have for many years and they were even offered as optional equipment by many vehicle manufacturers. They’re possibly the most famous forged wheels ever made, and proof that with BBS®, performance and stunning appearance go hand-in-hand. It was also in 1983 that BBS® opened their North American Headquarters and sales and distribution facility in Braselton, Georgia, and a manufacturing facility in Takaoka City, Japan. But even though BBS® had firmly established itself as a preeminent road wheel manufacturer during the 1980s, the company still focused primarily on motorsports, developing the first forged magnesium wheels for Formula 1 in 1992, and for Indy Car Racing in 1994.

Although lighter weight was the goal with those first racing wheels in 1972, BBS® knew from the beginning that the need for lightness had to be balanced with the strength and rigidity required for durability, especially under the rigors of competition. This uncompromising philosophy continues today. Although light weight is always desirable for performance, strength and durability are never sacrificed, regardless of whether the wheel is cast, cast flow-formed or forged. All BBS® wheels are made using strict process controls and they conform to all safety standards. Finite element analysis computer simulation is used to optimize wheel construction and test the design to identify any potential weak points. Once a new design is manufactured, it undergoes physical testing. The dynamic cornering fatigue test simulates side loads on the wheel during cornering and the bi-axial fatigue test simulates cornering loads and braking and acceleration forces. BBS® wheel testing goes far beyond minimal standard testing requirements. For example, the dynamic cornering fatigue test is run at 2 million cycles instead of the standard 200,000 cycles.

BBS® offers road wheels in 3 types of construction and 2 kinds of racing wheels. The Design Line is the company’s range of 1-piece low pressure cast road wheels. These wheels are produced using a premium quality casting blank to ensure perfect appearance, long-lasting durability, and the optimal stiffness-to-weight ratio. The Performance Line of 1-piece and 2-piece road wheels are created using BBS®’ flow-forming process. While flow-forming is considered the latest in technology by some wheel makers, it’s been an established production technique at BBS® for over 20 years. In the flow-forming process, the wheel rotates while 3 hydraulic rollers exert great pressure at a high temperature to form the inner rim part of the wheel. This process changes the mechanical properties and grain structure of the cast rim, giving it strength and stiffness close to that of a forged wheel. BBS® flow-formed aluminum wheels are so strong they’ve been used by several factory racing teams.

For ultimate performance in a road wheel, you can’t do better than the BBS® Forged Line. The construction of these 1-piece and 2-piece wheels starts with a 6000 series aluminum billet or special magnesium alloy, which is then die-forged using up to 18 million pounds of pressure. BBS® forged wheels are of lightweight construction, yet very strong, with optimized stiffness-to-weight ratio. To further lighten select flow-formed and forged wheels, BBS® mills the spokes using multi-axis CNC milling machines. This process was first used on BBS® Formula 1 wheels, and computer simulation and destructive testing is performed to ensure machining does not compromise strength. Some BBS® wheels are equipped with a patented, polished stainless steel rim protector. If you should curb a wheel or otherwise damage the protector, it can be easily replaced, saving the expense of replacing the entire wheel.

Of course, motorsports is the driving force at BBS®, and the company builds championship winning racing wheels for just about all levels of motorized competition. Mono-bloc wheels of various construction, in 15”, 18”, 19”, and 20” diameters, are available including single or double spun forged magnesium or forged aluminum and cast flow-formed aluminum configurations. Forged mono-bloc wheels can be had with bent or straight spoke designs, and back milling is optional. 3-piece racing wheels in 13”, 15”, 16”, 18”, and 19” diameters have cast magnesium or aluminum centers, which can be combined with rim halves sized in ½” increments, to create many different combinations, including wheels for competition models like the Porsche GT-3. The wheels are assembled using the BBS® gasket system, which also enables easy repair in the field.