BBS LM-4-Stud-10x18

BBS wheels come from Germany, America and Japan. They are a well known, well respected brand, that make good, solid, beautiful wheels for all sorts of cars. These are prestige wheels though, they are not cheap. A new set of BBS LM’s (Le-Mans) will set you back about £3,000 and that’s without tyres!

The “deep dish” look is very popular in the VW modding scene and these wheels soon grew on me. They are popular, yet clearly the price is prohibitive. Some people buy replica ones which although look nice still, aren’t really up to scratch, looks aren’t everything. After all, you get what you pay for, as they say. I had decided I didn’t want replica’s. It was either the real thing, or nothing at all. Then that magical place called ebay had a set on auction. Badly kerbed and corroded, they were “cheap”. I managed to win the bidding at £970, which yes, is a lot of money for wheels, but still a lot less than for a brand new set.

The first thing to mention is the standard wheels come “diamond” turned, which means they are very very shiny. However, in basic terms, its just the wheel, plus some lacquer, shined up to a nice finish. This means there is potential for the wheel to be easily damaged. If a stone hits the lip or through general wear and tear the lacquer is damaged, once water gets underneath, the lacquer will start to flake and corrode. The wheel itself can be saved by refurbishing. I can testify to that myself. A refurbishers local to me managed to do a very good job on the wheels, repairing the kerbing and stripping the wheels down to the alloy and repainting them with powder coat. This doesn’t give as nice a shine, but offers far more protection. Another point to note here is that 20 bolts keep the dish in place in each wheel. Because they are split rim the dish is removable. It is a unusual design, but adds strength and character to the wheel. These bolts however, have the potential to corrode over time. BBS will swear otherwise, but I have some to prove it. As a result, my shiny new wheels were let down by their worn out, corroded bolts. You cannot buy direct replacement bolts, which can be a problem. I wont bore you with the story, but I did finally manage to acquire some, from Germany. I chose to go for gold plated bolts, that are corrosion resistant. They sit perfectly in the recess of the dish and look pretty spiffing I think. The centre caps on the wheels are replaceable if they get warn, prices vary for those from around £40 to £80, depending on what sort you want. Its clear that nothing to do with these wheels is cheap.

The wheels themselves are very well made. They ooze quality and look amazing when polished and sealed. Deep dish is an unusual look generally. The average person (in my experience) barely knows what an Alloy wheel is, let alone a deep dish one. But these wheels speak for themselves. Wider than the average wheel, you will need wider tyres too, but it means more grip on the road and they aren’t actually much heavier. Mine are 18 inches big and 8.5 inches wide, but you can have a variety of different sizes depending on your car. The fitment for a Golf is 5x100,et35. These wheels can fit a variety of cars, so if you are thinking of buying, make sure you get the right size!

I’ve noticed my car handles the road a lot better since I put them on, I was already using 18” wheels before, but now somehow, the ride is smoother, cornering is better and the car looks brilliant. Well worth the £1,500 I spent (including tyres), but whether they are worth £3,000 depends on your wallet I guess.