It's winter, so with nothing better to do but study for school , I figured I would try something new with my stock R90s (not sure if anyones done this yet). Since I have s-lites as winter wheels, My r90s have been laying around without tires in my basement.
I borrowed a triple square socket to remove the bolts (female 12 point 8mm).

As the stock barrels are clearcoated, I had to get it off somehow. After trying paint stripper (to avoid scratches), I discovered that this method was too messy and not that good at removing the clear. Sanded the clear off with 320 grit sandpaper (wet), and then wetsanded with 1200 to level out the 320 scratchmarks. They're a bit rough, since I only used mothers mag polish with my buffer to brighten them up. They could use a better rubbing compound first, and would shine like chrome.
This is how they are now, with bad cameraphone pictures (will update soon)


They are brighter than stock, and I don't plan on spraying clear over them. If I get this wheel really nice, I am going to finish all four for a look.

 

that looks good.

did you have any problems getting the face of the wheel off the barrel?

 

No. Theres nothing between the barrel and the tire, so BBS did not silicone it for sealing purposes, if that answers your question .

 

dude, looks great. why not sand with 1500 or even 2000 the buff out?? will that give you smoother results??

 

I will be waiting to see how this turns out! Best of luck. Also, any idea where one would get an extra barrel?

 

Nice!!! Post some btter pics when you get a chance....check out the wheel forum might wanna post it there.

Jack

 

A little better quality

 

I am guessing (probably right) that the webspoke R98? is the same barrel as the R90, or any other Mini BBS two - piece rim for that matter. I would say that any junkyard with one of these Mini 2 piece rims would be compatible.

 

I also have a MC40 BTW....

Jack

 

I had contacted BBS before about torque specs - I posted them in a thread where someone painted R98's. I recall it was 26 ft/lb (don't quote me on it...search and you'll find the info). I'd also you a dab of Loctite Blue for peace of mind.

 

I was just planning to go with whatever the spec is on bbs rs's, since my friends rebuilding them for his vw. There wasn't any threadlock on the bolts, and the tires probably dampen alot of vibration, so I am going to do without the loctite.

 

your choice. keep in mind, BBS says they are one time use bolts.

 

That is, if they are torque to yield from BBS, which is doubtful.

 

both OZ and BBS recommend new hardware, as the initial installation stretches the bolts. the VW guys seem to reuse stuff all the time, so who knows for sure. Not me, just putting the info out there from my own calls to BBS

 

Those are looking very nice. I can't wait to see them on the car.

 

same here, i have a set of r90's lying around and i don't know what to do with them... but i think i found an idea

 

i love the R90 cross spokes. sharpest factory rims ever!!!

 

I took apart my other three wheels. Sanding them got to suck real fast, so I stripped them with a spray paint stripper from autozone for $1.99. It takes off alot of clear in spotty sections, without scratching the metal. Using a wire brush I removed what was easily loosened. Everything else that didn't come off with the brush, I sanded with 320, then 1200.
Before:

After:

(lighting in the after picture is poor and does not show much of a difference. Will have pics of all the wheels done later, plus a side by side comparison.

 

Polished the wheels again on a polishing machine similar to a bench grinder, with a two step process. They look good and I mounted tires on them today. I wont have them on until the roads are cleared of salt and the threat of crappy weather is gone. Maybe 2-3 weeks from now. I bought Yokohama parada spec II's, 205/45R17, and they compliment the new wheel look very nice. I am just waiting for the nice weather to give my car a good detail and to get these mounted for summer driving and the track events that can't come soon enough.

 

I retouched one of your photos for more accurate color. Hope you don't mind:

 

Not at all. Thanks!

 

I agree with this...having worked on numerous multi-piece BBS refurbishing and communicated with BBS officials as well as the companies that make the hardware....they all recommend new hardware if you are taking the wheels apart.

You're also gonna want to find out the real torque specs rather than relying on the RS specs. The torque specs vary a great deal between wheels. The RS's torque higher than the RM's since the RM's are two piece like the r90's.

 

Damn the r90's look good

 

Any more progress?

 

Any updates on finding torque specs for these wheels either? Where would you even get new bolts for the two piece wheels if you wanted them?