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I have a set of the two piece BBS 17” wheels and the inners are very nice but the wheel itself the clear coat is coming off. I bought the spline tool to remove the bolts so when I remove the bolts does the center wheel just come off?
I think the centers just come off from the barrel, although they might stick due to corrosion. However, the bolts are supposed to be one-time use and BBS doesn’t sell replacements. The biggest issue is they are prone to breaking when removing which is a problem when replacements are impossible to get. There are a lot of threads were people re-used the bolts or found other bolts that fit, but I’m not sure how safe that is.
I think the centers just come off from the barrel, although they might stick due to corrosion. However, the bolts are supposed to be one-time use and BBS doesn’t sell replacements. The biggest issue is they are prone to breaking when removing which is a problem when replacements are impossible to get. There are a lot of threads were people re-used the bolts or found other bolts that fit, but I’m not sure how safe that is.
oh crap I didn’t know the bolts were a one time use. I guess I could refinish without removing the center but the inside of the barrel is bad with clear coat coming off. How could I remove the clear off the front without disturbing the center?
There are a number of companies that will refinish your wheels. I have the same wheels on my MC40 and had the rims machined and the centers painted -- $135 ea. -- and they turned out great.
The machine screws are Titanium with mid strength LocTite type product holding them.
Better galvanic corrosion resistance than say plated steel or even A4/316 stainless... and lighter to reduce rotating mass.. though these wheels are pretty heavy to start with
I can see why they say only one time use... but many have done this and reused them.
I had best luck by soaking the rim split and the fasteners with penetrating oil.... and using a hand 'hammer-strike" type of impact driver to 'shock' them loose... then I used a normal socket wrench and followed up with a small, low-torque cordless impact gun to get them out...Tedious YES... but ZERO broken fasteners and no stripped holes.... I soaked the screws in a cup of acetone for a couple of days... and the thread compound fell off... and gave me a chance to inspect them well... cleaned them up with a nylon bristle wheel in my bench grinder... I don't suggest aggressive cleaning nor using a die on the threads to 'chase the threads' ... I did however chase the threads in the aluminum.
After that... I used a good magnifier hood to visually inspect the screws... and saw no 'trouble spots'... though often fastener issue can't bee seen by 'eyeballing'
As an alternative.. you could go with a good stainless fastener with a small head like the ARP's which are a super high spec screw... but would also be expensive and weigh a bit more.
The wheels came apart easily... I marked them all so that the same faces went back on the same barrels.
Used a good urethane paint in Aston Martin "Arizona Bronze" color and a really high end clear coat that my buddy sprayed in his booth.
I did the polish lips as that was something that I could DIY... but the next set... I'm looking for a good shop that machine them... they look the best that way.
I'm not a fan of powdercoating high tech alloys like wheels... as I've seen many instances where the heat treat is changed from temps over 380˚ used in some ovens (AKA, 'over-aging") but many a wheel has been powder coated. Just make sure that the powder coater uses a low temp powder... Isn't doing many cycles or soak times... DEFINATELY NOT 'burning' them clean at high temps to prep them.... AND... Not coating your wheels with a bunch of steel fence posts for the local fabricator in the same batch... and you probably will be OK.
