18" BBS wheels?

Does anyone know who has the proper 18 x 10 BBS wheels for the Panoz fitment? I assume they are special to fit the hub / axles properly. Thanks.

Jim, have you tried calling the BBS wheel place up here in Braselton?

Jim, have you tried calling the BBS wheel place up here in Braselton?

Oh yeah, they are made there right? That would be too easy. :grinno: I'm kind of wondering whether there is a deal like there was with the 17" wheels at Tire Rack. I've seen two different models listed ("RX" and "RGR") and not sure which is correct - or whether it matters.

RX is the original 17's...call PAD they should have the best deal....

I would buy CCW 3-peice 18's (about 450 ea.). They are cheaper and replacment peices when you crash. I have had to buy 3 outer peices that would have ruined BBS wheel and it only cost a third of the original wheel price. Plus when we decided to increase your tire width we just ordered new wheel halves and could reuse the other peices... Much more flexible than a 1 peice wheel. They are not as strong but I have years of hard racing on them and they are great.

Yeah... I know you're right I'm just trying to be cheap. I really liked the CCW Classic wheels I had on my cobra. Craftsman quality for sure and they were light. That is a good point about changing widths. A main thing driving the decision is the availability of 18" used slicks (and lack of availability of 17" used tires). My initial thought was 18x10 all the way around with 285 slicks. Or I could go with an 18x11 with 305 slicks on all 4. I would need to determine whether 305s seem to be plentiful used. I'm trying to increase performance and avoid spending $250-$300 (or more) on a tire.

Jim, I know a guy here local that has a lot of 17" wheels and will sell them cheap. I was looking for some 18" wheels for my car and have seen the 17" and they are nice. I am wanting to put a wider slick on the back and I'm having a hard time finding the wheels that I think are worth the money. If you want, you can give me a call @ 770-598-6529 and I can get you in touch with the 17" wheels if that's what you want. My problem is that I can't justify the prices some of these people are asking for wheels.

I bought a set of 18" wheels for my series car from BBS last year. They built a wheel specifically for Panoz and they had some left, but they are not cheap. I think they are $500+ each. After having bent a wheel at my last event the ccw wheels sound pretty good.

I bought a set of 18" wheels for my series car from BBS last year. They built a wheel specifically for Panoz and they had some left, but they are not cheap. I think they are $500+ each. After having bent a wheel at my last event the ccw wheels sound pretty good.

Thanks for the info. If I go the custom route that makes CCW a no brainer. There are a few mustang knockoff wheels that would fit the bill for a fraction of the price.

Here is one that would work. The small catch is that you have to machine the center to make it fit on the rear axles. That's not a big deal as a friend with a Panoz did it to a set of FR500 knockoffs.


http://www.latemodelrestoration.com/WheelPit?keyword=sve

http://www.latemodelrestoration.com/Content/Images/ProductImages/Large/sve-1007AAA.jpg

Jim, I know a guy here local that has a lot of 17" wheels and will sell them cheap. I was looking for some 18" wheels for my car and have seen the 17" and they are nice. I am wanting to put a wider slick on the back and I'm having a hard time finding the wheels that I think are worth the money. If you want, you can give me a call @ 770-598-6529 and I can get you in touch with the 17" wheels if that's what you want. My problem is that I can't justify the prices some of these people are asking for wheels.

Thanks a lot but I think I am going the 18" route due to used tire availability. I'm curious though, what brand are those 17" wheels?

Thanks for the info. If I go the custom route that makes CCW a no brainer. There are a few mustang knockoff wheels that would fit the bill for a fraction of the price.

Here is one that would work. The small catch is that you have to machine the center to make it fit on the rear axles. That's not a big deal as a friend with a Panoz did it to a set of FR500 knockoffs.


http://www.latemodelrestoration.com/WheelPit?keyword=sve

http://www.latemodelrestoration.com/Content/Images/ProductImages/Large/sve-1007AAA.jpg


Thats what I did... all you need is a 2-3/4" hole saw and a drill press. the rest of t he hub will center the rim so its not a problem getting it perfect

Jim, the wheels I know about is BBS.

Jim, the wheels I know about is BBS.

Oh, gotcha. If you hear about any of those in the 18" variety let me know. Thanks.

Thats what I did... all you need is a 2-3/4" hole saw and a drill press. the rest of t he hub will center the rim so its not a problem getting it perfect


Ok so let me make sure I understand.

If you get those 18x10 wheels, the only thing you should need to do is machine the center hole to 2 3/4". I assume this is to get the wheel overy the center hub thing? I don't know but 18x10 wheels for 155.00 is pretty dang good.

Jim,
I had mine done on a CNC machine and made a mistake one set of holes is larger by a few mm I think its the rear.

if you buy a 94-04 stang wheel the hub fits, except for the the last 1/2" where the center caps go....

The hub is slightly larger than a 2-3/4" hole saw, you can widen it out and then fine tune it with a dremel or sand paper. Easy!

Ok so let me make sure I understand.

If you get those 18x10 wheels, the only thing you should need to do is machine the center hole to 2 3/4". I assume this is to get the wheel overy the center hub thing? I don't know but 18x10 wheels for 155.00 is pretty dang good.


If you look at the mounting pad of the wheel you'll see a groove machined into the hub hole opening. I think the main reason for that is so it fits over the raised lip on the rear axle. The front spacers have that same raised lip to fit into that same groove so the wheels can go on either corner of the car. If you take the front spacer off, mustang wheels will seat down fine onto the front hubs; however, they may be tucked in a smidge too far (because you took the spacer off). A small spacer cures that. I have a set of 17" Mustang "Pony R" replica wheels that I bought for my mustang. 17x9 and 17x10. Size wise, they will fit without a problem. I will be in the garage this weekend and will take a picture so you can see.

If you measure the backspace on the BBS wheel and compare it to the mustang replica wheels you'll see. By the way, you want the '96 to '04 wheels - I think they are 22mm and 24mm offset depending on 9" or 10" width. That's talking about the 18" wheel. The 17" wheels come in a 10.5" width usually.

Also the factory five wheels with the "upgraded hubs" work well also.

If you measure the backspace on the BBS wheel and compare it to the mustang replica wheels you'll see. By the way, you want the '96 to '04 wheels - I think they are 22mm and 24mm offset depending on 9" or 10" width. That's talking about the 18" wheel. The 17" wheels come in a 10.5" width usually.


The wheel picture/link from above have 22mm offset on the 18x10s. Is that going to be a problem? Would the spacer have to come off the front? Should I have all the wheels machined? I would like to not have to worry about is this a front rim or a back rim.

All wheels are not created equal. Cheap reproduction wheels are not as light or strong as good racing wheels (BBS or CCW). There is a major strenght difference in a cast wheel vs a forged racing wheel. I would not put super sticky race tires on a cheap repro wheel and drive 10/10ths into turn 1 at Sebring.

Of course, I'm a chicken and at the speeds you drive you probably don't have anything to worry about.:nutkick:

All wheels are not created equal. Cheap reproduction wheels are not as light or strong as good racing wheels (BBS or CCW). There is a major strenght difference in a cast wheel vs a forged racing wheel. I would not put super sticky race tires on a cheap repro wheel and drive 10/10ths into turn 1 at Sebring.

Of course, I'm a chicken and at the speeds you drive you probably don't have anything to worry about.:nutkick:

Good point. If I recall the only time you passed me at RA was when I went into the pits...nevermind the fact I was practicing drifting into 10b:loser:.

The wheel picture/link from above have 22mm offset on the 18x10s. Is that going to be a problem? Would the spacer have to come off the front? Should I have all the wheels machined? I would like to not have to worry about is this a front rim or a back rim.

I think if you go 18x10 all the way around you won't need to run a front spacer. That's because the extra width goes on the inside and the outside of the wheel. By my measurements that 18x10 wheel has a BS of 6.37" and that seems to be confirmed by measurements of other 10" wheels in 22mm offset on their site. A 10" wheel is actually about 11" wide in total width. The stated width of the wheel is a measurement from bead to bead, not edge to edge. However, the backspace is a measurement from mounting pad all the way to the edge. Offset is a measurement in relation to the centerline of the wheel. It tells you how far in or out from the centerline of the wheel the mounting pad is. "Zero" offset means the pad is in the middle. That stated 10" wide wheel with 22mm offset adds about .6" to the outside and about .4" to the inside. When you take the spacer out of the equation, the .6" in outside wheel width should make up for it.

Here's how you figure it:

For a "10 inch" wide wheel it is 11 inches in total width. A "9 inch" wheel is 10 inches in total width.

25.4mm = 1 inch

18x10 wheel, 22mm offset
11 inches width = 279.4mm
279.4mm/2 = 139.7mm
139.7mm + 22mm(offset) = 161.7mm
161.7/25.4 = 6.37" backspace

If you go 18x9 on the front I think you will want a front spacer because if you eliminate it you'll pull the wheel in. If you want to put them on each corner then you will need to machine all 4. If you don't have machinist friend handy any machine shop can do this. I would just take the spacer in with you and tell them you need to make it fit into the wheel.

All wheels are not created equal. Cheap reproduction wheels are not as light or strong as good racing wheels (BBS or CCW). There is a major strenght difference in a cast wheel vs a forged racing wheel. I would not put super sticky race tires on a cheap repro wheel and drive 10/10ths into turn 1 at Sebring.

Of course, I'm a chicken and at the speeds you drive you probably don't have anything to worry about.:nutkick:

:jerking: :thefinger

A main thing driving the decision is the availability of 18" used slicks (and lack of availability of 17" used tires). .

Jim, Where do you source your used 18" slicks from?

What size slicks would you run on the 18x10 wheels?

Hey Tom, I haven't bought any yet but am waiting on some to show up with John Berget. No experience with any of the people that sell them but he's been very helpful so far. I think the size for the Pirellis is 285/645-18 on a 10" wheel.

jbracingtires.net

Hey Tom, I haven't bought any yet but am waiting on some to show up with John Berget. No experience with any of the people that sell them but he's been very helpful so far. I think the size for the Pirellis is 285/645-18 on a 10" wheel.

jbracingtires.net

That's who i buy my scrubs from as well, also check http://philstireservice.com

Both are great to deal with...just dont go buyong up all my tires!

Don't worry, I'll only use a few!

also check www.johnbtires.com for used race tires. they have alot of hoosier and toyo inventory