E36 Saloon

[Digitalwave]

I took mine apart to remove the lip protectors since mine were all trashed. That's why I painted the lips copper.

[googone20]

The trim rings are like $250 a wheels from BBS, so I decided to just removal all of them and polish the actual lips on the rims. It is taking some serious time but they will look great when done. If my car was white or something light colored I would have just powdercoated everything. I like the polished lip to break up all the black on my car.

[scaredofstance]

^ BBS wont even sell it to you. i already called them, that $250 is what they charge when you send them the rim, + return shipping.

[googone20]

Wow, so now they no longer even sell those!! These rims are becoming super rare and very hard to replace parts on. I had 7 rims at one time but sold a couple off. I did make sure I held on to one spare just in case something happened.

[scaredofstance]

Wow, so now they no longer even sell those!! These rims are becoming super rare and very hard to replace parts on. I had 7 rims at one time but sold a couple off. I did make sure I held on to one spare just in case something happened.

well the guy i spoke to, said they stopped selling the replacement lips decades ago, for liability reasons, but said if i send it it, they'll pull em apart, replace the lip and refresh the wheel and check for roundness and re-balance, all for the $250 + return ship.

im scared to pull mine apart, never done such a thing, and i cant seem to find a set method, or a solid method that wont ruin the bolt, then replacing them with what, since the guy i spoke to at BBS said all the bolt u see for sale on the net are fakes, or felt overs as BBS wont sell bolts to anyone anymore either.


i dont knwo if hes full of it about the bolts, but the RS II set i have are my 1st set of BBSs and ive hunted too long too hard for them, im scared to fuk em up, so i think im gonna send mine to them one of these days. once i get a M3 theyre going on that bitch too as ive never seen them on one.

[EThirtySicks]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that MK Motorsports Type 2s use the same lip protector thing as the RSII.



Not like that's the most common wheel, either

[scaredofstance]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that MK Motorsports Type 2s use the same lip protector thing as the RSII.



Not like that's the most common wheel, either

exactly the same protector and valves.. probably even the bolts too. i think BBS made those for them. way too much shared technology, form their pride and joy 25th anniversary wheels.

[googone20]

What do you mean about ruined bolts? I have pulled mine apart twice and not one bolt has had any damage or stretching. Wouldn't you much rather have the actual lips polished instead of screwing around with those crappy aluminum rings. I simply took a flat head and got right underneath the rings and pulled them all off. They are only held on with some silicone glue. That last picture is of my rim with no lip protector after I got done sanding it. With some compound they will be like mirrors.

[scaredofstance]

its a stainless steel lip? or atleast the exterior side is, i can see the rust on 1 of mine where its slightly chewed up.
I love the look of the lip protector, id never get rid of it

im scared to fux with the bolts because ive heard of some people not being as lucky as yuh and stripping them, and in a few cases the heads snapped off.

[googone20]

You have to use the proper bit to remove them. You can get a set at any auto parts store. They are 10 point bit that fits in a 13mm socket. I haven't had any issues with the right tools. If you don't use the right bit I can see where guys could jack these up pretty bad. I will go take a picture of the bit I use right now.

[scaredofstance]

cool. how much do you re-torque them to?
do you clean off the thread before re using, or do you use new bolt every time?

im also concerned that if i take them off, i may have trouble fixing the lip properly, to where its even worth taking them apart.

[googone20]

Looks like this is a 12 point M8 bit. Says right on it. I know pics aren't the best it was spur of the moment.




I just cleaned the bolts up. My bolts look brand new when I clean them. They are really beefy bolts compared to some other multi-piece rims I have seen. When you replace them put a healthy dab of blue Locktite in each hole. This will make sure that the bolts don't loosen up on you. I think I torqued them to 22ft/lbs which is OEM spec. You will want to tighten them in a crisscross pattern so that you get the face to seat properly. The lips protectors actually do a great job of protecting the rims. I bet when you get the trim off the is zero rash on the lips. It just takes a lot of elbow grease to get them super shiny. Look up some techniques online to put together a good approach.

[Digitalwave]

The proper bit for removing the bolts is called a triple square bit. I forget the size of the triple square but it's either 6mm or 8mm. I bought a set from a local auto parts store and snapped the first bit but they replaced it for free. Snap-On sells triple square bits if you want to do it right.

I cleaned up my bolts and reused them. I used Loc-tite and tightened them in a criss-cross pattern @ half-torque and then went back around at 22ft/lbs for the final torque.

wokke on Bimmerforums can supply you with new bolts but it's almost $200 for the set. It wasn't worth it to me.