Wheel Guide

BBS RC 042

Centre Caps: Part Number 36132227641, RRP £40 each

17 BBS Split Rim, BBS RC 042: RRP £400 each

2 x 17 by 7.5 (Front)

2 x 17 by 8.5 (Rear)

ET 41, 4 x 120

These are standard fitment on the E36 328i Sport and the Australian E36 M3 GT (recently shown in one the BMW magazines). These wheels will fit any E36 and various other BMW’s with the correct spacers and some without. They should be fitted with 245/40/17 at the rear and 225/45/17 at the front. BMW supply these as standard with the Conti Sport tyres (a set of four new condition can be picked off eBay for under £200). These wheels cost over £3000 new from BMW. All of these wheels had a corrosion problem, more so in the UK because of our weather and the salt on the roads. I think it was down to BMW’s paint not being thick enough. I would suggest a full bolt out refurbishment on any of these wheels including lacquer of the outer rims and powder coating of the centres to make them more durable.

It is difficult to find somewhere who will do a top job, but I can recommend BJV Engineering www.wheelrefurbishing.com who have a sample of this wheel on their site and would charge approx £200-£280 including picking up and delivering the wheel in a 40 mile radius of their base.

I can also recommend Spit and Polish (Kent), Pristine and Wicked Wheels (Guildford).

BBS badges can be bought cheaply if you wish to put these wheels on a different car using hub adapters. They don’t look too different to what is seen at the VAG shows such as the BBS RS and are a fraction of the price – They usually go for around £1000 on eBay, even in need of refurbishment.

BBS RS 301

Designed for VW Corrado Motorsport. These wheels are available in several sizes and fitments of which the most popular is 17inch/7.5J and 5x100 for VW fitment. It is very unlikely to find these wheels in new, boxed condition, however several examples are often available by searching VW classifieds and Ebay.de. Prices are usually around £1000 with tyres.

BBS RC

Often fitted to Volkswagen Golf MK4 GTI in solid or split rim format.

BBS RM

Often fitted to Volkswagen Golf MK2 GTI in solid or split rim format.

BBS LM

The BBS LM is a two piece split rim (same principal as the RC 042 above) and is vastly used in motorsport by Porsche. These wheels look fantastic on just about every car and you can see why!

Tyre Guide

The best price tyres I have been able to find are through www.Blackcircles.com, www.Mytyres.com and www.ebay.com