Old BBS racing wheels w/ brake cooling disks

groovyjay

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I'd like to learn more about the old BBS wheels used on almost every Greenwood widebody car on the track and even some street versions. The wheels had those brake cooling disks bolted on to them.

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Does anyone know the model? Any leads where they might still be up for grabs? I'm planning on a new project, but don't want to pull the trigger unless I find the correct set of wheels for it first.
 
Looking at the tube frame photo galleries on Greenwoods site, most of the photos show a simpler spun aluminum cooling disk. Those would not be as hard to duplicate, compared to the one you show. With the disks on, it would be hard to tell what brand the wheels were. Just my 2 cents.
 
do a search on a Corvair engine fan, thats what the poor Corvette guys used, my Compomotive/Revolution wheels have built in fans but mine are cast into the back side of the center. my guess those BBS wheels with the fans are probably worth in the $3K a set range and thats if you can find them and with the correct offset, it`s a three piece wheel.
 
image-11.jpg

Seems like they used this style most often. Why stop a project over wheels. My experience is when you wait long enough, you get a good deal.

Another forum has a thread on these. According to that the Porsche racers used the ones you posted most often.

Looks like bbs still makes 3 pc wheels.
 
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Looks like bbs still makes 3 pc wheels.


price a set yet?

No, but I'm not the one looking for them. On a project like that, assuming he wants to duplicate the tube frame car, the wheels would be a small part of the total cost.

I still think with the cooling disks on you really would not notice what brand rim was used, as long as width and offset was close.

Anyhow this forum is slow, so I figured I'd bump this up.

And, I'd be one of those "poor" guys.
 
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And, I'd be one of those "poor" guys.

Join the club man.....my attitude is to built/mod it myself, and get some cheap help as I need it from buddies......no other way to get it dun.....

:flash:
 
Would call these guys,http://www.bobwoodmantires.com/bbs-centers/

These wheel were sent to Bob Woodman in GA this summer, a BBS dealer. Checked for damage and restored. These are on the old Carusso car. Bought a set that had the magnesium centers, but were 5 on 5. Mistake on my part. Like the corvair coolers polished better.

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Are you thinking about running them on the street? The shells are too easily damaged for street use. My shells would bend just dropping off hard.
 
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http://casualsociety.co.za/bbs-wheel-fans/

Thought this was interesting.

The BBS wheel was the wheel of choice for the IMSA GTP series in the 80′s. The BBS wheel was the game changer because all manufacturers made wheels that were light weight and high strength but BBS recognized that aesthetics were equally important. Why not sell a wheel that complimented the flowing lines of a sportscar was BBS' approach. GTP cars – no matter the manufacturer — were usually found on gold BBS wheels. The color was a perfect fit for the various cars they were fitted to.

Wheel fans in the front and standard BBS Golds in the back was the popular choice for many years in the GTP series.



Wheel fans were unique to GTP & were first seen on Porsches and soon requested by the majority of BBS' clients. Most GTP teams were trying to keep up with each other, asking BBS to sell them what they'd seen on their rivals cars without always understanding if it would help or hinder their own cars.







The wheel fans became really commercial very soon because in some cases, depending on the aerodynamics of the car, the fans did nothing at all. The purpose of the fans really came down to the way the car was setup: they might help cool the brakes, they might help aero wise, they might not do anything, they might even be a negative!

Wheel fans made their way into other series – notably on the fearsome Audi Quattro Trans-Am cars. Audi spent more money developing the cooling cones than they did buying wheels! BBS didn't develop those cooling cones. They were developed in the wind tunnel, actually through some universities. Audi was trying to evacuate any air underneath the car. It wasn't about cooling brakes; it was about getting everything out from beneath the car.





Today wheel fans are no longer used in GTP or any other racing for that matter. One-piece gun-metal grey magnesium wheels have become the norm. The fans were nothing more than a trend. & like all trends, they tend to come back. Will they come back? Who knows… Unless aftermarket companies start making them, we don't see them becoming too popular. Because finding a set of genuine BBS wheels & fans might be harder than finding chickens teeth. We wont even talk about how much they would cost if you found them. Especially imported to South Africa.
 
http://casualsociety.co.za/bbs-wheel-fans/

Thought this was interesting.

The BBS wheel was the wheel of choice for the IMSA GTP series in the 80′s. The BBS wheel was the game changer because all manufacturers made wheels that were light weight and high strength but BBS recognized that aesthetics were equally important. Why not sell a wheel that complimented the flowing lines of a sportscar was BBS' approach. GTP cars – no matter the manufacturer — were usually found on gold BBS wheels. The color was a perfect fit for the various cars they were fitted to.

Wheel fans in the front and standard BBS Golds in the back was the popular choice for many years in the GTP series.



Wheel fans were unique to GTP & were first seen on Porsches and soon requested by the majority of BBS' clients. Most GTP teams were trying to keep up with each other, asking BBS to sell them what they'd seen on their rivals cars without always understanding if it would help or hinder their own cars.







The wheel fans became really commercial very soon because in some cases, depending on the aerodynamics of the car, the fans did nothing at all. The purpose of the fans really came down to the way the car was setup: they might help cool the brakes, they might help aero wise, they might not do anything, they might even be a negative!

Wheel fans made their way into other series – notably on the fearsome Audi Quattro Trans-Am cars. Audi spent more money developing the cooling cones than they did buying wheels! BBS didn't develop those cooling cones. They were developed in the wind tunnel, actually through some universities. Audi was trying to evacuate any air underneath the car. It wasn't about cooling brakes; it was about getting everything out from beneath the car.





Today wheel fans are no longer used in GTP or any other racing for that matter. One-piece gun-metal grey magnesium wheels have become the norm. The fans were nothing more than a trend. & like all trends, they tend to come back. Will they come back? Who knows… Unless aftermarket companies start making them, we don't see them becoming too popular. Because finding a set of genuine BBS wheels & fans might be harder than finding chickens teeth. We wont even talk about how much they would cost if you found them. Especially imported to South Africa.

Thanks for this! I actually found the correct wheels and one wheel fan, I can replicate it to make more, so I think I'm good for now. Thanks to all who helped with these wheels!
 
Bumping an old thread. It looks like Ken Block is running wheel fans on his car in the gymkana 8 video.

Wonder if did testing or the just added them in hopes of improved cooling.
 
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