BSA Rims/Wheels: Quality?

Looking at purchasing an '01 996 with BSA 18" rims. Never heard of these before. I am concerned about their quality and ability to handle high-speed cornering with speed rated tires without loosing the lug nuts or posing a problem tire wear. Any one have experience with such wheels? Please advise, Thanks,

I don't have any experience with BSA wheels, but I have been looking at getting some BSA wheels, specifically the 18" 215a wheels. Here is a link to their web site. You can click on the "Manufacturing" or "Products" button at the bottom of the screen for additional info. Hope this helps. http://www.bsa.com.my/web/index.html

I wouldn't wory about tire wear. I would worry about cracking. However, if they are certified by, say TUV, then I wouldn't worry. I had one of the first RX7 twin tubos and all four wheels cracked. This was a known problem on the track.

Is the TUV stamp/marking found where the JW stamp is on VW/Audi/Porsche rims.....outside visible portion of the rim near the valve stem? I don't have access to the car today but this certainly is a concern as to whether I purchase the car, keep the rims, sell the rims or just pass on the deal if adjustments are not made in price according to the lack of TUV Certification. Alan thanks for bringing me up to speed on the need for such certification/testing ........ nothing worse than driving at high speed with any worries about tire or wheel integrity. Enjoy the remainder of the Holiday, Tim thanks for the website. It seems that only the German wheels are subject to TUV cert.

Not sure where you would find the certification. As a rule any manufaturere that has passed a certification test will advertise it as such.

Check their site out: http://www.bsa.com.my/web/fmanufacturing.htm If they are not blowing smoke it sounds like they are making a good product.

I have a set on my vehicle 215a types and so far no cracking or problems experienced. The front wheels do look to have lost some of their shine but a couple of coats of wheel wax and refinishing should help that. In any event they ride fine in staggered fit with 18" Pirelle P-Zero Nero's I mounted last summer and have had no problems what-so-ever. Pics enclosed. I also believe they are TUV certified or at least their site and box they arrived in said so. Got them on ebay for a good deal...about $1200 set (4). Hope that helps.

MD Rob Those wheels look GREAT on your Arena Red P-car! Thanks for sharing the pics.

How's the offsets on these wheels? I've heard they're not really correct for the 996 and stick out a little past the fender. From what I can see they look fine in the pics shown above. Mdrobc do they stick out past the fender at all? If not I might have to get a set....they look great.

I bought a set a few years back but sold it before I got to use them. Beautiful wheels, simple/clean look, but they are a bit heavy, IMO.

NO they do not stick out from/past the fenders a bit. From what my installed said they fit almost OEM however they do seem to weigh a lil more than the OEM Sport Design ones that they are based on. I've had no problems though and seem to be well put together. Here's a back shot so you can see the wheels set again. Oh yeah they are mounted without and adapter plates either (i.e. hub extenders).

Their website lists multiple offsets available for 18x10's. One is 60mm which is right one, no?

MD Rob, Where'd you get the center caps? I just put BSA 215a's on and am still sorting out the caps -- Russ, I'm running a 8x10 w/ 45mm offset on my 01 C2. Fronts are a 8x10 50mm but I added a 5mm spacer to push them out a little. I think the weights were 18lbs/front and 20lbs/rear. BTW - I've changed out the lug nuts for chrome since the pics. Mike

Russ - my '04 996 has OEM Turbo Twist wheels on it. They are 18" x 8" with 50mm offset on the front and 18" x 10" with 65mm offset on the rear. The 60mm would work and would be like adding a 5mm spacer on the rear wheels.

Mike, those wheels look AWESOME on your car! Well done! One question though. You wrote that you have 8 x 10 on the front. Did you mean that you have 18" diameter x 8" width on the front?

Mike you've just convinced me to get these wheels . Did you guys find these on Ebay or go through BSA?

yes, 8 x 18 front with 50mm offset (+5mm spacer) and 10 x18 rear 45mm offset. I got them off eBay but it was very painful. It took about 6 weeks, 20 emails, and a dozen phone calls before the seller finally got everything to me. Even then it was as separate items and the auction was for mounted/balanced wheels/tires. They advertised 65mm offset for rear but sent 45mm (glad they did). Still, even with all the pain I am happy with the results. I did call BSA (N.A.) and got the names of a couple of their dealers (AZ and TX). Apparent they don't do much with BSA. The TX guy was very helpful though. The 65mm offsets were out of stock for 4-6 weeks - I was considering trying to get them elsewhere and using 17mm spacer on rear. Not sure where/how the eBay guys got the 45mm but ..... they are out of south FL so maybe bypass the U.S. disti to bring them in? There are a couple of stamps by the valve stem -- one looks like "VIA" and the other ......... could be "JIL" ??? When I had checked eBay the "wheels only" auctions were for 11 x 18 rears with 45mm offset. The way I understand wheel offsets that would push the wheel out too far on a narrow body. FYI - I'll be selling the 18" turbo twists that were on the car -- they have a few marks/scratches. Gotta decide whether to sell as is of have them refinished first. Mike

Let's see pics LSU. Has anyone purchased the ones with black on the inside like me?

Mike , thanks for the info... I am definitely getting a set.. i will get mine powdercoated, still thinking if I want black center or seal gray... thanks, Alex

Sandoval had his painted all black https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...ighlight=wheel I did post a few pics further up, if weather's ok should be able to take a few tonight of the new lug bolts installed. Mike

That's what I thought would be the case, but how is LSU cramming the 45 in there? That'd be like the stock 10" with a two centimeter spacer. Can't see that working with my ride height. LSU, What's your ride height (or what suspension do you have)? Did you have to roll the fender? I'm all for pushing them out as much as possible, but they have to fit inside the fender.

Russ, My car had the U.S. M030 but I pulled those springs and put on H&R so its about 1-1.25" lower than it was. I have not rolled the fenders. This is a post on another board that discusses offsets and use of spacers on an 02. Check the 2nd entry. it says 17mm spacers can be used with stock 65mm offset 10x18 wheels, so ........ I'm 3mm over spec. http://www.renntech.org/forums/index...t=0&#entry1802 Mike

WOW, 45 mm on a 10" wide wheel. Those puppies will stick out almost 1 inch farther than the stock 65 mm offset. I have looked at most of the BSA 215a wheels offered on ebay in the last few months and most of them have the 45mm offset for the rear wheels. The 18" x 10" with 45mm rear wheels are for the Porsche wide bodies (C4, Turbo, GT3). A couple of months back, a couple of guys got wheels with 45mm offset and ended up getting 265 or 275 tires put on the rear wheels because they stuck out too much from the fender well. The point here is... make sure you know how the wheels will fit befroe you buy them.

isnt widebody wheels 18X11 offset 45? not 18X10...isnt stock tires 265/35 in the rear not 295?

The '04 996 was available with either 17" or 18" wheels. The 17" wheels had 205/50/17 tires on the front and 255/40/17 on the rear. The 18" wheels had 225/40/18 tires on the front and 285/30/18 on the rear. This info is straight off the inside of my fuel filler door.

oh ok so I guess from 02-04 the tire size changed,99-01 the OEM tire is 265/35 18 on the rear and 225/40 in the front..

Thanks Mike. I forgot to mention your car looks awesome. I've got the H&R's at the moment as well. Nice to know somebody has already gone there and it works. What size tire do you have on the rears?

thanks for the !!! I went +1 on the tires. Running 235/40/18 in front and 275/35/18 in rear. I know ... I know, the 275 is a little larger diameter and I've heard could cause a problem. But, I wanted something wider in back and didn't want 285/30 as I don't think it rides as well. Keeping a close eye on things.

Ales - Yes, I believe that is correct, the tire sizes did change in '02 - '04.

Mike Mine are I believe 18x10 rears and the 45mm offset and I went with 275/45 and 235/35 in the front I believe. I'll check later on. I've had no problems witht he fit as you can see. Next step is to add an aerokit if I can find a good one and a good shop to do the retrofit and painting. I too got mine off eBay from someone in S.Florida around Miami...I suspect it may be the same dude/company mentioned earlier in this post. They took about 30 days to get them...shipped them two at a time (I had to wait all day for the rears) and it took MULTIPLE phone calls to them requesting tracking information. Wouldn't do it again not with them via eBay. They did disappear from ebay shortly after I got them in Dec 2004 but I guess maybe they popped up later on using a different name. In any event finding a dealer is probably the best way to go OR a fellow enthusiast who has a set or a contact to get them. But they are nice wheels that look well; fit well; and don't cost a mint as some of the alternatives I checked out. I used $$$ on other upgrades like the interior and the stereo which I fully upgraded.