In an industry that has always been in a constant state of change, you have to adapt and evolve or get left behind. For wheel manufacturers, that means keeping up with the factory bolt patterns and wheel specs that come on every new vehicle. For a company like BBS Wheels, designs have to be changed and tested anytime the auto manufacturers decide to make a change to these details on a new vehicle.
To evolve and engineer a solution to this design issue, BBS has created an adaptable wheel package. According to BBS rep Robert Way, instead of looking at wheel adapters as an afterthought, BBS has designed its adapters to be an integral part of the wheel package.
We realize our engineering is our limitation at the moment. We can’t come to market every three weeks or every three months with something new for every new car out there. – Robert Way, BBS Wheels
The BBS wheel and adapters are machined specifically to be paired together. In fact, according to Way, this new wheel features a bolt pattern that doesn’t match any car currently on the market. The wheels will only bolt to the BBS adapters.
The adapters come in various bolt patterns to fit most modern vehicles on the road today. In addition, there are steel inserts that protrude past the face of the adapter. The inserts fit with German precision into relief areas machined into the mounting surface of the wheel. This ensures the wheel is mated perfectly to the adapter. In turn, BBS has engineered hub-centric rings that are specific to this wheel and adapter package. These rings keep both the wheel and the adapter perfectly centered on the vehicle’s hub.
Currently, BBS is only offering the wheel and adapter package in the CI-R design. It comes in eight color choices along with six options for rim protectors to keep curb rash to a minimum. According to Way, there are no units for sale at this time although BBS does have the first run finishing up production.