Home made 3 peice 16" Fuchs

[BigD9146gt]

A buddy of mine has asked me to cut out the outters of some 16's that he has and drill holes for the BBS halfs. I've had over 1000 hrs of machine time(with quality training), so i'm not worried about my work so much as i don't know if anyone has had any problems out there with this type of rim modification. The rims are going to be no more than 8" in width with the stickiest street legal tires he can get for POC short track racing, so the forces on the rims shouldn't be as insainely high as would be with a 11" wide rim setup. So in all of this rambling, does anyone have any knowledge on making these?

Thanks, Don.

[ZAMIRZ]

Any reason why, when you can get an 8" wide single-piece Fuch that is both lighter and possibly stronger than a 3-piece? The only advantage I can see is that if you bend a wheel you can tear it down and replace what's bent, but then again, 8" fuchs are pretty cheap these days.

[BigD9146gt]

Amir,
1st, i appologize if this is a re-post, i didn't look to see if anyone had asked this question.

2nd, i don't know why he wants to make them 3 peice with the only reason being a specific off-set with a wider tire than he can get with a factory rim. I'm sure he told me, my memory is only as good as the things i write down, and i failed to do so on this occasion.

Thanks, Don.

[ZAMIRZ]

Don, no worries, it's not a repost. The avatar is mostly a joke (although at one point, we had 3-4 threads on the main page stating "hey jack olsen, your car is in excellence", that's what spawned it).

Gotcha on the offset, that makes sense. I think the wheels will look cool too with the rivets, post pics once you guys get it done

[BURN-BROS]

BigD, No issues that I have heard, just use the appropriate hardware. Love your project BTW! I wish mine was farther ahead so I could take pics.

[724doorE]

the company that made Jack Olsen's first set of 17" rims for his BB1 used 16" Fuchs centers with inner and outer halves made to fit with the bolts on the inside of the rim..... if I am not mistaken

[Jack Olsen]

No bolts on mine. They're fitted (with heat) and welded.

My only advice on modular wheels would be to make 17's, unless you're sure you can get the tires you want in the 16-inch sizes.

(Start with 6x16's only, too.)

[jpachard]

Make sure you get all the hardware from BBS(sealkit and fasteners etc.). I just did this to a set of 16" fuchs and made some nice 8's and 9's out of mine(17"). You end up having to do two setups to get the backside flat and c'bore the front. Otherwise, pretty straightforward.

Cheers, James

[MotoSook]

James,

More details please...and pictures!!! PLEASE?

[Elombard]

Yah James - will you do this for us??? What was the cost? If I ship you up the BBS halves and hardware and the 16x6s will you make them?

You are the man - the ultimate DIY project!

[jpachard]

I can post pictures this evening! Also, if you are interested in having this done please e-mail me at jpachard@mac.com

Cheers, James

[BigD9146gt]

Thanks for the replies guys, great stuff. James, looks like you got some business too.
James, as for the double set up, i was thinking of chucking up a rear hub on the lathe and then bolting the wheel to it, then cutting both sides of the center section in one shot. I've got a pretty big lathe that will handle large peices of material, it seems like it would be easy to do the front and back surfacing.....a good idea?
Plus all the parts and hardware are from BBS, thanks for the heads up on that!

Jack, my friend has the tires in mind that will work for the width he calculated, their faily pricy, but at least i'm in the clear.

Thanks again, Don.

[jpachard]

Well, Here is the picture of the rear wheel. Don, your setup sounds good. What I meant by two setups I was refering to doing it on a mill.



If anyone is still interested, please e-mail me at the address in the previous post.

Cheers, James

[Elombard]

I sent you an e-mail. Some times my companies server does weird things. If you dont here from me please PM me.

How about a pic from back a ways? they look fab!!

[Roamer]

Jim, I have corresponded via e-mail, but seeing the pictures I just had a question about the construction. It looks like there is a ring on top of either a rim half or the hub itself. What is the purpose of this ring and can they be made without them? I was hoping to have the center on the oustide with the bolts sent through the hub and bolted to the two rim halves.

Let me know if this is possible.

Thanks.

[jpachard]

Roamer, What you are seeing is the rim(Fuch). It's a bit hard to see since the rim was painted with the flat part silver. Does that make sense? When I make these I will have the outer edge all balck. All the rim halves stack up behind the center.

[dotorg]

Having seen James' wheels in person, I can say for sure they're pretty damn sweet.

I wanted to sneak them onto my car when he wasn't looking, but without any flares at all, anything wider than a bicycle tire it seems won't fit.

[ted]

Looks nice.
What make and size tires do you plan to use on your new 16 inch rims? So those are BBS halves? Will they fit over turbo brakes?
What's a good price on a pair of 16x8 and 16x10 wheels if I supply the 16x6 donors?
Slicks are not easy to find in the 17 size, I'd have to check but I think some 16 inch slicks are available.

A comment about the polished ring in the center with the hardware on it. Being polished it appears it would not be too easy to keep it polished with regards to the hardware surrounding it. If the ring were black you would not have to polish it and it might create the effect that the 16 inch center is actually larger. Is the polished ring actually the outside rim half and the Fuch centers are located between the rim halves? If so then I might consider mounting the centers on the outside. Then you would only have 1 joint on the inside to keep sealed/air tight.

^^edit.. I read you are stacking the rim halves behind the centers^^


Making the Fuch 16 inch center look larger on a 17 inch wheel as below looks ok too.
In search of 16 inch slicks...

[Roamer]

James, that does make sense to me. The look I am going for is the bottom picture from ted's last post.

[Jack Olsen]

Ted, I was recently told about a good source for 17-inch Yokohama slicks. Email me if you'd like the info.