2 piece wheel question

[mattn]

Couple questions about 2piece wheels. Do 2 piece wheels have seam down the center of the wheel? If so, are the wheels assembled and sealed prior to mounting the tires?

[Noah930]

A 2-piece wheel has a center, and the rim. They can be bolted or welded together. So there's no seam you have to worry about (for air leaks, which is what you seem to be asking about).

3-piece wheels have a center, a rim outer shell, and a rim inner shell. The two rim halves get bolted together with the rim center. There's typically a layer of silicone to seal the seam so air doesn't leak. Some manufacturers use gaskets, too.

Typically the wheels come assembled. They're assembled prior to mounting the tires.

[Todd Simpson]

There are a few different kinds of 2 piece wheels.

The Lindsey 2 piece wheels are a fuchs center, welded to a rim. Once you weld something together, why they call it 2 piece is beyond me, but they are really nice wheels.

I have two other cars with 2 piece wheels. The first is my daily driver '98 BMW. The inner rim and the center are one piece, and the outer rim is bolted on. There are a number of other BBS made this way, like the RM's on the old VW 16V Gti's from 1991-1992. Those wheels looked like three piece RS's, but they were 2 piece.

Then, on my '69 BMW, I have 2 piece Weds wheels. These are an inner and outer rim welded together, and then a center is bolted in.

Almost all these wheels are assembled prior to the tires being mounted, but I understand some of the BBS racing wheels, like E50, E52 may be an exception.

[mattn]

Yes, this helps. I have 3 piece BBS wheels that were (right or wrong) assembled as the tire was mounted, not before. Cant say they were wrong but the result was one with a slow leak. Thinking about Lindsey 2 piece wheels but was concerned about leaks. this clears up that concern. Thanks.
I may have a set of 9 & 11 x 15 inch 3 piece BBS wheels available in the future.

[Kevin Stewart]

Originally Posted by mattn

Yes, this helps. I have 3 piece BBS wheels that were (right or wrong) assembled as the tire was mounted, not before. Cant say they were wrong but the result was one with a slow leak. Thinking about Lindsey 2 piece wheels but was concerned about leaks. this clears up that concern. Thanks.
I may have a set of 9 & 11 x 15 inch 3 piece BBS wheels available in the future.

Yes back in the day people were putting two of the same barrels on that had no mount/dismount step. so they had to assemble them on the tire, there was no other way, I worked at a shop that got a tire/wheel that had visited several shops in the country before i got it, as a tire adjuster i took one look and realized the problem and sent it back to the owner advising to get the right wheel halves. still remember it was a red centered wheel, and they were 15s, Kevin