I have been searching for the past couple days on powdercoating the stock BBS rims. Obviously, the looks speak for themselves and the results are fantastic.

However, it seems like every thread has someone saying "DO NOT POWDERCOAT YOUR WHEELS" since the temperatures involved in powdercoating will reduce the strength of the forged aluminum.

I'm an engi-nerd, so I've been searching the material curves for 6061-T6 forged aluminum and have found that the temperatures involved (383 deg F for 32 minutes - twice) in powdercoating are in fact damaging. However, it looks like it would only reduce the strength by a trivial amount and I have to believe BBS has built in a safety factor on the rims.

MY QUESTION IS: Has anybody that has powdercoated their rims actually broken or cracked a rim? No more speculation or stories of a friend's friend who supposedly cracked a rim because of powdercoating. Pictures are worth a thousand words, so if you have a picture of a broken powdercoated BBS rim, you are my hero.

 

Its not a friends friend, but it was one of my Friends :P lol. His cracked, and he got in all analyzed and whatnot. The people said (without him mentioning the powder coat part) that the wheels had be weakened due to reheating. Which happens to forged metals....obviously

 

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Thanks, mercsan.

 

Yea, those BBS enkei wheels. They were stock on the VTECK model right?

 

Powdercoated my BBS MR wheels black over a year ago, no issues.


edit: Daily street driving around buffalo's rough streets, as well as a few auto-x days.

 

Street driving probably not, but simply saying that your BBS's havent cracked in a year a a very open ended statment. What kind of stress have the wheels been through? Open track days with slicks or r compounds on a stiff suspension. Or just everyday driving on the street? Huge difference.

 

I agree. This is what I really want to know. I probably won't be tracking these except for a few autocross events per year.

 

????????.BBS is just BBS and Enkei is Enkei.The guy was just asking a simple question.

 

This thread is referring to the BBS wheels.Im not sure about the Enkeis but most people just end up painting their enkeis.Hope this helps.

 

i just ahve a question... what if u just painted them without heating them up? would they still crack?

 

always a fight ready to brew

 

Have powdercoated my Enkei's, friend powdercoated his BBS's.

He heavily tracks his car, no drama's in the slightest.

 

+1. I've had my Enkeis powdercoated in low temperature for about a year and a half now. No problems, and I track my car pretty heavily about once a month as well as it being my DD.

 

When you say low temperature, how high is that? The color selection around here doesn't include gloss black in "low-temp".

 

On a cast wheen you'll have less likely a chance for the wheels to crack.

Its only on forged wheels since the metal has already undergone extreme pressures and heat.

Enkeis shouldn't crack, BBS forged might. This was an issue with the STi BBS wheels and should carry over for the MR BBS wheels too.