Part II - Wheels & Tires - There wasn't much doubt in our minds which wheel brand we wanted to have on our R32 project car: BBS. BBS has a long and distinguished history with Volkswagen and hey, no VW has ever looked bad on a set of BBS alloys. We debated a bit whether to go with an 18" wheel or 19" wheel as the R32 adapts well to a 19" wheel (and looks pretty damn good to boot). Keeping unsprung weight and rolling mass to a minimum is an important consideration if you are serious about performance. BBS is known for their ability to produce even large diameter wheels with superior strength and low weight. Given that the newer VWs also have a tendency to swallow up 17" wheels often making them look like 16" wheels, we elected to go with an 18" wheel similar to the stock application and potentially look at a set of 19" wheels later for show use.

Looking at the latest offerings from BBS, we noticed they added a new wheel this year called the "RE". The new RE is actually a wheel that has been on sale in Japan for several years as a market-specific line of forged wheels. Forging is generally considered to be the best construction method to obtain the highest wheel strength and lowest overall weight. An 18" BBS RE weighs approximately 20 lbs.


We gave a call to our friends at The Tire Rack a call to talk about fitments. The BBS RE was indeed available in an 18" diameter and 8" width with a ET35 offset and 5x100 bolt pattern. The wheels were in stock and the next step was tires.


We asked Tire Rack for recommendations on a tire that is fairly light weight, won't break the bank and fit in the "high-performance/ultra high-performance" category. Tire Rack recommended the all-new Michelin Pilot Sport 2 (PS2) in a 225/40ZR-18 size.


The Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 Max Performance Summer tire was initially developed for use as Original Equipment on some of the world's most prestigious sports cars and sports sedans by combining world-class wet and dry handling with confident and predictable cornering. Some of the first fitments include the BMW Alpina Z8, Chrysler Crossfire, McLaren SLR and Porsche GT2 & GT3 models.

The Pilot Sport PS2 tire features advances in performance, wear, durability, and comfort thanks to Michelin's patented C3M manufacturing technology, a highly advanced production process that allows for extremely precise placement of a wider variety of tire components than ever before.


On the outside, Pilot Sport PS2 tires feature two different rubber compounds across their treads. A hybrid silica/carbon black compound begins at the tire's outer shoulder and continues across the tread until it joins a high-silica compound that continues to the tire's inside shoulder. Each of these tread compounds is specifically formulated for its location to optimize dry and wet handling for crisp, predictable corning and increased wear and high-speed durability. Additionally, these high grip tread compounds are molded into an asymmetric design with large outer shoulder blocks along with continuous intermediate and center ribs (similar to that of Michelin's Formula One tires) to enhance steering response and cornering stability. The tread design also features wide circumferential grooves and lateral notches that help channel water through the footprint to enhance wet road traction. On the inside, the tread design is supported by two, high-tensile, lightweight steel cord belts that are further reinforced by size-optimized, precisely placed individual Aramid/nylon hybrid filaments. These Aramid/nylon hybrid filaments replace the old bands of nylon to bring the Pilot Sport PS2 to a new level of manufacturing and design tuning precision. This precision allows the Pilot Sport PS2 to provide improved steering response


We have used Michelin Pilot Sport tires on a variety of different cars in the past and we've been impressed with their wet and dry handling characteristics. On the track the older Pilot Sport tire would start to show its weaknesses often going slick and greasy after just a few laps on a road course. They made a great overall street tire, but we're necessarily what you wanted to take to the track.


The all-new Michelin Pilot Sport 2 tire though has changed all that. Not only does it have even better dry traction, it handles tremendously better in the wet and has vastly improved track-use as well. Compared to the stock Good Year's, the Michelin PS2 seems to ride a bit better, handles quite a bit better (particularly in the wet) and interestingly looks a lot better on the wheel. Michelin really responded to the minor complaints (and competition) and stepped up their game to make the Michelin Pilot Sport 2 tire the current number one pick by Tire Rack in the ultra-high performance tire category.


After placing the order for our wheels through The Tire Rack Upgrade Garage on our site, our wheels arrived several days later with the tires mounted and the complete package speed balanced with all the correct and necessary mounting hardware.


Our stock 18" Aristo wheels with Good Year Eagle tires tipped our scales at 45 lbs. per wheel (with the tire mounted). The 18" BBS RE with the Michelin PS2 tires mounted weighed in at 39 lbs. Not too bad for a significantly stiffer forged wheel and better overall tire combination. While most of us pay a lot of attention to the actual wheel weight, the tire weight seems to be forgotten and is an important factor to keep in mind when trying to keep unsprung weight to a minimum.



As you can see from the photos, our BBS RE wheel choice compliments the car wheel. With the major mass of the wheel concentrated in the center of the wheel, it does give the wheel the appearance of looking smaller than its 18" diameter would indicate. However the tradeoff in losing quite a bit of unsprung weight is worth it.



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