Mazda Eunos Mk1 BBS Alloys

Technical Area Wheels, Tyres & Brakes
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I have a 1995 Eunos Mk1.  It has 15 inch BBS alloys on it and I have been told that they are not original Mazda ones.  The problem is that the centre caps keep falling off…   I seem to have two options either see if I can find out which exact wheels they are or get replacements.  How can I tell which model the wheels are please and if I decide to replace (without breaking the bank) what would people recommend? I would like to keep the same look as the car is an S Special.

 

Thanks

 

Jonathan

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I have after market alloys and Mazda wings center caps which don’t quite clip in properly.
A little dab of silicone (bathroom sealant) job done and much cheaper than new alloys.

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VW BBS were 45mm offset (ET45), and should have a raised VW mark in the centre. This example has knockoff caps glued on, but you can see the marks:

Ex-BMW E30 BMW EZs were offset 24 (ET24).

I suspect because in both cases the wheels are more than 20 years old, replacement new centre caps are unobtanium, and you are going to be spending time rooting arounf car boot sales.

5

 

According to Rod’s workshop manual all wheels are 14"as standard. Which pattern of wheel you are writing about would be clear if you can post a picture. I am trying to post you one that shows my wheels but, the image hosting site is down at the moment.

 

 

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And Rod Grainger, at times, knows jack about MX5s. 15" BBSs were fitted to certain models in Japan and the US.

 

15" BBS fitted to RS-Limited, R-Limited, S-Special II and US M-Edition:

 

 

S-Limited 14" BBS, gold version of more common 14" version

 

 

VW and BMW versions are superficially similar, but have different offset, bore size, and differences in the rim lip shape, numbers of spokes. Generally, BBS caps are not interchangeable between VW, BMW and Mazda. Infiniti in the US had a model with a BBS fitment, and these centre caps can be fitted to Mazda BBS.

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also, generally the vw bbs are 6" & bmw bbs are 7" wide.

another identifying feature of the bmw bbs wheel is that there are 4 ‘spare’ holes in the area where the wheelstuds / nuts are (I’ve no idea as to why these are there, when I owned an E30 bmw 320 I dont remember there being any locating dowels (car used bolts not studs & nuts to secure the wheel to the hub) - although I may have forgotten!)

 

Rich.

 

8

Thanks all.  I don’t seem to be able to post a picture here, but I think they are BMW ones.  Certainly I can’t see any mention of VW on them but they have been refurbished, so really difficult to read any writing.  

 

If I could figure out how to post a picture (there isn’t a button to add attachment below), I will. 

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Jonathan

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Click “Post Reply” not Quick Reply. There is a check box option for attachments.

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attachment 

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Thanks very much everyone… really appreciated…

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attachment

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Car outside…

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Try again!

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Try again!

16

From your picture, I wouldn’t be considering changing wheels, they look very smart and suit the car. Sort the loose caps and you’re good to go IMO. 

Barrie

 

EDIT: http://www.mx5nutz.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=190489#entry4436865

 

 

17

Do you have the locking spanner to put the centre caps on with?  If so, do they not lock on properly?  (You have to hold the outside of the centre caps in position while twisting the middle part with the spanner).

Maybe you have MX5 centre caps to go with BMW wheels?  If you post up the part numbers for your centre caps, we should be able to work out whether they are MX5 caps.

It might be a case of getting BMW centre caps to fit your wheels.

18

Thanks everyone. Looking again I think they are original bbs wheels for a Eunos Mk1. The problem is that they were fitted with the wrong wheel nuts which are too long - hence falling off!  The tip to drill and tap the covers looks really helpful. Thanks again 

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I wouldn’t do that “fix”; its a lousy solution to bodge covers that are £100 each. Better off getting the correct wheel nuts.

20

As Saz says, please don’t drill the centre caps, they are rare and very expensive ??

I have these wheel nuts on my car which fit BBS wheels.

http://www.mx5city.com/wheels-tyres/high-security-locking-wheel-nut-set

The centre caps get stolen, so best to remove them if you are parked somewhere that is a bit dodgy too…