Performance BMW — September 2017

80 PERFORMANCE BMW

TECH GUIDE

TYPES OF LIPS

On your travels through the world of wheels

you will come across two types of lips: stepped

and reverse lips. Stepped lips are pretty self-

explanatory in that they have a step in them;

this means that the wheel centres will be

smaller than the wheel’s outer diameter as the

step makes the outer portion of the lips larger

than the inner portion. Stepped-up wheels take

this to another level as you they allow take

a smaller wheel and use a much larger lip to

create a larger diameter wheel, and 2” is not

unusual, though you will also need new barrels

that match the size of your lips. On wheels with

a reverse lip, the barrel is essentially reversed,

placing the wheel’s step on the inside with

the flat portion now on the outside, hence the

name. With a reverse lip the wheel centres will

be larger, as they are the same diameter as the

entire lip, and on very wide, low offset wheels a

big reverse lip tends to look more dramatic. The

difference between the two is purely aesthetic

and where wheel manufacturers offer a choice,

it comes down to what look you prefer.

Words: Elizabeth de Latour Photos: BM Autosport, BMW, Chris Presley, Andy Starkey, Sunny Ryait, Jape Tiitinen, Patrik Karlsson

In the second part of our wheel guide we look at everything from

different finishes and materials to measuring offset.

WHEELS

PART

TWO

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