How do you like them apples?

[7240z]

Hey Sulio!

Man, Your wheels really look badass! 8.5 and 9.5?! How does your steering feel? Was there a big difference in tightness while steering? I can imagine how much grip you're able to get with the width of those tires! With regards to changing the inner and outer rim it would probably cost me around 2500 Pesos ($45) for each tire! (3rd world and all) but my guy uses some kind of computer/machine just for rims but I plan to just recondition them because I like the way they look now but maybe in the future, if I do choose to go for the ZG look (very far far future) cause I don't really like the way it looks but thats just my opinion and I just love the bullet like shape of the Z.

Ez

The wheels I've got now are 17x8.5 and 17x9.5 at rear. As far as the RS-8's go that you have I almost bought them but I was umming and arring over wether I wanted 16" or 17" wheels, however the deciding factor for me was the need for spacers.

If you do have any issues with offset I suppose you could always get new inner and outer peices rolled for them seeing they are 3 peice and get exactly the offset you would like but from my research that would cost about AUD$300 per wheel here in Australia, thats about USD$220. It's quite a bit of money but I suppose if you get them done in the same dimensions as the watanabes guys use for their ZG set up you'd still be doing quite well in terms of cost and it would look awesome.

Cheers

Sulio

[7240z]

No wonder your tires bearly cleared the strut?! 235's on 7's? I'm surprised that the tire didn't pop out! the 205x55x16 tire edge goes straight down to the rim and is the same as the 225x50x16. Which strut is Murph talking about? The front or the rear? The distance from the tire to the strut for the front was like a thumbs length and for the rear it was like half a thumb. That was cutting it pretty close but the mechanic said that it won't cause any problems. If spacers had to be placed I would have saved the rims for another car because I can't stand that "play" feel with the steering wheel. My old Benz had spacers for a week with the new mags which came from a newer model 124 body. Since I was a teenager I had no clue on wheel size and what not but after trying out the car with the mags it scared the sh#t out of me! I had them removed right away. Maybe when the pics are upload we can all look back on this topic and say "it does fit without spacers":nervous: I hope this thread won't wear out because it might take forever sending each one of you guys pics! I thought that maybe the sticker on the rims might be wrong or the rims have been altered but the diagram in the website looked exactly like the rims. So again, we shall see :nervous: :nervous:

Well that site will show you what tyres fit on what wheels.

But the problem Murph is talking about is the +38mm offset making the wheel/tyre hit the strut.

I had a 14 X 7 mag with 0 offset and 235 tyres and they barely cleared the strut at the rear. In fact theres a slightly polished part on the lower spring perch from the tyres rubbing during cornering.

[Murph]

When you trial fitted them, did they fill out the arches, or did they sit in a fair bit?

[7240z]

"can you look at the round mark on the face of the rim? If it looks like 3 Ws stacked in a triangle in side a circle, that ''s what they are. Got 'em on my car, but hard to see because the avatar is so small."

Which ones are you talking about? The rims I posted or the rims on my avatar? I think those are the famous Watanabes. I didn't know they were made by SSR? I have a question for you... Whats the difference between SSR and Speed Star Co. LTD.? And yup! There are 3 W like symbols on the face and below, it says "racing" If these are the same as your mags can you send me pics of your car? My email is ezrapages@gmail.com!

Yup! Last time I heard that the tax import for any vehicle is or was 200% but

I'm pretty sure it got a lot higher now and you have heard right my friend. There are a couple of hangars full of unclaimed cars here at the docks.

Those rims sure look like SSR Watanabes to me. 7240Z - can you look at the round mark on the face of the rim? If it looks like 3 Ws stacked in a triangle in side a circle, that ''s what they are. Got 'em on my car, but hard to see because the avatar is so small.

BTW, you should mention the import fees and taxes on autos in the Philippines. I've heard many a horror story that the import fees and taxes cost more than what the car is worth - and people leave them on the docks rather than pay.

[7240z]

Ummm...I'll try and explain this as best as possible. Ok from top view the front and rear tires were flat from the wheel arches. Meaning if I placed a ruler on the wheel arches it would stay 90 ok maybe 88 degrees upright and if you were facing the rims, since I only have the stock suspension for the Z there was still about maybe 2 or 2 1/2 inches of space available for lowering the car ( I plan on getting the Eibach's or the Motorports from Motorsports Auto. Plus I tried lying down and sticked my head in (not through the 2 inches) but from the bottom and checked if anything was touching. From the Springs to the brakes and whatever part you can find in the underchassis and everything was hanging! I mean If it was +39 I would have cried! Even the inner part of the wheel was very close to touching but not close enough to scrape. In other words, like a glove!

When you trial fitted them, did they fill out the arches, or did they sit in a fair bit?

[Victor Laury]

I'm amazed that to learn that these fit at all. They were mainly developed and marketed for the Silvia/180SX/240sx line. I thought for sure that they'd rub springs without spacers

[7240z]

Well its good to know that I know a little something about the rims thanks.

"I thought for sure that they'd rub springs without spacers" Nope they don't. What were the specs of the rims you saw? Would you remember?

[Murph]

Interesting. The reason we're all confused is that acording to pretty much everything that's been posted before, a rim of that size, but with close to a zero offset will fit just like you describe. It doesn't make sense that something with an offset that's 40mm bigger could also fit just the same.

[sakijo]

Which ones are you talking about? The rims I posted or the rims on my avatar? I think those are the famous Watanabes. I didn't know they were made by SSR? I have a question for you... Whats the difference between SSR and Speed Star Co. LTD.? And yup! There are 3 W like symbols on the face and below, it says "racing"

Ezra, I was talking about the ones posted at the start of this thread. I think Speed Star and SSR are the same company. I think (and I'm not sure) that SSR means "Speed Star Racing" The "Classic Watanabes" are RS Watanabe, I think. Attached a picture of the type of wheel that I have on my car and a set of Watanabe caps. The Ws are actually cranes . . .

Edit: As far as I can determine, Speed Star Co LTD is a company that makes wheels. One of their lines is the SSR line. I can't say for sure, but I would believe that the SSR Watanabes are made by Speed Star under license or agreement with RS Watanabe, otherwise their would certainly be copyright infringement with the use of RS Watanabe's logo.

[7240z]

I can't seem to find any pics with the Silvia/180sx/240sx line with the rims. Heck! Even Speed Star doesn't have an official website! Would you have any pics of these cars with the rims? I got this feeling that these rims have been altered but my rims guy disagreed and said because the mixture of the metals on both pieces match.

Ez

I'm amazed that to learn that these fit at all. They were mainly developed and marketed for the Silvia/180SX/240sx line. I thought for sure that they'd rub springs without spacers

[7240z]

Wow! They do look similar to my rims! But it looks like the spokes are a bit wider on mine or maybe its the black that makes it look smaller. One thing I find weird is that the valve caps says SSR but the decal in the rim says Speed Star Co.LTD?? Hmmm. Maybe the valve caps have been replaced. Also I don't think there was any copyright infringement because these are RS - 8's and not Watanabe's. Can you give me the specs on your rims sakijo? Thanks for the cranes info. Would you know why they chose cranes as there symbol? What does it mean?

Ezra, I was talking about the ones posted at the start of this thread. I think Speed Star and SSR are the same company. I think (and I'm not sure) that SSR means "Speed Star Racing" The "Classic Watanabes" are RS Watanabe, I think. Attached a picture of the type of wheel that I have on my car and a set of Watanabe caps. The Ws are actually cranes . . .

Edit: As far as I can determine, Speed Star Co LTD is a company that makes wheels. One of their lines is the SSR line. I can't say for sure, but I would believe that the SSR Watanabes are made by Speed Star under license or agreement with RS Watanabe, otherwise their would certainly be copyright infringement with the use of RS Watanabe's logo.

[Victor Laury]

I can't say for sure, but I would believe that the SSR Watanabes are made by Speed Star under license or agreement with RS Watanabe, otherwise their would certainly be copyright infringement with the use of RS Watanabe's logo.

You are correct. Speed Star Racing manufactured the RS-8 for RS-Watanabe. They discontinued production for the 2005 year, where RS-Watanabe replaced them with the 17'' GR-8. The RS-8 were advertised on the RS-Watanabe site http://www.rs-watanabe.co.jp but no longer appear there. Speed Star Racing went bankrupt in early 2005 and their site went dead http://www.speedstar.co.jp They have since been purchased by Tanabe.

I've been monitoring Tanabe's web resources for news on weither they would continue production. Well it's now settled, as their web site now, not only includes the full line of SSR wheels http://www.rd-tanabe.com/ssr/index.html, but even a new model, remaniscent of the famous and rare Brite Star http://www.rd-tanabe.com/ssr/collection/ssr_sp2r/index.html. Unforutunatly, not in an offset or PCD for any Datsun.