Whats up with MSA????

[zeewhiz]

Hey guys,

I was wondering if any of you west coast guys knew what what is happening with MSA. As many of you know already, they are cancelling all panasports except for the silver ones, and the silver ones with the machined lip. That sucks for a lot of us who were saving up for some of the colored ones (bronze, black, etc....) Then I fell in love with the konig old school mesh wheels that were black with the machined lip. Guess what! They are gone now too! They still have the konig rewinds, but I just don't like them as much as the panasports. Also, it looks like they are concentrating on more modern wheels now that, in my opinion, will look like azz on an old Z. Whats more, I emailed them about this subject on monday morning, and I have yet to get a response. The last time I emailed them questions about the stroker kit they have, I NEVER got a response back. Do these guys think they are too big to not be concerned with the average joe's average question? I'm sure they get a lot of emails, but I would have expected a response by now.... I guess us old school guys will have to refer to an importer like takumiproject or memoryfab to get our fix. Seems MSA has gone the way of the ricer....:disappoin :disappoin :disappoin

[sblake01]

Like a lot of companies, MSA is not what it once was. I stopped buying from them about 4 years ago when their customer service began it's decline and their prices began their increase. After all, they sell the same stuff everyone else does.

[deadflo]

Here's my quick react. Sorry I have no answer on the wheel issue. I will echo the sentiment that new style wheels look bizarre on a 240-Z for sure!

But to defend MSA a bit. It seems if you try to reach them in April, they are in freak out mode because of the upcoming nationals show. Plus everyone in the country is getting their Z's out of storage from the winter and needs stuff right away. So they are overwhelmed.

I do agree they have some folks that aren't real helpful on the phone. I always punch through to extension #201, and leave a mesage for Sal who has been there forever. He is super helpful and will call you back.

I think customer service on the phone at all businesses has declined in recent years.

[240ZX]

I agree with Blake! I stopped buy stuff from them, well not all stuff, when during some research I discovered that a distributor MSA sells for almost $600 could be purchased from Summit for about $350! A 70% markup is a bit of a gouge in my book. And customer service is certainly lacking!!!

[jmark]

Sal at 201 is great to deal with.

[Jeff G 78]

Yep, I was saving for gunmetal 16x7's and they're gone. Other than Centerlines, which I don't think fit the era, there aren't many 16x7 wheels left that direct fit. The silver Panasports are nice, but I really liked the gunmetal or bronze with the machined lip. I might have to go with Honda adaptors and modern wheels now. The problem is that very few look good at all on a Z.

[240ZX]

Matt & Jeff, You might consider purchasing the silver Panasports (the design you want, not the color) and polishing out the lips and painting or powdercoating the spokes to your liking! A little extra work but, you will wind up with exactly what you want.....and isn't that what its all about anyway?

[EScanlon]

Don't forget other factors that may be influencing what they sell.

Beandip recently went checking for 14" tires, and discovered that although they're ~still~ available, they're just not held in stock if they even have them. Most folks are going to larger tires, lower profiles. The 14" rim is slowly going the way of the old 12" rims simply because you can't get tires for it.

2¢

E

[=Enigma=]

Yep, I was saving for gunmetal 16x7's and they're gone. Other than Centerlines, which I don't think fit the era, there aren't many 16x7 wheels left that direct fit. The silver Panasports are nice, but I really liked the gunmetal or bronze with the machined lip. I might have to go with Honda adaptors and modern wheels now. The problem is that very few look good at all on a Z.

Why change up the kind of wheel you want just because MSA isn't selling them. There plenty of other sources where they can be obtained. Just call Panasport and ask them for the name and number of a dealer nearest to your location. I did, and found a dealer who would order the gold 15x7's for me @ $1200 for a set of 4, instead of the $1499 I believe MSA wanted.

[Jeff G 78]

I haven't called Panasport yet. I did do quite a bit of internet searching and couldn't find much in the way of dealers. There is a race shop in my area that sells Panasports, but they don't stock anything and their prices are very high. Thanks for the suggestion.

[jmark]

Les at Classic Datsun sells Panas

http://www.classicdatsun.com/

[zeewhiz]

Hey guys, thanks for all of the suggestions! 240zx, good suggestion, I know a guy (who is on this board) that said he would powder coat a whole set of wheels for somewhere around $400.00 for the set. However, I may just go with enigma's suggestion and call around. Seems kinda silly for me not to have done that yet, but of all the sites that do carry panasports, all they ever had was silver, so I got discouraged. Jmark, Im going to check that site out. Thanks again guys!