Lately whilst browsing for DR30s on the internerds I’ve noticed a rather startling trend: the majority of ‘em have either Longchamp XR4s, Formula Mesh, Impul G5s, or Watanabe RS-8 wheels fitted. And to be honest I’m guilty of perpetuating this trend myself, as I happen to have a set of meshies on the coupe and some RS-8s lying around which are to one day find themselves on squid…
on a whim I stuck my Work Ewing-IIIs on Tardme the other day – while I’m not expecting them to sell in any big hurry, it got me thinking about what I could purchase from Japan to “fill the void” as alternative rims for either of my Skylines. So off to Yahoo Auctions Japan I went, with the criteria being that the replacement wheels had to be 15″, minimum width 6J, available as a full set of 4 for under 50,000 yen, and NOT any of the styles mentioned above.
In other words, Different!
Option 1: Autostradas (15×6.5J +23 offset)
Ring ring, anyone there?
Now these are the epitome of “telephone dial”. At +23 offset there’s not much dish to be seen, but for a relatively flat-faced rim they’re versatile enough in design to be seen on everything from AE86s to S12s to BFMRs. This particular set has been classified by the seller as “junk item” and need some scrubbing up to be presentable, but are in undamaged condition. ¥9,450
Option 2: LINEA SPORT (15×6.0J +36 offset)
Wheels, or pie dishes?
Ahh, the legendary turbofins. If you’ve played Gran Turismo 4 you can sometimes find rims similar to these in the 2nd hand wheel shop. I remember putting some on my in-game KDR30 coupe, and was pleasantly surprised by the end result. Not sure if anyone else would be, though… but isn’t that the whole idea? ¥28,000 – expensive, but oh so cheesy.
Option 3: Sports Racing one-piece (15×6.5J +17 offset)
Understated.
A simple fin-spoke wheel (a la Work Ewing-II/WedsSport Professor) but in one-piece design with the spokes tapering in towards the hub. I’ve seen these on Silvias before, and in fact the auction specifically mentions ‘S13′ in the description. ¥9,450
Option 4: Mana-Ray (15×6.5J +22 offset)
Man-toe-ray?
1980s rally/gravel rim. Commonly seen on period A175A Lancers and A183A Starions, but I can’t see how they couldn’t look good on a Skyline. there may actually be a DR30 in one of my numerous magazines equipped with these exact wheels except in silver, not white. ¥12,800
Comedy Option: ??????
oh god how did this get here
NO.
I might bust onto YAJ for you today man. Not huge on any of those options to be honest. Don’t mind the Autostradas for their similarity to the factory wheels but then if you were going to do that… just get some factory wheels? Not easy I know, but… Also, left a “question” on your auction.
You’re gonna be disappointed, there’s not much choice left on YAJ. I looked at 100-odd pages last night and the ones I picked out for the article are pretty much the “cream of the crop”.
was hoping to find a set of old Enkei rims on there, but no dice. Even Watanabes are getting scarce, and “full sets” aren’t common anymore.
Yeah, I had a brief look on there just before. I found maybe two sets but then wasn’t overly convinced they’d work on the R30
Someone mentioned SSR Mark II or III as viable alternatives, but I can’t envision a DR30 with such wheels fitted – does you have any photographic evidence of said phenomenon?
also got MSN much?
En-route.
Still plenty of wheels around on YAJ. You just have to pay for them. 50k jpy isn’t too much of a budget really.
Hayashi Streets?
Oh for sure, I’m just a jew when it comes to spending money on things like wheels.
Plus I’m spoiled – before the economy went belly-up I managed to score a set of Wats for US$80, a set of meshies for US$20 (!) and a set of never-used Profs for US$130, all off YAJ. So I sorta have this expectation of seeing rims for sale on there for sweet bugger all.
Of course, now things aren’t what they used to be…
…back in my day