Looking for Retro Wheel Suggestions

[Qwimby1]

I found several 3-piece or gold-center wheels on various web sites, usually around $550 a set. You get what you pay for and these are probably going to be 25-pound wheels. However after looking many types over, I've decided that the only thing that can make me want to keep my black car is retro gold-center or mesh wheels. I can get a set of BBS 17X5, 39 offset shipped from Japan for $2200 after a two-month wait.


One that looks really good is Axe 18X8 40 offset. I'd prefer to stay with 17s because a stock engine FRS doesn't need much, if any, more rubber. I can get JCS 17x8.5, 30 offset. Not sure how that would work. Spacers maybe. I could go to 245s with wheels that width, but again it's more tire than a street-stock FRS needs. One advantage to that would be that my OEM wheels can be fitted up with my track rubber.

[MuseChaser]

Take the grand you're gonna end up spending on something you can only see for a few seconds while you walk towards your car, not at ALL once you're actually driving, and can't feel when 3you're driving, and put it in the gas tank instead. You'll get 9000 miles of sheer driving pleasure out of it, instead of something that you think looks cool.
I just don't get the whole "for looks" thing. Not saying I'm right and those who mod for looks are wrong.... just saying I don't get it. The whole point of this car is great handling on a beer budget. If you're going to spend another 10k or 20k modding it, why not just buy the car you really want in the first place?

[new2subaru]

Originally Posted by MuseChaser

Take the grand you're gonna end up spending on something you can only see for a few seconds while you walk towards your car, not at ALL once you're actually driving, and can't feel when 3you're driving, and put it in the gas tank instead. You'll get 9000 miles of sheer driving pleasure out of it, instead of something that you think looks cool.
I just don't get the whole "for looks" thing. Not saying I'm right and those who mod for looks are wrong.... just saying I don't get it. The whole point of this car is great handling on a beer budget. If you're going to spend another 10k or 20k modding it, why not just buy the car you really want in the first place?

Yep, you're right about not getting it

[Qwimby1]

Originally Posted by MuseChaser

Take the grand you're gonna end up spending on something you can only see for a few seconds while you walk towards your car, not at ALL once you're actually driving, and can't feel when 3you're driving, and put it in the gas tank instead. You'll get 9000 miles of sheer driving pleasure out of it, instead of something that you think looks cool.
I just don't get the whole "for looks" thing. Not saying I'm right and those who mod for looks are wrong.... just saying I don't get it. The whole point of this car is great handling on a beer budget. If you're going to spend another 10k or 20k modding it, why not just buy the car you really want in the first place?

Sounds like you would be happy painting yours olive drab and picking up a few parking-lot dents.


I've been advising students not to over mod their cars and rely on a horsepower crutch for more years than I can count. Why on earth would I spend 10 or 20 grand in mods on a car that will be an occasional DD which holds its own quite well on track days in near-stock form. I'll install an oil cooler, pads and a few odds and ends and go out and have a ball. I bought the black car on a lark and don't like the effort to keep it looking clean. I like gold wheels and I can afford them, so I'm going to make myself enjoy it a little more. Anyway wheels aren't a dead loss. They're a slowly depreciating investment that can always be sold at a later date.

[MuseChaser]

Originally Posted by Qwimby1

Sounds like you would be happy painting yours olive drab and picking up a few parking-lot dents.


I've been advising students not to over mod their cars and rely on a horsepower crutch for more years than I can count. Why on earth would I spend 10 or 20 grand in mods on a car that will be an occasional DD which holds its own quite well on track days in near-stock form. I'll install an oil cooler, pads and a few odds and ends and go out and have a ball. I bought the black car on a lark and don't like the effort to keep it looking clean. I like gold wheels and I can afford them, so I'm going to make myself enjoy it a little more. Anyway wheels aren't a dead loss. They're a slowly depreciating investment that can always be sold at a later date.

We're not way off. My lack of interest in investing money in cosmetic modifications is not the same as not caring for a vehicle; a bad paint job and dents would serve no purpose other than to devalue the car, so they are of similar no interest to me. The mods you mentioned (oil cooler, pads) are pragmatic for the intended usage and make perfect sense...if I tracked, I'd do them w/out a second thought. You have a fondness for gold wheels, the money to buy them, and a rationale that works for you as far as value over their lifetime, and that's cool. No worries... I just don't get that part personally. I'm definitely a function over form guy.

[Qwimby1]

I'm down to two good possibilities. Ace EX10 18x8 30 offset which I think would be a bit too aggressive. ( I was thinking in reverse when I mentioned spacers.) The Spec 1 SP3 at 17X7 38 offset and 19Lb each sounds close to perfect for my use, and they're only about $125 each. https://www.carid.com/spec-1-wheels/...-44560668.html
I'll probably go with 225 series tires. I have Michelin Super Sports on now but again I think that's a little overkill. Maybe Firestone Firehawk 500s. Has anyone used this tire?

[Qwimby1]

Originally Posted by MuseChaser

We're not way off. My lack of interest in investing money in cosmetic modifications is not the same as not caring for a vehicle; a bad paint job and dents would serve no purpose other than to devalue the car, so they are of similar no interest to me. The mods you mentioned (oil cooler, pads) are pragmatic for the intended usage and make perfect sense...if I tracked, I'd do them w/out a second thought. You have a fondness for gold wheels, the money to buy them, and a rationale that works for you as far as value over their lifetime, and that's cool. No worries... I just don't get that part personally. I'm definitely a function over form guy.

[Qwimby1]

These are enroute. https://www.carid.com/spec-1-wheels/...-44560668.html I think they'll really enhance a black car. 17x7 38et with Firestone 500 Firehawk 215x45x17 which have a very favorable Tire Rack rating. I got them with TPMS installed to save the hassle. I thought about 225 series but the 215s are enough for this car on the street and I'll put my track tires on the old OEM wheels.

[Qwimby1]

For the OP, there are several mesh wheels that will fit our cars and would be even more retro, but I can tell you from experience that mesh is a bearcat to keep clean. That's one reason I went with the ones I did.

[Feistyfrog]

Not sure about available sizes, but Rota strikes again with the RKR model. It's a copy of the Watanabe classic, but it's at an affordable price and definitely a retro look.

[MaverickMonk]

Originally Posted by MuseChaser

Take the grand you're gonna end up spending on something you can only see for a few seconds while you walk towards your car, not at ALL once you're actually driving, and can't feel when 3you're driving, and put it in the gas tank instead. You'll get 9000 miles of sheer driving pleasure out of it, instead of something that you think looks cool.
I just don't get the whole "for looks" thing. Not saying I'm right and those who mod for looks are wrong.... just saying I don't get it. The whole point of this car is great handling on a beer budget. If you're going to spend another 10k or 20k modding it, why not just buy the car you really want in the first place?

If i was in a position where I couldn't put gas in my car, I certainly wouldn't be buying wheels. But I'm not, so it's not an either-or question. Good driving times will be had regardless

I need summer tires (Or more accurately, I needed winter tires, which necessitates summer tires), so my choices are either buy a second set of wheels, or pay $200 a year to have the tires swapped. Don't see the point in spending hundreds on wheels I don't like, just to save a few hundred over ones I actually enjoy seeing.

I'm certainly not spending 10-20k. More like 2-3k between wheels, interior mods (working on writing up some how-to threads right now), and handling upgrades (to be determined after I rack up some more time driving it, it honestly doesn't feel like it needs much, so maybe even less). And at that increased price point my ideal car is still a Brz. Now if 15k could have gotten me a low mileage Caymen, we'd have a different talk... cheers

Originally Posted by Feistyfrog

Not sure about available sizes, but Rota strikes again with the RKR model. It's a copy of the Watanabe classic, but it's at an affordable price and definitely a retro look.

Those are a good look, can't seem to find the right size though, don't want to step up to 18s for fear the potholes of the DC area will leave me needing a yearly wheel replacement budget.

Originally Posted by humfrz

That was a nice reply to ol grouchy @soundman98 's lecture post -


humfrz

When I have my 3+ cups of coffee I can be downright congenial!

[churchx]

$200 for tire swap? Thats sounds lot vs 45eur here for same job(+rebalancing of course). If so, for winter tires for same money some cheap used wheel set (which i'd prefer to new steelies) is more then justified purchase, even more so that it can be chosen of more fit for winter use sizing (smaller, R16, and narrower) w/o compromising summer set. R16 winter tires will let save extra $100-$150 per set .

[MaverickMonk]

Originally Posted by churchx

$200 for tire swap? Thats sounds lot vs 45eur here for same job(+rebalancing of course). If so, for winter tires for same money some cheap used wheel set (which i'd prefer to new steelies) is more then justified purchase, even more so that it can be chosen of more fit for winter use sizing (smaller, R16, and narrower) w/o compromising summer set. R16 winter tires will let save extra $100-$150 per set .

~200 a year. Gotta go from from winters to summers, then summers to winters. Probably more like $160 but I like to round up my estimates. keeps the excel spreadsheet happy.

Regardless, I plan to buy a decent looking set of summer wheels, and use the (frankly ugly) stockers as my winters. Because I'll enjoy them. I enjoy driving obviously, but I also enjoy having my car look the way I want it to. I'm not buying some $4000 set of rotiforms or anything. But I went to school for a very long time and got a job with some pretty crappy hours to allow me the occasional indulgence, in this case, some reasonably priced and hopefully slightly retro-racecar looking wheels.

[Qwimby1]