I didn't want to do this but searching has become a bit of a headache. I am doing the RE-Speed turbo II brake upgrade so I'm going to need new wheels. I don't want to break the bank but I'm ok with up to $250/wheel. Im going to run 15x8 front and 15x9 rear which apparently are not available from most decent manufacturers so custom is my only option. Aside from panasports and diamond racing wheels what companies build completely custom wheels without costing a ridiculous amount?

Thanks for the help
Chris

 

If you call, some wheel companies will drill custom bolt patterns for a small extra charge. $40-$100 extra per wheel. That all depends on if they ever have blank wheels. So not all are willing to do that. There are a few companies that still offer 15 inch wheel options.


http://www.enkei.com/enkei92.html

http://www.axiswheels.com/view-wheel/og-oldskool

Just a few examples.

 

Not that awesome looking, but I've seen them on first gens looking pretty sweet. Cheap as chips too.

http://www.diamondracingwheels.com/pro.html

 

Loki, I've checked out both of those but the Enkei's aren't available in 9 inch wide and the OG's aren't 5 bolt. Otherwise I'd rock either one

Starfox, I've considered diamonds but they just aren't what I'm looking for. Basically they were only an option because of the custom options, but the look isn't what I want. Thanks anyway to both of you.

 

http://esmwheels.com/access/

 

I like those too but they aren't available in 15's. I know I'm being picky and I've considered going to 16's but I have a practically new set of 225/45/15 RS-3's that I don't want to sell. I'd lose too much trying to sell them to make it worth my time. Also the offset on the 8 inch wide is like +30 which would need a massive spacer to fit. After the headache I had fitting the Rota RBs I am done using spacers. For an 8 up front I need between a 0 and +5 offset otherwise it will hit the RE-Speed perch. I appreciate the efforts though, keep em coming, there's gold out there somewhere.

 

Just a thought here, is it possible to use the 2nd gen 4 bolt hubs with TII brakes and just redrill the TII brake rotors? If you can do that, you may have more options.

 

Ide assume you could but why would u want to redrill your braked every time u do a brake change. Seems like a waste of work when you could just do it right the 1st time.

 

That and I already have the TII hubs and like Drake said, it would become a pain to change rotors. More so than the stock rotors were having to install new bearings every time. Good suggestion, but I've already got the parts on hand. I throw away enough money on this car, now is a good time to start thinking a little harder and spending the money right the first time.

Just thought I'd add, I've emailed Enkei and they are not producing custom fitments. I find it odd that such a large company can't pop out a custom spec wheel, but oh well. I understand there's certain tooling involved but honestly how hard can it be? I've also emailed ESM and am awaiting a reply on the same question. I'll update with what I find out.

 

Being that Enkei is such a large company, it wouldn't surprise me that they don't want to do a custom wheel. They probably have all their machining lines set up with specially made gang drills that "jig" into each type of wheel they make and are made to drill one bolt pattern only. IMO, a smaller manufacturer would be more likely to drill a custom bolt pattern into a wheel for you. The big ones just can't be bothered with taking the time to do such a thing.

Another option that a company like Enkei might go for is to sell you a wheel with no bolt holes drilled into it. Then you just have to take it to your local machine shop and have them drill it. I've heard of people doing this before.

Third option, buy a wheel with a relatively flat center like the wheel pictured above and just have a second bolt pattern of your choice drilled into it. You can even do this with 4 bolt wheels going to 5 bolt, as long as the bolt circles are the same. I have seen this done as well on a set of wheels I had at one point but never used.



These wheels were originally 4x114.3 made for a truck style lug nut and were redrilled to 4x110 with a standard lug nut taper.

 

Please keep us updated

 

I was online for about 7 hours last night, went to bed and had a dream about looking for wheels. I **** you not. Then I spent a few more hours online earlier today and am now looking again. I came across Centerline Wheels. There's only one I would use but I doubt I could get away with it unless I was doing a VIP type build. Have not received a reply from ESM yet. Contemplating selling the tires I have too and upsizing to a 16x8 Enkei RPF1 with a +15 offset. Might fit with some tweaking and fender rolling. I'll have to try to get under the fenders with a tape measure and make sure before the snow buries the car.

 

That car looks perfect with those wheels

 

It certainly does. Unfortunately that's a GSL-SE with wheels that actually fit. I've got a GSL with 5 bolt and what they offer won't fit. Do yourselves a favor if you want better braking. Skip the TII upgrade and just buy race pads. ARRGHHHH!!!

 

Will I have to make any adjustments to make those wheels fit?

 

Your just being too picky about the sizes you want. Having a certain tire already that you want to use doesn't help matters, but back when I did the conversion on my 82, there were quite a few compatible wheels in 15" and 16" in widths from 7" to 9".

Also, I gotta be honest here, I am having a hard time figuring out why you want to run a skinny 225 on a 9" wide wheel in the rear? That size fits very nice on 8" wide wheel. I could see if you want to run a 245 in the rear then a 9" wide wheel would be required, but given your tires, its not required.

 

sucks when a company gets too big for their own good, it wouldn't be a big deal to pull then off the line before they were drilled

I think enkie over the years is no longer in touch with itself


yup 4 x 110 so why can't they do now the re issue 92's have a pretty flat
face why can't they drill them for us.

perhaps a patition and deposits would get their attention

 

85rotarypower, your absolutely right, I am being very picky. However if I'm going to spend money on wheels I want them to be perfect both in looks and fitment. I want the 9 in the rear be because I have a set of 240z flares that I wanted to use. Most decent extreme summer performance tires aren't available wider than a 225 for a 15 inch wheel. A little stretch would have tucked them into the flares nicely. I want a really aggressive fit so they have to be right. I'm not lookin for anyone to point out a wheel specifically, just companies that I haven't looked at yet so I can find what I want. I spent a lot on the tires I have and they are practically brand new. I hate throwing money away so I really dont want to sell them at a loss. Although after a quick test fit of the flares I'm not too sure they'll look right. I have an idea bouncing around in my head so we might be able to put this one to bed soon. Every suggestion is appreciated.

 

Check out a set of FC Vert BBS wheels! My buddy is building one hell of a REW powered FB and is running RE-Speed suspension and a set of the 15" BBS wheels powder coated black and its got a perfect stance and looks sweet!!

 

Those enkies look good. I think i would get a deep dish wheel on mine.

 

I am about to order these wheels. Will they fit a stock 82 gsl. Thank you

 

Not unless you convert to a GSL-SE suspension, or use adapters. They are not available in 4x110 which the GSL has. They still have not responded to my email so maybe if you call them they can give you a straight answer on whether or not they can custom drill a set for you. Without a spacer up front you may run into fitment issues with the spring. First gens like about 4.5" of backspace up front, the 7.5+20 will have about 5.1". With a spacer you should be able to move them out far enough that they don't contact the spring as well as sit nearly flush with the fender lip. The 9" rear will have lots of space. They have 5.6" of backspace. I measured and there is almost 7" of backspace until you hit the inner fender. You don't want to go that far back because there won't be room for axle articulation, but you'll be fine with those wheels.

This is my favorite tool for finding more accurate wheel specs when they aren't listed with the wheels: http://www.rimsntires.com/specs.jsp

 

if you are that picky, you are gonna have to either make compromises or spend a little money, I meen If you have a Specific Tire size, A Specific Bolt Pattern, A specific rim width,a specific rim diameter, and a specific offset It will be impossable to find a perfect off the shelf wheel, throw in the variable of wether you like the look of the wheel and it gets even harder. So that being said you are gonna have to make a compromise on a few things to keep the price economical. Or be prepared to spend more money.

If It were a perfect world I would tell you to order a set of custom 3 piece wheels and then you can have whatever combination of widths, diameters, and offsets you want. If you had a set of 3 piece wheels and wanted to change from a 15" up to 16" you could do that relatively inexpensively, you get a different set of wheels "Shells" and keep you center piece with the bolt pattern and whatever design you like, or if you felt like going from 9" to 15" width or changing your offset again just change the shells. But again be prepared to double your budget.

try:http://http://www.kodiakracingwheels.com/index.html or http://http://jongbloedracing.com/applications.htm for info and ideas on 3 piece wheels

 

Well, I bit the bullet and ordered a set of BBS RS off VRWheels.com. After reading reviews there were only a few that were bad and more that were good, so fingers crossed. Here they are in all their used glory. I intend to repaint the centers and polish the hell out of the lips. They are 16x7.5+14 and 16x8.5 +14 and with the measurements I took they should need little to no help fitting with a 205 up front and 225 out back. A little more bling than I was going to go for but hey, they'll look good when they are done. I've still got some nerve shakes goin, so I hope this wasn't a bad idea.

 

that should look pretty nice