The hardcore Kyusha Shoe community was abuzz last weekend when one of the more interesting auction finds that I’ve ever come across appeared.  It was a set of un-used and still in boxes Volk C1‘s complete with tags and instruction manuals, and one of the two aero options for the wheels,  the flat Aero Caps.

This wasn’t the first peak we’ve had at new in boxes C1’s.  A few months ago, a reader from Sweden very graciously shared his set with us.  Launching in 1985, Rays Engineering called the C1 the “First Composite Wheel Made.”  The value of that statement might be debatable given that the wheel is essentially a conventional aluminum dish wheel with a CFRP sheet bonded to its face. However, with some great aerodynamic add-ons, an asymmetrical design and Rays Engineering’s incredible attention to detail, in our opinion, the Volk C1 is clearly among the greatest wheels ever to come out of Japan.

And so, some of us fans discussed and debated… wondering what this set of C1’s could possible sell for.

Ultra-high value Kyusha Shoes tend to belong to a different class of wheel than these C1’s.  They are generally ultra wide cast wheels from the seventies, or exquisite wire wheels.  In general, street sports-type wheels from the eighties and nineties don’t tend to command maximum dollars, especially in measly 7J width like these C1’s were.

With less than 24hrs remaining, the bid which had started at 1, 000 円 had made its way to 61,500 円 (about $600USD) and I was converting my Canadian dollars into Japanese Yen in preparation to take a stab.

A couple of months prior I had watched a set of new in boxes Super Volk‘s (a prequel to the C1 in an era when Rays was playing around with construction techniques) go for around 80,000 円.  I had expected those wheels to sell for a lot more than that, so I held optimism for the C1’s.

C1’s… that in my opinion, were missing the coolest part of the C1: the accessory option “Cooling Fins” which bolt to the wheel face to add cooling aero effects.  Surely they would still be more than 80, 000円, but when they were missing the best part they couldn’t possibly be more than double that number could they? I placed my bid.

… and promptly got obliterated.  The final selling price was a cool 297,000 円.

So my bid was meaningless, but it is interesting to see some great appreciation for an iconic wheel. That number puts them right in the ballpark with the most expensive set of Kyusha Shoes I’ve seen sell on auction (there’s an idea for a future post!).

“Hey look at these wheels I found, what are they worth?” is something that we find fairly often in our inboxes here.  Generally, I think our answers only disappoint those who ask.  We are talking about relatively simple pieces here that can be (and sometimes even are!) re-produced without incredible cost.  When however, they include boxes and documentation and demonstrate designs that were revolutionary at the time, that makes them truly historic pieces.

In that case, I like to imagine that the sky is the limit.

Since starting this website, the wheel info coming in has been overwhelming.  I’ve learned so much.  And I’ve also learned a lot about  how wheel enthusiasts around the world are buying and exporting wheels out of Japan.  I am lucky enough to have family in Japan that has helped me lots in the past with bidding on, receiving and shipping out my auction wins from YAJ or Rakuten.  Ten years into that however, I get the impression that wheel collecting is something I was supposed to have grown out of.  And as my mother in law ages, and my wheels get bigger and heavier, guilt starts to accumulate. I picture her carrying them up and down tight apartment stairwells, or down narrow sidewalks to the post office.

So when a number of you told me that you use Jauce.com to browse and purchase from YAJ, I thought I’d give it a go.

Now I’ve dabbled with other exporters in the past.  One single individual, whom I won’t name but rhymes with Messy Eater, has been great. However, when most of my purchases come from moments of boredom (like waiting in an airport for multiple hours), the ability to bid instantly myself is a huge win.  This is not something that is possible when your exporter is one dude who needs to send an invoice, then confirm payment before finally placing a bid himself… all from 15 time zones away.

Jauce, solves that problem with a website that lets you browse and bid on pretty much anything on YAJ… all in Google translated English.  Spontaneous purchases yay! And I don’t even have to worry about catching my in-laws off guard with a gigantic package sitting on their front door.

I’ve been using Jauce for the last year, on small items like books, magazines and small car parts/toys for kids.  Results have been great, although I have sometimes questioned overall costs.

I only recently used it to buy a set of wheels… and I think my questions about costs are answered now.

It IS expensive.

There are service fees at basically every step of the process. What you don’t see here, is that my 45000円 deposit was actually 46868円 out of my account.  Deposit money? Pay service fee.   Win an auction? Pay a fee.  Ship an item? Pay a fee. Make a withdrawal?  Pay a fee.

Now some of the fees listed here come from the actual seller, but by my math…

1868円 (deposit fee) + 4000円(auction win) + 2×4750円 (handling fee) + 2×2580円 (repacking fee) = 20528円 in Jauce fees.  That’s about $270CDN which seems pretty harsh, for what is probably no more than an hours work and a few yen worth of cardboard.  In all, my 16″ wheels, won for 45000円 cost me 90020円 shipped on a boat and arriving here in Calgary, Canada in probably 8 weeks.  That about $1200CDN which isn’t insane for what I got (new old stock Enkei RS-III), but I don’t have the same feeling of achievement that I’m used to having after a YAJ purchase.

Is the snazzy website worth it? Maybe if you really want what you’re buying.  If you are just trying desperately not to buy RPF1’s from Tire Rack then maybe not so much.  I think I probably need to exercise more patience and support my fellow hashirya who provide the same service without the fancy interface.

For lots of AE86 owners, non driving extracurricular activities involved wheel shopping.  4×114.3 hubs, and the ability to accept a wide variety of wheel diameters and widths made this a fun and relaxing activity.  AE86 owners who stepped into the modern hachiroku, the ZN6, struggle though to enjoy wheel shopping in the same way.

In comparison to 4X114.3 life (and basically every other PCD), 5X100 life is disheartening.  Yes there are some great modern lightweight wheels available for the car, but if you fancy the kyusha style and want to set your car apart from all the other catalog built cars out there, a quality used set of wheels is a fun choice.

As an aftermarket wheel bolt pattern, 5X100 didn’t really exist until the late eighties, but the sixteen inch diameter the ZN6 requires were gigantic for that era. Thinking old school, the mid-nineties is about the best we can hope for. There is lots of stuff out there for the car that is newer than that, but if you cared about those options then you probably wouldn’t be here.  As a new ZN6 owner, here are some of the wheels that I’ve had eyes open for in used wheel marketplaces.

#1 – Watanabe F8F Why buy Rota’s copy when the real ultimate Hachiroku wheel is out there? The F8F is fairly commonly available in 17 7J 40, but more aggressive widths and offsets are available in fifteen, sixteen and seventeen inch diameters. As a plus, fifteen inch diameters are known to clear Subaru 4 pot calipers. Real magnesium construction is available too, for significant dollars. Given Bunta’s certain approval, it’s likely worth it regardless.
#2 – Suzuka Longchamp XR-4Z Kai Built using SSR’s Semi Solid Forging techniques, the Lonchamp XR-4Z Kai came out in 1996 with sizing for bigger cars. Sixteen through eighteen inch diameters are available, with widths up to 10.5J. Sixteen and seventeen inch examples use a reverse mounted shell. The 18 uses a conventional stepped lip, but is much more rare. The XR-4Z Kai is not quite the classic Longchamp XR-4 from the early 80’s, but you can’t get any closer without resorting to modern knock off brands.
#3 SSR MK-IIR The classic MK-2 is comfortably at home on an AE86, and the modern MK-IIR should work equally well on the ZN6. 5X100 is a challenging find, and sixteen inch is the biggest diameter, but 8 and 9J widths are available in middle offsets. Black, red, blue, gold and silver are factory colours, which means that like the original MK-2, some extra flare comes standard.
#4 SSR EX-C Fin Look long and hard, but they are out there in sixteen and seventeen inch sizes and 5X100 bolt pattern. In fact, the whole EX-C line up can fit here, but the Fin is my personal favourite. It is also to the best of my knowledge, the only classic looking fin available in both 5X100 and 17″ diameter. Not surprisingly, this is the oldest wheel on this list. The EX-C line up came in 17″ as early as 1988.
#5 Work Equip 05 The Equip 05 is not quite the Equip 01, 02 or Excel, but it carries the same name and a classic look in sizes that fit the ZN6 well.  Diameters up to eighteen inch are available, as well as some really big widths. Exactly when these wheels started production is unknown,  but production dates from 1997 to 2005 have been observed. Finding a set in good condition is not a terribly challenging exercise.

Fatlace announced a collaboration with AME back in 2010, and finally something has come of it.  They are calling it the AME FZero1 and FZero2, modelling them after original 1980 productions.  While I am not at all a fan of Fatlace and their brand, I will concede that they’ve done something really cool here, and I even want a piece.

In both cases, you’ll notice a couple tweaks and alterations from the original design, and with AME on board, from my perspective that’s a great decision.  I.E. they have done no disservice to guys who already own or want to own the originals.  It might be snobby as hell to think about, but it’s the first thing that crossed my mind.  As soon as companies start re-producing vintage wheels, the original productions leave me with little desire.

The new FZero in this case though, only highlights what was to most, a couple of very obscure and unidentifiable wheels.

Given the cost and complication of importing wheels from Japan, it’s always pleasant to come across rare finds on this side of the Pacific.  These Weds likely date back to the seventies, and they are currently not even in my database.  They look great though… especially on the back side.  Considering his claims on original cost, I wonder if the seller might have purchased the wheels new.  Very cool.

Thanks to another reader for sharing.  Loving the feedback and interest!

IMO, it’s pretty rare to see interesting stuff on Ebay.  These Bridgestone FVS Super Raps are currently listed though, and for a pretty decent price all things considered.  Not that many of you are interested in simple steel look wheels… but I think you should be.  Weight for these is less than 4.0KG, which puts the reading on the scale under basically anything, including modern lightweights.

Check the listing out yourself HERE.

Four hole Star Sharks are relatively common.  These five holes are on Yahoo Auctions this week.  If I’ve seen these before, I certainly can’t remember.  Seems like 15″ would be a more useful five bolt diameter though.

I’m getting lots of emails recently about buying things off Yahoo Auctions Japan, and I don’t have the ability to help you all individually. I can’t advise you much better on the condition of a particular item based on the written description much better than Babelfish, nor can I recommend an importer, but I can help you search and navigate. If you are keen to check it out, but can’t even find the wheel category from the main page: CLICK HERE.

By default, searches made will return results only from the current category, so start by limiting wheel diameter, and bolt number on the left most column. Then start searching. English characters work relatively well for a lot of searches. “SSR” for example, will turn pretty good results if you are looks for SSR’s, but if you are looking for Work wheels, and search “Work” the engine will only return a small percentage of the total number on auction because many Work wheels will be listed by our Japanese senpai using the katakana characters ”ワーク”. It’s typically best to search twice, using both roman characters and katakana.

Below are a number of common kyusha wheel searches that I do, as well as a couple of tricks that I’ve been unwilling to share with anyone until now. Copy and paste to your hearts content.

Advan – アドバン – Yokohama – ヨコハマ
Bridgestone – ブリチストン – Potenza – ポテンザ
Enkei – エンケイ
Hart – ハート
Hayashi – ハヤシ
Heroes – ヒーローズ
Hoshino – ホシノ or Impul – インパル
Manaray – マナレイ
Michelin – ミシュラン
Rays – レイズ – Volk – ボルク
Riverside – リバーサイド
Sharak – シャラク or シャーク (Shark)
SSR – Speed Star – スピードスター
Toms – トムス
Watanabe – ワタナベ
Weds – ウエッズ
Work – ワーク

Some other searches that also work well for me are below. A lot of times persistent searching can discover wheels that are mis-named by the seller, or simply listed as unknown or generic wheels.

Mesh – メッシュ
Center Lock – センターロック
Junk – ジャンク
Unknown – 不明
Light – ライト
Rare -　レア or 希
Aero – エアロ – Cover -カバー
Star -　スター
Shark – シャーク
Spoke – スポーク
Longchamp – ロンシャン
Mark – マーク
Race – レース – Racing – レーシング
Rally – ラリー
Gravel – グラベル
Formula – フォーミュラ
Equip -　エクイップ
Techno -　テクノ
Impul – インパル
Hachiroku – ハチロク
Hakosuka – ハコスカ – Kenmeri – ケンメリ
Nostalgic – 当時
Old Car -旧車
Yayoi – ヤヨイ or 弥生

The wheel search isn’t going so well. So much so, that I’ve almost decided to go with boring Enkei RP01’s again. They’re good light, strong, affordable wheels but it’s pretty hard to love any car that sits on an ordinary five spoke. It’s also pretty hard to find an upgrade for my Speedlines that isn’t already on the Subaru down the street. The only answer might be OEM wheels from obscure JDM models/option packages that never made it across the big ocean… that or do a 5×114 conversion and get some old SSR’s.

Mind you, it’s not 2009 again, when our dollar hit almost 110円, but 95円 feels so so much better than 75円 that I really can’t hold back.

Somebody buy these Hornets!!! And if not them, there are tonnes of other rad kyusha wheels around right now.