Enkei is a big time wheel builder.

The Hamamatsu based company was one of four original JWL manufacturers.  On a global scale, they are easily the most recognized Japanese wheel brand, and entered foreign markets in a big way before anyone else from Japan did.  Enkei makes wheels for OEM applications. They make wheels for other aftermarket brands. They make wheels for race teams in the highest levels of motorsport. Yet why is it, that when it comes time for me to go shopping, Enkei’s often end up quite far down the list?

In my mind, they’ve always carried a somewhat clinical image.  Historically, Enkei designs didn’t tend to exhibit much feeling, or seem to give buyers much credit.  See the Racing 5.

The Racing 5 is not an unattractive wheel, but is definitely standard looking compared to other wheels of the time.

In the late seventies,  your know-nothing friend might have decided they wanted go fast wheels for their plain old sports sedan. He would certainly gravitate to any wheel that had  “Racing” in the name. Yes, an actual racer might realize that race wheels are typically more than 7J… but can you imagine how quickly the world would end if someone put an 8J wheel on their car and a tire rubbed on a fender liner?  At 22000円, for a 14 6J size, the Racing 5 was about 25% less expensive than wheels from other reputable brands. It was reasonably light too… for an aluminum wheel cast in the seventies.  5.82kg.

To Joe-wantanabe-hashirya, it probably looked like a no-brainer.

And that’s why almost 40 years later, Enkei Racing 5’s are still everywhere in used markets.

Yes it feels like the goal of Enkei has been mass-appeal and value engineering: the kinds of things that appeal to big boring automakers, your great-aunt, and race teams run by engineers instead of impassioned drivers. It is an approach that I think overall, has done Enkei well.

I was thus shocked when I spotted skin, and even nipple in the advertisement seen atop the post, pulled from a 1979 issue of Motorfan Magazine.

… And when my eyes finally dropped I read the caption.

“You must never forget, the beauty of a woman is sinful”  – Jacques Prevert

How Enkei intended these words to be understood, I’m not sure.  Was the intention to compare the beauty of the Enkei Racing 5 wheel to that of this caged woman? I imagine something different.

In my mind this quote by French screenwriter Prevert, (you can believe I’m fighting auto-correct on that name!) may be the perfect statement/justification by Enkei for plain and sterile wheels designs.

IE, they were saying “We could make striking and sexy wheels like other companies do, but that would be leading you towards eternal damnation.  Instead, choose this plain sensible wheel that your grandmother and parishioner would approve of.”

Just good wholesome fun in 1979?

So now if I may draw an analogy to American politics…

Dearest Enkei,

You have been the Barrack Obama of the JWL. You’re a great dude. You’ve made some landmark achievements. I got mad respect for you.  Just remember, even mass-appeal means sometimes wearing your hair crazy and waving your arms around like a mad man while spouting bullshit.

Love,

Kyusha Shoes

My spelling is often terrible… but you can’t blame me here.  I’m just trying to accurately portray history.

In 1980, if you purchased a set of Rays Engineering Volk, or Xray wheels, they came with a nifty plastic card that insured your wheels against theft.  The translation reads:

Volk & Xray
Theft Insurance
If you purchase Volk or Xray wheel, it comes with the industry’s first theft insurance. For that one-in-a-million case, you get a guarantee (Guaranty Card).
Carry your Guaranty Card, to participate in this fun project in the future.

Fun Project? Like getting your wheels stolen is fun?

That is not what is being implied.  Instead, I think that a Guaranty Card was also a pass/ticket, possibly for Rays events or even discounts/benefits on future purchases.  Once again, we must give Rays Engineering credit for being willing to try new things.

On the wheel front, this advertisement found in a 1980 Motorfan Magazine shows the whole Rays Engineering line-up from the year. Happily, it includes the unobtainable Volk Dish which I find quite drool worthy, showing an even simpler and more engineering focused design than the rest of an already less than flashy line-up.

When I saw this advertisement in a 1986 Parts Catalog, I thought it was one of the most beautiful wheel ads ever.  A visually striking aero wheel, splashing water, the bb Auto brand that was always a bit of a mystery… and some of the most difficult to translate/poetic Japanese I have ever read.

My liberal translation reads…

Differentiate the moment.

Beauty.
It subdues all.

Beauty.
It makes anything fascinating.

It is a beauty you fall in love with, and the car steals your soul.

Go, Turn, Stop.
bb wheels accentuate every moment with the car.

When the two arrows slowly turn, the beautiful design and rotating look takes people’s breath away. The wheels quiet, hidden power is awoken. Aero fins draw a radial arch, pulling air away from the body. Brake cooling & aerodynamics improvement, show extremely good performance. Furthermore, a lean, athletic design offers compatibility with both rigidity and light weight.

Tremendous function is hiding behind the beauty all the time, reticent, as it should be. As great as the beauty is, we miss that the function is a greater beauty on its own.

Beauty is certainly a subjective term… and eighties standards of beauty don’t necessarily apply anymore, but the bb wheels have a unique simplicity that makes them highly sought after today. “bb” also sometimes known as Buchmann’s, was a German coach-builder/tuner that started operation in 1974, and did all sorts of really awesome stuff before formally closing up shop in 1986.

Really awesome stuff?

How about putting a Porsche 928 front end on a 930?  Yes that’s cool… especially since no one had put an Odyssey front end on an S13 by that time.

“bb” was more than cosmetics though.  They specialized in adding luxury and performance to German cars.  Things like back seat refrigerators, and telephones in the dash. They were also, notably, probably the first to engineer keyless entry, and electronic steering wheel controls: two great things that “bb” gave basically every car owner today.

And to you and me, Mr. Buchmann gave the “bb” aero wheel. Or is it the arrow wheel?

In Japanese catalogs, the wheel generally appears simply as the “bb Auto bb” or the “Buchmann’s bb”.   There is no mention of the word “arrow.” If you want people in English to know what you are talking about however, you best call them “bb Arrow” wheels, as that seems to be what they are best known as.

By my records, 1986 is the year they appeared in Japan, and that is a bit surprising since 1986 is also the year that “bb” in Germany closed it’s doors.  If the German “bb Auto” was no longer operating, I’m a bit confused about what bb Auto in Tokyo was doing in 1986 and beyond.  Perhaps Mr. Buchmann saw the power of the Japanese Wheel League and wanted so badly to be a member that he gave up on Porsche, luxury, and actual automotive inventions to pursue wheel heroism.

The wheel though, or one of similar design, did come equipped on the bb Porsche Targa Turbo White 8 years earlier in 1978, and some source say the design itself was on the table in 1974 when brothers Rainer and Dieter Buchmann launched the company.  The ‘bb’ may very well be the very first single element asymmetrical aero wheel. It wasn’t until 1975 even, when aero covers began life in racing, fit to cars like the Group 5 Porsche 935.

The origin earliest productions of these wheels is unknown, but from 1986 to at least 1988, the wheels were manufactured in Japan, and came with the critical JWL and VIA certifications.  They were however, sadly not available in the 16 9J and 16 10J sizes that the bb Turbo Targa White wore in 1978.  6.5J is the max, though they did come in relatively large for the time diameters of 16 inch, and with a good variety of PCD… although not the Porsche friendly 5H PCD130.

It’s a mystery as to who did the actual casting, but it doesn’t seem like it was any of the major Japanese players. If I’ve seen an inspection sticker like this before on another wheel, I can’t remember it.

In terms of construction, the wheels are also unique in that the arrows on the wheel face are removable, each being secured by two studs that fit through the aluminum face and secured by a nut behind.  Thanks to Jason for sending in these pics.

Given its history, and seemingly very limited production the “bb” is a premium find today.  Perhaps because of the brands association with German cars, the bb wheel seems to be more common in Europe or North America, than it is in Japan where I would place it in the ultra-rare category.

Southern Ways is best known for their Glids II mesh, but as this advertisement from 1979 shows, there are a whole lot of great kyusha wheels by Southern Ways.  The headline reads, “Your disk, will you change it?” As the image suggests, all six wheels pictured share the same shell design and construction.

In 1979, when three-piece wheels were still in their relative youth, the ability to swap centres around was probably little more than novelty.  Almost forty years later, this has the potential to be a game changer for collectors and treasure hunters.

While five of the six wheels pictured here are ultra-rare at best, the Glids II is an attainable find.  With a longer production run, the Southern Ways Glids II mesh is still relatively popular today.  Often it can even be found in aggressive sizes. Now, the other five wheels feel like once in a lifetime finds at best.

And yet… if you do manage to get your hands on some, rejoice in the fact that they can easily be resized to suit your tastes by mixing and matching shells with other S.W. wheels… all without fighting welds like the wheels from most other main brands will make you do.

While I understand the benefits of modular construction, even when welds are used, if a wheel can’t be taken apart and put back together with some simple tools in my garage, or even trackside, then the term “3-piece” seems a bit of a misnomer. In this ad, Southern Ways is encouraging people to take apart and swap wheel parts? They obviously understand our wheel love.

あなたのディスクは変えられますか? 
“Your disk, will you change it?”

You may not have heard of Topy Enterprises. That is forgivable. Although Topy has been producing wheels for more than 85 years, and today is a huge multi-national manufacturer, their focus has tended more towards commercial endeavours. They have served as a manufacturer for OEM application wheels (Nissan and Isuzu), as well as aftermarket wheels. Dunlop for instance, used Topy to produce most of their wheels in the seventies and eighties. Often when Topy has chosen to produce wheels of their own design, they sold and marketed them under a different name (JMW for example).

The Jovite though, stands apart as one of few wheels that clearly carries the Topy name.

It’s inexcusable, this is no joke.

She stops and stares… he’s feeling nervous tension.
This “Sassy girl” with a beautifully sharp look, versus Zoro, or even the three musketeers surely could not lose!
Her appearance is so outstanding, it’s obvious he is outmatched.
Her feet sparkling, in the gentle shine of the aluminum wheel “Jovite”.

With the right wheels, the battle always becomes a little bit easily.
Seriously… for Tennis or Jogging, you always replace your usual sneakers with dedicated sports shoes.
Here, Jovite 3-Piece wheel is how you make that choice.
You want to run comfortably. So find and get them.

 The ad clearly identifies Topy Enterprises as the manufacturer, but today the Topy Jovite is often confused. There is the fact that the Topy name is so unknown that the wheel is usually just identified as the Jovite. Jovite Toby is also frequent.  Secondly, the wheel is very very similar in appearance to one of the most popular kyusha wheels of all time: the SSR MK-III.  Often the Jovite is identified and sold as a MK-III.

SSR never ever had this much fun with their advertisements though! Or maybe SSR just never had to try this hard.

Debuting in 1980, the Jovite was a full nine years younger than the MK-III. Side by side, the differences between the wheels are noticeable, but its impossible to deny the similarity. Even the placement of JWL and VIA markings is identical. It’s also quite possible that the two wheels share the same shells. At the time, SSR supplied shells for various other wheel makers (Focus and Hayashi for example). Given the visual similarity between the MK-III shell and the Jovite shell, and the fact that no other Topy wheel that I’m aware of uses a similar shell, I think it’s quite likely that the shells are SSR parts.

The center though, is clearly not SSR. The Jovite shares the same T-E marking that is found on many Dunlop wheels, and Jovite is clearly marked in the space typically reserved for model codes. At 5.0kg for 14 6J size, the Jovite is very light in comparison to single piece cast wheels of the era, but not quite on par with the SSR MK-III that it appears to be modelled after.

Following 1980, the Jovite name evolved into a wheel line of its own. One that like JMW, had no obvious connection to Topy. That’s part of what makes this original Jovite interesting to me. It represents one of the few times that Topy stood up and said, “look at me and what I can do,” and made something that was all it’s own…

… Except for the SSR shells and copycat design???

I may understand why they disappeared back into ambiguity.

If you have spent any time here at all, you have probably figured out, that I’m a huge Yokohama Advan honk.  Yokohama makes some of my favourite wheels in both the eighties and nineties as part of their Advan line up.  The Yokohama Almex line up however, is something that I’ve done pretty well to ignore.  By some standards, Almex wheels are considered bland or even ugly.  Sizing options are mild at best.  Until recently, there have been so many of them in marketplaces that sorting through them to find wheels you actually wanted has been a nuisance.

But that’s all part of the fun of Kyusha Shoes.  The Almex line is slowly disappearing.  My personal tastes are evolving.  And as I have become more learned about the Japanese Wheel League, I have discovered some unique shoes within Yokohama’s first wheel line.

The line launched originally in late 1974 with four wheels: the YSA, YSB, YDA and YMA.  Thanks to Tanaka-san for sending in some resources, including this advertisement from 1976 that shows an expanded line-up two years after launch.  I’ve taken the time to translate text to English… and that text give a bit of a sense as to the state of the wheel in the mid seventies.

A wheel designed specifically for tubeless tires!

Smooth push type installation and removal. WTF?

Exclusive clamping type valve stem?

In wheel design, Yokohama has never been ahead of the game, but it’s a bit surprising that they are talking like this eight years after JWL standards were created.

With gravity cast construction, the designs achievements of some are certainly impressive, but weights are not, even by the standards of the day.  For most models, narrow 14″ sizes are in the rand of 6.5kg.  That makes them more than 50% heavier than the real seventies lightweights.

Nevertheless, the wheels were picked up by other brands, both in OEM and aftermarket sectors.  The YSD, was used by Mazda on the Cosmo. Nitto Tire rebranded and sold the YMA, YSD and YSA for their Panther A line.

Today, none of the Almex wheels that I’m aware of fall into the ultra-rare or unobtainable category.  At the time of production, all models were priced quite economically… and as the first ad says, Yokohama even allowed buyers to finance their purchases.  Forty years later, they are still relatively abundant!

If any models stand out as being more rare than the rest, it might be these four.   Yet even here, weights and sizes that are far from performance oriented (even for the smallest cars today), result in a wheels that can now be found for ultra-affordable prices. That makes them a great choice for an older sedan or restoration product… especially for a Yokohama fan like myself.

Target these!

The Command SPS was a popular wheel at the time despite carrying a price that exceeded much of the competition.  Only recently, have they moved from the “common” category to the “very rare” category in used marketplaces.  The SPS is the most popular Command wheel, and features a centre section that is silver, with black trim.  The more rare Command find however is the Command BXR which is an identical wheel, with an all black centre, and its own unique model designation.

When you felt like the story was just getting started, the sun came up.
New Release
Command BXR Three-Piece Wheel

Gotta smile when big companies not only acknowledge touge action, but try to get buyers pumped up about it.

]]> 1423 https://kyushashoes.com/target-mag/ Fri, 11 Mar 2016 14:24:21 +0000 http://kyushashoes.com/?p=1380

If you’ve found me on Instagram, you will know that I got a nice gift in the wheel last week from Robbie: nine beautiful Motorfan mags from the late seventies. Instant content, and a serious high that made my wife question my alcohol tolerance. The buzz is now wearing off and I’m ready to do some sharing.

Since we’ve been on a bit of a Keystone/Target Racing kick lately, I’ll start with this advertisement from 1979. As little as the name Target Racing is known, Keystone Racing Original Wheels is even less known. Keystone however, is the overarching brand and manufacturer behind the Target Racing line-up. That line up, appears to have spawned from this Keystone Target Mag, which you’ll note doesn’t actually carry the name “Target Racing”.

The Japanese text in the advertisement translates as follows:

Attractive Mag
Elegant, or hard tune – the best partner to tailor your car.
Sold by Keystone – only developing good things!

 I love the fact that the word hard (ハード) gets used in the ad with respect to style or state of tune!

In terms of size offerings on the Target Mag, I wouldn’t say that any of them really fit with what we would consider “hard tune” today, but they would have been reasonably aggressive in a time when 6J was a big OEM size.  A good variety of offsets and PCD options were available though, and retail price was quite reasonable in comparison to premium brands.  That however, came with some significant compromises in the mass department.  Compared to the Rays Engineering Xray featured earlier this week, there is approximately a 20% penalty to be paid in kilograms.

This is a single piece cast wheel after all, and in terms of weight and performance simply can’t compare with the spun shell sections of modular wheels, and the more complex designs that casting a centre individually allows.  Like the Target Racing wheels we have looked at before, the Keystone Target Mag has no identifying marks on the hub pad, or back of the wheel.  Instead, on the wheel face each of the four main spokes has different text cast on them: JWL, “Target Mag”, “K R” and the fourth spoke identifies wheel size and offset.

The original production date of the Target Mag is at this time unknown, with references to it seen in 1978, we know that it preceded the Target Racing line-up by at least 1 year.  Likely it came much sooner than that.  The Target Racing line-up, with modular construction represented a shift towards a high-end wheel.  In comparison to the Target Mag, the Target Racing TR-01 which shared a similarly designed centre, was a full 1kg lighter and right in the neighbourhood of premium ultra-light wheels, but still more affordable.

That said, the Target Mag is still a sought after wheel that today can command as much as 60000円 for larger sizes when in good condition.  The look offered could be considered unique to, but reminiscent of  the popular Hayashi Street. Like the Street, which works well in both OEM fitment for Uncle Bob, and hacked and flared shakotan fitment for Tanaka-san, the words “elegant” and “hard” likely do apply to the Target Mag just as the ad suggests.

And as the ad suggests… hard or elegant, your girl will probably be indifferent and do her own thing.  In 1979 she looked at a toy airplane.  In 2016 she looks at her freaking cell phone.  Keystone Target Mag… the best partner to tailor your car.  Maybe the best partner period.

Debuting in 1977, the Xray was the fourth wheel produced by Rays Engineering.  Preceding it, was the now near unobtainable Volk Dish, and the more popular Volk 3-piece mesh and Volk II mesh. Like the Volk II mesh which also launched in 1977, the Xray used a two piece welded construction.  This may have been considered a thrifty move, in a period when assembly bolts were novel and fashionable. “The Wheels Forecasting The Future” was the tagline seen in advertisements.

In appearance, the Xray is unique from other Rays products of the era.  Thick spokes and a recessed PCD area that is highlighted by a raised polished edge might make it visually unattractive to some eyes, but for others that is part of the intrigue and appeal. Regardless of ones taste in looks, the Xray impresses in other areas.  Sizing options were reasonably aggressive, and weights are as minimal as any wheel of the time.

14 8J versions were an impressive 5.0kg!  Most competitors wheels were more than 1kg heavier in the identical size. As was popular at the time, 5H version of the wheel used slightly different designs.  In this case, an extra spoke to go with the extra hole.

This catalog gives us some idea of wheel purchasing options at the time.  Centre caps are very hard to come by nowadays. They were included in the box at the time though.  A metal valve stem is a 500 yen option.  Standard colours for this year of production were silver and gold.  That implies that custom colours are available.  I’ve seen many examples in black like the pictured wheel above submitted by reader Timothy Baker.  This was likely a standard colour at some point.

The second line from the bottom suggests custom offsets were available!? (I think that’s what it says but I’m not sure what VII refers to.)  With the centre disk simply welded to the shell custom offsets may have been as simple as welding in another place.  Finally, 4H PCD100 was available for only 2000 yen.  That seems like a helluva small price to pay considering the work involved nowadays to find old PCD100 wheels.

Production of the Xray continued from 1977 until at least 1984.  This is a reasonable span of time for a wheel, but given the very rare status of the Xray today, we can conclude that they probably weren’t overly popular back in the day. Today the wheel isn’t a highly sought after choice either, although maybe it should be.  Prices are often quite reasonable in comparison to other premium brand wheels, and sizing options plus low weight make them a good choice for someone looking for both real performance and kyusha style.

For Rays Engineering, perhaps the greatest legacy of the Xray, is that it was the first wheel to demonstrate the true benefit of bolt free construction.  Today, one piece wheel technology has allowed construction techniques to evolve, beyond cast and welded centres, but assembly bolts are still considered unnecessary weight, cost and complication.  In that sense, “Forecasting the Future” may have actually been a reality rather than a catchy tagline in an era where medical CT scans and X-rays were cutting edge!

Last week Robbie showed us his Target Racing TR-03.  With a four spoke style reminiscent of the SSR MK-II, the TR-03 is not a well known wheel.  It’s usage however, probably goes unrecognized more than it should simple because of its similarity to the popular MK-II. It takes an educated eye to tell the two wheels apart. Much of the Target Racing line up in fact, does well to hide behind wheels of similar design made by other manufacturers. This advertisement sent in from a 1979 issue of Motor Fan, shows nine Target Racing wheel models by Keystone.

Kyusha shoes fans will recognize some familiar shapes besides that of the SSR MK-II.  There is the familiar style of the Hayashi Racing Street, which is not at all unique to, but certainly done best by Hayashi.  Itall Racing, Toyo Z, Dunlop all have similar designs.  On the bottom row, we see something very similar to the Focus Racing 5,  the Easy Rider Spit Modena and the Work Equip 01.  Unfortunately, the sent advertisement doesn’t include any model names. I’ve translated the original text into english, and done my best to fill in what model names we know from other references.

From the advertisement featured in Robbie’s Target Racing TR-03 post, we know the TR-01 and TR-02.  We have to note however, that the wheels in his advertisement, and all Target Racing wheels that I have ever seen anywhere except for the advertisement featured in this post, use 12 bolts to hold wheel shells to centres. The wheels in this ad from 1979 all use 16 bolts. It’s an interesting dilemma.  As this ad announces the debut of Target Racing, perhaps we should consider that original wheels all used 16 bolts, but the design was quickly revised to use only 12. Regardless, I’m not going to get hung up on it. If you are, then stop reading now and skip to the next post.

The third wheel featured in the ad, is certainly the most unique! The Mario, was featured in a separate post four years ago, as a mystery wheel that I had purchased in pursuit of the Advan A3B.  At the time I had no idea what it was, but have since come across this ad which seems to identify it as a product of Target Racing/Keystone Racing Original Wheels… and another separate reference which identifies it with Aoi Enterprise.  More info is needed. Hopefully we can find sufficient ammunition to address that in the future.

The Alspeed mesh is the Target Racing model that I have known the longest, but it doesn’t quite match the rendering in the advertisement.  Besides the number of shell bolts, the PCD area and mesh pattern is slightly different.  The ad might show an original version of the Alspeed, or it may be another model altogether.  Unlike the other known Target Racing models, the Alspeed uses a front mounted centre section, as opposed to a sandwich mount or rear mount.  Common to all Target Racing wheels though, seems to be black socket head cap fasteners, and JWL markings directly opposite of the valve stem on the outer shell, or wheel center in the case of the Alspeed.

All sizing stickers that I’ve seen on Target Racing wheels are the same as well: simply formatted with size, PCD and nothing else.  Most examples that I’ve observed also have a sticker on the top of the lip, opposite the valve stem above the JWL markings.  On the TR-01 through TR-03 that sticker says “Target Racing”.  The Alspeed gets a model specific sticker.  Markings on the back of the wheel pad unfortunately, are inconsistent from model to model. Many having no markings at all, and thus using them to identify wheels is not simple.

These things in mind, I went back through my notes on the Focus Racing 5 and Work Equip 01 looking for a Target Racing wheel that was mistaken for something from a more popular brand.

Voila! Twelve black socket head cap bolts.  The remnants of a sticker in the usual spot on the lip, and it’s hard to make out, but JWL on the shell directly opposite of the valve stem.  Looking at the wheel center itself, compared to the Equip 01, the area in black is different, with a taller raised ridges and larger edges.  This is clearly not an Equip 01.

Now… if someone can send me some better images and maybe a model name… we can add a new model to the database.