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.

With a logo showing a star wearing shades and a rizento cut, Hiro Engineering has always been a symbol for hardcore shakotan style.  Originating in 1975, and with kenmeri Skylines fit with their body parts ruling my dreams, I imagined that wheels had always been a part of their product line.   That’s why I was surprised to find, on the back of an Auto Maximum Tuning catalog printed in the companies tenth year (July of 1985), this preview advertisement for the first Hiro Engineering wheel.

My translation reads…

“A dream to decorate the strongest crew (Muteki Gundan?) in history – Hiro Aluminum Wheel – Release scheduled for June.”

It’s a bit unclear to me which June they are referring to, but given that the magazine is a July issue, I’m inclined to think that they are looking forward to June 1986, putting this ad eleven months ahead of the wheel.

Given that fact… we can excuse the fact that the R30 Skyline pictured is wearing ANOTHER COMPANY’S wheels.

Yes, take a good look… the car pictured is wearing a full assembly of Hiro body parts, but is not wearing Hiro shoes. Instead it sports a set of black Heroes Racing iSpeed DD.  Heroes Racing… Hiro Engineering.  Don’t let a name that looks similar fool you.  These are two unrelated brands.

Unrelated brands… but as asymmetrical split three spoke aero wheels, the two wheels do actually have some commonalities. Still, it seems a little surprising that Hiro was so desperate to advertise the new wheel that they did it before they could even get one on a car.

At this point the new wheel didn’t even have a name… the ad refers to it as simply “The Wheel.”

However, five months later in a Holiday Auto catalog, Hiro had these issues sorted. Now named the  V-1, Hiro’s The Wheel, was ready for consumption.

They were even pictured on a car as they should be: in this case a 430 Cedric that was again clad in all that Hiro was best known for until that point: wildly aggressive FRP aero add-ons.  With white-walled Radial T/A’s and an abundance of chrome trim, the car shows a “yankee” style you might expect from an Osaka based tuner.

Whether or not that look suits your taste, Hiro is probably worthy of being called one of the most interesting and influential Japanese car stylists of the eighties.

“We did not want to end hopes and dreams felt for the car in the world of imagination.”

As the ad indicates, Speed Star did the manufacturing work, using three-piece construction and including their magnetic locking centre caps to really put an exclamation on the fact that the product was were ultra-high end, and true to the aesthetic style of Hiro Engineering.  This was no boy-racer wheel with the soft white or bright pastel colouring that was so trendy at the time.

“It’s appearance is that of a boxer who won the big title. Like a trained a sculpted muscle, it is shows function and beauty. This boxer, with nine wings rotating, is a sharp and precise corkscrew that erupts, cutting the air and stirring the wind before deftly evading.  With lightweight, and aerodynamic effects that add brake cooling, it produces sharp and stable footwork. Extravagant function & beauty,  sharp footwork that propels it across the earth, the nickname ‘Street Fighter’ is well suited.”

Just as the company’s body parts did, Hiro wheels had a style that was generally a bit over the top.  And like those aero parts, the V-1 as well, was designed to harness the power of air to improve vehicle performance.  With unique left-sided and right-sided wheels, curved spokes pulled air outwards from inside the wheel well when the vehicle was in motion, cooling the brakes and helping to provide aerodynamic stability.

It’s a concept that was at play in motorsports at the time, and thus was a philosophy fitting for an aero-tuner to undertake.

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.

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.

A couple of years ago while searching through craigslist for the usual tags I came across an ad marked something along the lines of “JDM Wheel Pair”. Thinking that I’d had some luck flipping pairs of wheels in the past I clicked that ad and looked a bit a further only to find a practically useless description and one completely indistinguishable pixellated photo. For $40 however, I figured it was still worth pursuing.

After a few texts back and forth with the seller, it turned out that the he was just down the street from me. I swung over, but as luck would have, found not a wheel pair of wheels but two completely different individual wheels in a mud covered mess. One wheel I quickly identified as an SSR EX-C. The other was a four spoke design, and total mystery to me. I didn’t think that anyone would want to buy these single wheels, but thought they would make cool display pieces so I picked them up anyways!

Checking the database here at the time, as well as all the other online resources I knew of, I had no luck identifying the 4 spoke wheel. A few years later I had purchased some vintage Motor Fan magazines off of Yahoo Auctions. I was flipping through the pages of the earliest one I had (from 1979) and one advertisement caught my eye. I quickly ran to the garage, grabbed the crusty mystery wheel and compared details. It was the Target Racing “TR-03”. My particular wheel was the 14 6J +15 size. I still have very little information on the Target Racing brand, and their various models of wheels. If wheels could talk it would be very interesting to know how it ended up just a few miles away from me after more than a 30 year-long journey.

The recent death of Andre Courrèges renewed my motivation to complete the entry of his wheels in this database.  Now having done that, I feel inclined to comment further. The eight wheels pictured above represent the full Yamaco Courrèges line up from 1984.  From top to bottom left to right: sing your A-B-C’s in French:  ACA, ACB-P, ACB-R, ACC, ACD, ACE, ACF and ACG.

Since having interest in wheels at all, anything with the Andre Courrèges AC on it, has had my attention. In the early eighties, Mr. Courrèges himself, was thought to have an eye for futuristic design and flare.  Best known for fashion and clothing, he personally had great interest in automobiles. To this day, the company still dabbles in automotive design. Andre Courrèges died just a little more than one month ago of Parkinson’s disease, on January 7th 2016.   We can remember him as the visionary who brought us go-go boots and mini-skirts.  We can remember him as the man who brought us perhaps the most unique kyusha wheel line up ever.

Andre Courrèges in 1986 in his personally styled Suzuki Santana S410.

Produced in collaboration with Yamaco more than 30 years ago, today it is hard to see any of the futurism that Courrèges designs were so well known for.  There is however,  certainly something timeless about their unique style. I am totally in love with them, and may have decided that the Courrèges wheel line-up represents everything that is awesome about kyusha shoes.

WHEELS… BUT NOT WHAT YOU THINK WHEELS SHOULD LOOK LIKE.
A wave. Hearts. Lattice. Zig Zags. Colored lug nuts.  There ain’t no five spokes or conventional mesh here.  The whole Courrèges line up is down right weird…. but what else would you expect from the company that brought you these?.

Cars, but not what you think cars should look like: the Bulle, Exe and Zooop.  Yah they’re all real.  Yah those numbers beside them correspond to the development year.  You gotta respect Courrèges for sticking with a concept that I’m certain was designed and drawn up before any car on the road today was created, and finally made a reality 50 years later.  No wonder in 1983 they were able to so boldly put their name in pink and blue on wheels that looked nothing like any wheel produced prior.

MYSTERY AND INTRIGUE.
Tracking down Courrèges wheel info has taken quite a long time. I have only ever seen three of the eight models in market places, and those same three in various catalogs.  They are the ACB (Pink & Red) and the ACF and the ACG.  Given logic, I assumed that left at least three wheels to discover: the ACA, ACC, & ACE.  Thank you to those who steered me in the right directions.  I was not disappointed by what I found.  In the end, this advertisement from 1984 put it all together for me.  タナカーさんありがとうございます。(If only we could solve the mystery of the Advan A3B).

The Courrèges wheels themselves were produced and sold by Yamaco Corporation.　In its early years, Yamaco had a very close relationship with Enkei, and together a collaborative wheel line called “Silver Star”. From 1968 into the mid eighties, Enkei did the metal work, and Yamaco looked after marketing and sales of Silver Star wheels.  Unlike the Silver Star line up however, which has Enkei (and no Yamaco) markings on hub pads, the Courrèges line-up looks to be all Yamaco.

Now, given that date and other production markings on these wheels are still very Enkei-esque, we might wonder… Had Yamaco finally developed it’s own production facilities by 1983 and did it simply adapt some of Enkei’s practices? Or were these wheels in fact manufactured by Enkei, and pink and blue was deemed too much of an embarrassment for the good Enkei name.  Probably neither. It’s all part of the mystery…

PERSONALITY AND STYLE
A lot of the time what sells wheels is smoking tires, fancy construction techniques, and the promise of low laps times. Courrèges wheels have nothing to do with those things.  Tag lines from advertisements read: “Go Crazy, Have Fun!” “It’s My Thing! Courrèges Auto.” “Wheels featuring futurism and poise!”

With no racing or performance aspirations, available sizes of the Courrèges wheels were quite mild.  14 6J was the biggest they came, and most models were available in 10″ diameters.  The target demographic was women who owned Kei or other small cars, and many of them probably owned other products featuring the same “AC” on them. Courrèges was a popular clothing brand at the time, and also sold bags, jewlerry, sunglasses and other accessories.

Yamaco Coporation also, was in the business of more than just wheels.  It produced hop up parts and car accessories for the masses.  In addition to Courrèges wheels, Yamaco had decal packages, pink or blue keys, trinket type interior dress up parts, and scooter accessories with the AC logo on it.

Courreges partnered up with Honda in 1983 to develop the Courrèges Tact scooter.

In 1986 MSRP for 12″ sized Yamaco Courrèges wheels was 23500円.  That is on the lower to middle range of the price scale for the time.  Now, if anything, the wheels have appreciated.  Nice sets can sell for more than 100000円, and now they appeal to old car lovers both male and female. Courrèges wheels are some of the most talked about kyusha wheels on Japanese BBS, and a frequent topic of inquiries that come my direction as well. Hopefully this will answer some of those questions… and maybe help bring some of the models that at the moment seem to be unobtainable, out into the open.

At the same time however… Now, I think there might be just enough pink and blue on this website to last me forever.