Hoshino Impul D-01 Silhouette 4H

The second iteration of Hoshino Impul’s most well known wheel.  The D-01 Silhouette was released in 1982 closely resembled the D-01.  The most noticeable difference is the presence of 3 wheel assembly bolts in between centre section cutouts, where the D-01 had only a single bolt.

In early years, thirteen and fourteen inch diameters of the D-01 Silhouette had the words “Hoshino Racing” on one line in the wheel centre.  Fifteen and sixteen inch (Extremely rare!) version separated “Hoshino” and “Racing” onto two separate lines.  Later, all models would use the two line format.

From what we can tell, 15 and 16″ diameters used the same centre sections, making up the difference in diameter with a taller shell section. The wheels use a front mounted centre, and a bead of weld on the back of the face gives extra support to the 16 assembly bolts.

The D-01 wheels are generally thought of as Nissan wheels given the companies close relationship with the brand in racing, and the production of complete tuner cars based on Nissan models. The early D-01 and D-01 Silhouette were made for all brands and were available in a diverse array of sizes for more than just the Nissan brand.  Today though, most examples found are still 4H PCD114.3 with RWD friendly offsets.

Although the production run of this wheel was relatively short, it is a relatively common and greatly loved wheel today.  It belongs in a class with the most iconic kyushu wheels from any brand.