Once again we are back to this quartet.  If you’ve been visiting this site a long time, you will know that I am obsessed with the original Advan 3-piece series of wheels.  Having owned all four, I am quite familiar with all of them.  Oddly though, instead of satisfying my curiosity, that experience only further reinforced my obsession.

That obsession is why… now five years since I sold off my last set… I’m using the singles that remain in my garage to digitally catalog the designs.

When I purchased all four, I had it in mind that I was going to run a different one on each corner of my car.  There was terrible disappoint when I discovered the A3D used a front mounted centre instead of a sandwich mount like the other three.  Six extra mm of offset ruined my dream.

Still, in my eyes, they are the four greatest wheels that Yokohama has ever produced.  Signifying unique aesthetic possibilities, the flexibility of modular construction, and a true racing pedigree, they are basically all that Kyusha Shoes is about.

The A3A was the first of the series. Launching in 1979, it was an instant hit with road racers who often used tires from the same company.  As Yokohama’s first three-piece wheel, the parts used by it formed the basis for the whole A3 line-up, and were also used by the company for a few Almex and BRX branded products.

The now famous, twelve bolt shells came in 13, 14 and 15″ diameters.  Similarly constructed centre sections meant that there were many shared sizes between the wheels that used them.

Except for the A3D, which I already mentioned placed the centre section on top of the shells rather than between them.  That centre was only a slight variation of the A3A’s centre.  A groove was cut into the perimeter of the spokes and painted red, and the overall diameter of the piece was trimmed slightly to fit the centre inside the outer shell rather than behind it.

The front mounted (or “overhead mounted” as Yokohama called it) centre makes the A3D unique from the rest of the line-up, but it is a trait shared with other Yokohama 3-piece wheels of the era, like the BRX BR-1 and Almex Y3B.

The A3C is generally considered the black sheep of the group as a dish type design versus the spoke style of the other models.  Yokohama treated it uniquely, offering only two sizes for the model: 13 6J +6 and 14 6J +6. The other three wheels in the series were available in a much broader size range.

The A3C was actually the second wheel of the line-up, debuting in 1980.  Why Yokohama decided to skip the letter B, and go straight to C, is mystery that is still to be solved.  Surely Japanese logic would dictate that there is an A3B somewhere…

The final model from the line-up was the A3E.  Despite an appearance that many consider to be down right ugly, it is the most unusual and sought after.  With only two years of production (1982 and 1983) it is also the most challenging to find.

Now 35 years later, the allure of these wheels is still immensely strong. The A3A proved to be not only the first member of the series, but also the most popular.  It stayed in production through until 1998 – a long enough span of time to ensure the supply today remains plentiful. Good thing, as it is still very popular. The other three models were gone ten years earlier or more, and are now fading from existence.  Standing alone, these other three would be intriguing wheels, but for me, it is their connection to the A3A that really makes them stand out, as sort of limited versions of one of the greatest wheels of all time.

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.

The Yokohama Advan A3A is one of the great kyusha shoes. Having owned several sets myself, it is very close to my heart. This is a note about them published in the year 2000, inside of Hyper Rev Volume #48. With my crude translating skills, the note reads as follows…

Advan A3A production is ending. People who want should buy now!

Now the wheel, that boasts a deep rooted popularity amongst Hachiroku owners, the Advan A3A, will cease production in early 2000. This A3A with 3 piece triangular design, in 1980 was said to be a style that would not fade. At the same time, use on racing machines and sprint circuits led to an immediate explosion of the wheels popularity.  Later this iconic design was passed down to the Oni wheel, securing the popularity of the Advan brand into the future.　In the wheels heyday, there was a  full line up of sizes, but now, there is only one size dedicated to Hachiroku: 14 6J. For those who care, the last production will be April of 2000.

20 years old, but you do not lose your shine A3A!

It’s now been more than 35 years since the A3A was born, and almost 16 years since production ceased… These are finally starting to diminish in used marketplaces and prices are slowly on the rise.  Long live the A3A!