….this car, in the midst of midtown Manhattan – the juxtoposition of classic JDM styling, blending artfully with the modern NYC skyline. No matter what new cars Japan throws at us in the coming years (and lately, there hasn’t been too much to get excited about), the old school is the best ‘new’ school there is.
Brand new from SSR Japan is the fully forged 1 piece GTF-01. A classic 5 spoke style with turned in spokes, reminds me alot of the former sport wheels from STi/NISMO/Ralliart from back in the earlier 2000’s.
Offered in silver or black, center caps valvestems are included (we also will include lugs and hubrings). Sizes are as follows:
SIZE Bolt Pattern Offset MSRP
17X7.5 5X100 48 $ 700.00
18X8.0 5X114.3 49 $ 790.00
18X8.5 5X100 44 $ 800.00
5X114.3 44 $ 800.00
5×114.3 32 $ 800.00
18X9.0 5X114.3 45 $ 810.00
18X9.5 5X100 44 $ 820.00
5X114.3 40 $ 820.00
5×114.3 22 $ 820.00
18X10.5 5X114.3 15 $ 840.00
19×9.5 5X114.3 22 $ 870.00
19X10.5 5X114.3 22 $ 890.00
20X9.5 5X114.3 22 $ 1,010.00
20X10.0 5X114.3 35 $ 1,030.00
20X10.5 5X114.3 20 $ 1,050.00
Contact z1sales@z1auto.com for details, shipping, etc.
All too often, we hear manufacturers tout their products as ‘track proven’. The same technology used to manufacture wheels for various race series throughout the world, is used to manufacture the SSR Type C wheels you can buy for your street car. Interested in a set for your car? Drop us a line at z1sales@z1auto.com.
Keep in mind these wheels are being phased out for 2013, so some quantities are limited. Don’t miss out before you’re not able to get this iconic JDM wheel anymore!
Being stationed in Japan opens up a lot of opportunities for a car guy. Suddenly all the cars you’ve lusted at over the years in magazines you couldn’t quite understand, are nearly at your disposal. The roads you’ve memorized from watching the Best Motoring Touge DVD’s 1001 times are within driving distance. And the parts….oh the parts!
For a car guy, being able to serve your country, and do it in a country that is the foundation of everything that makes you go ga-ga car wise, would be quite a lot of fun. The guy who owns the car here is a car guy through and through. But his Subaru is what punches all the right numbers for me. Because it reminds me so much of my old RS. This car started life as a 2000 STi V6 Type R that when acquired, had a few mods. My own personal Subaru muse 🙂 The owner has steadily modified it over the years with tons of mods. 6 speed swap, EJ257 block (forged internals), AVCS equipped EJ207 heads (with Kelford cams), ATP 35R, big FMIC, coil on plug ignition, a full helping of STi Group N and Cusco bits, LINK programmable ecu (I had one of those too!). It’s quite a bit of kit as our friends on the other side of the pond would say. Fast forward a few years, and while out and about, the car is rear ended in a hit and run. What’s more, he’s now planning on headed back to the states later in 2012. So what is a car nut, totally in love with what he’s created in Japan, to do? The pics speak for themselves! He decided to totally strip it down, and take every nut and bolt, every covetted part, ship it back to the states (being military has it’s perks…the parts ship free!), and start over. Same soul, different skin. The plan upon return is to insert everything into a USDM car. I see visions of the Bionic Man playing in my head “we can rebuild it, we have the technology”.
Those of us who truly love our cars, believe they do have a soul. There is a connection you get when you plan it yourself, work on it yourself, that really brings you to another level with what was previously just a machine. When this car was built, I’n sure the current owner would not have though he would one day own it. And I am sure the soul of this car never could have contemplated it would leave it’s native Japan and get a chance to be reborn half a world away. Like 2 ships otherwise passing in the night, that just happened to stop and grab a cup of coffee together. The relationship with one’s car can truly be a “romance” if you will.
The reason for posting this, aside from it being a sweet example of a Subaru is to try to convey how passionate some are about their cars. Sometimes your project takes a twist and turn you never would expect, but that’s not a reason to give up. Sit down with a beer or 3, reasses the situation, and formulate a plan. When you’ve worked so hard on something, poured so many countless nights into a project, not even a the distance from the mountains of Japan to the US can keep a project down. Will definitely be following the rebirth once it begins here in the states.
Standard Colors: Silver, Titan Silver, Flat Black
Optional Colors: White, Black, Gray Silver, Gun Metallic, Flat Gun Metallic, Touring
Gold, Bronze, and Flat Bronze.
Special Colors: Super Black Coat and Spectrum Silver
All orders placed by 1/31 will get an extra 5% off as well
We showed this car a couple months back, now it makes a return appearance lowered and looking sinister – very STi-like.
Yummy!
We get this question all the time, and figured this would be a good opportunity to shed some light on what goes into making an aftermarket wheel. Most tend to think a wheel falls into 2 categories – forged and cast. While this is generally true, there are variations that make a very big impact in the finished product.
At the bottom of the pyramid you have Gravity Cast wheels. This is a fairly simple production technique whereby molten aluminum is literally poured into a mold. Because of the simple process, the mold can be quite complex and intricate. This affords the manufacturer a wider range of styles to play with, and offers the greatest flexibility of design. The downside of course is the technique itself. Since you’re relying on plain old gravity to fill the mold, it’s not perfect. The net result is a wheel that has more empty space between the molecules vs. more involved manufacturing processes. They also tend to be on the heavier side of things, as the goal is style in design vs all out strength. The upside is the price for these wheels can be downright cheap. But so can the quality. Often times, the wheels are made in plants of dubious quality, and attention to detail is sometimes shoddy. You can tell the el cheapo stuff by casting flash on the backside of the spokes and hub.
Next up you’ve got Pressure Cast Wheels. As the name implies, this technique relies on external pressure to fill the mold. As you can probably guess, the result is a wheel where there is far less empty space between the molecules. This method is a bit more limiting in overall style, but the strength to weight ratio is much higher compared to plain gravity cast wheels. This is the most common method used by the larger OEM manufacturers, because it affords them a good compromise between design and strength. Within the Pressure Cast family you have both higher pressure and low pressure. Differences are as stated – the amount of pressure exerted on the aluminun in the mold.
The next technique is relatively new compared to the above, and is employed by several manufacturers such as SSR, Enkei, etc. It’s called Flow Forming, or Spun Form, Hybrid Forged, etc. This process employs a pressure cast technique at first, to achieve a general shape. Rollers are then used to literally pull, or press, the material to shape the final design. Many high end OEM manufacturers use this technique on their wheels. While it’s still technically a casting technique, the process allows a wheel to be incredibly strong (since the molecules are very densely packed), and light weight at the same time. While the production costs are the highest among the cast methods, it still allows the wheel to be about 50% less costly than a forged variant. SSR Type F, Type C RS, several designs from Weds and BBS and several in Enkei’s Racing series employ this technique. Enkei has licensed the process to several other traditional cast manufacturers such as Konig and AME over the years as well.
The pinnacle of the wheel production pyramid is of course forging. In this process, a single, billet hunk of aluminum is literally stamped into a design using very high pressure applied to a die. Because of the costs involved from the raw materials, to the production equipment, these are far and away the most expensive types of wheels. However, they also tend to have the best weight to strength ratio. The designs are often quite limited because of the cost to produces the dies. These tend to be simpler overall designs (aka Volk TE37, BBS LM and LMR, etc.).
From there you get into a variety of materials. Aluminum and Magnesium are the most often used metals. In recent years, we’ve also seen hybrids employing both carbon and aluminum bonded together. The cost of these more exotic materials is high, but it’s done in the pursuit of the lightest weight, and highest level of strength.
When you begin to examine the above in greater detail, you also begin to see that the process is only part of the equation. There are bad quality cast wheels and good quality cast wheels. There are wheels who’s designs are based on a forging model, that are replicated in cast models. There are wheels who’s design is based upon a low or high pressure, or spun technique, and some company turns around and does a low pressure cast version. From the outside, it all looks the same. The price is certainly more attractive. Sometimes it works well, sometimes it doesn’t. This is why the better cast manufacturers don’t replicate every wheel under the sun – because they know it’s an accident waiting to happen. Another important consideration is who is making the wheel in the first place. Some firms own their own factories, some simply come up with a design and broker manufacturing out to the lowest bidder. The problem is the consumer never sees this side of the market, they only see the finished product. When it arrives to you new in the box, it can look all shiny and pretty. Turn the wheel over and examine the spokes, and you can begin to see the origins, and the quality of the wheel. The better quality wheels tend to be finished in very great detail even on the backside, and no casting flaws can be seen, and no extra flashing. The cheap stuff looks…well, cheap.
Hopefully that helps shed some light on what some differences are between the various wheel manufacturing techniques.
SP3 – one of SSR’s newest multipiece wheels
19×9.5 +25 front (high pad, so good for BBK!), 19×10.5 18 (normal disk), finished in flat black with polished lip, or gloss black with polished lip.
Also available in 20×9.5 +25 (high pad, good for BBK), 20×10.5 + 30 (super low disk for max lippage), or 20×11 +11 (normal disk) in flat black, gloss black titan silver and even Super Black Coat (SBC)!
SSR Type F
18×9.5 +22, 18×10.5 +22 available in either flat black or gold!
19×8.5 +22, 19×9.5 +30, 19×10.5 +15 in gold. Or, do 19×10.5 +22 all around in flat black
center caps sold separately!
Contact us for pricing – tires available for local pickup only (Toyo, Michelin, Bridgestone, Goodyear, Hoosier, BFG, Kumho, Hankook). Sorry we do not do tires for mailorder. TPMS sensors also available!
Sunline Racing’s Voltex-kitted, SSR-wearing 350Z posed cleverly in the pits. This kit is over the top, but looks great in red. It suits the car, since it’s pretty extreme
I know the stretch tire fanbois will dig this car but we here are not big fans of the whole stretched tire craze. I do like these wheels (SSR MS1) on a Z roadster. I guess I would prefer that the owner had gone with more of a “Hellafunctional” look as opposed to the “Hellaflush”  one they are sporting. Just my $.02
I think it goes without saying that i’m loving the wheels and hating the tires. 🙂 No stretch for me.
Yeah so I’m on an old-school Z with SSRs thing today. Actually I’ve been sweating SSRs all week if you haven’t noticed.
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