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The Cool Wheels Thread

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On 3/30/2019 at 9:07 AM, Yalson said:

Always loved the three-piece Kyosho split rims for being so absurdly over engineered.

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I really liked the look of the Kyosho 'Peugeot' rims, too, but they never came in a narrow front version.

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The want for an Optima Mid or Lazer is still sooooo strong.

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I have lots of favorites, but die-cast and machined wheels hold a spot high on the list. Have any of the other big manufacturers gone to this length for realism? I recognize that Kyosho included some die cast wheels metal wheels with a number of their late 70's RC models, but don't recall them having a machined finish. There is one other example of a cast/machined wheel I've included below (which are actually a DIY/small run effort) but we'll get to that in a bit later. ;)

 

First of all, my current collection:

YWEiOlT.jpg

Yes, I am an incurable wheel addict. Guilty as charged. :D

 

The 53131 and 53140 aluminum touring car wheels were both introduced in 1993, right around the time that the TA02 was released as the successor to the very popular TA01. Tamiya had really turned up the volume on new hop-ups for the new class of RC vehicles, and these wheels (IMO) were the crown jewels of the series. Just like their full-sized counter parts, fitting custom/race-inspired wheels to a common family touring sedan was transformative. How many of you remember all of the amazing choices that filled out the back pages of nearly every automotive magazine at the time? It was the golden age of aftermarket wheels. Tamiya had certainly picked up on this trend and apparently decided that they'd pull out all the stops to craft something truly worthy of the two-star logo...

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The packaging alone was worthy of admiration. Lots of the technical drawings you would expect from Tamiya:

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And even some of Tamiya's signature "Easter eggs" under the top flaps:

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The wheels themselves are just sublime. If you've never held one in your hands then you cannot entirely appreciate how good these pieces really are. They are light, but not at all porous. Give them a tap and they "ring" like a bell. The machining is... flawless. And keep in mind that these were produced in the early 90's when industrial processes weren't anywhere nearly as advanced as they are today. My guess is that it was rather expensive to produce wheels that looked this good, and retailed accordingly at 3,800JP¥ for a single pair.

Forever a personal favorite of mine, the 53131 "Skyline" wheels were clearly intended for Tamiya's range of touring car kits, and as a tribute to the famous BBS "RS" wheels:

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The backs are a little rougher, but you can see the quality of die casting in the hex mountings:

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And of course there's also the opportunity to paint the centers just like their 1:1 counterparts:

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The 53140 spoke wheels are equally beautiful in my opinion:

X3RN1fF.jpg

 

 

Although similar to the Skyline wheels, the spoke versions have subtle differences in the barrel and bead portions. The bead dimensions are the same but somehow they appear to be slightly bigger. I think that makes them an ideal match for the FF01 Civic models, which measure in at a slightly larger scale than the 1/10 designation they were classified as. Just like the mesh wheels, the spoke centers also take paint well, opening up tons of stylistic options to chose from:

hCrPNkg.jpg

 

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Next up, and equally favorites of mine, are the 53249 & 53256 M-Chassis aluminum wheels. They were a bit cheaper than their touring car predecessors, coming in at 3,000JP¥, but still offering the same amazing quality:

FbhJctB.jpg

Naturally having the same great packaging and technical art:

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More Easter eggs:

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I'm not sure which set I like better, so I'll just start with the lower part number -- the 53249 4-spoke wheels that were released in 1995:

tLiXb4K.jpg

Tamiya released these a full year after the introduction of the M01 Mini, and also had clearly intended for them to be fitted to any of the models in this line. They're made to fit the 1.5" M-Chassis tires, and have the beveled bead seats just like the plastic wheels. Cast and machined yet again, but this time another layer: pre-painted centers! I'd love to have been a fly on the wall for the committee session that settled on this brilliant red. It's the perfect color for these if you ask me. Also worth noting is the rather obvious tribute to the very popular Revolution wheels for the 1:1 Mini Cooper. The only downside is that it's nearly impossible to mount these without marring the paint. An oversight by Tamiya, in my opinion. ;)

And then the 53256 8-spoke wheels hit the shelves a year later in 1996:

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Once again with the painted spoke-centers, and machined to a gorgeous, perfectly scale finish. I think Tamiya was modeling these after the legendary 8-spoke JBW "Cosmic" wheels. I find these to be a bit more rare than the 4-spoke version, but I've still managed to get three entire sets into my collection so far. :lol:

 

And not to be left out, the rear views:

                   CdykLbbm.jpg?3   Bc3c8wQm.jpg?1

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1 hour ago, OCD said:

First of all, my current collection:

YWEiOlT.jpg

The Tamiya wheels are nice, but the bottom right are my favourites! I was lucky enough to find a set:

m3-auto-tech-detail-air-jack.jpg

m3-auto-tech-frontside.jpg

I'm also a fan of the limited show special plated wheels:

chrome-show-wheels.jpg

jaguar-xjr-12-plated-wheels.jpg

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As promised, there is one other die cast wheel set that can't be left off this list. I found these listed on eBay about 8 years ago for something like $75USD, and actually watched a few sets get sold before I jumped on a couple pair myself. I definitely regret not buying more of them before they were gone. Basically a home-brewed effort by a gentleman out of Hong Kong, and according to him, actually went to a local cast metal parts manufacturer and commissioned a single run of them for his own purposes.

Based on the BBS E50 wheels that were synonymous with many touring racers, he had designed them as a proper set of wheels for the 1/10 Joachim Winklehock "Mr. Juicy" BMW M3 Macau replica he had created. The additional sets were a way to recoup the investment. I'm not entirely sure that happened, considering how slowly they seemed to sell on eBay. When asked, the seller told me that he wasn't going to be doing another run of them. Apparently there just simply wasn't enough demand for them. :blink:

VeLqJYK.jpg

Here you will find a some info on the 1:1 car from the 1990 Guia Race of Macau: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guia_Race_of_Macau

 

Here's a link where I did a write up on them for my TC showroom: https://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=112070&id=2400

 

They really are beautiful wheels, even if not up to the same standards as the Tamiya equivalents. If you look closely at the photos you can notice that there are visible pores throughout, but the face sides are relatively blemish-free. I've chosen to paint mine since my original TC post, and personally feel it's a net improvement over the raw metal finish they came with:

Q1mwEMg.jpg

 

The rear view, which is notably close to Tamiya's:

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The rather nice presentation box they came in:

IWSsuee.jpg

 

All in all, one of my most favorite of wheels, 1:1 or otherwise.  :wub:

 

 

 

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9 minutes ago, Truck Norris said:

The Tamiya wheels are nice, but the bottom right are my favourites! I was lucky enough to find a set:

:D I do recall.

And I'm still amused that we both (unknowingly) chose the Auto Tech M3 to sit on them :lol: Although yours is a really gorgeous example of that body set. As to be expected from the likes of you. B)

 

12 minutes ago, Truck Norris said:

I'm also a fan of the limited show special plated wheels:

My next post B)

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Wow, I had no idea that Tamiya made anything like that! Thanks for sharing these with me. 

I always thought that the Advance Mini Mags were awesome, but these are another level.

My personal favorites are the Lancia wheels.

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some of the coolest wheels for me are the HPI Teddybear M-chassis wheels :D

hpiteddy.thumb.JPG.7d6d87a9200f8fad89008a89f6176cfd.JPG

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23 minutes ago, a.w.k. said:

some of the coolest wheels for me are the HPI Teddybear M-chassis wheels :D

Now, if only we had a Kumamon driver figure for a Mini Cooper...  :D

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These are a set of vintage Kyosho Superten wheels.  The rears have been custom fabricated with a increased lip to smooth out the rear design of the 911 GT3 RSR.  The tires are Kyosho radial grooved super wides. 

IMG-1209.jpg

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On 4/4/2019 at 10:23 AM, Motorworldmedia said:

These are a set of vintage Kyosho Superten wheels.  The rears have been custom fabricated with a increased lip to smooth out the rear design of the 911 GT3 RSR.  The tires are Kyosho radial grooved super wides. 

Bravo! That's a job well done with the wheel fab work B) FW03 Super Ten wheels & tires are a solid favorite of mine -- Kyosho seems to understand what makes a good wheel and tire.

Here's my 1/8 scale TGX Mercedes DTM sitting on Kyosho 92661S and 92662S staggered wheel set with the matching radial tires. I really like the semi-matte finish that looks very realistic, even up close. They're a little wide for the narrower TGX bodies, but some thin hex hubs will allow you to tuck the wheels under the arches. 👍

 

bOYoZiw.jpg

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I'll add one of my favourite combos - as fitted to my SRB Cage Racer:

i-hdKqcMn-XL.jpg

photo. Vanquish 1.9 Method Roost wheels (in clear lacquer), with Tamiya F150/Pajero tyres (85mm diameter).

Jenny x

 

 

 

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On 4/4/2019 at 9:10 PM, OCD said:

Kyosho seems to understand what makes a good wheel and tire.

Used to love the Bridgestone Potenza treaded tyres they made back in the early 90s. Beautifully made, grippy and just the right scale to look good on buggies and buggy-based chassis. I now can't remember what they were originally from (was it the Mid-based Corvette ZR-1?) but I got through numerous sets racing my Mids and ZX-R on car park tarmac tracks. You could do that back then as they were relatively cheap and weren't in short supply. I'd imagine they're rarer than hens' teeth now.

EDIT: These are the ones.
1799586337_KyoshoBridgestoneRadials.thumb.jpg.b2791a5bc98197fa881d3892401860c0.jpg

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Picked these up on eBay, did a quick polish and they look great. They are a little on the heavy side and probably won’t be run.

22E1830F-8231-4023-A1ED-5D365104F6DB.jpeg

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On 4/5/2019 at 3:23 AM, Motorworldmedia said:

These are a set of vintage Kyosho Superten wheels.  The rears have been custom fabricated with a increased lip to smooth out the rear design of the 911 GT3 RSR.  The tires are Kyosho radial grooved super wides. 

IMG-1209.jpg

MWM-sig-Rs4.jpg

Man, that’s some Porsche Perfection 👍🏻

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The wheels from the CC01 Pajero are a longtime favorite of mine. They're based on the 1:1 Deerfield alloys that were popular aftermarket wheels for all kinds of 90's off road vehicles. Here's a little more background on them:

 

They also reappeared on all three of the TA02T "stadium trucks" as a stand-in for the Centerline wheels that were common with this class of off road racing. Not a bad choice in my opinion B)

 

Here they are on my CC01 Brat conversion:

G8SPpZj.jpg

The matte finish is perfect and the detail is as crisp as they come:

hoIpT0p.jpg

I really dig how they look with these aftermarket faux locking hubs:

nKWYZHF.jpg

Tr5S8VY.jpg

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Nice looking Brat above. 

I submit all of the neon colored wheels for buggy's. 

Not terribly exotic but IMO help to capture the era of the early 90's when these models were new.

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On 4/4/2019 at 6:23 PM, a.w.k. said:

some of the coolest wheels for me are the HPI Teddybear M-chassis wheels :D

hpiteddy.thumb.JPG.7d6d87a9200f8fad89008a89f6176cfd.JPG

I don't know if you realize that these, in 1:1, actually came as optional factory equipment on mid-nineties compact VWs... 

20190409_215818.jpg

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22 minutes ago, S-PCS said:

I don't know if you realize that these, in 1:1, actually came as optional factory equipment on mid-nineties compact VWs... 

20190409_215818.jpg

Yeah i know, they are the 90s URS wheels (latin for bear) from german manufacturer RONAL:

https://www.onlineraeder.de/alufelgen/detail/VOLKSWAGEN_GOLF_17 (LK 4 x 100)/RONAL URS KRISTALLSILBER_218727

In my area mostly found on Renault Twingos and Opel Corsas  :D

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I do also like these coloured RIDE Tires on chrome star wheels (also really 90s)

RIMG3035.JPG.a456e9afb9a5b1768fd0078ec041d22e.JPGRIMG3043.JPG.86925ce9ed8ccc03271ada986f5eecc1.JPGRIMG3051.JPG.e35645c33a998afdf187eb7458a35bf3.JPG

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The two of you, myself, Volkswagen, Ronal, HPI and the Nineties as a whole really ought to be ashamed of ourselves for letting this happen in the first place and especially for bringing it up again 25 years later. :D

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34 minutes ago, a.w.k. said:

I do also like these coloured RIDE Tires on chrome star wheels (also really 90s)

RIMG3035.JPG.a456e9afb9a5b1768fd0078ec041d22e.JPGRIMG3043.JPG.86925ce9ed8ccc03271ada986f5eecc1.JPGRIMG3051.JPG.e35645c33a998afdf187eb7458a35bf3.JPG

Nice 😎 You should totally post those in the favorite tires thread. I've always had an odd admiration for them. Reminds me of what our classroom crayons looked like after I secretly slid them onto the counter-height heat register :ph34r:

Seriously though, I always considered buying a set just to put them on a multicolored TA01.

I like your pairing with those very classic 90"s paint schemes 👍 Have you posted the Civic elsewhere and I just missed it?

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On 5 April 2019 at 3:23 AM, a.w.k. said:

some of the coolest wheels for me are the HPI Teddybear M-chassis wheels :D

hpiteddy.thumb.JPG.7d6d87a9200f8fad89008a89f6176cfd.JPG

modelled of full size by Ronal ;)

Ronal-Teddy-Bear-Alloy-Wheels.jpg

 

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