During the JNC Challenge Part 07, we were given the “tough” challenge of spending money on the newly-purchased AW11 (pictured above). In fact, we had a whopping $1500 to spend! Stuart Kayrooz gave several cosmetic suggestions as our winner. Here are the results below.
At first, we thought to get a widebody kit to help hide the rusty bits in the rear fenders and allow us to get some meatier tires. The engine is a stock “redtop” but we can pull quite a bit of power from the 4A engines (Formula Atlantic proved that..) The problem is, body kits are hard to come by, let along a widebody. Also, the ones floating around are pricey and frankly, ugly. They round all the edges and mute everything that makes the AW11 a wedge spacewhip… (yea, you read that right).
So, after looking around a bit, we settled on getting some generic “Japanese” overfenders, most likely re-purposed from a 240z that have been slapped on just about any J-tin you can think of. They were just a few hundred bucks for some thicker examples, which helps if we are a little rough with them. We can get a couple of fellow JNC’ers to help us trim the bananas to fit. Since the fenders are toasty, we don’t mind sinking some rivets in it. We dropped nearly $1000 on a set of T3 performance lower control arms and tension rods along with camber plates on all 4 corners. This beast is getting setup for a long overdue upgrades in “nimble”. Oh, and don’t worry, we replaced the fluids, pads and rotors.
So, here’s this weeks challenge. We are prepping the AW11 to have some serious agility and need to address the rims and tires. The overfenders will give around an inch of extra width to play with. What size rims do we go with? Offset? Vintage? “New vintage”? New School? What say you? Post up with links to pics for extra points. We have $800 to spend!
What wheels should we put on our overfendered-AW11?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What are your JNC plans this 4th of July?”
Last week, many of you took to the streets not to go for a drive per say, but to light off (safely) fireworks in celebration of July 4th. Smoke billowed out of bottle rockets as they soared to the sky. For JNCer Alvin, he made his own smoke by spinning rubber in his Datsun Roadster (should now be called the Datsun Roaster..). Congrats Alvin for giving us the above and beyond Youtube video! I recommend others to take a look at your channel for more excellent racing clips.
I will make a video consisting of American Flags, Fireworks, donuts and 1 Datsun:
Omedetou! Your comment has earned you a set of decals from the JNC Shop.
So i had to first research to see what pcd the mr2 is and it seems to be the common 4×100. This making it easier to find wheels.
However I then make it harder for myself due to me wanting to fit it with something period correct. With 800 dollars i would like something sleek, but with overfenders fitted i guess aggressive fitment is being dictated so I guess some spacers will be needed.
I feel 14″ wheels with proper sized tyres/tires will fill the wheel arches perfectly for that period look.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/JDM-Linea-Sports-14-AE92-EF6-EF9-DA9-EK9-EG6-DC2-DA9-B13-Sentra-Toyota-Civic-/192229549164?hash=item2cc1c6246c:g:U9EAAOSwwvZZUZE3&vxp=mtr
(above) It could work
http://www.ebay.com/itm/JDM-TOMS-TOMS-C2-Vesta-14-rims-wheels-starlet-trd-pcd100X4-/152473225610?hash=item23801cc98a:g:chYAAOSwv0tVY2Av&vxp=mtr
(above) these are on top of my list.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/JDM-Weds-14-4×100-AE92-AE101-B14-B13-DC2-EG6-EK9-DA9-EF8-Mazda-Sentra-Civic-/192236965349?hash=item2cc2374de5:g:QbkAAOSwjk9ZWr5T&vxp=mtr
(above) but I think I will settle for these as they come with two tyres and i am sure i can get another two with the change , but probably second hand on some forum.
A conversion kit to 4×114.3 isn’t too expensive…
Yep you right, but some nice wheels popped up under the $800 mark in 4×100.
I second the set of toms wheels. Those are super slick
There is only one answer here: Sakuras. With plenty of tire wrapped around them. Can’t find any picture evidence to back up my suggestion, but surely that’s all the more reason to do it…
(Also, how do I claim my JNC decals from suggesting an MR2 in part 6? My not-an-AW11 is crying out for some JNC goodness)
I’ll have Ben get in touch with you for those decals!
Thanks!
(And thanks for fixing the formatting on the lead image – I didn’t want to mention it but it was driving me nuts!)
Oh man … the possibilities ….
Definitely 15×8 or 15×9 with a 205/50 tire.
Volk te37vs would be sick. Especially considering offsets and sizes are plentiful.
http://www.stanceiseverything.com/2013/01/one-more-than-ten/
Or some RS Watanabe / Panasport style wheels.
http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/qq147/3sAW11/IMG_6879.jpg
Another thing, although this isn’t necessarily a good thing, replicas of these wheels are plentiful too. Which is an option if you’re strict on balling on a budget.
Obviously the real thing is always better but hey … I look at it like boobs, regardless if they’re real or not, they’re still nice to look at.
Yeah Watanabe 8 spokes would look great, and common enough in FWD offsets to be available at a decent price.
There’s also the harder to find RS Watanabe Falcon Turbos which look decent:
http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/yy83/beloog/IMG00083.jpg
Or these Tom’s wheels I’ve seen on a mint Corolla FXGT:
http://i.imgur.com/BSaZ9y9.jpg
I’ll open the door to Yahoo Auctions seeing as we have a fellow JNCer in Japan…
I like Tire Rack. Been shopping and recommending there for YEARS.
Wheels:
MSW Type 14. Not my favorites, but 15″ is listed at $83/each; 14″ at $79/each, and they’re well-liked, according to buyers’ reviews.
https://www.tirerack.com/wheels/WheelCloseUpServlet?target=runWheelSearch&initialPartNumber=W29002550CS&wheelMake=MSW&wheelModel=Type%2014&wheelFinish=Silver%20Painted&showRear=no&autoMake=Toyota&autoModel=MR2&autoYear=1986&autoModClar=
Tires:
I stuck with all-season designs, since other than the desert southwest, you get weather. Tires that suck in the rain are useless.
If you’re going to upsize to 15″, I’d go with the Kumho Ecsta PA31 in 195/50-15 82V.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Kumho&tireModel=Ecsta+PA31&partnum=95VR5PA31&i1_Qty=4&autoMake=Toyota&autoModel=MR2&autoYear=1986&autoModClar=&vehicleSearch=true
However, the factory size is 185/60-14, so the width isn’t going to be a huge difference. Sidewall height difference is a whopping 13.5 MILLIMETERS/.53 inch.
General Altimax RT43 in 185/60R14 82H:
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=General&tireModel=AltiMAX+RT43+%28H-+or+V-Speed+Rated%29&partnum=86HR4AMRT43&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes
The Kumhos are directional, so no rotating without remounting(*). Front-to-back only. They do not come in 14″ sizes.
(*) I’ve had tires fail at the bead during remounting – after warranty, of course, and the cost of remounting is just more money going out. I’ve spent hundreds of dollars getting snow tires put on/taken off before I FINALLY said: “That’s just stupid,” and bought dedicated wheels for the snows. No more $$$ going into the wind, nor risk of someone wrecking my tire (more $$$ again…), and I can change them over when it starts snowing, rather than having to schedule something earlier than I wish, or later – when EVERYBODY is doing the same.
The Generals are NOT directional, so that allows for full-car rotations, but they don’t come in the 195/50-15 size.
Because of the tires’ size and tread characteristics, I would NOT recommend 14′ front/15″ rear, which I HAD considered initially. You’d be limited basically to a left-front/right-front/left-rear/right-rear situation.
Let’s not forget it’s still a daily driver, so it’s not like “track specs” are the overriding concern, and realistically, including any track time, you’re gonna crack 130 how often?.
On a different track, so to speak, GET THE RUST TAKEN CARE OF! Get it gone, and the metal primed and painted to stop the rust, so the flares don’t fall off. At the moment, doesn’t much matter if you use Rustoleum, or Hammerite (the real stuff). Just git ‘er done!
Rust-O-Leum paint – available everywhere.
Hammerite Links here:
U.S. (Ace Hardware, for me.): http://www.kilz.com/hammerite/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=51d390033f9ff110VgnVCM1000008a05d103RCRD
Rest of world: http://www.hammerite.com/
U.K. people – that major chain – I think it starts with an “H” probably has it. Sorry, I don’t remember the name…
Since we already are applying overfenders to hide rusty wheel arches, why don’t we go for a Hachimaru Hero styled car? The AW11 is from the 80s, so why not pay homage to its original style?
The best wheels from that era would be a set of Hiro V-1 rims:
http://kyushashoes.com/product/hiro-v-1/
The fanblades in the middle of the rims will suck that extra bit of air in to cool our brakes when we are going fast on the circuit, and otherwise just look extremely cool!