GlobeCLK,

Thanks for supporting my taste . I know what you mean about the C5 wannabes I seen a few made by giovana & katana racing for the fraction of the cost. I never heard of the Advan Model 5’s before you mentioned them so when I looked at the axis they looked pretty original to me. But then again they look like momo arrows and those have been around for a long time.

Manaray,

I don’t have a fake rolex or a real rolex because I cant afford it. I have an omega speed master automatic that I paid $2k for and it tells me time just as good as a rolex. If I lived in a state with normal roads I would spend the money on nicer wheels and if I hit a pot hole and will have to get a new rim I would be very upset if it would be an expensive rim. Plus with the money I am saving I can go for the l-tuned suspension next month

 

Thank you Kodai,

I was planning to put some updated pics.

Regarding my 3-piece Se7ens. The front and rear rims halfs are Work Equip from Japan who manufacures some of the best **** on earth (in referance to wheels) the fasterns are arrow fastners from Japan and the center faces are CNC and powder coated here in the US. The ingredients that makes this wheel is "good stuff".

Regarding wheel designs there are only a handful of truly original designs every manufacturer takes styling ques from others. Case in point blue jeans. For many truly original blue jean styles are out there. Meca? Echo?Lucky? 501's?Tommys? Calvins?. What sets them apart? Quality, Materials, Manufacturing and finally price.

With this criteria I choose my wheels. I could have purchased any wheel-- price was not a factor. I choose these wheels because the guys at Axis made me a custom size and offset to achieve the deepest dish. I'm riding on 19x9.0 in front and 19x10.5 in the rear. Tell me which wheel company will do that for you without costing you an arm & a leg. I didn't select HRE's Kinesis or Fiskes because they are not a true reverse wheel so there 19's look like 18's because they have a extra ridge in the front rim half.

I have had Gewalts 3-piece Evolution with Pirelli P7000 Super Sports, I have had Racing Hart three-piece C2's with Nitto NT555 on my GS400 but I was not satisfied because I didn't get the quality nor achieve the look I wanted for my ride.

Regarding Cheap. I just got an awesome deal.

I'll see ya guys at the big meet in May.

 

Good point, there aren't that many original wheels out there. But look at companies like VolkRacing and Advan. Also Works. They come up with some of the nicest and wide spread designs like TE37, F-Zero series, the "Original" Model 5 6 and 7 (These are truely the 1st original designs), and the Meister series.

Why does Axis use so many different parts from other manufacturers? If they're wheel makers shouldn't they be making their own reliable parts? That's like SanngYong (Korean car maker) who uses Mercedes Engines and call them the best cars in the world.

Nice wheels nevertheless, PlatinumGS4.

Some people prefer the name over price. Of course, name DOES mean something. Lots of people can get Acura TL with leather and wood and all the goodies, but why Lexus? The NAME. There's more to the name, the quality and everything else is something TLs can never dream of. Sure it's a nice car, VTEC, sportshift, HIDs, leather and wood, but hey, it's Acura.

 

All I can say is be happy with what you have. We will give you our opinions but everyone have their own budget and taste. I think those wheels are sweet and 19 is a good size to go with. I myself sometime suffering myself, but think about it, I'm the one that have to live with it so why not be happy with what I got. Eventually I can always get bigger and better wheels when my budget allow me to.

 

Hey Brian -
I also have 17 chrome on my car, I'm wondering what your tire sizes are. Before I had 235-45-17 which looked nice, now I have 245-45-17 seems too bubbly. My buddy has an CLK AMG which rides with 245-40-17 rear which looks tight!! Does or did anybody have these tire sizes on their car before? If so please reply with suggestions.
Thanks

Anyone: How much $$ will I have drop for the adjustable coil over suspension?

 

I got 235-45-17, I like it before until in put the win kit on my car. I probably go up an inch in wheel size to fill up the gap a little since i don't want to drop my car (Colorado winter!)

 

the gs andthe clk have very distinct diff. fender well and wheel gap. being that the clk is a coupe, it has a smaller wheel gap compare to the gs.

the original intention for you to go to 245/45/17 is so that the tire would feel the fender more than the 235/45/17. what brand an model of tyre do you have? some model tyres are more round and some are more square. i like the more square looking ones. think 3-D.

245/40/17, would have, imo, 2 problems.
1. the overall diameter would be too small
2. it would look even worse because the "gap" between the tyre and the fender gap would be even bigger-like an adult wearing a kid shoe.

gs is a relatively large car. coilover would be a good way to go so that you can adjust the height to achieve the look you like. the cost range between $1k-$2k. plus labor. if budget and situation allowed, 18" or even 19" would ultimately give you the "LOOK" your gs desreves.

 

I have Mich XGT's (rounded)
I also like the square look!!
Any suggestions for tires like the Mich Sports?

 

the pilot sport, good looking and well perfomer. if budget is no concern, yes. but if such is true for me, i would take the bridge s-o2 pole positon(or wait or the s-03)

for me, i like GOOD stuff at reasonable price.(that is why i am driving the LEX)

the pilot sport will wear out faster than many other comparable tyres. these would be my choices:

re730-bridgestone
T1-S toyo
dunlop sp500(for budget concious)

FALKEN 451-they are very popular in japan and europe, reasonable price, high treadwear, i do not know why i do notsee many here.

 

DeniskaGS4 - Good choice on the Omega Speedmaster. One of my favorite watches. A good brand watch that isn't expensive. Which Speedmaster did you get (Date, Day-Date, Moon, Racing)?

BTW, Rolexes aren't that great of watches...I was just using them as an example since it's the most knocked off watch in the world.

As for the pot hole thing, ok, I can understand that you wouldn't want to put an expensive rim and then have it crack,

PlatinumGS4 - Work Equip is definitely the ****. So the centers on the 3 piece rim is CNC'd FORGED aluminum? From what I know about Axis, all their stuff is cast alloy. If what you say is true about the Work Equip front/rear halfs and if the center is CNC FORGED, then I would say it is a good rim. But if that the case, I can't see how Axis can charge so little money for it. All that is expensive to produce.

As far as design goes, the attributes you stated (Quality, Materials, Manufacturing, and Price) are comparable to the Wheel industry...Axis isn't know for any of these traits except for Price. Also, Axis (like Giovanna) is a notorious copy-cat manufacturer...it's one thing to be inspired by a designed, but to knock it off exactly is another thing. That says a LOT about the integrity of a company.

If Axis just made their own designs and made them well, they would have different image. But they don't.

As for the custom made thing, true, a lot of manufactures won't custom make you anything. But HRE's rims are made to order. You can customize it to your liking. Same with Fiske and I'm sure Kinesis would do it too....but it's also all about WHO YOU KNOW. My friend got some custom DEEP DISH (I'm talking, you can live in these) 5zigen's made.

As for the "perceived" rim size, I bought 20's so I wasn't really worried about the rims "looking small".

As for the Gewalts and C2's, what as the quality issue?

And if money wasn't an issue, why not just buy the real thing? The Intensive Hunk/DazzMatiz? Was it because of the lip depth?

GS4will - The Michelin Pilot Sport XGT Z4 has great treadwear and the pice isn't bad...and the Nitto 555's are also good treadwear tires...

0110101 - What size tires are you running on what width rim? I see a lot of people oversizing their tires and that'll give you the "bubble" look...

 

... bit I love my wheels...

 

Manaray,

i thought the guy was referring to "THE PILOT SPORT", not the xgtz4. the ultimate pilot sport is ~$250 for a 17", i think that is expensive.

 

GS4Will - Yeah, yeah, yeah...he was talking about the Pilot Sport, I was just pointing out the XGT has excellent treadwear and the price isn't ridiculous. And you're right...$250 for 17" is a little high.:eek:

 

Manaray,

I have Speedmaster Day-Date with a blue face. I also called the place and ordered the Michelin Pilot XGT-Z4.

 

... bit I love my wheels...