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Kobe Seiko Wheels (Works Rally Rims And More)


stevofoxono

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That is my sentiment also really, if reproductions are made I would rather see them made as a quality or faithful reproduction and in appropriate sizes etc.. than suddenly flood the market with cheap imitations which would only make it more difficult to verify originals.

 

What makes them special is also their rarity.

 

i agree that rarity makes things special, but give me a quality reproduction any day. The old wheels are so rare, so expensive, usually damaged and probably not road legal i.e magnesium competition wheels. Most of us even if we could find a set would not be able to afford them. Enkei make some classic 70's 80's style wheels that have the benefit of improved materials, design and manufacturing

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40 year old light weight magnesium wheels??? I'm not sure I would even want to push the car around on them if they are known to have been used in competition.

 

My heavy as 3 piece wheels I used on the 240 had to be rerolled a couple of times a season just from the ripple strips used at the Sydney tracks during the mid to late 90's, a set of magnesium wheels that have been belted through a few forests would be interesting to look at.

 

Even Chrysler in Australia lifed the W35 option ROH Jelly Bean mags on the RT chargers to 10-15 races, and they are one of stronger wheels about.

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40 year old light weight magnesium wheels??? I'm not sure I would even want to push the car around on them if they are known to have been used in competition.

 

I've been through all this before, but I'll say it again.

 

First of all, there's 'Magnesium' and there's 'Magnesium'. Obviously there are great variations in the makeup of the alloys we classify as 'Magnesium', and they are rarely brought into the conversation. When I looked into it (via a friend of a friend who worked at KS) I found that the particular type of magnesium alloy used for the casting of the OEM 432 wheels and the Nissan works 'Rally Mag' wheels was similar to some of the trademarked 'Elektron' alloys, and is not as volatile or delicate as many people seem to associate the term 'Mag' with.

 

Not only that, but the wheels themselves are built like brick sh*thouses. The Rally Mags in particular are really beefy, and use a lot of material in their cross section. So they were light (not *that* light...) but also super strong. If I compare them with other (circuit-oriented) Magnesium wheels which I own, they are quite different. The circuit-oriented wheels are super, super light and thin in cross-section. The rims are machined down to a minimal thickness and - for example - one of the 10j x 15" 4-spoke KS circuit race works wheels weighs roughly the same as one of the 7j x 14" Rally Mags. There's inherent strength in the Rally Mag design, if it's in good condition, and the size (only 7j wide and 14" dia. with roughly zero offset) also keeps things within reason.     

 

Condition. Yes, these are for the most part 45 year old wheels we are talking about. The quality of their life is crucial. I have examples that have suffered, and examples that have survived amazingly well. Best to judge them on a case-by-case basis. I do NOT recommend 45 year old Magnesium wheels for competition use, but - if they are tested (I've had some of mine x-rayed), and well looked after - they should be OK for normal road use, for gentle 'posing' and for display. If you are going serious racing or rallying then you would look elsewhere anyway (for economic reasons as much as anything else...) so I think it goes without saying. The good quality replicas (such as the ones I had a very small role in) have been tested and are safe, and have been used on some pretty serious events to date without incident.

 

Fire? I often see people talking about Mg wheels as though they are made from White Phosphorus. Yes, Mg can be an extra risk in a fire but it takes a fair bit to get it properly alight. My feeling is that a set of Mag wheels attached to an S30-series Z is a relatively minor risk in fire safety terms, and if you've got the thing alight in the first place you're already in trouble. The interior plastics on the car will probably kill you first...

 

Here's a throwaway line for nothing: I'm willing to bet that half the wider 'scene' wheels for these cars from the cheaper end of the scale are actually more of a risk to use than a 45 year old KS 'Rally Mag' that's been tested and is in good condition.  

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Here's a throwaway line for nothing: I'm willing to bet that half the wider 'scene' wheels for these cars from the cheaper end of the scale are actually more of a risk to use than a 45 year old KS 'Rally Mag' that's been tested and is in good condition.  

 

Nah #FakeNews, those South East Asia specials look the same, therefore they must perform the same.

 

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Actual weight figures would be useful when talking about light wheels but I'm not seeing any. Superlight is a brand of wheel well known among the racing fraternity, they are commonly known as Superheavies for good reason, so much for a name.

Edited by 260DET
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Actual weight figures would be useful when talking about light wheels but I'm not seeing any. Superlight is a brand of wheel well known among the racing fraternity, they are commonly known as Superheavies for good reason, so much for a name.

 

When I get a chance I will measure the weight of the wheels and post details here. I know someone with a couple.

 

14x7 Works Rally Mag from 240z.

 

14x5 Works Rally mag from Violet (or similar 4 banger)

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On my weighing scales in the loft just now:

 

7j x 14" Magnesium Nissan Works KS 'Rally Mag' - 5.4kg

 

5.5j x 14" Magnesium Nissan Works KS 'Violet Mag' - 5.4kg

 

5.5j x 14" Magnesium Nissan KS OEM 432 wheel - 6kg

 

7j x 14" Aluminium Central 20 'Z Sport' 4-spoke wheel - 6.4kg

 

10j x 15" Magnesium Nissan Works KS 4-spoke with bead-locks (circuit race) - 5kg

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Interesting, Enkei's official weights for their current RPF1 racing wheels are 4.4kg for a 15x7, 3.8kg for a 14x7. The RPF1 is the go to wheel for amateur racers who want a strong, light wheel at a reasonable price, my 280ZX runs a set.

 

There are a couple of wheels here that make me drool a bit http://enkei.com/product-category/wheels/

Edited by 260DET
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Caught the tail end of the KS Maglloys auction. Cheaper than the last set of these 4 wheels I saw on Yahoo Japan, which was about 300,000 Yen more than this final price.

 

https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/n228771361

 

Good price, they are the later produced ones. No center hub cap area for a Z432.

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As these Maglloy's are a different design than the Z432 KS wheel, they came with their own centre cap to suit;

 

https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/t532302958

 

My understanding is Kobe Seiko launched these Maglloys in the mid-70's, and they didn't sell in very well and were available in different colours.

 

I don't think I've seen those center caps before, attaching images here for future reference.

masaki4585-img640x480-1505130015m9sbrm19967.jpg

masaki4585-img640x480-1505130015ovyctz19967.jpg

masaki4585-img640x480-1505130015pldera19967.jpg

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I doubt you can click and add to cart that easily but for future reference.

http://www.japanorder.com/2012/01/06/nissan-mag-rally-replica-wheels-s30z-as3001/

and Revive Jalopy Catalog.

http://revivejalopy.web.fc2.com/catalog_date/catalog7.pdf

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I very much doubt you can click -> add to cart and checkout. I believe these are only made at certain intervals and require a minimum order.

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12 hours ago, csp-311 said:

with the single wheel to make the set;

https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/f327040440

Actually it's a different wheel to the other 3. Also not sure about the damage on that single wheel as shown in the photograph. This wheel is more like the Z432 wheel with the casting stamp RMW-9L331 - What's odd about this wheel is that there is no centre hub for a cap on it. There seems to have been a lot of variances over the years. This wheel likely weighs slightly more based on the details Alan posted earlier in this thread.

So whilst they would look close, you would still have 1 odd wheel compared with the other 3.

It seems with the replicas about now, there has been a flurry of old (in some cases worn out) wheels listed for sale. Interesting.

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