S13 - new wheels - again...

[Rittmeister]

Well, I always said I'd never do this, but you never know when you'll find something you want for a good price...

I've been very happy with my Kosei and Watanabe wheels on the S13, but I've always had a jones for some other wheels. Recently I came across a set I've always wanted, but it involved the thing I said I'd never do - a 5-lug hub swap.

After several weeks of research (and hoping someone else would buy the wheels and put me out of my misery) I found a good set of hubs, also for a good price, and pulled the trigger. I finished the job Friday evening. The rears are OEM from the 300ZX (they bolt right up) and the fronts are the best the aftermarket has to offer (Attain). The front brake rotors that came with my Wilwood kit were already drilled with the 5-bolt pattern, and a friend did the rears for free; he even delivered them back to me, which I wasn't expecting. I pulled the splash shields while I had the hubs off (I'd already cut most of the fronts away anyway) and I'm debating whether to do long studs on the new hubs, since I don't need spacers with these wheels.

The wheels are from an R32 Skyline GTR. I refinished them myself with Duplicolor gunmetal wheel paint - they were pretty beat, hence the low low price that caught my attention so firmly. 2 coats primer, 2 coats color, 1 good coat of clear. You can still see the curb marks and the spots where the original finish chipped off under the new paint but from 8 feet or farther away they're invisible. I'm happy with the way they turned out and the spraypaint matches the original color so well that I didn't bother painting the center caps yet. I transferred the tires from the Kosei wheels to the new wheels after I painted them, and I think they look fabulous on the car.

The center caps say "We Produce With Spartan Air" around the "S" Skyline logo. Wonder what the hell that means.

Anyway, I washed the car Saturday (it'd been gathering dust between drives
since July) and shot some pictures Sunday - just in time for the remnants of Hurricane Ike to come through the Midwest and totally mess things up. More than half of the southwest Ohio/northern Kentucky was without power for quite a while - my house had no juice from Sunday afternoon until last (Wednesday) night. I had no school for three days either...

Pics below. Let me know what you think.

Before:

Rear



Front


After:

Rear


Front



Da Car:

[happynole]

Verry Nice!!!

[blairellis]

R32 Wheels?

EDIT Didn't read. Looks great! Loving that look for sure.

[SUNNYboi]

Yeah R32 wheels! Fing sweet! Nice come up btw

[tommy boy]

nice looks awesome

[dmp316]

i am loving the color and the rims. Bad ass looking s13

[GT2871RBLUBIRD]

very nice

[XxToKeSxX]

I love the OEM appeal Kent... It looks good, but I like the old wheels a little better.

[Isfahan]

Awesome! Wish I had a chance to stop by to see them in person.

[Nismo_34]

OMG!! brb i need to clean the walls
Amazing looking wheels from an amazing car on an amazing looking car!

[Sentrixx]

Really nice... Those flow really nice with the car and body color.

[MY95SER]

looks good!

[jingjing]

wow that looks great. nice job kent.

[SE-Rican]

Originally Posted by XxToKeSxX

I love the OEM appeal Kent... It looks good, but I like the old wheels a little better.

I with Ameen on this one Kent. The car looks great. I am really digging the simplicity in it. Very OEM and it looks like it means business.

Now as far as wheels I feel the Watanabe's looked better. Also do they make a front lip for that bumper? I think it will help with the stance of the car.

Don't take what I said a knock. The car looks great and the build on her is top notch.

[Justasentra]

Very simple and clean man.Love it!!