Trueno resto: **fresh wheels arrive...

 A soul is put to a Japanese product...

I always really loved the colour and design of bronze TE37s, before I got into AE86s or even Japanese cars.  When I bought my Trueno and it came with them fitted it was a real treat. As time went by, I found myself wishing they were just that bit wider, and perhaps with a bit of dish/more offset. The 6.5J et0's while ridiculously light and strong, always seemed a little tame compared to some of the other tasty wheels out there. Then one day Rays made the TE37V. In 15". Close but not close enough..

But, eventually my dreams were answered ,and Rays announced a fat range of 14" TE37V in 4x114.3!!! After much thought I got a great offer from RHDJapan that I just couldn't resist, and with the car going to the bodyshop it seemed like the perfect, if only time to do it.

 

  So just this morning they arrived, 14x8.5 -5 (m-rim) for the front, and 14x9 -15 (l-rim) for the rear...

 

 Along with the "shower caps" they also came with another set of fresh valves, and the matching retro style "RAYS" and "TE37V" decals.

 

 

All stickered up, ready for some fresh rubber, we will try 185/55 and 195/55 to begin with...

Obligatory "what fits in the whale" shot :)

Birth of a TE37. That is all.

I want another car just to have more TE37 in my life :)

^^Wheel refurb complete!

Today was a nice day, the Trueno got some mega love..

First of all the car was up on axle stands so the 4 trusty but tired looking TE37s could be removed. The stickers were very faded and cracked, and not much remained of them after 10 years of road and powerwashing!

So armed with some choice products from the detailing shelf...

... I went to the local carwash and gave them a very thorough cleaning. The AG Custom Wheel Cleaner is safe for use for anodized and other less common metal finishes so I was happy using that on the gorgeous bronze metal..

The power hose also made short work of the remaining decals, so I was left with a spotless grease free surface.

And now for the really satisfying part! My new OEM decals from RAYS all the way in Japan.

gently...

 

The results speak for themselves!! and with some wheel sealant and tyre shine later,

All done! The car is still too shamefully high to put up a picture of them fitted but the car was also given a super clean today to match the wheels, along with a fresh coolant swap and some other small jobs..

And now for many beers :)

random pic: 2 door on TE's

I am really looking forward to getting my coilovers in, and changing to a standard rear bumper with no skirts, so I am searching the net for pics of super low 2 door Truenos on TE37s for inspiration in the mean time...
Not very low and the tyres seem quite big but its a nice start!

edit: the more I look at this pic the more I really like this car! its so subtle it takes a while for the details to sink in. TE's are awesome in gloss black, and really suit the colour of the car, which also tasty. And it has less arch gap than my car haha. good work to whoever owns it :)

more stuff in the post!

Two packets of long awaited parts have arrive from around the globe! 


Firstly, from my friends in RHDJapan, we have some genuine Rays sticker repair kits for TE37's, black & white for my bronze set, and blue and white for Kevs set.. I'm so chuffed with these I didn't think I would ever find them, my wheels are going to be like new when I put them on! BIG thanks again to RHD for getting these for me :)

Secondly, from Australia, we have two beefy T6 6061 aluminium 40mm RCA's by AJPS. I chose these as they were similar in price to T3 but were 40mm thick rather than 30mm for better correction if I go very low, and also its nice to support all of the independent tuners making aftermarket AE86 parts! Also anodized black is a big plus for me lol. 

Also supplied by AJPS were two sets of polyurethane steering rack mount bushings and they will eventually go into my Trueno and one of Kevs '86s. They should really improve the steering feedback on our manual racks so that is one mod I am quite looking forward to. Results will be posted.

This weekend might see the start of assembling the new coilovers for my Trueno so stay tuned!

"such as when the injured aging..."

With the awesome discovery of this link, rayswheels.co.jp/omnomnomnom, my long term wheel refurb will now be complete! The wheel nuts and valves are in, they are wrapped in Yokohamas almost finest (family car lol) rubber, and the lightweight TE37's will soon be off for a serious full cleaning, sealing, and the careful application of new GENUINE decals...

Only one wheel has the lightest kerb rash and was on it from the cars previous life, so I can live with that for an otherwise perfect set of 11 year old set of wheels! A set of the blue on white decals are also coming for
Sarahs
Kev's white, Gravel TE37s which have an eventual date with a sandblaster & powdercoater..

* new whale skins!

I've been waiting for these :)
A nice fresh set of Yokohama rubber. Performance S-drive in 185/55/14 for the front, and a slightly cheaper and more hopefully durable C-drive in 185/60/14 for the back (Anything will be better than the evil Runway Enduro's). I would have gotten /60 profile all around only I couldn't get a very good tyre in that size, so S-drive in 55 it was.

S-drive got some good reviews online so far, so I can't wait to give them a try. They will be replacing Toyo CF1 which was a very good normal tyre, but thanks to bad tracking and lots and lots of motorway, they have no shoulders left haha. Fitting these will also give me a chance to fit those new RAYS valves I got for the TE's a while back. The mini wheel refurb is nearly complete.


fatment & tracking this weekend hopefully.