These were mentioned in a thread a while back. I bought a set recently and am just putting up some pics and specs.





More pictures here

At the time I bought these, noone had weight specs for the wheels. Since then, tirerack has added a weight of 10.6 lbs. The wheel itself says it's 11lbs (converted from metric).

On my scale:

Kosei K1 TS (15x7) w/brand new 205/50/15 Kumho MX's --> 30.0 lbs
SSR Comp (15x7) w/brand new 205/50/15 Kumho MX's --> 29.0 lbs

The overall finish of the wheels is nice. They cheaped out on the centercaps though. They are plastic, and are actually held in by the plastic centering rings that snap in from the back. So... if you were to run the wheels on the track and melt the rings, you couldn't use the caps anymore. Personally, I'm throwing both away, but thought I'd point it out anyway.

At $149 each, they're one of the more expensive cast options out there. I bought them because since I was putting MX's on them it actually saved money to buy from tirerack - plus I like supporting quality businesses like tirerack.

Will they hold up on track? we'll see.


Modified by JeffS at 1:52 PM 2/15/2004

 

not to shabby.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JeffS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
BTW, Kosei Racing, the company that makes these wheels is not the same company that makes the Kosei K1 wheel people have used for years - and also sold by tirerack. They (K1) are Buddy Club wheels rebranded for the US market. </TD></TR></TABLE>

sorry...so who exactly do you buy these from?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by essex &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
sorry...so who exactly do you buy these from?</TD></TR></TABLE>

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/kosei/kosei.jsp

After thinking about it, I've removed that statement. I'm not 100% sure they're not the same company.

 

Hey, they look pretty snazzy at least.

- Jim

 

those look very nice and light too for a cast wheel

kinda sucks they cheaped out on the rings/centercaps

 

That is a great price for that light of a wheel. I'll definately be getting a set once summer gets here.

 

Yeah, this makes me want some new rims. My 95 GSRs are starting to look... like they're nine years old. I've thought about painting them black, and that's cheap, but doesn't look as good as new Kosei K1 TS's!

I'd like to see some pics of them on the car too.

- Jim

 

same company.

the k-1's and the buddy clubs were not EXACTLY the same wheel, but they were incredibly close.

 

I like those

 

kosei makes the wheels for buddy club... i don't know where you got your info.

same company

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JeffS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
The overall finish of the wheels is nice. They cheaped out on the centercaps though. They are plastic, and are actually held in by the plastic centering rings that snap in from the back. So... if you were to run the wheels on the track and melt the rings, you couldn't use the caps anymore. Personally, I'm throwing both away, but thought I'd point it out anyway.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

considering the fact that you're supposed to take the center caps and rings off when you're on the track, I don't suppose that's going to be an issue.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by FormulaIntegra &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

considering the fact that you're supposed to take the center caps and rings off when you're on the track, I don't suppose that's going to be an issue. </TD></TR></TABLE>

um, i hope you don't mean the hub-centric rings. although i don't know exactly how detrimental they are to keeping the wheel centered, i wouldn't mess with it, especially on the track.

 

here's a question...

why are there 2 valve stems per wheel? ive never seen anything like that, and im in the wheel/tire industry

 

Come on, two valvestems per wheel = 10 times as much sweet LED valvestem cap action.

What the?

Sweet wheels though.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Chris y0! &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">here's a question...

why are there 2 valve stems per wheel? ive never seen anything like that, and im in the wheel/tire industry </TD></TR></TABLE>

i asked the same thing a while back. but dammit i can't remember what the reason was, it is logical though.

 

didnt even notice that until now. balance?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JeffS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
At $149 each, they're one of the more expensive cast options out there. I bought them because since I was putting MX's on them it actually saved money to buy from tirerack - plus I like supporting quality businesses like tirerack.

Will they hold up on track? we'll see.


Modified by JeffS at 1:52 PM 2/15/2004</TD></TR></TABLE>

Would definitely have to agree, tirerack.com is awsome! Got my tires in 3 days!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Chris y0! &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
why are there 2 valve stems per wheel? ive never seen anything like that, and im in the wheel/tire industry </TD></TR></TABLE>

The reason I've heard is so you can purge the air from one valve as you fill the tire with nitrogen.

Or... perhaps it's just so you can look hardcore when you give people that explaination.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JeffS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The reason I've heard is so you can purge the air from one valve as you fill the tire with nitrogen. </TD></TR></TABLE>

that makes sense

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tyson &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">didnt even notice that until now. balance?</TD></TR></TABLE>

i think balance was the main reason for it. although the nitrogen thing does make sense as well.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tnord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">um, i hope you don't mean the hub-centric rings. although i don't know exactly how detrimental they are to keeping the wheel centered, i wouldn't mess with it, especially on the track. </TD></TR></TABLE>

You've got a point there. I've never had a problem with my hub-centric rings getting too hot. I don't think they're actually plastic. They seem more like a high-mass poly-nylon something or other (Nylon? UHMW? something exotic?) Might have to ask a wheel manufacturer about that one.

 

Yeah, I've had a couple of the "plastic" hub centric rings REALLY hot, glowing rotors hot, and I think they're some kind of high temp polymer deal, not just run of the mill plastic.

 

polymer...that's the word I was looking for.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by FormulaIntegra &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">polymer...that's the word I was looking for.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Plastics are polymers...

You can make stronger polymers that are more heat resistant (thermoset), but the problem is, when they do melt they permanently deform and things get really ugly. I'm not sure which is better.