Love these wheels I saw on this 355 on eBay. Anyone know the manufacturer? Have to get these! http://www.ecarlist.com/showroom/1127/photos/927538#20
Axis Wheels. The style is called Se7en (aka seven.) They have not been in production for a long time, but if you speak to the owner of Axis, James Chen, he may be able to put a set together for you using spare parts. Good luck!
I saw that 355 on eBay...was surprised it was priced @$49k with a make offer option. Seems a good deal, although I don't like the speaker mounts.
Speaker mounts are horrible. But seems like a hell of a deal for a well serviced 355. Seems to me it should be selling for more. I'm wondering if something is wrong with it. Want those wheels though!
Those wheels are relatively inexpensive (aka cheap). I'd remove those along with the speaker boxes if it were my car. They may look and fit okay but when a 16 yr old kid in a honda civic pulls up next to you with the same wheels for the 10th time, you may begin to feel differently. At least have a look at getting custom offsets made from Wed's, Work, HRE, Forgeline, etc. There are so many good wheel manufacturers to choose from.
I clicked the link and thought.... "he wants those?" We all have opinions but those take away from the car. $.02
The owner of Axis is a longtime friend of mine. Even though the style of the 3-piece Se7en wheel mimics the style of the original 1 piece cast version that he released in 1999, they are completely different in construction. Mr Chen bought one of the first 360 Modenas when they were released to the US market in 1999. The success of the cast 1 piece Se7en was partly due to the introduction of a small run of a 3 piece version using a forged center and conventional spun rim halves. The first set of the 3 piece design made its debut on his 360 at the 1999 SEMA show in the Pirelli or Yokohama Tire display, I believe. He will have a better recollection of the exact details. Profile of the car is listed here: http://www.axiswheels.com/view-project/1999-ferrari-f360-modena-f1 If you can still find a 3-piece version of the Se7en wheel, it will be a good value if you like the style. The quality of the wheel is comparable to any other good 3-piece wheel of that era. There are several videos of the yellow Axis 360 competing in the Ultimate Street Car Challenge and doing drift demonstrations with Sam Hubinette in the drivers seat. The wheels held up just fine in that environment.
I know this is starting to stray off topic a little bit, but it shows how inter-related the Southern California wheel manufacturers are sometimes. RacingHart in the USA was not directly connected to the original RacingHart Japan. The product sold in the USA was produced by Dazz Motorsport. I don't know if there was ever an official licensing agreement between the two companies for the use of the name. Nonetheless, the owner & founder of Axis held senior sales & management positions at both Dazz and CEC before starting his own company. Which came first -- the RH M5 or the Axis Se7en -- I have long since forgotten. Some of the automotive aftermarket's highest profile success stories come from the wheel segment.
From what I have heard, those wheels have been discontinued unless you have friends who know friend that can pull some strings. I sold a 355 two years ago with those wheels and the gentleman could not find a spare axis wheel for emergency use. If you buy any aftermarket wheels, make sure you pick up couple of extras for the future spare.
Still kinda like the look of those wheels. So many different styles out there. Hard to know what looks good on a 355.