Heya,
 
Recently purchased a supercharged AW11 and had some questions and a bit of a problem regarding the spare wheel.
 
Firstly, does anyone know why the front air vents under the windscreen would be sealed? I can pull the black vents off, but on the underside there's a layer of plastic that prevents air getting in. I could easily pull it off, but it looks like it might have been there from factory. I've had an ADM AW11 in the past, and these vents definitely weren't sealed up. Any ideas?
 
Is that red thing behind the drivers seat a flare? If so, were these in all JDM AW11s?
 
My main problem is the spare wheel. The car has aftermarket 16" alloys and a standard 14" space saver. There's a pretty significant diameter between them, and I don't imagine the driving on it would do the LSD any good. Not only this, but I've realized that in the event of a flat, the 16" alloy wheel wont normally fit in the frunk or the boot of the car . . .
 
Figured I've only got a couple of options.
 

• Find another one of the alloys that's currently on the car, remove the metal frame in the frunk and somehow strap down a full size spare. The standard screw thing that normally holds the space saver in place doesn't work, so I guess I would need straps.

• Replace the alloys with oem 14" rims, although I imagine finding them would be a huge pain.

• Buy a can of goo sealant stuff. I haven't personally used it before and as I understand it, the tire can't really be re-used after it's been pumped full of sealant.

Any other ideas?
 
Thanks.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Welcome to the AW11 club. Im happy to see someone else rocking that 80s charm.
 
First things first the Supercharged versions of the AW11 were never available ADM. Plus that red thing you saw would be the fare. It is a legal requirement for all jap cars to be fitted with a flare, my SC AW11 also came with a flare. The fact you AW11 has a flare and is SC would lead me to believe you have a JDM model. Unless someone went through a huge expense to try and make his adm jdm.
 
The front vents on my car are also sealed. I think this is something done on a lot of jap cars due to the heavy snow they can get. I wouldn't worry to much about it, so just leave it as is.
 
Personally I think smaller wheels look and perform better on these cars. I would strongly advise in the case of a puncher replacing a 16 with a 14. If you are able to drive the car you could damage the suspension or get into a serious crash, as I would imagine the car would be rather hard to control.
 
I personally believe that the biggest wheels you should get on these are 15". It complements the car and will still fit in the frunk. If you can look into some nice Watanabe wheels, thats what ill be upgrading to ASAP. This picture shows of the style these wheels can add to an aw11 http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j273/RdSss/IMG_0006.jpg
 
Hope this info finds you well.
 
Welcome to the AW11 club

Thanks so much for advice and answers.
 
Think I'm going to try and source a set of teardrops, and possibly upgrade to watanabes or something similar later on down the track.

Your welcome
 
If your latter going to switch to watanabes I wouldn't bother going to tear drops. I found them to be rare and expensive, better saving the money for watanabes or watanabe look-a-likes. I was at one point going for a stock restore and found the price on those wheels can be extreme. 
 
If you want a cheap option for now I know it may seem counter intuitive but I would go for the mk1 triangle style rims. Personally I think they look much more retro and suite the car better than the teardrops. Ive seen them bumping around on ebay and import sites for as low as $90 for set of 4.
 
I would love to se some pic of your ride. Upload them when you have the chance
 

Surgeon
Thanks so much for advice and answers.
 
Think I'm going to try and source a set of teardrops, and possibly upgrade to watanabes or something similar later on down the track.

Hi Surgeon,
 
If you are after a cheap set of 14' wheels for your Adub, I have a nice polished set if interested.  PM me.
 

If you wanted genuine brand new wantanabe wheels, otomoto is the aussie distributor, but your looking at 500 per wheel

Gorilla Industries can also get watanabe (SSR) wheels for you. new and second hand.
http://www.gorillaindustries.com.au/contact
 
We also have some 4x100 wheels that would suit AW11 if you're interested:
http://www.gorillaindustries.com.au/?s=4x100

Mine has 185/6/R14's, with the original space saver spare. Honestly my only complaint is width, I would like a wider contact patch.

I am really disappointed after reading this thread, because all 3 of the AW11's I have owned were imports but none of them still had the factory flare fitted! I'm going to go and sulk in a corner now...

:( If you want a flare there is a way to get one semi legally and attach it to your car for the ultimate JDM look. Ive known people that will import interior bits from jap cars that have the flare attached to them still just to get the flare. Usually like the cars them selves these somehow make it through customs.
 
I have seen many AW11 interiors bits still with the flares attached on sale on ebay and the like. Most of the time you can get it cheap because the interior part itself is damaged.
 
Where theres a will there is a way :)

My SC came with flare but panel was cut away to fit a roll cage. Got a new panel to keep the flare . The JDM import Spyder also came with a flare .
Its just sitting in workshop as I stripped interior.