Monthly Archives: March 2014

CounterSpace Garage is proud to announce that we are the official dealer of TWS Forged wheels in North America for the import market.  With this announcement, we would like to provide a brief introduction and history of TWS Forged wheels.

There are only a few wheel companies in the world that manufacture high quality wheels for the OEM, motorsports, and tuning markets.  There are only a handful of wheels companies that develop real forged wheels.  Some of the most notable forged wheels companies include BBS, Rays Engineering, OZ Racing, and Enkei Racing.  Wait a minute, Enkei Racing?  But I thought Enkei Racing only made cast wheels right?  Well that is actually almost true.  Enkei Racing only has one forged wheel available in the market and guess who they get their billet aluminum blanks from?  That's right, TAN-EI-SYA Wheel Supply (TWS) Forged, also known as TWS Forged wheels.

TAN-EI-SYA is a manufacturing factory that possesses all the technological equipment to manufacture forged aluminum and magnesium alloy wheels.  It possesses the capabilities to develop new materials utilizing their own foundry to mix and produce alloys that no other wheel company can boast.  On top of that, all mold forgings, heat furnance, spinning, heat treatments, machining, surface finishes, and quality testing are all performed in-house and onsite.  This means they source their own materials, develop their own alloys, and manufacture everything in one place.  Talk about efficiency and tight quality control right?

This type of desired quality control of true engineered products is what drives TAN-EI-SYA to continue to develop high quality wheels for the OEM, motorsport, and tuning markets.  In fact, they have been supplying forged magnesium blanks for Formula 1 since 1993!  It was not until recently, TAN-EI-SYA decided to establish TAN-EI-SYA Wheel Supply Co., Ltd. to develop a tuning market for the tuners.  Through this establishment, the TWS Forged brand was created in 2010 to bring forth true racing technology to the masses.

There is a lot to add about TWS, however, in lieu of brevity, we would like to show pictures of their iconic motorsports design (5 twin spoke) in action.  The magnesium forged wheels are used on racecars including ALMS prototypes and Super GT.

Super GT cars photo courtesy of TWS Forged Motorsport website.

Aston Martin Le Mans LMP1 (AMR ONE) photo Courtesy of Tanco Americas.

Check out the available TWS Forged Wheels for the Toyota 86, Subaru BRZ, Toyota Supra and Civic Type R, among others.  FYI, some 5x100 wheels will also fit on Subaru Impreza WRX / STI cars.

Buttonwillow Raceway 13CW track configuration is a very famous race track for time attacking in California.  It's trademark rough surface, rhythmic driving line, elevation changes, and various types of corners make it one of the most demanding tracks in the world.  It is here where many different suspension systems and aero setups are developed and put to the test.  Breaking the 2-minute mark on the 13CW configuration using street tires (140TW+) is the guideline for a fast driver and properly setup car.

CSG's sponsored driver, Ryan Houck, takes his 2009 Honda S2000 out to Buttonwillow with our CSG Spec valved TEIN Super Racing Circuit (SRC) coilovers on 16kg/mm springs.  Prior to this setup, Ryan was on KW Variant 3 coilovers and wanted to compare the KWs to the newly acquired TEIN SRCs.  Needless to say, Ryan broke into the 1:59s during his suspension testing, making him the first street tired (140 TW+), naturally aspirated S2000 on factory OEM aero additions to break the 2 minute barrier.  Check out Ryan's 1:59 video below!

CSG Sponsored Driver: Ryan Houck
Car: 2009 Honda S2000 - Grand Prix White
Setup:
AP2 OEM Front Lip
S2000 CR OEM Wing
Bolt-in Rollbar
Berk Technology 63mm Test Pipe
J's Racing 60RS SUS Single Exhaust
Bronze Volk CE28N 17x10
Hankook RS3 255/40/17
CounterSpace Garage Aluminum Lug Nuts M12x1.5
TEIN SRC - CSG Spec Coilovers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-Gq3kLoEIc
Berk Technology 63mm Test Pipe - S2000 - $99.99
CounterSpace Garage Aluminum Lug Nuts M12x1.5 - $190.00
TEIN SRC - CSG Spec - S2000 Coilovers - $4343.75

It almost feels like yesterday, but our testing on TEIN Super Racing Circuit (SRC) coilovers on our BRZ yielded some amazing results.  TEIN SRCs is TEIN's motorsports grade 2-way adjustable compression/rebound suspension kit.  On the first day of testing on the very first set of TEIN SRCs in the US, we lapped an amazing 2:01 with just Hankook RS3s and worn brake pads (the TEIN R&D Engineer was sitting shotgun with our beloved CSG driver).  That lap record was held for nearly a year before it was finally taken down by Maxrev's Street Tuned BRZ, also fitted with TEIN SRCs.  An amazing feat for Toyota/Subaru's much anticipated sports car, as well as, a testament to the capabilities of TEIN's SRC 2-way adjustable coilover.

Since then, we have been the street tire record holders for multiple Southern California tracks with only three basic modifications to our car: TEIN SRC coilovers, Hankook RS3s, and Project Mu 999 Front/Rear brake pads.  We eventually added the Essex AP Sprint Kit to reduce our brake pad consumption from all the testing, driving instruction, and joy rides we have provided to the community.

Check out a video of our Maxxis RC-1 testing in the winter of 2012 when we ran a 2:00 and nearly broke into 59s on the first day of testing:

TEIN Super Racing Circuit - BRZ/FRS - $3930.00
Project Mu 999 Front - BRZ/FRS - $300.00
Project Mu 999 Rear - BRZ/FRS - $300.00
Essex AP Racing Sprint Competition Kit - BRZ/FRS - $2099.00
Project Mu 999 - AP Racing CP8350 Caliper - $348.33

In late 2012, CounterSpace Garage (CSG) was invited to test the up and coming R-compound tire from Maxxis.  The Maxxis RC-1 is a very capable 100TW tire that stacks up well against the Toyo RA1, Nitto NT01, and Toyo R888.  It is not only consistent, but also very forgiving.  CSG will be using Maxxis RC-1 tires on their cars to compete in the Redline Time Attack, Global Time Attack, and Super Lap Battle.  Check out the tire commercial that was released almost a year ago!