i remember back in the early 90's when i was playing around in the lowrider thing, Astro Supremes where dirt cheap and you could pick em up just about anywhere....... But now that im lookking for a set for one of my projects i cant find em anywhere anyone know where i can get a set of 14's at and are they still pretty cheap ?
There's GOT to be a lowrider shop in San Anto with a NOS set of Astros in the back! Used sets pop up on craigslist in Austin/San Antonio now & then, keep your eyes peeled. They used to be cheap until about a year ago, now they are ridiculous.
I picked up a set last year from Coy's Wheels. I can't remember where they're located. They were 15's....that's the size I wanted, but they had 14's also. With the lug nuts and the bullet center caps, they were $125 a piece.....shipped. It took me almost 3 weeks of calling around to finally find some. I've read the whole Astro debate on who's were good, and who's were low quality.....the ones that Coy's were selling were fully welded on the backside. Great quality. Apparently, some of the repops that people are selling are only tacked on the backsides and they have a tendency to crack. Esadjian (sp) was the go-to guy for a long time for Astros...but I called that place first and he no longer sells them, and will no longer even try to find them. He's completely done in the Astro market. This was last August though, so maybe he changed his mind. Anyway, Coy's Wheels....that's the place. Hope this helps.
I posted about this a while back... Seems that the cheap ones are no longer being made. Best bet might be Summit if they are not backordered. I also tried Coys, b/c they were advertised on their site for $125, but when I called they said the price went up considerably. I ended up buying a used set off a Hamber for my Rivi. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=225547
Cragar has an Astro wheel listed now....they call it a "Super Supreme." It's in the Newstalgia Wheel adds. The emblem in the center of the cap says "unique," never heard of them. On newstalgias website they are listed by bolt pattern so they're not uni-lug like all the others usually were which is nice. $169-$188 www.newstalgiawheel.com
I did a lot of research on Astro Supremes as they had seemed to drop off the face of the earth The only place I believe you can still buy original Astro Supremes is from GZC wheels in Compton Calf. (310)-761-8678. We just called the guy a few weeks a go and he quoted me $150 for 15x10 and $125 for 15x7 When I did a search for GZC wheels it shows some one of those places that sells those Hokey assed wheels you see on all the new import crap. These guys were real cool on the phone and I think they were more into the low rider scene if you know what I mean 10855 Stanford Ave Lynwood, CA 90262 (310) 761-8677
I just bought some a few months ago from Summit. They were on sale for $89.00 a piece, and Summit has free shipping.
When I spoke to Esadjian Wheel back last August, it was GZC that was making the wheels for him. Maybe things have changed, but when I spoke to them, they were extremely unprofessional...and said they could send me one wheel.....and MAYBE another one in a month or so....but for the remaining 2 wheels it could be anybodys guess. Unique is one of the manufacturers of the Astro Supremes now. Them and Allied are the 2 main companies that make them. There's plenty of posts regarding opinions of the quality of both manufacturers. I can't remember which brand it was that Coys sold, but it was the better of the 2....meaning the spokes were fully welded on the backside instead of tacked like the other brands wheels where.
Coy's website shows their Supremes are from Allied Wheel Company, which looks the same as the Supremes shown on Summit's website (same center cap). I say, call Summit and see if they can verify if they are fully welded. If they want the sale they might go the extra mile. Marty McF.
Ok. The one's I got from Summit on 5/23/08 are made by US wheel. they are the fully welded spokes. 4 14x6 supremes @109.95 ea. Free shipping, for a total of $451.55. I thought they were 89 each but my memory lied to me...they were 109 each. I did quite a bit of searching for a period of 3 months before hand before making my purchase.
The full weld is nice. The issue with the old supremes is that there was no support inside the spoke. That let the rim flex more around the spoke, and it develops a crack around the weld. The good ones have that extra plate welded to the inside of the spoke and then out to the rim to stiffen it up. The Unique Astros are advertised as a chromed aluminum center with a steel rim.
I know from experience, I got the old ones (not welded on the back plate) on my car and they cracked, but they did have a shitload of miles on em. So get the new ones and you should be fine. Good Luck with finding a set.
I've had 10 wheels from Allied in the last six month's, chrome quality is decent on 5 out of 10. Some wheels had weld splatter on chrome that, when removed left pits. I got last 4 from Coy's and one was dinged up after it was made and one had lots of pitting in chrome plating. I am getting the run around now from Coy's on replacing the 2 bad wheels. The first set I had the tire store dinged up 3 out 4 wheels and the owner of store now owns them. My opinion is that for us poor slobs in rural America, that have to mail-order everything, we are being sent all the reject stuff that the walk-in customers in large metropolitan areas are turning down. I will probably send these back and stick with the stock hubcaps. It's shit like this that is taking the fun out. This just my opinion, I might be wrong.
kool guys i appreciate the info, i made a phone call or two and finally have em under thumb, so hopefully in a week or two ill be placing an order thanks again
if it helps, i have the uniques on mine, they are fully welded and the chrome looks good and has held up well, they also dont have the "mag" style lugnuts that the astros and allieds use. cragar also makes them now.....those are the ones i think id order if i had to do it again
I also got mine from Summit, last month. They are made by U.S.Wheel in Huntington Beach, CA. The wheels are all steel if that is what you're looking for. Some of the makers of the Supreme type wheels are going to a composite, part aluminum part steel.
As a follow-up to my previous post. James at Coy's basically gave me the run around on replacing the 2 poor quality wheels. I called 4 times and every time he said he would resolve problem. I filled a credit card dispute and asked to return the 4 wheels for a refund, if that happens I am giving up on Supremes. Hopefully I am to receive outcome from credit card company in the next few days.
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