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7 spokes, 3 dimples per spoke, that's 21 dimples per wheel...
17" Factory Awesomeness at it's Finest !
Those Dimples even match those on the door handle, go figure...
You are aware of the symbolism of the three square depressions found all over the Nissan 350Z, yes?
The ones found on:
- On the OEM 17", 18" Track V1s and 18/19" GT/Track 2 wheels (can't recall if the Touring 6 spokes had them) Nismo V3 did not.
- The rear strut bar
- The Z logo itself - and there are how many on a 350Z? Try that from memory to see how good you are.
- And here's the game of the day: Find the hidden 3-square sets on the car. There are two additional sets on the car besides listed above. First one to identify their location gets a hearty pat on the back for taking the time to locate them. (And a glass of Eagle Rare on-the-rock with splash if yer around here.)
Hint: these hidden sets do NOT include fairly obvious ones like:
- Any mentioned above
- Steering wheel logo
- Side emblems
you got the Zs in the door jamb where the AC passes through to the door vent.... but dunno if there are dimples on those.... then you got the Zs on the door sills-dimples there i am sure...
MIC. EDUCATE ME on the symbolism of the dimples please!!
Laff..... well, see there were these three guys sitting around a very large sake bottle....
Nawwwww, there are a variety of notions on exactly what the three "square dots" represent and the one most often regarded as "true" is the one talked about in the book "Love, Then Lust", by R. Sessions, the story of how the Gen 5 Z came about. "True" from the perspective that it's "published" and therefore true, yes? Hahaha.
"The three square-chisel dots or hash marks on the diagonal of the Z badge represent the qualities we were trying to embody in the car: newness, high quality and Z-ness." the words allegedly attibuted to Mamoru Aoki, the chief designer of the Z comeback car, the Z33.
"Z-ness"? OK, so what was I saying about that large emptied sake bottle?
I don't recall the exact reasoning behind these terms as outlined in the book (read: too dang lazy to dig it out of the storage box it's in...somewhere) but suffice that there are unique characteristics designed into the Z33 that embodied each of these traits.
While that's all well and good and might be true; there are many other "explanations" for the three square dot array; and me, being the automotive romantic that I am, like/prefer one of the other stories that has floated about through the years....
My preferred one has to do with the three square dots representing "past, present, and future".
This one says that in designing this fifth generation Z, Nissan harkened back to the original 240Z for design inspiration for the 350Z. If you look carefully, it's easy to see that styling cues are present, engine/chassis configuration almost identical proportionately, and even the exhaust note was designed and tuned to sound like a first gen S30.
So, because Nissan reached back to the past for its present car (when the then new 2003ish Z33 emerged) and that this car (after a six model year absence from 97 to 2003 in the US) would be the basis and progenitor of the future Z cars, the three square dot design was chosen to pay homage to the original three founders of DAT Motorcars, back in the early 20th century.
Kenjiro Den
Ro Aoyama
Meitaro Tekeuchi
This was the forebearer of the company that would eventually became DATsun.
The reason they used the square shape was because, in Japanese culture, squares are considered a symbol of presence. (Particularly when combined with a triangle and circle.)
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Did you believe any of that? Yeah, ok, I'm not sure I do either.... but in the end, I'm not trippin' on any of the stories about what they mean. So, any explanation is as good as any other because for whatever reason, they're there and a part of our cars. Period.
Oh, and by the way, to support "my favorite" story about it, you might take note that the Z34 (Gen 6, 370Z) does NOT have the dot array as it's the evolutionary model of the now iconic 350Z; instead it features a more elegant, less industrial looking, shaped and sculpted Z logo (left, below).
And no, no clue why I get off on this kind of silly trivia.
I always thought all those "3"s came from the Z33 name plus the 3 gauges in the center which was a throw back to previous models. My brother noticed that even the head lights look like 3 dots from a distance. The main light in the middle then the reflectors show what appear to be 2 lights to the side. The dots are also on the door sills BTW. I believe there are some on the shifter base as well.
Back on topic: My '03 with '08 Touring V2 wheels, I couldn't stand those factory 6 spokes with 5 lugs, always looked mismatched to me
02-10-2017, 07:17 PM
OEM Wheels *picture thread*
