Don’t let wheel nut removal drive you nuts – if the locking key is missing or broken, West Yorkshire based Dynomec Ltd has the answer to your problems. The company’s simple to use kit can remove 100 per cent of all locknuts currently available on the market, with its protective steel shroud ensuring no damage occurs to the wheel.
US based Centurion Wheels operates a state of the art facility in China, employing personal with decades of industry experience. Catering for the commercial vehicle market, the wheels produced by Centurion are TRA and SAE compliant, and the company is US DOT approved. The company reports that the design and materials used give its wheels a higher than industry standard fatigue tolerance.
Products manufactured by Centurion Wheels include both tubeless and tube tyre disc wheels for all positions, and in August the company plans to introduce its new industrial and agricultural wheel ranges.
Feel as if others stand head and shoulders over you? Chances are that what you lack in stature will be made up for in the wheel department – but only if you’re a man. A researcher in Austria has uncovered a strong inverse correlation between male height and the diameter rim a person selects for their car.
“It seems more than co-incidental,” commented Dr. Felix Schmutzig from the Linz Institute. “Our study involved approximately fifteen hundred participants, ranging in height from 156 centimetres (5’1) to 193 centimetres (6’3), and the results show a clear preference from shorter men towards wheels with a rim diameter of or greater than 19-inches.” Taller men, in turn, were more likely to maintain standard factory fitted wheels on their vehicles. Dr. Schmutzig added that the shortest man in the study had recently purchased a US built SUV that he’d “pimped up” with 28-inch chrome “monsters,” to quote the driver’s own nickname for the wheels.
Curiously, this phenomenon does not appear to apply to women. From the 400 or so females participating in the study, no discernible relationship between height and wheel size could be ascertained. Addressing media in Linz, Austria on April 1, Dr. Schmutzig says that he now intends to widen the scope of his study to determine whether any additional correlation between physical attributes and tyre, wheel or vehicle size can be found.
“Tzunamee” is the name of the latest wheel from Barracuda, with a striking design that the manufacturer says really catches the eye.
The powerful visual impression is defined by a combination of two different spider designs, which produce ten basic spokes together, doubling in number as they branch outwards. The branches of the new spider design extend from the rim base all the way to the rim edge. Fitted with bolts, between which the “Barracuda” logo has been discreetly positioned, the finishing tips of the other design create the impression of a composite rim.
The spokes of the second spider greatly increase the strength of the wheel, whilst the construction permits an extremely lightweight design. For example, the wheel with the size 8×18″ has thus been given a wheel-load guarantee of a possibly record-breaking 880 kg by the TÜV (German Technical Control Board).
Carlsson has introduced its latest alloy wheel for the Mercedes C Class (W204), SLK, CLS, E Class and CLK models; the 1/14. It features a smart, black finish combined with a silvery surface and the 14-spoke design not only looks stylish, but makes the wheel comparatively light with no loss of strength.
The low weight means a lower unsprung mass and better driving dynamics, while another benefit of the wheel is the excellent brake ventilation, which results in improved braking performance.
The Carlsson 1/14 is available in sizes 8.5 x 19″ and 9.5 x 19″.
JE Design, the tuning specialist for vehicles from the Volkswagen group, believes that it has spotted a gap in the market – according to the company, more and more new cars are being supplied in a white finish, so why not offer a wheel to match?
Hence the creation of the “Multispoke” wheel, with its “WFP” (white front polished) finish, which means that the pearl-white finish of the rim well and spoke sides is complemented by a mirror-finish, silver-coloured front (spoke back and rim edge), which gives the 16-spoke wheel a stylish and sporty look.
The new wheel is available in size 8×19″.
As 2008 gathers momentum the team at Tyremen report they are looking forward to a bright and busy few months. Having secured contracts with two of the industry’s best known names in the European wheel industry, the company is now looking for trade partners to share its success.
Czech Republic based manufacturer MITAS a.s. is expanding its Mitas brand earthmover radial range with the addition of a 25-inch size. The company reports that trial production of this new product is already underway, and serial production will commence in the second half of the year.
The new earthmover radial is suitable for all wheel loaders and articulated dumpers, and Midas has plans to make further additions to the line-up. “When the first stage of the project, the EM-radial-tyres in 25 inch, is successfully completed, the second stage of the project, the production for EM-radial-tyres up to 33 inch will be implemented”, said Dr. Jaroslav Čechura, general director and chairman of the Board at MITAS a.s.. “The total investment for the Mitas earthmover radial tyre project amounts to ten million Euros.”
Kei Racing, a brand strongly associated with the Japanese street racing scene, has launched its latest wheel – the Flux. And the company is so confident in its new design that it has gone so far as to call the wheel, which combines a deep set DTM face with a sculpted pinstriped rim, an instant classic.
Available in an array of sizes and offsets in both 17” and 18”, The Flux is also available a ‘staggered’ 8” and 9” pair, perfect for rear wheel drive Japanese fitments. The wide range of stud patterns and offsets cover most core Tuner, Japanese and VAG group cars.
BF SRL has been present on the Market for over 25 years and is a regular exhibitor at tyre shows, including Reifen events in Germany. During this quarter of a century, BF SRL has become known as one of the leading companies in the field of manufacturing weights for wheel balancing.
The company’s large product range includes adhesive weights for car, motorcycle, truck and off-road vehicle, plus clip weights for every type of wheel balancing.
Move over Twelve…..Thirteen has arrived! This intriguingly named product is in fact the latest alloy wheel from German manufacturer Oxigin, and is follows on from the “Twelve” series rim. The one-piece “Thirteen” design is a five-spoke wheel with a high load-bearing capacity, making it suitable for use on heavy vehicles.
A particularly eye-catching feature of the Thirteen, says Oxigin, is the contrast between the wheel spider sections, which are painted in a high gloss, black finish (Higloss-Black), and the sections with a 2D-front-brushed finish (Face Diamond-Cut). The latter produce an additional spider that is turned inwards and whose “gleaming rays” point towards the wheel centre.
Omitec, the independent diagnostic and test equipment manufacturer, has re-launched its OmiTire Plus tyre pressure monitoring valve tester. The kit contains both OmiTire and OmiDetect handsets enabling activation, registration or re-registration of tyre pressure monitoring valves on the vehicle ECU. With TPMS becoming a rapidly growing feature on modern vehicles, it is useful for such valves to be tested before refitting the wheel to the vehicle, just in case the valve has been damaged in the tyre fitting process. This avoids the inconvenience of removing the wheel a further time from the vehicle. In some cases the valve needs to be activated to set the system up if wheels have been rotated around the vehicle.
Four hundred passengers were trapped in mid-air for more than an hour after a tyre malfunction brought the London Eye to a halt. Sightseers enjoying an Easter Monday visit to the UK’s most popular paid attraction were stranded up to 137 metres (450 feet) off the ground on Monday evening as emergency repairs were performed.
Engineers noticed that one of the four tyres used to rotate the Eye had malfunctioned, and the decision was taken to stop the giant wheel immediately. “There was a technical fault with one of the tyres, so we thought the best thing to do was stop the wheel until it could be repaired,” said London Eye spokeswoman Liz Edwards.
The new Jaguar XF is being launched this month (March), preceding its worldwide launch programme covering the rest of Europe, the United States of America and the Far East. And what’s more, the powerhouse XF 4.2 V8 supercharged version will be supplied exclusively on 20-inch, Pirelli P Zero Tyres. The new Jaguar replaces the S-type models in the range.
In the US, the Dunlop brand has released the Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec, a summer DOT-approved street tyre with a special tread compound for dry grip. According to Matt Neidert, Dunlop’s performance tyre brand manager in the US, the new tyre features the “Star Spec” tread compound, which helps a performance car’s initial dry grip during sanctioned amateur driving events, such as autocross and other track events hosted by car clubs. The tyre replaces the Direzza Sport Z1, which was introduced in August 2007.
The new Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec, now available, features a directional tread pattern with circumferential grooves, and provides “a consistent contact patch on the pavement for a smooth feel and seamless transition.” The tyre is available in 20 sizes covering 15- through 18-inch wheel diameters. (Tire Review/Akron)
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