Lee McKenzie hosts the Japanese GP for BBC...

Lee McKenzie replaced Jake Humphrey to host the BCC Formula One Japanese Grand Prix commentry alongside regulars David Coulthard & Eddie Jordan.

Known as a favourite of many up and down the pit land it was quite amusing to hear the comment of Red Bull Team Principle, Christian Horner who following the Red Bull 1,2 commented at the end of his interview that is was nice to be talking to Lee and that Jake should not hurry back soon!

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N-Dubz play at Royal Albert Hall

If you have followed this blog you will know the team at Smartwheels have a bit of a soft spot for N-Dubz's Tulisa (and of course we like their music!).

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N-Dubz recently performed at the 2010 Rockcorps which encourages young people to volunteer their time for a worthy cause in exchange for a concert ticket.

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This year Rockcorps was staged in London's Royal Albert Hall which was special for the N-Dubz group.

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OZ Racing Alloy Wheels featured in Jason Derülo Music Video...

The beautiful OZ Racing Botticelli III sculptured and tailored to fit luxury executives & supercars, has been featured in the latest music video from Jason Derulo - " What If ".

The OZ Racing Boticelli III alloy wheels are fitted to a Black Porsche Panamera and look elegant and classy in the background of the music video.

Click on the video above to view and listen to Jason's " What If " hit release...


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A Global Alloy Wheels Directory

Totally Alloy Wheels is an online directory of links to companies offering and connected with the alloy wheels industry.

You can find Smartwheels Alloy Wheels on there as well as many other companies in the alloy wheels industry.

Check out: www.totallyalloywheels.com


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Industry News...

The European Commission reports that a 20.6% duty is being applied to Chinese Alloy Wheel imports in a bid to curb the growing rate of far east imports crippling the European Alloy Wheels industry.

The EC's findings, published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 11 May 2010 expresses this is a temporary measure, with final ruling due November 2010 which could see the duty implemented for a further 5 years.

This move is largely aimed at OEM vehicle manufacturers and not the aftermarket alloy wheels industry which largely supports the main brands and not replica / copy producers. Cars using the Chinese wheels investigated in the report include those made by BMW and Renault.

The European wheel producers named by the European commission include: Borbet group companies, the Heyes Lemmerz group, OZ, Ronal group, Speedline srl, Mapsa, AEZ and Fracaise de Roues SASV.

We would like to clarify that all wheels that are available from Smartwheels Alloy Wheels are procured from OEM brands.

The full article can be read here: http://tinyurl.com/32fm2j5

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Black Rhino launch a meaty SUV wheel...

Black Rhino Wheels launch the Ocotillo, a meaty 6 spoke alloy wheel destined for high performance SUV’s (4x4’s).

The Ocotillo is a great looking 6-spoke alloy wheel capable of carrying heavy loads, whilst retaining a sportive clean look.

“Black Rhino wheels are well built, tough looking wheels designed with the off road truck and SUV enthusiast in mind,” says Terence Scheckter, President of Black Rhino Wheels. “The Ocotillo truck wheel was designed to enhance the look of stock trucks and is offered in two finishes - solid Matte Black and Gloss Black with a Machined Cut Face.”

The Ocotillo wheel is available in a various sizing to suit most SUV applications; 17, 18 & 20inch sizing with various offsets and bolt hole configurations.

Black Rhino Wheels embody more than 30years design experience and are tough, sports alloy wheels for the demanding SUV driver, who expects a wheel that not only looks great, but is manufactured to a very high standard.

The Black Rhino Ocotillo is available now. Visit Black Rhino on the web at http://www.blackrhinowheels.com/ for more details.

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Developing an Alloy Wheel...

The above image shows one of the many tests an alloy wheel will go through before being type approved for release.

The picture featured is for an OEM Mercedes wheel; one of the many developments Mercedes puts into its road cars.

Mercedes test their wheel in the ZWARP, or ‘ZWei-Axiale Räder-Prüfstand’, translated as ‘Biaxial Wheel Test Bench’. The wheel is hooked onto an external roller and is subjected to simulated forces by transversely moving force along two axes, thus the ‘biaxial’ in its name.

The wheel is also tested for corner bending and impact tests, as well as load baring the wheel bolt connections to ensure performance and safety. The result is unwavering endurance through several lifetimes of Mercedes vehicles under normal road conditions.

Article thanks to Benzinsider.

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