Thursday 16th August 2012

OZ Racing launches new winter wheel

Forget the ropey old steelies - OZ's got a new range of 'winter' alloys

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OK, so it's still the middle of August and everything. But with the culture of swapping to winter tyres now taking hold here in the UK OZ has come up an alternative to the Continental fashion for running basic steel rims over winter with a new range of simple, easily cleaned and affordable alloys.

Badged under OZ's MSW sub-brand, the MSW 77 is designed to be as easy to clean and maintain as possible. The idea is that you substitute your spangly summer wheels for the winter rims to protect them from the usual salt, grit and general muck that coats the roads in the wintry months. Paired with winter tyres you're good to go, whatever Jack Frost throws at you.

A seven-spoke, five-bolt monobloc wheel ranging 15-inch to 17-inch sizes, it's available in any colour you like as long as it's silver. Your Mercedes or BMW centre caps will just pop in though, maintaining a degree of OE credibility. The MSW 77 sits alongside two other winter specific rims in MSW's line-up and goes on sale in September, with prices starting from £83 per wheel.

 

[Turbocharger]

I hope it's really strong laterally, for when people slam into kerbs on full lock with the brakes on.

Otherwise, what was wrong with steelies exactly?

[dandarez]

Blatant advertising!

'Any' make of alloy would be feasible for winter usage surely?

[Dr Interceptor]

dandarez said:

Blatant advertising!

'Any' make of alloy would be feasible for winter usage surely?

I'd be inclined to agree, unless we're told what Oz have done to make these 'Winter Specific'

Materials, Strength, Manufacture, More Durable Paint/Lacquer?????

[Yorkshirepud]

It mentioned they were easy to clean.

I need 18" to clear the Brembo's anyway...

[DanDC5]

Suppose this is one to plug the lower end wheel ranges.

[aka_kerrly]

Dr Interceptor said:

dandarez said:

Blatant advertising!

'Any' make of alloy would be feasible for winter usage surely?

I'd be inclined to agree, unless we're told what Oz have done to make these 'Winter Specific'

Materials, Strength, Manufacture, More Durable Paint/Lacquer?????

My thoughts exactly.

For £83 per wheel plus a tire you could easily end up spending £500-600 on a set of 15 inch alloys with new winter tyres. Hardly seems worth it to me when a wheel can be refurbed for £30-50 or second hand alloys can be purchased for much less.

Besides that the design isn't exactly easy to clean, you want "proper" monoblocks for that.

[BarbaricAvatar]

Wouldn't steel wheels increase the weight on each corner thereby making it more likely that you'd find some grip?

This Winter alloy's thing is likely to catch on due to aesthetics but i think i'd have more confidence in sticking to the basics in frozen climates.

[louiebaby]

This is what Ebay is for in the summer. Pick up a set and clean them up over the summer, get some winter tyres on and balanced early autumn, and slip them on when the weather turns.

I spent £125 on a set of genuine BMW alloys, in the same size as stock. Seems sensible to me...

[LuS1fer]

You need a simple 5 spoke for any wheel to be easy to clean. My Mustang has 20" 5 spokers and I can get my hand in to clean the inner rims and behind the spokes though even then the calipers get in the way.

[Mr2Mike]

One of the more stupid marketing ploys I have seen for a while.

There are far more important aspects to a wheel that someone may only use for a few months than ease of cleaning; price and strength probably being at the top. Also, despite this being one of the main claims they don't even look particularly easy to clean with all the sharp angles and steps in the rim.

LuS1fer said:

You need a simple 5 spoke for any wheel to be easy to clean. My Mustang has 20" 5 spokers and I can get my hand in to clean the inner rims and behind the spokes though even then the calipers get in the way.

The four spoke wheels on my Fiat Coupe 20VT were the easiest to clean of any car I have owned. The Brembo calipers where a bit close to the rims though.

[Willeh85]

They don't look any easier to clean than most other alloy wheels, and as others have said there is nothing about what makes these stronger than a standard alloy wheel.

I Think I'll do what others have said and just pick up some cheap second hand rims.

[FoundOnRoadside]

BarbaricAvatar said:

Wouldn't steel wheels increase the weight on each corner thereby making it more likely that you'd find some grip?

Steel wheels, almost without exception, are lighter than the alloys they're replacing. Have you felt the weight of most OE alloys?

Steelies are easier to fix too, they're repairable with a hammer.

[dandarez]

I actually posted 'blatant advertising!' for good reason... to get my own back on PHs for this:

Received this mail on 13th August.

Hi,

Your topic 'Sold within a blink! Dare G4' has been removed for the following reason:

Suggest you READ the rules of posting paying particular attention to No. 8

No adverts in the forums.

Regards,
PistonHeads

I replied - not too kindly - as it was 'not' an advert... more of an 'event!', in fact it referred to a Ginetta G4 that was in the classifieds and sold 'within a blink!', it was not mine, nor was I remotely connected with it - isn't it what we PHs do? Confer when one of our favourite marques sell.

Touche!

[LuS1fer]

More to the point, have you seen the weight of tyres? My 10.5" wide 20" rims can be lifted with one finger but with a 275/30 tyre on, it's a weight-lifting job. Alloys tend to be wider than steel rims. I rememebre when a 5.5 inch steel rim was considered wide.

[cptsideways]

They don't look easy to clean at all lol.


Marketing Dept: How can we get rid of these horrid old wheels we've got left over that no one wants?

[KarlMac]

They look awful. I'd imagine anyone with enough coins to buy a second set of alloys is either going to have a decent car, or know enough about cars to care about it's appearance to avoid these or know about cheaper direct fit alternatives.

Wonder if were an abandoned OEM project? Strange how they aren't being sold under the credible OZ brand.

[MGZRod]

Am I the only one dissapointed they don't look like this?

[ScoobieWRX]

MGZRod said:

Am I the only one dissapointed they don't look like this?

These would look good on my scoob, bloody hard to get hold of though!!

[don logan]

ScoobieWRX said:

MGZRod said:

Am I the only one dissapointed they don't look like this?

These would look good on my scoob, bloody hard to get hold of though!!

+1

And

+1

[ScoobieWRX]

If you want the coolest winter wheels for your P&J, in fact any time of the year wheels check out compomotive.

I seriously want!!

http://www.comp.co.uk/wheels/wheels.asp?size=motor...