You won't be scoring points with the panel of judges _ which in this case are your pedestrian and enthusiast _ without the proper alloy mags even though you have the complete aeropart package. It's like wearing a tuxedo with a pair of slippers.

About 25 years ago, anything that resembled an alloy mag looked exceptionally good regardless of quality because back then, cars sprinting to 160kph was considered Formula One calibre in terms of speed; and muffler jobs at S-Header that made your exhaust sound like a river-boat and barely boosted performance was considered the trendy thing to do back then.

Hence, a plain-looking Apache three-piece mag was good enough as long as it gave that over-sized look to go along with the low-rider effect.

It's a different story today and it's the buyer's market and not the other way around. Warranties, German TUV standards in addition to ISO quality standards to go along with creative and attractive mag designs have really changed the product lineup for this particular segment of the accessory market.

That said, here's my maiden stab at mags which hopefully will score well with Japanese mainstream volume sellers and something like the Honda Jazz in particular.

Featured is the Opera model of the Titan brand which is a mag made in Thailand. There are two sizes which are the 16-inch rim priced at 3,500 baht and 17-inch rim for 5,000 baht. Both have widths or face contacts of 7 inches. Yes, made in Thailand but quality is TUV certified with ISO 9001.

Specially made for Japanese cars, the Opera has an offset of +42 and its four-hole 4/100 fits small Japanese cars perfectly while a five hole 5/114 mag is also available for MPVs.

It's made in Thailand but it's premium based on the pricing strategy when compared to other mags in the same segment.

Constructed from imported ingots which is an aluminium mixture _ the Opera weighs about 12kgs and has been impact-tested extensively which is why it carries a lifetime warranty, according to Boonma Suwanborisut who is considered an oldtimer in alloy mag circles and was the first agent for Lorinser 20 years ago.

By: ALFRED THA HLA
July 15, 2005

 

Over here in Manila most of our wheel come from ROTA. I know they also export there to the States right?

Here's their new website... www.rotawheels.com

And here's the gallery of their designs -- http://www.rotawheels.com/wheels.php

Proudly Philippine Made!

 

Work and Rays Wheels(Volk, etc.) cater to the kei-car(small car JDM market) as well.

 

I've been using the following to select wheels, as mentioned in another thread - Use the 'Alloy Wheel Finder' in the top-left of the page, and select through Honda and Jazz.

http://www.performancealloys.com/

Personally, I quite fancy some of :



or



Michael.

 

I personally like the silver OZ Racing Superturismo set of wheels. I have been lusting after this for quite some time now. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find one here in the Philippines. I'd very much appreciate if someone would help me find a set.

Thanks!