What to expect in Alloys Wheels in 2009

Posted on 13. Oct, 2008 by Nick in Alloy Wheels, The Store

Simon looks to the sky

The global credit crunch doesn’t just effect the overpaid idiot men in suits in London but also everything else in the world. Creating new designs requires new casting tools which are really expensive to produce, so for 2009 most manufacturers appear to be taking no chances.

Its far less risky to put a new spin on an old design than to create a brand new style of wheel. Were starting to get details trickling through from the alloy wheel designers manufacturers for 2009 and theres some clear trends emerging:

1. Its all about colour.

The last couple of years has seen blacks and gunmetals as great choices. White alloy wheels are a really hot choice right now, but moving forward were going to see a lot more primary colours: red’s blue’s yellow’s and greens. Either as lips or full wheels, these choices look really cool if your after the Japanese inspired UK modified look. Certain wheel that look absolutely horrible in plain silver look awesome in colours.

Why?
Colour coded wheels show you have style, its a defining trend this year among for the UK modded look.

Dezent Motion

Fox FX2

Rota Grid

2. Retro Retro Retro

Rat look, retro style, euro style, dub style all have one thing in common, your wheels have to be spot on with a classic design and make a real statement about you and your car. The bad news is some of the classic wheels can cost a fortune.

I predict manufacturers begin to capitalise on this by producing retro style wheels or even digging out the old designs for another outing. Smaller sizes and wider sizes teamed up with some slammed suspension looks so cool.

We should even maybe look for a return of steelies, in white.

Why?
Modern car manufacturers have now caught up with the wheels of 2006, so to stand out you have to go old school with classic styling.

Lenso BSX

Borbet A

Rota JMAG

3. Pro Factory Look

Replica Wheels suck, thats why we don’t sell them.

However, I do believe that wheel designs “inspired” by the pro factory styles are going to keep getting bigger, not so dull as to be a direct rip off but restrained enough to not look lary. The greatest tuners AMG, AC Schnitzer, Prodrive to name but a few are producing special edition cars with special edition wheels. Checkout wheels on the AMG BLACK SLK to get the idea. The AMG wheels are not yet available but wheels “in the style of” are. And they dont have to be stupidly expensive.

These arent for the type of guy who stands out in a crowd but more for the guy who wants to be a cut above the others in the company carpark. Look out for great quility wheels from the Germans and Italians. A set of these is like owning a Breitling watch.

Why?
Aficionados will appreciate the subtle styling and saying you have a set of wheels inspired by the AMG Black SLK is far more interesting than saying that you have a set of A6 reps.

AMG Mercedes SL65 Black Edition Wheels – Not available to buy yet…

The Alternatives – from £299

Inovit Blade

KEI Pace

TSW Splitz

What do you think?

21 Responses to “What to expect in Alloys Wheels in 2009”

Nick

13. Oct, 2008

That Merc is amazing! Such a cool motor and the rims look fresh, not dull & old hat silver. The pics give you a great idea of how it could look on your car and your right up there with whats going on at the top end of performance cars. I’m going to get some Blades on my car now!
Steveo

13. Oct, 2008

i got some bk182s whch look similar to them off u. look really ace why havent you show them
graham wilkes

13. Oct, 2008

Hello, can you get any of these to fit a mercedes clk 2002?
crezz

15. Oct, 2008

ive always been a lover of coloured wheels, but have to say, im a sucker for white….. also had a phase of high build primer yellow! lmao
Spencer

15. Oct, 2008

Green and Orange was sooo last year
Johan

15. Oct, 2008

TSW Splitz looks fantastic!!
Chris

15. Oct, 2008

Some sexy looking wheels. Think the retro’ ones will be the thing of 2009, i just wish i bought a set of BSX or Borbet A, and got my car slammed
adam king

15. Oct, 2008

I LOVE 3 SPOKE ALLOYS! I HAVE A SET ON MY NISSAN MICRA IN LIME GREEN! LOVE IT
Timmyo

15. Oct, 2008

Lovin the new lenso BSX wheels, for people who want the look of BBS wheels without the expense.

Coloured wheels are definately in at the moment, especially on drift cars
Alex O'Connell

15. Oct, 2008

Alloy colours look great, but if they are to be the main craze next year then I’m sticking with white. I’ve always had white alloys…even before they were popular. Hoopefully this will mean people will move away from white and keep the wheels diverse.
Jake McNally

15. Oct, 2008

All the mags are going on about coloured wheels at the moment too. If you look at gt3 porsche and alike bright colouts have been around a while. Trends are hard to follow when a set of rims costs 500 quid a pop. It’s cool to see the new coloured lips. The burner lips on bk. theyre mad!
Simon Morton

15. Oct, 2008

White is the new black
jason

16. Oct, 2008

BSX Rules I am buying a set for my EG Civic
brummie paul in weymouth

16. Oct, 2008

bring on the trumpet those fox fx2 will look spanking on me escourt soft top stunning
Rossi

17. Oct, 2008

BSX and White Dezent Motion for the Win!
so steezy

27. Oct, 2008

The Rota JMAG isnt a retro wheel!
Simon Morton

27. Oct, 2008

Not a retro in age maybe, but certainly retro in style
Christian Skelton

25. Mar, 2009

Bring on the Retro Wheels!! Its about time the wheel manufactures started catering for us retro car enthusiasts again.
Dan Johnson

12. May, 2009

I’ve already had the misfortune to observe the misuse of coloured wheels…. blue alloys on a red E36 hmmmm NICE!!!

I think most people will tend to buy what the scene dictates as cool, I remember when everyone wanted 3 spokes because Max Power said they were cool… then in the licky sticky age of fibreglass bumpers bigger was better, so we had 20s on Saxos….!!!!

Less still seems to be more these days, so I can’t really see coloured wheels taking off, of course that’s just my opinion, surely it’s still about lip & girth…?!

My suggestion, buy a wheel because you like it…
keith leys

15. May, 2009

i agree with dan johnson you buy wheels you like but also wheels that suit the car.
Rhys A

22. Dec, 2009

Wish Borbet would bring Borbet T wheels back, only need one as had a slip on ice and buckled my wheel on the kerb

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