Trafficstar STR Forged Wheel

It has been a while in the making, but we are happy to announce the first Trafficstar wheel to head out of production, and what better way to launch the all new forged line up, with one of the best looking 5 spokes on the market, the stunning STR.

The first set to roll off the production line, are heading down under to sunny Australia, that will be enhancing a Mercedes CLS-55 AMG, in sizes and widths 9x20 front & 11x20 rear, with a brushed silver centres and polished reverse outer rim, exposed hardware, with a spec 2 profile concave face, we must admit, we are pretty chuffed with the all new evolution look for the new forged trafficstar brand.

As many will know that have followed the brand throughout the years, the older Trafficstar wheel designs were all cast 3 piece welded wheels, with limited sizes, so with the new 2016 launch the designs will be 3 piece configuration, in the standard or concave profile, with a huge list of sizes, from 18" up to 24", in widths 8" up to 15" wide, with a large option list on the available finishes and applications that are available on request, with a 1 Piece Monoblock and 2 piece Duoblock also available as an option.

Next up for the STR is the Amber Performance GTR GT3 build, thats one we can't wait to see finish.

For more details on the all new forged Trafficstar wheel range, call or email the team, we will be more than happy to assist and discuss the huge range of options you have with this range.

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#VADWheels #VAD #Trafficstar #TrafficstarSTR #TrafficstarWheels #TrafficstarForged #3pieceWheels

Avant Garde Wheels (AG Wheels)

Avant Garde Cast M590

Avant Garde Cast M540

Avant Garde M580

We are quite proud of our ranges of forged wheel brands we sell at VAD, we have some of the most exclusive brands on the market, and they are all bespoke build to meticulous quality standards, we get offered brands on a daily basis, as one brand goes to the wall another one is opening up, this is why we love what we have, our brands aren’t just about the sales, or turnover, the owners of the brands are passionate people, they also love what they do, so for us it’s a long term partnership. First up under the spotlight from our elite line up is the Avant Garde Wheels collection, if you follow the car scene the brand needs no introduction, they are a huge brand, especially stateside, whilst growing popularity on a daily basis across the European market.This brand has a huge list of options to suit every pocket, starting with a high quality range of cast wheels, in all of the desired sizes 17” up to 22” in all staggered fitments, all stock at the factory is raw, to be machined & finished to order, so you still get that wonderful bespoke option, even from their cast line up, so you get that quality touch across the cheaper end of the spectrum, and all at an affordable price, the options list for the cast line up is endless.

Next up is the range of 1 piece Monoblock forgings, not to every ones taste, but for unsprung weight, that is up to 40% lighter and 35% stronger than a cast equivalent, you can see why some people prefer this forging, and with the range of widths and sizes that have become available, they are getting more popular by the day, a great all round wheel, but a must have for a track day weapon, a great addition to any time attack or race track vehicle, with all of the usual finish options as well as wheel lightening machining, with back pad and spoke pocketing, also available on this lightweight line up.

New to the Avant Garde ever growing range is the Duoblock forging, to be honest we were extremely pleased they made this happen within the company and added this all important modern forging to the line up, just incase your unsure what the duo or dual block forging is, it’s machined to look like a 1 piece Monoblock wheel, only it’s a 2 piece, so you have the options of hardware on show or hidden just like a 3 piece wheel, the beauty is you have the 1 piece deep concave mono styling but with the added bonus of 3 piece wheel widths, the only down side is they are a little heavier than a traditional 3 piece wheel, again you have the huge range of options for applications and finishes, with widths the same as any 3 piece wheel construction.

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Now to the wheels that have made the AG a household brand name across the global car scene and that’s the range of 3 piece forged wheels, available as a standard 3 piece forged profile, or the ultra modern in demand concave profile, with 3 different configurations, spec 1, 2 or 3.

Spec 1 profile is where the wheel centre design sits almost on top on the flange, this specification is the lightest out of the concave profiles as it has less metal, you then have the spec 2, which is the profile with the leg extensions that reverse down the outer lip back to the flange area of the wheel, generally heavier, but more appealing to look at, and finally the all new spec 3 that was launched at mid 2015, where the rear spokes follow the contoured step of the outer rim edge, which is a personal favourite of ours, unfortunately not all applications are available for this profile.

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We have saved the best until last, at the beginning of 2015 Avant Garde launched the Luxury line up, and what a huge success its been, with the range finding its way onto all sorts of fine machinery, even our world famous Ferrari 458 GT3 road going build for Mikael Persbrandt wore this new line, with a huge list of designs, profiles and configurations to chose from, as well as AG’s mind blowing finish options, it’s a line up to die for.

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We are so please with the company, the staff and the quality of product, that we made a decision to switch production of our own VAD product to the AG factory and it’s been an extremely productive decision, with our own forged VAD wheel sales far exceeding our own expectations, this is one brand we are happy to fly the flag for.

For all Avant Garde wheel enquiries for the European or Australasian markets, email the VAD team, we are the sole importer / exporter for the brand, and we are actively looking for dealers to help us with promote the brand.

#vad #AGLuxury #agwheels #AvantGarde #AGLUXURY #AGForm #AGFunction #ForgedWheels #3pieceForged #Duoblock #DualblockForged #VADForged #VADDesign

Our Carbostuff Engineering Visit

Most people that follow what we do will know all about the on going issues we have with the company Carbostuff Engineering, and the proprietor Dominik Bahn.

After months and months of problems, and excuse after excuse, it was time to make some decisions regarding getting back our money that had been paid to him some 14 months previously, we know that a lot of carbon parts are bespoke, but 14 months worth of excuses had taken its toll, so the VAD crew along with our good friends over at Amber Performance, who happens to be in the same position as we are, which is basically handing over wads of cash and no sign of any parts.

With the date set, and channel crossing booked it was time to hit the road, and what better way to test the awesome new Amber Performance / JW Racing Fiesta ST than a European 1400 mile round trip, and the car didn’t disappoint with its Amber Performance 270 bhp stage 2 upgrade consisting ECU enhancements, air filters, intercooler, blow off valve, exhaust, 18” wheels, all finished off with some carbon styling additions to the bonnet, sills, wing mirrors, & rear hatch spoiler, this little pocket rocket looks as good as it goes.

With the crossing done and on French soil, it took us just over eight hours to drive through France, Holland, Belgium into Germany, with Neumunster being at the top end of Germany, by Hamburg, so not too far away from the border of Denmark, well it would be would it.

The first point of call was the most obvious, Segeberger Str. 76 24539 Neumünster as it’s the one Carbostuff use on all of their headed paperwork and on all email address signatures, but as you can see by the pictures attached, this is merely a lock up garage, where you could just about store a car, so no company, no house, no business and certainly no manufacturing of carbon parts.

Our next point of call was the address we had from the domain name registration for the company www.carbostuff.com Hermannus-Mueller-Weg 1c, Neumuenster, 24536, Germany, again as you can see by the attached picture, is a small house with no one coming or going, and no one there at any time we made a visit, certainly not the home of the illusive Dominik Bahn.

Our last point of call before we called it a night after our non stop eleven hour drive from door to door, was an address we happened to stumble across paperwork that had been sent to us, with an address we didn’t have, and as far as we are aware, it isn’t listed anywhere, Rudolf-Diesel-Str. 7a 24536 Neumünster … BINGO! We hit the jackpot, outside these premises to confirm this was indeed where Mr Bahn and Carbostuff trade from, was the letter box with Carbostuff Engineering label and looking through the window confirmed we had found the base, unfortunately it was late, so all locked up, but we planned a visit first thing the next morning.

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carbostuff Rudolf-Diesel-Str

We gave Dominik the benefit of the doubt, and called him on the evening when we got back to our hotel, we told him we were in town and would like to catch up, he read every me whats app message which he ignored along with our calls, were we surprised, not really, in hind sight it wasn’t such a great idea, as we now knew what we are dealing with, a conniving coward, who is very, very good at what he does, which is to prey on people around the world, obtaining money by deception.

We arrived at the Carbostuff head quarters the next morning, bright eyed and bushy tailed and low and behold it was all locked up, we waited a few hours and even drove back to the previous address we had already been to, but to no avail, he simply didn’t show, and didn’t open, so obvious there is no business operating from these premises, if there was and it was busy as he had always stated, then how can you shut down a business operation for 3 days.

With Dominik deciding to keep a low profile, and taking the choice to ignore the fact we had driven the best part of 700 miles to see him, to merely discuss our options on the parts or refunding us, we were left with no other choice to find the local German Police station, and to say they were helpful was an understatement, they referred us to the local Crime squad who took our statement and were fantastic, it’s amazing what we were informed, but unfortunately can’t discuss, what we can say is they now have a photograph, Vehicle Licence plate and 3 address, along with all of our evidence, and although it doesn’t help us get the funds back, it pleases us to know that this is a criminal offence and they have taken it very seriously. So this along with working with a fantastic Lawyer, that specialises in criminal activity, we are on the way to hopefully getting this guy to court, and with what we have found out over the last couple of weeks, it’s quite a simple process and very inexpensive getting this process into the German court system, our funds reimbursed and we can then move on from this complete farce.

On a more pleasant note the Amber-Performance Fiesta ST 270 Performed effortlessly, and we must admit to being quite taken back how good this little pocket rocket really is, Amber through their sister company JW Racing have done an incredible getting 270 usable BHP from this little 1.6 turbo charged engine. the chassis is also worth a mention, with a full load and the coilover suspension was very good, it felt beautifully balanced sitting on its 18" wheels and 215/35R18 tyres, quite an incredible achievement. With all of the other tasteful mods it make for one very special little car, we can't wait to see what they do with their new 2016 Ford RS Focus MK3 that they have just taken delivery of, watch this space as we also get involved with this one, assisting on the wheel side of the enhancement upgrade package, for the ultimate RS upgrades in the UK, visit the guys at Amber Performance / JW Racing and tell them the VAD crew sent you.

For any details on any of the discussed upgrades for the Fiesta ST, The all new Ford Mustang or the up and coming RS Focus MK3 contact the sales team.

#Carbostuff #carbostuffengineering #deception #DominikBahn #AmberPerformance #VAD #RoadTrip