Back in the late 80’s I cut my teeth in the ultra-high performance tyre world working for Bridgestone Tyres, the days when they were purely a one brand company before the purchase of Firestone Tyres, working between the sales, technical department and the high performance tyre department, it’s a time in my life I will not forget, selling and working with all the tyres for the exotics of the 80’s all the icon cars, Ferrari F40, Porsche 959, Jaguar XKR-15, and the incredible XJ 220, I remember seeing my very first XJ220 rear tyre 345/35R18 and being in awe, my passion for high performance tyres along with working in the Technical department put me in good stead for the business I'm involved with today, learning all about the tyre, section width, overall diameter, rolling circumference, tyre upgrades, and above all the ETRTO standards (European Tyre and Rim Technical Organisation) permitted tyre to rim widths, which has been a very important parts of VAD’s daily business life working with bespoke custom 2 and 3 piece forged wheels.
When Bridgestone purchased Firestone, I left the company to search for a new challenge, this is when I linked up with Peter Luckings from Motorsport Sport wheels, at the time Peter was actively importing and distributing the OZ wheel brand in to the UK market and it was the start of my journey into the wheel world.
Being involved with the O.Z wheel brand set me up with all the ethics I still swear by today, that quality is everything, and if its cheap, its cheap for a reason, visiting the foundries in Italy and seeing the product being manufactured up close and personal was something to behold, the TUV testing they have in-house was market leading at the time, the Racing department where the Motorsport wheels & three piece wheels were constructed I will never forget, truly awe-inspiring, they certainly lead by example.
Like most European companies they have had a hard time with the infestation of Chinese manufactured alloy wheels that hit the European market, but we are pleased to report that over time people have realised that the quality difference between European & Chinese manufactured product are worlds apart, Chinese alloy wheels are cheap for a reason and I am happy that all of the best European manufactures are back, and back with a vengeance.
I am so pleased to be once again involved with this iconic brand, only this time under different circumstances, with my own company promoting and selling the OZ Racing wheel range.
All of the wheel designs are being added to the website and updates will follow over the coming weeks and we are pleased to be teaming up with the O.Z Factory on all of our up and coming Mini R56 builds with our wider fenders, we will be fitting the OZ race & rally wheel design in the 17” & 18” sizes, along with a tie up with Bilstein suspension, we have some exciting plans for the brand, so get in-touch with us today for any OZ Racing Wheel enquiries.
Render of the all new VAD R56 Mini wide fenders, fitted with OZ Racing, Race & Rally wheel