Monthly Archives: April 2015

Bling Up Your BMW Alloys with a Diamond Alloys Refurbishment

Take a look at customer Alan Ayoub’s BMW. His car arrived to us with alloys wheels that looked in serious disrepair. Very bad scuffs around the side of the alloys, as well as bad corrosion on the centre and the back of the alloys gave the impression that the rims were beyond repair and our customer might have to spend a lot of money buying new alloys.

However, the guys at Diamond Alloys are well used to seeing rims in this condition and know exactly how to restore them back to a beautiful finish. The rims were fully stripped back to remove any corrosion before being carefully prepped by our guys in our workshop. A powder coat was applied for a smooth finish before the final colour and protective lacquer layer was applied. The result is stunning and fitting for this impressive supercar.

If you think your alloy wheels are beyond repair don’t worry, send us a picture and we will give you a quick quote and even a discount when you book all 4 wheels in at the same time. Call us on 0845 370 8881 or email us today!

Deciphering Your Car Tyres

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We’re always telling you about the manufacturer’s specifications, and how you should use them to determine what tyres and alloys will fit your car best. To make life easier, we’ve compiled a quick guide to what all the numbers and letters mean, which will all be located in the same place on a standard tyre wall. These are essential statistics to know when you’re thinking about buying new wheels and alloys, so it’s worth familiarising yourself with them now.

Aspect ratio
This is simply how the width of the tyre relates to its height. Only the sidewall height is taken into account, so this measurement should be taken from a section and not of how high the tyre stands on the ground.

Aspect ratio is expressed as a percentage, so a tyre with an aspect ratio of 60 will have a height that is equal to 60% of its width. Low profile tyres therefore have lower aspect ratio numbers.

Load index
This number refers to how much weight the tyre can safely carry. You need to look up this number in a tyre load index table, which will tell you how your number converts to a number in kilograms. When buying new tyres, always ensure that you buy those with a load index suitable for your car, otherwise you might not be going anywhere fast!

R
If you see R on your tyre it stands for ‘radial’. Almost every consumer tyre you’ll come across these days is radial rather than cross-ply construction, but it’s still important to check as you should never mix the two styles.

Rim diameter
This is simply the size of the wheel that the tyre will fit onto. Whatever number you find on your tyre, it will be measured in inches.

Section width
This is the width of the tyre’s tread, measured in millimetres. It’s the other figure used to calculate aspect ratio.

Speed rating
This is, perhaps surprisingly, a letter not a number. It should be a figure between H and Z on the alphabet and corresponds to how fast your tyre can go. S, for example, is limited to 112MPH. Check your letter and then look it up on a tyre speed rating table – this will ensure you stay safe on the road. A quick note on the letter Z. This will appear alongside another speed rating (which will give you a more specific figure) and simply means your car can travel at speeds of more than 150MPH – so you’ll see this a lot on supercar tyres!

Diamond Alloys Standard Refurbishment Service

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Annoyingly, it’s all too easy to damage your wheels. Whether you’re driving along or trying to park, chips and scratches can seem to just magically happen to your alloys, no matter how careful a driver you are.

When it happens to you, don’t despair: the good news is that you don’t have to go to the expense of buying new wheels. A professional refurbishment can have your alloys looking brand new, without leaving a corresponding dent in your wallet.

Our technicians are on hand to advise you as to the best options for your wheels, and it’s worth remembering that you don’t necessarily have to replicate your old look – why not try a new colour or finish to spruce up the aesthetic of your whole car? Whatever option you choose, we guarantee a stunning result.

The process itself is quick, meaning that you won’t lose out on valuable driving time, and all our work comes with a full 12 month wheel refurbishment warranty.

To achieve best results, our process begins with an acid bath, which strips the wheels down to the bare metal.

To ensure that a full clean is achieved, we then use an AquaBlast machine to remove any residual material. After this, we use three coats of different paints to create a high quality durable finish for the alloys, guaranteeing you’ll be enjoying the refurbishment for a long time to come.

These layers are: a powder coat primer to help prevent corrosion, a coat of paint, and an acrylic lacquer to ensure the wheels are protected from the elements.

The colour selection is up to you: you can select one of our current colours, all high quality paints, or we can find the exact match to your current wheels. We highly recommend our shadow chrome finish if you’re looking for that distinctive metallic sheen.

The final step is to send the alloys through quality control, to ensure that they meet our rigorous standards. Then, the tyres are refitted, inflated to the correct pressure and re-balanced, and checked once more before we are happy that they’re ready for you to collect. To keep the refurbished wheels in pristine condition, we recommend you clean them at least twice a week with a car sponge and wheel cleaner.

Porsche 911 Carrera Gets a Stunning Painted Alloy Wheel Refurbishment

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When you own a stunning performance car like this Porsche 911 Carrera you want to keep the alloys in tip top condition and looking good. However, even performance cars suffer the same problems as your everyday run around. These alloys sadly suffered with corrosion on the inside of the alloys, as well as minor scuffs on the faces, no problem for our technicians who are skilled at repairing performance cars like this Porsche.

The alloy wheels were chemically stripped back, sanded on the inside to remove all the corrosion that’s wasn’t removed in the acid tank and then painted to colour match the car’s bodywork.

Our happy customer Claude was very pleased with the refurbished alloys and spoke very highly about the whole team, especially with the way our customer care team kept him up to date with the progress and because we also completed the alloys one day early.

Claude was so pleased he emailed to say “Hi Dali, I picked up the car earlier today. The wheels look fantastic (brand new) and the car drives beautifully. I would have no hesitation recommending your services. Rgds, Claude.”

Whether you have a performance car or a standard run around the guys at Diamond Alloys are on standby to give you a quote and a great finish for your rims! Call us on 0845 370 8881 or email for your personalized quote.

Corrosion Killer – Alloys Wheels Worst Enemy!

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Take a close look at these images and you will see there was severe corrosion damage on the alloys. This damage is caused when the protective lacquer layer is compromised by kerbing damage, water seeps underneath making them corrode and look unsightly. However, do not fear, Diamond Alloys is here to come to the rescue for such problems. You’ll be pleasured to read that you don’t have to buy expensive new alloys! We have the skilled technicians to eradicate corrosion to give them a newly finished look you’ll appreciate.

We turned these Mercedes SL500 alloy wheels around in 3 working days, refurbishing them back to the OEM finish (manufacture finish). Compare the before and after finish and you’ll be impressed by the transformation.

Our customer was very happy with the result and improved condition when he collected his alloys, and has promised he will be telling all his mates about the great job we did at Diamond Alloys.

How to extend the life of your car tyres

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A good car tyre will last you around 10 years at the most, but many people won’t even get that far because they don’t take proper care of their tyres. Rather than waste money replacing your tyres more often than you have to, you can embark on a simple car and maintenance regime that will both save you money and ensure that yours performs as well, and drives as safely, as it possibly can. Here’s our four step guide to helping your tyres live a long and healthy life.

1. Check your tyre pressure every week.
Invest in a tyre pressure gauge, which allows you to easily take this reading at home rather than trek to the nearest garage. To measure the pressure, simply unscrew the air intake cap and press the gauge against it, allowing air to pass from the former to the latter. You can check what the resulting number means by looking at your car’s manual, or checking the figure imprinted onto the tyre. It’s important to keep your tyre pressure within the recommended margin for safety reasons, and remember that a lower pressure might improve performance, but a higher pressure will give you a longer tyre life. Avoid, however, over-inflating the tyre as it may cause extensive tread wear in the centre.

2. Examine your tyres for gashes
There are myriad ways of damaging your tyres on the road, ranging from potholes to nails and fragments of glass. It’s much better to repair small cuts as you find them, rather than wait for them to cause a serious rip, or put up with a tyre constantly deflating.

3. Rotate your tyres every 6,000 miles
This is a key way of preserving your tyres for a longer life, by promoting even tread wear. The most convenient way of doing this is to ask them to be rotated by a mechanic when you get an oil change. If you’re doing it yourself, however, then avoid switching tyres on the same axle or moving them in a criss-cross pattern. Switch wheels between axles, keeping them on the same side of the car, and remember to use a reliable car jack to avoid injuries.

4. Ensure your tyres are properly aligned
Get a professional to balance and align your tyres – they have special equipment that enables them to do it properly. Your mechanic will ensure that your tyres are perpendicular to the ground and parallel to each other, something that prevents poor handling and performance of your vehicle. If you feel that your car is constantly pulling, or you hit a pothole when you’re driving fast, it’s worth making a trip to get your tyres re-aligned.

VW Golf Gets a Stunning Diamond Cut Finish on Damaged Alloy Wheels

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Most of our customers come to Diamond Alloys to have both minor and major kerbing damage fixed. However, out technicians are trained to carefully check wheels to ensure they are sound in addition to recommending any repairs if necessary.

This VW Golf Monza client was aware that he had kerbing damage to all wheels in addition to buckles on two, something we were able to repair and refurbish all at the same time on site ensuring a speeding service was met.

After a good clean and some extensive work in our prep room the alloy wheels were ready to be powder coated before the stunning anthracite colour paint was applied. A Diamond Cut finished the look before the protective lacquer was applied. The finished look really shows off the design of the alloy with anthracite inner and shiny cut metal face.

The customer was well looked after (as was his car) and advisor Dali showed him images of previous cars that have had our prestige valet service. He was impressed and requested his car also received the Diamond Alloys premium valet service ensuring his car was looking spectacular both inside and out. On receipt of his car the clients said how great his car looked impressed with the finish.