With a black gloss finish and stunning red trim to the spokes, you can see how well this sits on the new WRX motor.

For more pics, head over to our Facebook page at “Calibre (Alloy Wheels) UK” and “Dotz UK”

Plus, the big news: we have a new website coming soon! Watch this space!

Pippa’s USC Diary

Dotz Mods Live at USC!

By Pippa

When I knew that the team were all going to be working at USC – I was pretty excited. It’s always a great atmosphere, and after a hard day on the stand, there’s always plenty to do in the evenings with decent acts and DJs – and plenty of room to dance!

Thankfully, regular readers will be glad to learn that I turned up on time and with no wardrobe malfunctions this time. Which, to be fair, is more than could be said for our mechanical ace Paul Cooper, who had decided to take the (very) scenic route from Cornwall and managed to miss the entire first day of the build! Oops!

Joining me as my partner in crime for the entire three days was my good friend Abbey. We kind of figured, one blonde, one brunette. Something for everyone!

The first day was busy, with the lads setting up a superb VIP area, complete with DOTZ beanbags, and Cristal chilling in the fridge.. or it may have been Cava. We keep it real.. MD Kev was using the whole thing as one big excuse just to break out his decks and blow the dust off some very choice vinyl. I can think of worse ways to spend a working day! What with a few bubbles in the fridge, and even the occasional blast from the smoke machine – at least they assured us that’s what it was – the lads kept us all entertained us for hours, while we got on with the serious business of handing out the DOTZ mags and freebie bags. Somebody had to do some proper work – and you can’t leave it up to the fellas..

This point was well proven later in the weekend when Kev decided to demonstrate his ‘hands-on’ management style by joining in the product throw out into the crowd. A good idea you might think, with the T-shirts and hats going down an absolute storm. Unfortunately, Kev decided to throw a few DOTZ bottle openers out there too … and in a Ninja-esque moment actually managed to draw blood from some unlucky guest! Luckily he was an understanding sort and the doctors say it won’t scar…

As well as the usual DOTZ goodness on site, we also had the added attraction of our 3 day live Fiesta ST build which was keeping us all entertained. Not only did techy Paul put in an epic performance once he finally did grace us with his presence, but we also had to be on best behaviour all day, thanks to the semi-permanent residency of the Motors/Eurosport crew on hand at all times. If you haven’t seen the show already, watch out for it on both of those channels. Who knows?. you might even see me!

So after a long few days of talking wheels, rides and endless photos, it was good to kick back for a meal out with the team. After building a superb boot install in our build Fiesta, we thought it rude not to take the boys from Huets Car Audio out as well, so as you can imagine, many tall tales were told over a cold one or five.

We even managed to catch a bit of the USC nightlife in there somewhere! DJ Luck and MC Neat and Chart-toppers ‘Roll Deep’, no less. Providing a perfect soundtrack to round out a busy old weekend. If you came up to the stand, thanks for stopping by! I hope to catch you all at our next gig!

See you soon

Pippa x

USC? Unbelievably Sorted Car..

USC. Three little letters that spell out big things to any European petrolhead. As the acronym for Ultimate Street Car, USC has built itself something of an enviable reputation over the years – and rightly so. With almost 35,000 enthusiasts turning up to party, race, dance, pull, swap, buy, fettle and talk cods in equal measure.. it’s a very pleasant way to spend three days of your life.

This year’s event between the 6^th and 8^th of August didn’t fail to hit the spot and needless to say, your favourite wheel brand was there, wading in with our size 11s – and taking the whole place over.

Blame it on too many beers, but MD Kev had come up with the bright idea that we should mod a car live over the three days. ‘Take a standard scene classic… like a Fiesta ST,’ he slurred one evening at the bar.. ‘and hit it with everything live at the show!’ Seconds later he disappeared in a haze of tequila. We assumed that he was joking of course, and come the morning’s sober dawn, it would all be forgotten. He wasn’t… Arse!

What followed was a series of calls and mails to our chums in the trade. In-keeping within our ethos for the finer things in life, we only wanted to partner up with the most respected brands in the business, and I’m delighted to report and much pleading – and occasionally, mild threats to publish compromising pictures on the net – a plethora of utterly choice components were soon winging their way to Dotz HQ. It was like Christmas most mornings here, with first a choice set of Corbeau seats turning up, followed by Eibach springs, Powerflex bushes.. you name it!

The day before the show and a rented van saw this eclectic wish-list of mods whisked up the motorway to Santa Pod to be readied for the build. Never one to hide our light under a bushel, not only were we going to work in a fully branded build area, but the whole thing was going to be filmed for Eurosport and Motors TV, as a kind of ‘Pimp My Ride’ live.. with much better looking staff, obviously…

Believe it or not, our artisan for this build was the incredibly talented Paul Cooper; a man that makes the Williams pit crew look lethargic and a veritable mine of useless automotive information. He was confident that he could finish the build in the three days.. or he was until he missed the entire first day after getting held up in Cornwall. Double Arse!

Although we eventually got him started, time was always going to be an issue, and despite Kev’s best efforts to raise morale with some club-quality tunes, the stress levels were high from the outset! Luckily, our technical partner’s components fitted like an absolute dream, meaning that what we had lost on day one, Paul could claw back over the two days.

As well as the superb componentry going onto the Fezzer, Audio legends Huets were on hand to endow the Fiesta with an OEM+ bootbuild that gave it some decent bass to match its stance and new found pace. Building everything from scratch on site, their work was simply sublime. It didn’t half sound good too!

So what did we fit? Well, grab a cuppa.. and we’ll talk you through it!

Chassis duties were ably dispatched thanks to the superb fitment of the Eibach Pro-Kit. Lowering the car by around 30mm, but keeping the ride, this was a great touch and greatly assisted with a full set of Powerflex bushes.

Braking was tweaked with a set of Goodridge braided lines from our friends at the Performance Company, and then topped off with a full set of uprated disks and pads from Tarox. No guesses where the wheels came from. A set of our own Shuriken, wrapped in Cooper rubber.

Under the bonnet a Pipercross induction kit, Spec R tank and full Samco kit made a real difference, as did the Richbrook official Ford caps. Not to be outdone, A Scorpion half system extracted the gasses in a most tuneful manner, adding a few horses along the way.

Inside, Yet more Richbrook goodies lifted the interior.. and made it smell nice! A set of stunning Corbeau perches and Luke harnesses made the whole job much more comfortable – and safe, and with the Huets tunes ringing in our ears.. It was all looking and sounding the absolute business.

And when the whole job was done, we even washed up with Fast Orange hand cleaner.. Phew..!

The result, we hope you agree, is a car that looks better, goes better and showcases some of the best brands on the scene today. Although none of them pretend to be the cheapest, our advice after having to fit them all under great duress, is that they are all easily worth the extra. You get what you pay for, and the quality of these mods will stand the test of time. Our mantra all the way!!!

A massive thanks to everyone that helped, everybody that shouted encouragement along the way and of course, a ridiculously huge thank you to our build partners. We really couldn’t have done it without you!

Catch the build and the whole show in the TV show ‘Santa Pod Extravaganza’ on Motors TV.

Bertone. Giugiaro. Pininfarina… Some of the greatest automotive design names of all time. Their masterful strokes have left an indelible imprint on automotive culture, adding style and passion to the humble motor car. But now there’s a new name to add to that list.. Yours!

Yes indeed, the next big thing in cutting-edge automotive design could be you. Although we’re not offering you your own studio in Turin or anything like that, we are offering you the chance to see your vision made in a production reality by joining in our wheel design comp.

Friday the 23^rd is the closing date, so there are literally just hours left to put the finishing touches to your masterpiece. The lucky winner will not only have their wheel lovingly crafted to their exact specification, before a full set is delivered to their door…but you’ll also get to join us as VIP guests at the World-famous Ultimate Street Car show at Santa Pod between the 6^th and 8^th of August. And that’s worth entering for on its own!

So what are you waiting for? Fame and legendary status awaits you – along with the enviable chance to roll around on a totally unique set of custom rims. The clock is ticking.. so get clicking (link)

When it comes to gambling, the Lottery doesn’t usually come to the front of your mind in terms of the most glamorous of activities. Sure, scooping several million squids is pretty cool. Yeah, we all love the end results, but compared to say betting the house at Monte Carlo – or risking it all on ‘black’ at the Bellagio, watching a permatanned Dale Winton poncing around in front of a giant bubble gum machine doesn’t really do it for us.

We felt that the whole lottery formula needed a bit of a shake-up, so in true Dotz style, we’ve not only slapped it around the face, but we’ve also ruffled its hair and given it a wedgie. The Dotz Lottery is better on loads of levels. Firstly, it’s free. So we’ve won that one. Secondly, the prizes are way cooler than the usual tenner for getting some of the numbers right. Who knows? If your luck is in, you could be sitting alongside the legendary 2009 King of Europe Drift Champion, Adan Kerenyi as he skilfully steers and slides his way through one of the 2011 Drift events. In fact, we’ll raise you. You can take a mate as well. Wait…wait, we’re all in!. we’ll even chuck in a full weekend away with all VIP perks and stately accommodation! Believe me, Eamonn Holmes ain’t ever going to do that for you.. He doesn’t even have Adan’s phone number! Us?.. we have it on speed dial!… on ‘1’..

Simply by registering for the Dotz Lottery at www.dotzmag.com/lottery, you’ll immediately become eligible for all of the superb prizes – and you don’t even have to sit through an hour’s worth of crap Saturday night telly to see whether you’ve won or not! Up for grabs is a full set of Dotz Custom Finish rims, complete with TOYO Tires – and for the runners up, another three sets of totally unique Dotz Custom Rims.. it’s all too much I tell thee! Our partners at Foliatec will lovingly graphic your wheels to your own exact design meaning that you will never commit the fashion faux pas of rocking up at a show with the same rims as everybody else. It’s not a good look.. unless they’re ours of course.. in which case, that’s just great minds thinking alike! Lol!

Our partners at Armor-All have also chucked a few car kits into the pot, and to keep things ticking along until the big draw in the autumn, we’re even giving away Gift certificates each month. Five for the Dotz shop. Three for Foliatec and One for Armor All. That’s every month, mind!

So now you can go out and spend Saturday nights doing far more important things like drinking, dancing and trying out your best chat up lines.. Switch off the telly and leave the bonus ball action up to us, instead!

Good luck!

Modified Nationals.. It’s What Bank Holidays Were Made For…

Aaah, the fabled second May Bank Holiday weekend. Question is, what are you gonna do? There’s a trip out to Skeg.. A couple of pints in an anonymous boozer with some buddies – or, if you have even an ounce of petrol in your veins, you should get you, your mates and your motors down to the Modified Nationals over the weeeeeeeeeeekend of the 28^th to 30^th of May. Believe me, it’s this last option that ticks all the boxes. Stick it in your phone now. Peterborough Showground. Miss it.. Miss out..

Mod Nats is one of those truly epic ‘must do’ shows, like Fast Show, ISTS or USC. You can’t really count yourself as a true enthusiast until you’ve been there, sampled the atmosphere, done the shots and slept in the same t-shirt for the whole three days. It’s mental, mental, chicken oriental and the true believers will be there from early doors on the 28^th to pack in every precious party moment. Some of them will even get a couple of hours sleep!! The lightweights!

Naturally the Dotz massive will be there with bells on. Not only are we sponsoring Miss Max Power (hey, it’s a tough job.. but somebody has to do it!) but we’re also the official wheel sponsor of the whole shooting match, which means basically we’re there to party for the whole three days… and possibly longer, if boss Kev will let us all take the Tuesday off. So, what can you expect? Girls figure very highly I’m delighted to announce – but don’t think that’s all this show is about.. There are both indoor and outdoor show car areas, a live action arena, show and shine, Kiss live stage, Car Clinic, Max Power stage – and best bit of all, a full-on nightclub after dark which means you can be making shapes into the wee-smalls and practising your best chat-up lines with the many models getting down!

But, I digress.. the main reason to Mod Nats is the cars. Very few shows manage the eclectic mix that this show does with Old-Skool classics rubbing arches with the latest and greatest New-wave machinery and OEM+ masterpieces. I guarantee that no matter which church of modifying you pray to, there’s bound to be a near-religious experience in terms of quality and quantity of metal. If you can’t find at least one truly inspirational ride on site, I will personally refund your entrance fee.. so there!

Whether you make it just for the day, or better still, manage to blitz the entire three glorious days, just remember the essentials. Car. Cash. Mates. Cleaning Kit. Better still, park up for the whole three days and get seriously shipwrecked with us. With banging tuneage on the Dotz stand all weekend and some seriously eye-friendly staff (no, I don’t mean Dave and Kev) plus of course, some of the freshest rims on the planet, I guarantee that it’s a very pleasant place to while away an hour or two – and we promise not to try and sell you any wheels whilst your there. OK, that last bit was a lie, but the rest is gospel…..

So, fill up your tanks, empty your bank account and charge up your party power… We’ll see you there. Check it all out at www.modifiednationals.co.uk

We’re proud to be the sponsor of Miss Max Power for this year’s contest! Last year, Miss Max Power was a massive success and this year should be even bigger.

Max Power are looking for a babe to take the prestigious title of Max Power Babe 2010, who will give her career the ultimate boost with a feature in Max Power and ZOO, as well as a year’s modelling contract with N20 and receive a set of professional photos!

If you’re interested or know anyone that would be, you can find out all about it (including how to enter) here.

Green was the dominating colour at the Autosalon in Geneva: hybrid-modells, electric engines and compact cars were all over the fair in Western Switzerland. All of that gathered in the “Pavillon Vert”. On top of that, more than 30 world premieres were presented.

The image shows springtime for the automotive industries: almost forgotten the evil sales figures from last year. All prominent producers showed their optimistic face on the shores of the Lake Geneva.

Among others VW-subsidiary Porsche took care, that this side is going to be slightly more green: the first presented 911 GT3-R is outfitted with a hybrid-engine, empowered with 480hp and will bring his power to the streets at the 24-hours-race at the Nürburgring in upcoming May.

©Autosalon Genf

In Geneva Citroen showed his avantgardistic radical study Survolt. With a range of 3,85 metres the Survolt is 17cm longer than the Revolte, but with a height of just 1,20 meters significantly flatter. Some design-elements like the radiator grill and the rear lights are coming from the Revolte.

©Reuters

Big presence showed the german side: at the Mercedes-booth Daimler-CEO Dieter Zetsche met with Formula 1-heroes Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg next to the study F800 Style, which reminds us of american road cruiser. The 800, following the style of the CLS, is powered with a 300-hp-gasoline and a 109-hp-electric engine.

©Reuters

Opel showed with the conceptcar Flextreme the technological combination-possibilities of gasoline- and electric engines: the 1,3 litre four cylinder common-rail-diesel, which is powered by a 27 litre fuel storage, doesn’t directly power the whells – he is the second power unit for batteries instead. With that the Flextreme goes 715km and reaches a high speed of 160km/h.

©Reuters

Once again back to VW: another subsidiary, Audi, presented the other big Geneva-trend to compact cars – the Audi A1. Considering that the A2 wasn´t a huge success, the new baby-Audi wants to attract the Golf-class customers. The energy spectrum reaches from 86 to 122hp. The A1 will be available from 16.000 EUR onwards.

©Reuters

Startling attraction were also the Peugeot-limousine-study WZX and…

©Reuters

…the Nissan Juke. The compact SUV with the buggy-design, which will be in stores October, allows a variable power-distribution at the rear wheels.

©Reuters

You might think that the life of a Dotz girl is all pouting, posing and preening, but there’s a bit more to it than all that! The recent Autosport show at the NEC is a really important outing for the team, as it gives us the chance to showcase the new 2010 range to the trade and public, display the latest designs – and of course meet all of you!

So what does a typical day contain? If you’ve never been to the show, I can tell you that it’s pretty big, so walking is a big part of it. With the trade and the public days, there’s four days of hard graft to get through, whilst maintaining your best smile and making sure that we have enough leaflets and brochures for you, our lovely punters.

After battling with the NEC car park – and the snow – I made it to the Dotz stand for a welcome cup of coffee with MD Kev and Sales Chief Dave. They’d done a great job on the stand, bless’em – and our position right on one of the main walkways meant that we were going to be pretty busy from the moment they opened the doors. First job was to get dressed, of course. Despite the best efforts from the boys to pick an outfit for me, naturally I had to make a few changes, but a bit of a nip and tuck here and there and we were ready for the show.

Our very Dotzmag is always a big hit at the shows – especially as it’s free! Spent a good few hours bagging these up into goodie bags before handing them out to the great and the good coming through the doors. It was pretty manic, to say the least! Think the new ’10 designs are going to be a hit, judging by the comments we were getting!

Pip and the Alloys

Then of course, comes the usual round of posing by the product for our friends in the press and taking the time to have a few pics taken with show guests and visitors to the stand. It can be quite knackering after a few hours on your feet, I tell thee!

After meeting literally hundreds of Dotz fans throughout the day, I was ready for a drink, so as much as I love the atmosphere at Autosport, I was ready for home time when the show started to clear out. Back at the hotel, with my good friend Natalie, who was also working the show, we grabbed a shower (no, not together!) and a quick bite to eat, before starting on the serious business of a bottle of Pinot Grigio. Hey, I think we’d earned it!

Then, it was time to grab a cab into town in order to hook up with Kev and Dave over in Après in Solihull. After a couple more bevs, we were soon busting some serious moves on the floor, and despite the lad’s best attempts at ‘Dad dancing’, we were getting a pretty respectable groove on. Even though, we all had work the next day, naturally, we were the last to leave.. Well, you have to do these things properly, don’t you?

And how did the evening end? Sadly, no ‘on tour’ gossip to report – other than the fact that an excess of the afore mentioned Pinot Grigio saw us hedge-hopping into random bushes and rolling down various muddy hills.. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Although my recent dry cleaning bill says otherwise!

Pip and Nat after the mud hills!

And how does a classy lady like me finish the perfect night on the tiles? With chips of course..  Although at the comedy price of a tenner for two portions, we ate them slowly!

And there you have it! A day in the life of a Dotz girl. Times that little lot by four and you have a pretty fair idea what we get up to on tour! Make sure that you come up and say ‘Hi!’ next time we’re out!

See you soon
Pippa x