Endless summer look for your rims
BACK TO OVERVIEWSo, you're wearing a cool summer look the entire year? During temperatures below zero you may want to rethink your wardrobe choices. However, thanks to our SRC paint you can "dress" your car in all our designs without worrying. Simply select the look you like best!
How about, for example, the light-weight rim LagunaSeca with the enormously big cross spokes? Or the DOTZ Spa, the cool eyecatcher with ten asymmetric spokes and a dynamic twist? Or do you rather fancy our aggressively styled Suzuka blaze that offers a dual shine effect generated by the extra metallic particles?
Our DOTZ 3D configurator is the perfect dressing room for trying out our most recent product range on your own car model. Ride the look you love also during the cold season! Still in doubt? Then read the following about our state-of-the-art coating technology which also includes some tips on winter tyres.
Protection against grit and UV rays
Light alloy wheels have come to be common in winter too. However, when fighting the elements their beauty often withers away in the blink of an eye. Luckily, that’s no longer the case with rims that don our SRC paint (Salt & Sun Resistant Coating).
It’s the perfect anti-aging remedy: After all, damages and oxidation-induced discolouration as well as UV-light are blocked out effectively. And this is how the SCR protection coat works: The primer of an SCR coating is a robust powder paint in black or light grey that is applied electrostatically and then thermally cured at 210 °C. A modern wet coating serves as the actual “colour carrier”.
Up to two layers of an especially hard clear lacquer follow as the finish. While rims treated in this way can be easily used throughout the year, it’s a bit more complicated for tyres.
The right choice of winter tyres
The well-known rule of thumb, from O to E – from October to Easter – tells you when you should switch to winter tyres. During that time, based on experience, cold temperatures are most likely to occur. And even without snow and ice that’s reason enough for dangerously low grip, handling and braking performance of summer tyres.
The rubber mix in winter tyres is softer and therefore more elastic even at lower temperatures than is the case with harder summer tyres. Depending on the weather, winter tyres are even mandatory: In Germany throughout the year and in Austria between 1st of November and 15th of April.
But what about all-season tyres that are becoming increasingly more popular? If you ride your car generally in the plain as opposed to in the mountains, mostly in the city or regions with little snowfall, they can be an option. For heavy cars with strong engines that are driven many kilometres across the motorway, real winter tyres are still the better choice.
Also good to know: Winter tyres that were manufactured after 1st of January 2018 must now bear an Alpine symbol (snowflake) in Germany. In Austria, the symbols “M+S”, “M.S.” or “M&S” are still sufficient. The same holds true for all-season tyres.
Tyre tests help make up your mind
When buying a new set of tyres, it’s best to take a look at the most recent tyres tests carried out by the big car magazines or known automobile associations ADAC (Germany), ÖAMTC (Austria) or ACS (Switzerland). From experience, the big premium manufacturers do well in these. But even in the low-budget segment the quality has been improving, and it’s not unusual to find a comparatively convincing bargain.
You shouldn’t drive even a test winner for all eternity because latest after ten years there is not much left of the original performance. This applies also when the tread is still fine owing to the fact that the rubber becomes increasingly hard over time which reduces the grip accordingly.
The month of manufacture is visible on the sidewall as a four-digit number behind the abbreviation “DOT”. If this, for example, reads 0521 it means that the tyre has been manufactured in the 5th calendar week of the year 2021. However, there is no legal basis for tyre age.
The legislature only regulates the mandatory minimum tread depth. In Germany, a tread depth of 1.6mm is mandatory both for summer and winter models. In Austria, this applies only to summer tyres while in winter the tread for commonly used radial tyres must measure at least 4mm. By the way, that’s also our recommendation – no matter where you live. Stay tuned, stay safe!
You can't decide yet which DOTZ wheel fits your car best? Then click through the DOTZ configurator, check out the different looks and treat your car to new winter wheels.