Method Race Wheels, a highly respected name in the aftermarket off-road and motorsports arena, is now available in the Philippines through authorized distributor Wheel Gallery.
Based in Santa Fe Springs, California, Method Race Wheels designs, develops and distributes high-performance off-road wheels for race and rally trucks that compete in events like the Baja 1000. More recently, it supplied the MR107 wheel to the Toyota Gazoo Racing team that participated in the Dakar Rally. This is said to be the firm’s biggest and most prestigious partnership yet.
Wheel Gallery will initially bring in three product lines for the Philippine market: the Race Series beadlock wheels, which are strictly for off-road/competition use; the Street Series, which is the brand’s entry-level road wheel; and the award-winning Trail Series, which features the patented Bead Grip technology. These choices bridge the gap between full-on beadlock wheels and conventional street wheels.
A beadlock wheel uses a separate ring-like bezel to clamp onto a tire with aircraft-grade fasteners. This prevents the wheel and the tire from coming apart at low pressures. The problem with beadlock wheels is that they are maintenance-intensive. The tightness of the clamping must be checked every month. Otherwise, the bezel will loosen, and the tire will dismount from the wheel, which can cause loss of control.
The Trail Series is equipped with Bead Grip technology. This combines a traditional beadlock’s clamping force and performance at low tire pressures with the practicality and the safety of a conventional street wheel. The Bead Grip features grooves molded onto the circumference of both the inner and outer sides of the wheel. These grooves bite into the tire bead for a stronger hold under extremely low pressure and intense side loading. A robust hump behind the grooves on the wheel circumference further stabilizes the tire bead under duress.
Method Race Wheels has tested its Trail Series products to as low as 10psi in the desert, while customers have reported running even lower pressures (like 5psi). It is practically comparable to the level of true beadlocks, and requires an additional 151kg of force to de-bead a street-legal tire (in this case, a BFGoodrich KO2) versus a wheel without Bead Grip technology. A similar trial showed that an extra 434kg of force is needed to unseat a Toyo off-road race tire.
Aside from being completely street-legal, Trail Series wheels are cheaper and lighter than traditional beadlock wheels, and tires can be mounted using conventional tire-mounting machines with a bit of lubrication to ease the bead onto the grooves.
While Method Race Wheels is known for its signature bronze finish, the brand also offers products in titanium, gunmetal and black. A recent addition to its palette is the unique and stylish Bahia Blue color.
Wheel Gallery will be the first in the world to offer the MR107 wheel for sale to the general public. The 16×7 wheel is identical to the one used by the Hilux fielded by Toyota Gazoo Racing in the Dakar Rally.
Street Series wheels start at around P64,000 for a set of four in the popular 17×8.5 size. Similarly specced Trail Series wheels will retail for at least P75,000, while the beadlock Race Series wheels start at P120,000. Not cheap, but you’re paying for forged wheels with real motorsport pedigree.
Fancy a set? Drive down to Wheel Gallery’s showroom at 318 Santolan Road in San Juan, or any of its authorized dealers.
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