Rota quality

[Brian D]

Emilio of 949 Racing? You might know my buddy erik haha

Erik W? I don't know him, but I know of him. He drove my friends e30 at an event a few summers ago-very impressive. You go to Speedventures events?

[accident]

Erik W? I don't know him, but I know of him. He drove my friends e30 at an event a few summers ago-very impressive. You go to Speedventures events?

Erik H. He drives miatas and works for emilio.

[Jonny Cash]

C'mon Lee!

You know as well as I do that structural design is very important in any casting.

Once you start to save weight, to a certain degree you're going to comprimise strength.

As you saw, wheel failure is'nt just a Rota thing. We don't know all the circumstances behind any of these failures. In the 20+ years that I've been in the wheel buisness, I've seen BBS RS's(TRX RS's were notorious) with cracked rim barrels, various OE wheels with KBA and Japanese MOT stampings bend or crack. Gotti wheels that crack in between each assembly bolt. The list goes on.

Truth be told, Rota does have a place in the market, just like all the other southeast Asian wheel manufacturers. I think we as consumers just need to be smart about what we purchase. Think about it, a guy built a 500hp Civic. Why did'nt he buy a forged BBS, SSR or Work wheel?


Cris

I agree. Between stock aluminum wheels, and aftermarket, Ive seen every type of wheel you can imagine break. Yes structural design does have alot to do with how the wheel will withstand the heat, but as far as broken wheels on the track (like the pics you guys are posting) i would blame alot of that on the powdercoating. Some of these guys bake these wheels at 500+ deg.

I just bought black slipstreams for my e30 also. I still havent been able to confirm whether they are PC'd or just painted. Anyone know?

[p0cket penguins]

Kosei K1's FTW... I wish there was 16 inch for the e30 though

[kishg]

http://www.s14.net/forums/showpost.php?p=323708&postcount=17

[DSP74]

I agree. Between stock aluminum wheels, and aftermarket, Ive seen every type of wheel you can imagine break. Yes structural design does have alot to do with how the wheel will withstand the heat, but as far as broken wheels on the track (like the pics you guys are posting) i would blame alot of that on the powdercoating. Some of these guys bake these wheels at 500+ deg.

I just bought black slipstreams for my e30 also. I still havent been able to confirm whether they are PC'd or just painted. Anyone know?

I've seen a few wheels break too. Two in one event on a snowy April day. Maybe the cold had something to do with it. And I've seen a couple others.

But there are alot of other wheels that road racers use I have NEVER heard of a problem with......CCW, Forgeline, Fikse. Sure all expensive 3 piece wheels but your saying wheels fail. IMO junk wheels fail.

[speedblind]

http://www.s14.net/forums/showpost.p...8&postcount=17

Very interesting. I personally have used Rota wheels on track cars and know several others that have used them for track days/racing. Naturally, every product will fail - it's a reality of mass production - and I personally feel safe on Rotas. Naturally, though, the pics at the beginning of the thread will be made into a cute motivational poster and the pics of the "truth" behind the failure will be forgotten.

[DCColegrove]

The only thing surprising about this is that anyone is surprised...

Generally speaking...You get what you pay for.

There is a reason they don't cost as much as the best shit ever.

The Rota's cost more then the new Tire Rack wheels that Jack helped get produced for us... does that mean they are shittier then Rota's? Same with D-Force that Bimmerworld sells?

My Mille Miglia's have been through hell... 8 years, 130k miles, potholes, smashed into curbes, a median at 50mph, etc... and they are still straight. But I've seen BBS's bend over one pothole.

I really don't think $ = quality with wheels (to an extent). Kosei's, the 949 wheels, Team Dynamics, etc... were all around the same price as Rota's.

Am I correct in assuming that these are all cast rather than forged rims we are talking about?

For a DD I'm sure these are all fine.

However...

If you are 110mph in the straight aways and the brake discs are glowing cherry red into the curves...

[Dave]

110? pfft . . . .

I get north of 120, and I am slow.

[DCColegrove]

110? pfft . . . .

I get north of 120, and I am slow.

Short track ;)

[xLibelle]

i'm happy i sold my Rotas...

[golde30]

FUCK Rota's they were good once upon a time.

when was this? they have been the same since forever. they are all made in the same factory in the Phillipeans. i remember when my Filipino buddys used to go and pick up sets of rims from the factory for their hondas back in the late 90's...

its going to come down to the design of the wheel. that split 5 spoke is gonna be weak, whereas the slipstreams(fat 5) will be alot stronger, esp when they are made for a specific car, ie: the 16x8 et20 4x100 57.1hub made for e30...opposed to universal 4lug with stupid cutouts around the bolts holes...

[Jean]

+1

[twothrees]

I agree. Between stock aluminum wheels, and aftermarket, Ive seen every type of wheel you can imagine break. Yes structural design does have alot to do with how the wheel will withstand the heat, but as far as broken wheels on the track (like the pics you guys are posting) i would blame alot of that on the powdercoating. Some of these guys bake these wheels at 500+ deg.

I just bought black slipstreams for my e30 also. I still havent been able to confirm whether they are PC'd or just painted. Anyone know?

They are painted. I like them for my DD cabrio.

[dashboardmonkey]

I wanna see more wheel carnage