Somack_59

ok i've searched through the wheels section and i couldn't find a thread discussion about Rota wheels.....all opinions are welcome.....just wanted to know everyones input.....

For my opinion I think that Rotas are some fine rims.....I have some friends that use Rotas for racing/autocrossing and they like them....i've HEARD that Rotas are also forged but not sure......what do you guys think??

AGTC85

i wouldnt rock em them. i'd rock works, volks, or something in that end. im rocking stockies for right now btw.

SVicksTC

Guess you didnt search enough but i just posted this pic in another rota thread.....

but on a real note, ive had them before and cracked/bent, a buddy of mine bought them and same thing....Only two cases here but enough for me to never cheap out on rims again, hence why im still rocking painted stockers because money goes else where and i wont cheap out on rims.....

nebster

rotas are not forged, they are gravity cast in the Philippines

Hypnotik_xB

It is funny how the broken Rota pics always show up. I have had about 5 sets of rotas and abused most of them. The all held up fine. Alot of people race them not because they are cheap but because they are light and get the job done.

99% of the time if they do break ,like in the picture, it is because someone has tried to run over something they shouldn't have. I have seen some of the "Name Brand" rims get destroyed too from hitting immovable objects.

nebster

ok wheels that break like this:



they are not properly made and have subpar manufacturing. forged wheels would bend at most NOT explode. and it would take a hell of a lot more to bend them than a typical gravity / pressure cast wheel

Hypnotik_xB

So because they are not forged they are not properly made and have subpar manufacturing! Thats pretty silly.

It is perfectly fine to be on the brand name forged band wagon, but opinions based on just that are silly.

So I guess it is perfectly fine to say if you plan on driving into curbs or hit immovable objects you are better off getting forged wheels....

nebster

prove it? - the numbers back up the process. I'm not on any bandwagon, i'm on my own bandwagon

forging wheels is a much better process and has many benefits. You can do what you want but i've had many cast wheels and i will never own another cast wheel unless its pressure cast. too many imperfections in gravity cast wheels.

SVicksTC

The rota's ive head cracked and bent, My Buddies Cracked and Bent too

Enough right there for me to never cheap out on wheels like i said before, they are cheapily made like nebster stated, there are tons and tons of forum post out there all across the interent stating exactly what nebs and others will say....

Cool there cheap and a lot are knock off looks to higher end wheels which makes them appealing....

key word being KNOCK OFF

You get what you pay for

Hypnotik_xB

Prove what?

You are acting like since they are not forged they will explode while you are driving down the street. Quit making it bigger than it really is and you wont be on the bandwagon.

Forge wheels are good I have nothing agaist them, had them and was nothing special about them but the name and the price when compared to the Rotas I have had.
Like I said an arguement about what a wheel will do when it impacts an immovable object has no winners. But if that is what you are judging a wheel on than that is very silly.

SVicksTC

oh and its not like me and my buddy hit curbs, small potholes will cause rota's to bend no problem

Hypnotik_xB

Ones ability to drive and avoid objects to crack/bend any rim is still no reason to judge that perticular rim. It might be your streets or driving skills you need to judge.

davedavetC

iTrader: (4)

on a side note hypnotikxb what size wheels/tires were you running with the rotas?

and p.s. i wouldnt rock them. save up the cash to buy the real deal, knock offs or not rotas are cheap POORLY made wheels.

SVicksTC

so your saying when you go on trips with your vehicle you study and plan for every roads conditons, you dont know when 4 towns over there doing paving on a road and you cant avoid some stuff.....

Oh ya and i definitly dont know how to avoid potholes, infact i aim for them

I can judge since ive had them and friends had them

Skeeeett

iTrader: (5)

thaats on a sti(tell by the caliper) guy proboly tried to launch and in sti's if they have enough power they even blow up there own tranny's but that still shouldnt have happend...rota makes some nice rims...cheap but the quality is pretty good i kno people that have them and there good rims..some are nice looking to

Hypnotik_xB

This is pure BS right here.


Like I said I have had 5 sets of Rotas and never bent one on a small pothole or even a large one.
Again that questions you and your friends driving skills.

SVicksTC

Yep you got it, its my driving skills, definitly my driving skills.....I look for ever dip in the road and aim right for it especially if i have cheap rota's on my car.....

Man sure got me!

Hypnotik_xB

I have had 225/45/17's, 215/40/16's and a few others.....nothing too low profile.

But again just because they are not forged doesn't mean they are POORLY made.

nebster

FORGED!!!!

not forge

Forging uses intense heat and pressure to transform a slug of alloy material into the final shape of a wheel. Forged aluminum is about 300% stronger than cast aluminum, yet less material is needed to produce the same "cast alloy wheel", which results in a lighter product. Because of the basic limitations inherent in forging, most forged wheels are two or three piece units. In two-piece construction, a center is forged and welded or bolted into a spun or stamped outer rim. In a three-piece wheel, the center is bolted to an inner and an outer rim half. This stands as an advantage of being easily customizable for a variety of widths and offsets. Additionally the advantage of having a 2/3 piece wheel is that if any cosmetic / mechanical damage occurs the wheel can be easily rebuilt to restore the wheel to new.

Casting is a relatively inexpensive way to produce a , fairly strong alloy wheel. There are two methods used. One, system is known as gravity casting... whereby the molten material is poured into a mold and allowed to cool. These molds are usually made by machining a piece of material on CNC machine equipments to produce a wheel that only requires minor finishing (like drilling or possibly trimming of some excess metal) to be considered complete. The disadvantage of this is air bubbles get trapped in the casting and this can greatly reduce the strength of the wheel. This can in turn cause the wheel to explode if intergranular cracking begins. The other and better system used is the low pressure or negative pressure casting. Here instead of pouring the molten material into the mold, the molten alloy is drawn up into the mold using a high-pressure vacuum. This eliminates much of the trapped air found in gravity casting process, producing a stronger wheel that is less porous than a gravity-cast one.

Additionally the companies that produce cast wheels do not take the proper QA/QC procedures to make sure every wheel is put out. They do not do this simply because there is not enough motivation for them to do so. Cheap wheels are cheap for a reason and expensive wheels are expensive for a reason. Talk to HRE and talk about what would happen if one of their wheels brakes. You can have them rebuild it for 200 a wheel.

if you want to see the numbers to back it up i'll show you. I can find more example where people are compaining about their rotas or their konigs than i can about their bbs's and their dpes. Granted don't get me wrong expensive wheels have their limitations too and can break but only under extreme conditions. You're talking a minor crack in a quality wheel vs. a cheap wheel exploding.

Big_Bird

*watching*