ROTA WHEELS

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hondazzz

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Rota wheels..must be the most loved and hated wheel brand at the same time, searching and searching in u.s sites the opinions are mixed... what about in u.k? ok apart the fact they are copying other brands, what about quality? HAVE YOU or a friend had bad experience? good experience? let me know!
 

SPIT_FIRE

Advanced Member
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Hi. I have a set of rota fighters on mine. I have to say they've been excellent, seen more than a few potholes thanks to the roads round here and they are in great shape still. Cant complain about the finish either, qaulity seems great. They are copies yes, but JDM brands like Volk, Tenzo R etc are mega bucks. IMO If you drive yours daily like i do mine i would go with the cheaper rotas to save you crying if they get kerbed or buckled.
 

LiamGTR

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1,210
If you like them, do it! They'll be stronger than most OEM wheels even if they are "copies", and this is coming from someone who owns legit TE37's. I only have them because they were the right price, if not I was gonna get some Rota GTR's
 

newyorkaddict

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The problem I find with Rotas is the fitment on them. At the moment they seem to be going through the Stance faze. Everything is wide and with low offsets. I love the Grid Drift, but they would never sit right on the car with the sizes they offer. The width is okay at around 81/2J, but it's the low offset that would give you issues with them. With an ET30 wheel I worked out roughly you would get an Inch of solid poke, you would never get that through an MOT.
 

mike.williams

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Rota have seen a gap in the market and filled it, no one is daft enough to buy brand new volks ( except me )

I suppose its good that cheaper options exist for people but i dont agree to all replica parts like wheels, wings bumpers etc.

Its the reason why we dont have a good second hand parts market for genuine JDM parts. In America, most hate replica parts but their 2nd hand market for genuine parts is unreal. It maybe because they have lots of suppliers and probably pay less or no import taxes
 

boz5r

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I have got a set of rota force (white) had em for abou 5 yrs now and only just showing signs of wear so may refurb them in gunmetal grey, think tgm ran these on there teg, and fd2 in britcar 24 hr good enough for them etc .
 

SuperFLY

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396
got a set of rota fighter drifts and they're fine. need to swap the rears though as the previous owner had 9" rears and i dont want 'em. ben the main guy there is knowledgeable and friendly.. happy to have a chat about any questions/issues you have.
 

hondazzz

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602
thanks people keep them replies coming...
i guess you know that if you google images of rota youwill get back some broken ones...but everything breaks...if the sell that much..they have a small percentage of defects like anything..also crucial is the way the have failed.
 

redcap

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988
You get what you pay for. IMO Rota are cheap wheels, the quality and paint is poor. So if you want cheap light wheels wheels you can treat badly go for it. If you want expensive top quality japanese wheels that you will look after (or at least try to) get some Volk, Rays, Work or Mugen etc.

I'm mad enough to buy new Rays wheels so for me Rota are pretty naff. I owned a set for a couple of months and I was never happy with them. My Rays make the car look so much better because they are high quality. If your not bothered about that sort of thing then save your self some £££'s and buy Rota. Team Dynamics are a good compromise on price and quality if you the style of their wheels? I have a set of Black Pro Race 1.2's for track use.
 

hondazzz

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602
i know team dynamics are a nice option but i dont like their design...

ok ofcourse rays are better but they cost 3x the price of rotas...you get what you pay for..usually yes...but there are some exceptions..
 

Dan34

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1,176
There are bargains to be had, I mean brand new Rota's arn't really that cheap in my eyes. Like 600-700.

For that money you can get some nice second hand JDM make rims.
 

blueguy

Resident J's whore
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3,785
Let's not kid ourselves here. There are no exceptions when it comes to the top wheels. Rotas have never been part of that top tier.
However they are a good wheel and very popular with a lot of race teams because they hold up well, are relatively light and are cheap.

If you take TGM having say for example 6 sets of wheels for the 24hr race. Not only is that a lot of wheels, that's a lot of (race) tyres.
If they were to buy Volks for example they would be looking at a total bill of circa £18k for wheels and tyres in prep for just one race.

As said, Rotas are a good wheel and are up there with the top in terms of value for money. Are they up there in terms of top wheels though? No.
 

dave7368

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2,756
i have a set of rota's obviously not the best wheel but i never had a problem with them, only thing i did notice it didn't take long for the paint to become a little scabby on the insides of the wheel, apart from that, great! just need to be sealed from new i imagine would help.. have a set of ray's and enkei's now...
 

PORTHOS

Resident Rembrandt
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5,727
As Blueguy said, a lot of race teams use them because the are cheap to replace if damaged etc.

I haven't heard of anyone having a bad experience with them, other than perhaps the quality of finish not being as good as a more expensive alternative (rough casting, speckled paint finish etc) but if you are into racing, that really doesn't matter, lol.

They aren't going to explode like the internet makes out, any wheel pushed to it's limit will break.

But if you want the ultimate quality in finish, you generally have to pay the higher price, but the performance is generally identical.
The load rating on my Works is the same as my cheaper Lenso's for example.

Rota make wheels that are basically copies of premium brand designs but at a much more affordable price.

There are however differences in the way they are made, some are cast, some are forged, all these factors affect the weight and production price.

My advice is just go for what you like. Don't be afraid to go for a cheaper brand if that's your budget, it's nice to have the option.
But ultimately avoid any forgeries.

I personally just bought my work wheels because I love the design, but for track days it has to be something cheap and light... and still look good, lol.
 

PORTHOS

Resident Rembrandt
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5,727
LiamGTR said:
Rota's are one of those things people love to hate, but don't know why.
Brand snobbery basically.

I see wheels like pokemon.... GOTTA CATCH EM ALL! ha ha.
 

dc5-2ltr

dc5-2ltr
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1,920
I`ve got a set of Rota Torques...never had a problem with them in the 4 or so years they`ve been on the car...just put my OEM`s back on at the moment as I fancy getting the Rotas painted a different colour.....I bought these 2nd hand so they are probably over 5 years old but they`ve been fine,no problems at all xthumbup
 

redcap

Advanced Member
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988
LiamGTR said:
Rota's are one of those things people love to hate, but don't know why.
Not really they are what they are, cheap Taiwanese copies of higher quality Japanese wheels. If you like them and want a set of Rota's buy them if you want a set of forged Rays or Volk wheels buy them.
 
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