Rota Wheels: Yay Or Nay? In The End, Its Subjective

[Guest Enzo]

Now, before I get jumped on all the Rota-humping noobs...as was the context in the original thread, I only wrote this as an OBJECTIVE examination of why people, like me, hate Rota wheels, a lot for the fact that all they do is crib designs, but mainly because of the inferior engineering entertained in their construction. In the end, what I say won't affect the Rota Fanboys, as they'll most likely not be bothered about their construction - as, in the end, the wheels finalise the look of your vehicle, everything else is a plus to such people - and in retaliation to the countless sheared wheels just reiterate "Well I've used them in x way" I very much doubt a simple "Exuberant driver" can validly test the strength of the wheel based on a "bit of a drive" or a trackday. I can produce a plethora of pictures that demonstrate what WELL ENGINEERED wheels behave like in extremis.

Anyway, all I want to achieve is educate people into how these wheels are made, why they're made in such a way, and why, to the purist, it is pure evil.

Rota Wheels Rant

Peoplez, what the anti-Rota people are trying to convey here is...Rotas, are a cheap, mass produced wheel, and not say every cheap, mass produced wheel will prove to be so utterly and completely useless in strength, but fact of the matter is - being in a pretty much third world environment, and churning out thousands' of cheap wheels per month, you're not going to use the strongest methods of construction, you're going to find the cheapest and quickest method of construction, fact.

There is quality control, but as mentioned, this is the Philippines, not a country reknowned for a bustling Industrial movement...you're not going to get anything like the sort of Quality Control as in Japan or European companies. However, this does not mean EVERY Rota wheel is going to smash....but the worrying thing is that this has happened, several times...and I'm sorry, but no-one in their right mind is going to design a wheel that SHEARS off the center portion of the wheel. That would kill you!!! Most quality wheels I've seen, forged or not, Bend when hit by a sudden impact, or crack....not SHEAR!!

There is something seriously wrong if you shear a material in such a manner - whether it be the construction method (cheap castings for quick and cheap production) or the materials (lesser grade of aluminium alloy, cheaper), all wheels are designed to break in a certain manner that would be safest if such an incident were to happen, and shearing off is not one of those. You Rota users that are very proud, just think of it - how does a Company, based in a 3rd world environment (so, beyond cheap labour etc...) manage to sell Light (which are typically expensive due to expensive construction methods) wheels at such a cheap price? Are they really a bargain? Are they really making a loss for your gain? No. If it's anything I've learnt on my first couple of weeks in University - every sort of industry, will try their best to Reduce production costs, all the time. The good companies will be the ones that streamline costs but not at the cost of Quality Assurance, rather through optimising production efficiency and streamlining running costs i.e. factors that would provide small but reasonable costs in the total price of construction, the questionnable companies, will go to the extent of using cheaper methods of construction, and lesser materials, but suitable for "typical needs" as it's a MUCH cheaper option overall, and requires much less development work (i.e. money that could go towards making more and more wheels!).

I stand by - if you carry out a finite element analysis scan/xray/ultrasonic/magnaflux a typical Rota wheel (mind you, they could be rough batches, but a Company like Volk would identify anomalies in a wheels structure, and DESTROY the wheel), you will find a casting that will contain cracks, air pockets, irregularities in consistency, and so on...and I reckon the only way they've reduced weight, is by making the wheel Thinner!! All of you guys claiming "my Rota's are good quality", what are you basing this on, the paint work? The appearance? Pretty much anything that doesn't have anything to do with the construction of the wheel (remember, surface finishes are very easy to apply, doesn't take much to make something look pretty) or do you all have Xray eyes and can actually see through the metal?? Castings are durable, but only when they are of the right dimensions - a cast metal piece is very brittle (so would more likely shatter in an impact) but very strong at the same time (will take a sizeable impact), a forging on the other hand, is much more resiliant to cracking/shattering, but would bend easier. As a result, that's why typical Quality produced wheels tend to just bend or when bent to a huge degree, start to crack in an impact - cue Gaz's Sparco Racing Crimson after hitting a stone I think it was, any evidence of a wheel shearing off the center section?? No, cause that is a huge design flaw! That's why you'll see cast wheels produced by the likes of OZ Racing, BBS etc...are actually Quite heavy! But they get around this....by making two or 3 piece wheels, where they forge the center section and cast the hoop for strength!

However, checking on the website itself, I was stunned to read of the construction methods, posted on the website - Low Pressure & Gravity Die casting...I'm sorry, they are casting wheels the same way the make engine blocks?!?! They cast wheels the same way as a component that never ever deals with impact?!!?!? Oh...oh seriously....dear god! Low Pressure & Gravity Die casting (most widely used...i.e. OEM wheels, not Lightweight wheels...) create a dubious type of casting for a wheel. They create a very expansive molecular structure (read, less specific strength i.e. strength per unit density) with high chances of casting flaws if not carried out properly (hello hello...). I also noticed something worrying with some of the pictures, and reading the forum threads....some people claim that "oh yes, the wheels broke cause they were on a track, and the car generated too much stress for the wheels etc...". Well...have you realised how most of the tyres on said wheels....are Street radials? I.e. not slicks??? How in god's world is a Street radial going to generate the amount of stress required to SHEAR metal?!!? Some of the threads, admittedly, do claim that the cars were tracked at the time of wheel failure...but I have a theory based on one of the pictures I saw (and has now disappeared) of a Honda CRX with Red Copies of the Volk CE28n's - the center section sheared right off, but the remaining bits on the wheel seem to have distorted somewhat, twisted if you will. I'm thinking, the wheels could be made out of a cheap aluminium alloy which if perhaps, combined with the heat given off by the brakes during heavy braking, actually causes the wheel to lose it's strength, and seeing as aluminium is not a very ductile material (doesn't stretch much), the metal will just fail catastrophically, as demonstrated by the pictures posted. That's not going to help is it?Trying to stop and your wheel shears off...

From this, I believe that perhaps, together with the construction method detailed above, Rota may use a cheaper Aluminium alloy, i.e. one that uses much less alloy and much more aluminium - most Aluminium alloy wheels, forged or not, tend to incorporate expensive elements like Magnesium and the such, you will use alloys to tailor weight, strength, heat resistance, stiffness etc...it's not a case of "Aluminium, done". But hey, I'm only saying this for an educated assumption...I don't actually know what alloys Rota uses, but going on the fact that Rota manages to manufacture CAST Alloy wheels, for so cheap, and quite light, with "presumably" optimum strength (which in some cases is as far as from the truth as possible)....well, there must be a reason as to how they do it. There must be a reason why Rota is based in the Philippines too...cheap and relatively unskilled mass labour will ultimately help to reduce costs.

Sorry for this rant, but people have to stop being narrowminded and dismiss facts because "their personal opinion is that it's good"...well, you're not going to be able to make an appropriate assumption of a wheels construction method efficiency as you don't know what goes behind the construction, how it is achieved with the qualities evident, and how flaw free a construction is, you're just basing your assumption on the basis of looks - and, well....Molecular structures run beyond skin deep . This is not to say, one day, all of you Rota users will have your wheels shear off, not at all!! But maybe, some of you, hit a rock hard, go tracking on Slick tyres, etc...your wheel is not going to give you a safety net and bend or deform...no....it'll sheer, leaving at complete loss of control of that wheel.

I'm only trying to be objective here - i.e. give a reasoned response, rather than an opinionated response. All I know from my degree, and studying up on the Automotive field forever, is that wheels are designed different ways, by different people, to achieve different results...but never, is a wheel designed to shear, like a few Rota's have been...