Rotas & Auto-xing

[Alan]

How do these wheels hold up to the stresses of regular auto-xing? Considering purchasing a set since they are so light/cheap.

[PseudoRealityX]

they'll be just fine. Koseis are a half inch wider....something to think about.

[w0rd]

http://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=376938&page=1

[Loren]

Rotas are great on a light car for autocrossing, or even track events and racing. I've had my Circuit 8's for at least 4 years now, they've been autocrossed on two different cars (a 2400 lb Saturn and a 2200 lb Miata) with at least 5 different sets of tires for at least 12 events per year along with daily driver use and abuse for the entire time I've owned them.

Regarding the unexplained photo that w0rd posted, that is a Rota Attack wheel from a Subaru. (note that the Sube weighs substantially more than your Honda and also has more power... a LOT more stress is put on the Subaru's wheels) I read a thread about this somewhere a few weeks ago. Rota acknowledged that there was a production problem that affected a very small batch of these wheels... very likely that this particular wheel would have failed on the street, it just happened sooner (and in a controlled environment) with autocross use.

Okay, found the relevant topic, it was on Miata.Net. Here's a snippet:

BTW, here is a post from a Suby guy who had failures:

"Talked to Cecile [Rota representative] on the phone today and she was so nice and apologized for the problems. She informed me that they would replace ALL FOUR wheels [one broke, one had cracks] with whatever model I wanted. SO I could have gotten Attacks, or battles, or tarmacs, or whatever. [edited out stuff not relavent] To top it all off, Cecile tould me to fax her the info on the track day and autocross I missed, and she'd reimburse me for my losses! And also to send a fax of the receipt for swapping the tires, and they'd pay for that too!"

They also paid to have his original wheels shipped back for engineering inspection.

Also referenced there was a thread on a Subaru list with more details, plus some feedback from an actual Rota representative:
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=278825

Word, w0rd??? If you're going to give the guy some info, give him ALL of it!

[w0rd]

Originally posted by Loren
If you're going to give the guy some info, give him ALL of it!

There is a link below the pic that contained all of the info you just said.

[Loren]

Originally posted by w0rd
There is a link below the pic that contained all of the info you just said.

Sorry, dude. When I checked that link last night it was dead. Seems to be working now.

But you have to admit that posting that picture was a rather harsh tactic. LOTS of parts break on occasion, especially in a competition environment. We don't post pics of the rare broken part every time someone asks a question about something.

[Ffej207]

Originally posted by Loren
But you have to admit that posting that picture was a rather harsh tactic. LOTS of parts break on occasion, especially in a competition environment. We don't post pics of the rare broken part every time someone asks a question about something.

I have also heard of several people having failures like that with their Rota wheels. In fact, one of the head haunchos in SCCA in Houston had sent a memo out that was suggesting possibly banning Rota wheels from SCCA events.

[Loren]

Originally posted by Ffej207
I have also heard of several people having failures like that with their Rota wheels. In fact, one of the head haunchos in SCCA in Houston had sent a memo out that was suggesting possibly banning Rota wheels from SCCA events.

The thing to keep in mind is that we're in the age of the Internet. If someone breaks a wheel at an autocross anywhere in the country, we're going to hear about it, and we can do a search and get all the gory details of it anytime we want. Whereas 20 years ago, we would have been blissfully unaware of anything that didn't happen "in our own backyard".

My point is that there are A LOT of Rota wheels out there. A few are going to break. That's the way it goes. It doesn't mean that all Rota wheels are bad. Statistically, the number of failures is VERY low.

Now, if I were buying a set of wheels today, especially for a heavy car, I might be inclined to avoid the Sub Zero or Attack models that have shown the most breakage. Otherwise, I would not give it a second thought.

[chet]

hence the reason to buy volks.

forged, lightweight, unbreakable.

[PseudoRealityX]

Originally posted by chet
hence the reason to buy volks.

forged, lightweight, unbreakable.

Chet, you can buy me my set, because i CERTAINLY dont have the money for them.

[Zate]

Rotas are fine.. Gary Sheehan races them in USTCC and i believe hasnt broken a set..or very many.. depends which ones you guy though..

[BIG_Truck_Driver]

Originally posted by chet
hence the reason to buy volks.

forged, lightweight, unbreakable.

Riiiiggghhht

I don't doubt that they are stronger due to the manufacturing process, however no wheel is unbreakable.

[Loren]

Originally posted by speed_daemon1
Riiiiggghhht

I don't doubt that they are stronger due to the manufacturing process, however no wheel is unbreakable.

<clap><clap><clap>

Thank you. I was going to mention that yesterday, but didn't.

The other thing about the super-light forged wheels is... while they're less prone to cracking and breaking on the track, they are MORE prone to bending under street conditions.

Yet another automotive trade-off.

[0HP930]

Yup, its either break or bend.

I prefer bendy wheels since its always easy to fix an out of round rim and its a lot easier to drive on a bent wheel than one that is no longer connected to the car.

[chet]

i'll take my chances with a forged wheel over rota's anyday.

piece of mind is worth the extra 800 to me.