Wheel brands - what ones suck a lot?

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Wurf

Member
:
2010 CX9 Blue
So I'm looking at Rimz today IN PERSON like touching them and stuff and taking a close look because I have nothing better to do for nearly four hours of my day today at Tire Rack in the show room and I'd like some fellow forum member opinions.

Kazera rims..are they worth a s***? Seem to be made OK but noticing things like the lug holes and such are really rough and course with grooves like they drilled them really fast with a dull bit. Otherwise only a couple of them are acceptable to me. Mostly ricey but a few seem like they would look nice. None of them gave me wood or anything. A few of them are around 21lbs each which isn't bad.

Enkei rims - obviusly a step up and seem to be a good brand but generally overpriced it would seem. Again nothing stood out and the lighter performance ones are pretty pricey, and not that good looking.

ASA rims - Chinese wheels that look nice and some were labeled as manufactured under license by BBS. Heavy, gravity cast wheels that are for looks more than anything else. The ASA GT1 is very popular at Tire Rack and mounted on all sorts of company rides, mostly BMW. These are about 1lb heavier than stock rims.

A few outstanding observations:
1. Black wheels are not my thing and there are LOTS of them. Most of them are freaking hideous or ridiculous.
2. Plenty of new wheels with fake, two piece "look" and fake chrome headed bolt heads all over them. It's like they've been ******* "bedazzled" with the bolt head bedazzler. I am skeptical about the durability of the finish of these things of if they'll even stay on the wheel after a few years.
3. Lots of bat s*** crazy looking ghetto garbage in giant diameters. I don't need to ask who buys these things. It's not me so moving on.
4. Not much selection in middle ground that fits the car. You're going to spend 160 to 180 per wheel for heavy Chinese rims, or move up to $350 and beyond for some Italian, German or Japanese stuff.

After lots of looking, and I mean LOTS of looking for a LONG TIME I am starting to think...................... Rota!

Anybody care to share their opinion?

I'm sticking to $800 for the rims as my limit.

Thanks
 
rota for under 800

best bet torque's 20lbs 18x8, good looking rim

dsc0278e.jpg
 
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Yeah and the Tarmac and P1 are nice too. I'd like to run the SVN but I gotta run the factory tires and they're too wide for the factory 215's. Not looking for the uber aggressive fitment anyway. I just want clean, cool looking rims with a nice lip on them and a durable finish.
 
Wurf said:
Yeah and the Tarmac and P1 are nice too. I'd like to run the SVN but I gotta run the factory tires and they're too wide for the factory 215's. Not looking for the uber aggressive fitment anyway. I just want clean, cool looking rims with a nice lip on them and a durable finish.
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SVN's are heavy as s***. Mine weigh 33lbs with tyres mounted. (17x7.5 with 215/40)
 
Wastegate13 said:
That's funny. My local Pep Boys sells Rotas.
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That IS funny.
Mine does not, but honestly if they did, I probably wouldn't know it because I've not been back in over a year. With PB It's really not WHAT they sell, it's how they sell it. Lots of companies sell the same brands PB.

I see few MS3 around here and even fewer with any wheels that look like Rotas or knock off's of Rays or SSR or any of that. Very few cars period with the real deal Rays or SSR around here.
 
For the hell of it I went to Pep Boys today. No Rotas on the wall. Just Motegi Racing and American Racing and some other garbage. I walked in, looked around, and walked out.

I would buy from wheeldude regardless but figured I'd look.
 
wow....and to think my "pepboys" comment was really just a joke. only thing i go to pepboys for is to get figurines from the pixar movie "cars" because sometimes they have different ones than anyone else (have a 2 year old that loves the movie)
 
I know what that's about. I have two, 4 year old boys ( twins ) that have loved it for over a year. I've seen that movie so many times now...... They have recently switched to Polar Express and a new addiction to trains. It's weird, but I understand.

On the subject of Rota it would appear they have become ubiquitous. Google search Rota anything - pick a model, and you'll find group buys for all sorts of cars. Subie, Lotus, and other makes have forums and lots of people are buying these things. Guess I never noticed them around here.
 
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Wurf said:
I know what that's about. I have two, 4 year old boys ( twins ) that have loved it for over a year. I've seen that movie so many times now...... They have recently switched to Polar Express and a new addiction to trains. It's weird, but I understand.

On the subject of Rota it would appear they have become ubiquitous. Google search Rota anything - pick a model, and you'll find group buys for all sorts of cars. Subie, Lotus, and other makes have forums and lots of people are buying these things. Guess I never noticed them around here.
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Guess you never opened a "show your wheels" thread.

Rota makes a decent product. I wouldn't put their quality on the same level as Enkei and certainly not BBS or RAYS but if you're on a budget and don't mind rocking the same wheels as every Honda in town then they can serve their purpose.
 
If you want quality get BBS, RAYS, Advans etc.
IF you want price get Rota, Enkei, Tenzo etc.

Although Enkei isnt bad quality, I just wouldnt put it as high as BBS or rays
 
Wastegate13 said:
Guess you never opened a "show your wheels" thread.

Rota makes a decent product. I wouldn't put their quality on the same level as Enkei and certainly not BBS or RAYS but if you're on a budget and don't mind rocking the same wheels as every Honda in town then they can serve their purpose.
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I've looked through the wheels threads here for months including dedicated Rota wheels thread basically ever since I bought the car, and even recall reading some of your posts about how much you love Rotas.:rolleyes:

I Just didn't realize their "popularity" with other car makes than Mazda because I hadn't bothered to look elsewhere. They make a lot of Subaru fitments as well as Honda.

I suspect they're popular because they look like high end, light weight, expensive wheels but they're not. Rota basically took a look at the most popular wheels being bought by kids for their cars and figured they could penetrate the market with their own versions of cast wheels that look like them. So now those expensive SSR wheels that look a lot like Rota will fade in popularity as every Tom, Dick, and Harry bolts a set of copy cat Rota wheels to his car. Seems to me like there's about to be a shift in what's considered cool to have on your car pretty soon.

As far as other brands, when I start eliminating wheels that are black, have fake polished bolt heads on them some place, weigh 26lbs or more, or cost more than $200 each, it really thins down what's acceptable for me.

It's probably going to be Enkei or Rota and I'm going to keep looking until next spring when I'm ready to take the snows off.

Speaking of that, the front Bridgestones on the car were almost worn to the wear bars and the car has yet to hit the 7K mile mark. The rears look almost new.
 
Enkei in my opinion is the best bang for the buck wheel brand. They have a rich racing history and have been producing wheels for the McLaren-Mercedes F1 team. They also produce wheels for so many professional racing teams. The RPF1 is run on the Red Bull Hyundai drift team.
 
Wurf said:
Speaking of that, the front Bridgestones on the car were almost worn to the wear bars and the car has yet to hit the 7K mile mark. The rears look almost new.
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I don't know how some of you guys wear down the oem tires so fast. I finally installed my super cheap tirerack re01rs and the stock tires look like they can go another 22k miles. I only rotated the tires once too.

As for wheels, you might consider finding a higher end set used. You can find good deals online. I picked up my oz ultraleggeras and just had them powdercoated.
 
jon619 said:
I don't know how some of you guys wear down the oem tires so fast. I finally installed my super cheap tirerack re01rs and the stock tires look like they can go another 22k miles. I only rotated the tires once too.

As for wheels, you might consider finding a higher end set used. You can find good deals online. I picked up my oz ultraleggeras and just had them powdercoated.
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There seems to be a vast range of mileage reported from the OEM tires. I got right around 22k out of mine before the inside fronts were dangerously worn. I am lowered a good amount and was running a bit too much camber before I corrected it yesterday though.
 
anyone look at the rota quakes? i think they almost look sti-ish with the thick spokes, but i can find any pics with them on any vehicle let alone the ms3. off to the shop shop
 
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