I really like 6-spoke wheels, and one wheel I've been considering if the Rota Grid -- because I can afford them. Here are some examples:
(http://dudesphotography.smugmug.com/Cars/bugeye-on-18x85-Rota-Grid-MSG/IMG8798/746613794_9rj7D-S.jpg)
(http://www.4g63hp.com/rota_grid_gold.jpg)
(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_NRSDCBt4i-U/SbroztnIU0I/AAAAAAAACd0/ZVZKejEmW-o/legacy.jpg)
(http://www.boomspeed.com/fnananon/shoot1_2.jpg)
(http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/rarerims/Nissan%20GTR/GTR35.jpg)
.....but then Chee brought all of this to my attention :o
Made in China, YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!
Chee, check this out
$$$$$$$$
With all the mayhem in the cars pictured here, you have to keep one thing in mind, knock-off any thing is mostly for looks! In the race we are talking about, the cars are FAR from extreme, the biggest load the rims are going to experience will be far from the ability of even the cheapest rims. I do like a few of Rota's designs, but the Auto-x rims don't look like woould take to track day. Look at Axis's magnumlite! I want a set of these rims, but would never drive them hard down the hill. All that aside though, cast wheels will never be able to take the abuse that a forged wheel can, as in the Ray's wheel pictured here. Billet does fare better than cast, but still falls short of the strength of forged. Now, ask Chee who made his rims and whether they are cast or forged. Will they withstand the 400+ whp he's touting? Or will they disintegrate like the Rota rims above? You know I drive at a decently abusive manner in my car, I Greenlights on my MR2 and have had no problems at all. I'd rate Konig in the same category as Rota as their wheels are light weight and CAST. On my budget, even when I'm working, these wheels fill the ticket.
Ask Bryan if he ever had problems with his ROTA Slipsteam! I believe they were originally a SPOON style wheel.
I especially like the twisted Subzero! Hit a pothole while doing a burnout?
The twisted SubZero has to be fake, right? I mean metal doesn't bend like that, so smooth and uniform across all spokes. They're cast so they should be more brittle than malleable anyway right?
Any wheel will break when something bad happens. We don't have the info on how those Rotas in the pictures got that way. I remember one freak accident at an autox this year where a car hit a curb sideways and broke the right side wheels. The worst wheel broke in such a way that the spokes all separated right near the outer rim, so all that was left of the outer rim was just that, and it looked like a hubless wheel. Kinda cool actually.
My Rota Slipstreams never gave me any trouble.
When I hit a big hole at 100mph and bent two factory Honda forged alloys, I had them straightened and trued by Eagle Dynamics in Fresno. The guy was impressed by the quality of the wheels and how easy they were to straighten. But then he showed me some of the chrome 20"+ RimZ that had come into his shop. You want to talk about cheap wheels...
BTW Mike you know the offset you will need for the MR2 will get rid of that cool "dished" look on the Grids right? Kind of a bummer. Well I suppose you could go with a low offset wheel and put fender flares on the car... :evilgrin:
Quote from: Sirdeuce on September 28, 2010, 03:09:51 PM
Ask Bryan if he ever had problems with his ROTA Slipsteam! I believe they were originally a SPOON style wheel.
Remember Bryan doesn't race as often as I do, he lacks the mad skillz I have, and my car has more horsepower than all his cars combined
Quote from: BryanH on September 29, 2010, 03:51:33 AM
BTW Mike you know the offset you will need for the MR2 will get rid of that cool "dished" look on the Grids right? Kind of a bummer. Well I suppose you could go with a low offset wheel and put fender flares on the car... :evilgrin:
lol I'll run the N2 flares! Yeah, I know, it will be like the red Honda's wheels which I still like :)
(http://www.boomspeed.com/fnananon/shoot1_2.jpg)
No flares for Mikey? I think these bolt-on Datsun 240Z flares are the best looking of all. Simple, elegant, functional. Inexpensive too. :)
http://www.imoc.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=118064
http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/7BSA02/50-1562
Quote from: BigMike on September 29, 2010, 07:08:43 AM
Remember Bryan doesn't race as often as I do, he lacks the mad skillz I have, and my car has more horsepower than all his cars combined
Wow, 600+hp! That is one strong GZE!
HEY! I found my wheels! WOOT
Clicky: http://wwoutlet.net/WheelDetails.asp?Link=2300
Apparently they are made by a company called ADR now. They were made by ICWRacing.com, called "GT Sport".
I've attached a pic of my old wheels when I bought them and had them powder coated black, back in July of 2002 :o
The size I'd get is 15x6.5 and they are apparently only $58.00 each. Wow seems really cheap. I remember CAPS Powder coating charged me $50 per wheel to paint them black. DANG. I really need to find a 6-spoke wheel that comes black!
(http://wwoutlet.net/wheelpics/adr/bigpics/gtsport.jpg)
ps. Check out my old Toysport Body Kit atop my hood 8)
HOLY SMOKES THESE ARE AWESOME
Clicky: http://zilvia.net/f/wheel-tire/329848-varrstoen-es-2-2-1-6-spoke-wheels-18x9-5-22-12-18x10-5-22-15-0-a.html
Probably not offered in a 15" or 16" though.... :(
(http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc137/SlideJdm/Varrstoen/blu1.jpg)
WOW that is pretty sexy roight thar
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/killakorean/VTBLOG/newwheels3.jpg)
Anyone know what the difference is between the
Rota Grid (http://www.rotawheels.com/wheels.asp?wheelid=64) and the
Rota Grid Racing (http://www.rotawheels.com/wheels.asp?wheelid=20)?
Regular Grid:
(http://www.rotawheels.com/images/products/grid-2_1.jpg) | Racing Grid:
(http://www.rotawheels.com/images/products/grid_3.jpg) |
Are they lighter or high quality or something?
HOLY SMOKES, check out this collection of Wheel weight data of almost 4,500 different wheels :o
http://www.wheelweights.net/wheel-weight-weight.xls
Apparently the Rota Grid Racing 15x6.5" weigh 13 lbs
I'm not sure what the difference is. They look the same. Maybe different web sites don't always call it by the same name?
Here are a couple other interesting Rota 6-spokes I found while looking for Grid differences.
http://www.racinglab.com/rota-boost-0001.html
http://www.racinglab.com/rota-wheel-ck-racing-001.html
Those VarrStoens are killer!
Rota sure has a lot of designs! Those CKs are pretty sweet
What do you think about 16s on a MK1? I never liked it because of the 40-series profile, but with the lower gear ratios of a 6spd, I bet I could get away with a 16x45 or even 16x50 profile.
Comparisons, 3,000 rpm in 5th gear (stock C52 trans):
14x60x185: 66.9 MPH
15x50x205: 67.9 (+1.4%)
16x40x205: 66.1 (-1.3%)
16x45x205: 68.4 (+2.3%)
16x50x205: 70.8 (+5.5%)
Actually that isn't so bad, about 3 MPH more in 5th gear at cruising RPM. Hmmmmm
I used to run 225 in the rear, so...
15x50x225: 70.2 (+4.7%) <-- old setup
16x40x225: 67.9 (+1.5%)
16x45x225: 70.5 (+5.1%)
16x50x225: 73.1 (+8.5%)
Wow nearly 9% larger than stock...
16s can look pretty good if the car is lowered and the offset is right. I think my favorite look for the MK1 right now is still low offset 15s with 240Z flares.
A tall 16" tire might look funny up front though. Dunno.