Is there a point to buy PIAA Rozza's over Stern ST-1's?
 

The two look absolutely IDENTICAL. Both are cast. The sterns are $950, the PIAA's are what, $2,500? What's the point of paying almost 3x the price for the PIAAs? Are they much lighter than the Sterns?

You have a point. The PIAA's are cast. Go for the sterns if you like how they look and if you're buying for looks.

sterns are very heavy. and they are not identical. Sterns pertrude out more. lip size is smaller. less bolts going around rim.

http://www.need4speedmotors.com/Prod...s/stern/s1.jpg
http://www.piaa.com/Wheels/wheel_images2/rozza_03.gif

just by looking at those two pics the piaa's look wayy better. they are similar but piaa all the way.

piaa if you can drop the extra cash.

Aren't the PIAA's already heavy--like 27lbs. How much do the Sterns weigh?

Anywho, with money to blow my vote is for the PIAA's; they are a fine looking wheel.

the piaa's actually weigh the same as the 2004 oem 18's. i weighed both of them with tires also.

Yea, they're 27. I can't seem to find any info on the Sterns. How much more can they possibly be? They're both cast and 98% identical in size.

That was a pretty crappy pic of the Sterns :) Here, try this one. If you took off the logos, I would honestly never be able to tell which is which if I was staring right at em. Not unless I owned the PIAAs and knew every mm of mm after having been staring at them for months or years.

http://nomad.liquidweb.com/%7Eneed4s.../st1/st1hb.jpg

it looks like the piaas have a rounded lip, where as the sterns have a more noticable line or edge to them. other than that, i don't see much difference.

I looked at both of those rims cuz I love that style! But i'm sorry.......Super Rozza's hands down boys! Stainless steel polished rim edge, much deeper lip, and the way the fingers connect to the drum/barrel......smokin!!!! Kinda like Blitz 03's.
Needless to say Piaa's will be on my Z this saturday! And the weight on anything but tracked car is nothing to worry about. They're just about the same as stocker Z rims.
My 300ZX has seen such limited track use that the Volk III's I bought really were'nt neccessary, except that I wanted to have Volks!
If I want race my 350Z I'll swap!!!!
I love the looks of the PIAA's!!!!!!!!!!! BOOOOUUUUUYYYYAAAA!!!!!!!

One noticeable aspect is the PIAA's have the mirror polished lip so you get true reflection and brighter appearance like chrome. The Sterns like most cast affordable wheels have a laminated lip which offers a hazy reflection at best much like a brushed finish...looks cheap IMO. I guess you can get the chrome Sterns but they're a bit too bling for my taste. :)

I just spent 2 minutes scrolling back and forth between the two pics and I honestly think they're 98-99% similar. Unless the PIAAs are substantially lighter, say it like it is: you wasted your money. They're just pieces of steel, 99% similar pieces of steel at that. There are better ways to spend the $2,000 difference. Christ, you could kit the whole car for that much money.

Anyway, do you guys think either of these would really suck for racing? I don't plan to do it professionally, but I'd like to be able to race my buddies every weekend or two.

Whats up with the Stussy logo on the Sterns? Bling bling yo... :icon14: :icon16:

I think the Axis Matrix and the PIAA's look the same. The Sterns look similar, but less quality for some reason.

TSG

it's the lip

Go see them in PERSON! Quality is quality. But if you can settle for less get the stinkin Sterns or Axis.:icon22: Like I said I saw both of these including the Axis "IN PERSON" and the Piaa's won hands down and that is why they are now on my Z!!!!!!!!!! Did anyone read this.....:icon28:
"The PIAA Super Rozza presents a stylish 2-piece design. Superbly crafted with PIAA's Super Flow Forming System Technology. PIAA Utilizes a low pressure casting method to produce high quality, lightweight wheels. PIAA high Performance cast alloy aluminum wheels are especially suited for dissipating heat from brakes and provide more rigidity under high-load cornering maneuvers. The low pressure casting method also provide for ease of secondary finishing processes, which enhance the over-all appearance of the wheel."
And now the pics.....
FRONT RIM
http://www.streetneeds.com/uploads/auser/zpiaafrt.jpg
BACK RIM
http://www.streetneeds.com/uploads/auser/Zpiaabk.jpg
http://www.streetneeds.com/uploads/auser/Zpiaarim.jpg
MY Z
http://www.streetneeds.com/uploads/auser/Zpiaa.jpg

And these pics don't even do it justice!!!
If you don't spend the money now, you'll wish you did later!:icon9: :banghead:
I"M VERY HAPPY!:thumbup2:

That's all well and good, but "low pressure casting" is used by a lot of manufacturers, and is still "cast" not forged.

That said, the PIAAs are still some very nice rims don't get me wrong.

Wired...."low pressure casting" means "HIGH DENSITY CAST FLOW". If other cast MFG's are doing the same I don't see them advertising it. Name one?!?!?!?! Sure it's not FORGED .......BUT.........on the street and really mild to medium racing applications do you reallly need FORGED! NOT REALLY!
90+% of the time it is looks and prestige! Reality.......I'm happy!:cool:

D!abolic.......got a present for ya!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/20-HY...31842350QQrdZ1

its definitely up to you...if you want to save money and can be happy with the stern's, i say go for them. but with rims, you always get what you pay for. i still say the piaa's have a more quality look to em.

You're being sucked in by advertizing. Google for "low pressure casting" and "wheels" and you will find several companies who use the technology.

Here's a couple of examples

http://www.car-stuff.com/mercurywheels.htm
http://www.off-roadweb.com/tech/0205...d_tire_design/
http://www.mgg.nl/mgg/mgg_cms.nsf/un...cument&lang=en
http://www.steeda.com/products/ultra...lver_20_05.php

Rays also occasionally (in their g-games line) uses something called "rays cast flow forming" technology, which I wouldn't be surprised is similar to low pressure casting...

PIAAs are awesome wheels. 2pc cast, fit/finish looks way better, and the offsets are much better allowing for a flush fit and huge lip. Sterns are cheap and don't come in good sizes...

The PIAAs are really nice rims. You get a phat 5" lip without the crazy low offsets and fender rolling. I've enjoyed mine for a few months but I had to move on.

Mine are on sale, if you're interested.

https://my350z.com/forum/showthread.php?t=219064

Here are some pics for ya
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...350z/PIAA1.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...350z/PIAA2.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...350z/PIAA3.jpg

Does anyone know for sure if you can keep the Tire pressure monitors with the PIAA Super Rozzas?

I decided to race the car, so I wanna go with something light. Ideas? Its gotta look hot too!!

Volk TE37s, CE28N's or Nismo LMGT4's. Light and hot.

wow, all of 26 posts for this!

IMO, whatever you do, don't get knock-offs. They're cheap imitations of better quality wheels. It's like asking what intake to get: a Popcharger or an Autozone APC intake. They both filter right?

What color are these? They all look so similar...but I have a SS and would want this color.

I gotta dissagree with that, for the street strength is even more important. The abuse a daily driven vehicle is see's is very high. On the track you won't hit a pothole going 60, where as on the freeway it's almost a certainty that you will hit one if not more. The roads and highways are crap compared to a track surface and it's those kinds of impacts that bubbles tires and bends wheels. You can try to avoid them, but eventually one will take you by supprise. I've bent cast hoops in the past hitting pot holes, and since then I've seen the light of the importance of forged wheels.

I have seen both the Sterns and the PIAA Super Rozzas in person, and I agree that the PIAA Super Rozza appears to be a higher-quality wheel. Weight-wise, with 19x9 front and 19x10 rear and toyo T1R tires, the PIAA setup should weight a bit less than the stock 2006/35th anny. wheels/tires. Little gain in forward acceleration performance (if any) comes with improved traction due to wider tires. The mirror finish lip reflecting the split-spokes really sets them off. If you want something all-around high performing, look at any Rays forged monoblock designs, or Work emotion.

I just ordered a set of the PIAA rims and I won't argue the fact that forged is superior over cast in terms of strength to weight ratio. However I would not say that forged wheels are impossible to bend, and I will also say that on my previous car I hit some serious potholes and broken road surfaces (one time it felt like I jumped a curb...thats how deep the pit was) and I was riding on 18" cast Arospeed wheels (low-quality junk) and didn't bend any of them. So my point is, even some cast wheels need to take a pretty massive hit to bend.

As a rule, try to dodge potholes. If your area is scattered with them, get something forged or stay stock.

I always thought the sterns were a copy of the work meister s2rs, and not the piaas. take a look at this pic http://www.workwheelsusa.com/wheels/...ter_s2r_01.jpg

I bought the PIAA's because the S2R's don't come in 19" variety. I think all three wheels are very similar in style. I also think that the 2006 G35 Rays wheels are a poor attempt at the PIAA super rozzas, although they are lightweight so again it's a trade-off.

Purists.... :icon22:

If you think you're not paying for a name, you're kidding yourself. Especially when you're comparing wheels manufactured using the same process. Yeah there might be little details here and there, but like whats been said, they're 98% the same.

Get the sterns, if you switched the center caps almost no one would know.

They all roll!

I might be one of those purists, but I won't argue with you.

As another example, my dad is really into model railroading. Like, really into it, expert status. You can buy brass model train cars (engines, hopper cars, cabooses, etc.) for $100+ apiece. When you see them in hobby shops they are in glass cases and they look shiny and impressive. An outsider would think that an enthusiast buys the brass train car and puts it in their own glass case at home for display. However, the real model train enthusiasts (the ones who build and run their own layouts) buy these brass train cars and then paint them. Yeah, they paint them. I guess because the car is made of metal the weight to size ratio is more realistic, and the paint looks more realistic because of the metal texture than when compared to a $5 painted plastic car. If you or I were standing back looking at a painted brass caboose next to a painted plastic caboose, we would probably not notice a difference.

My point is that the one guy expresses his enthusiasm by spending $100, the other guy spends $5. The guy who spent $100 did it because he thinks the brass caboose is higher quality, or because all of his buddies have one, whatever. Meanwhile maybe the guy who spent $5 on a plastic caboose thinks it is a waste of money to spend 20x that money on something that looks just about the same. And usually the only people who will understand why he bought the $100 instead of the $5 are the other people who also bought the $100.

Back to wheels: The "get what you pay for" cliche may be true. The 3 times I've gone to the SEMA show near Philly in the past few years I have seen a PIAA booth each time, but I never saw a Stern booth. That may not mean anything significant, or maybe it does, who knows.

Sometimes you pay for names, and other times you pay more because the cost to produce the product is higher. When you think about the overhead price of the multiple-axis CNC machines and other robotics required to produce these wheels, plus the cost of the raw materials (metal ain't cheap!) and the paycheck of the quality control guy at the end of the assembly line, then add the profit that the wheel manufacturer needs to collect to make a living, it is no wonder that the nicer wheels out there are so pricey. The way that companies like Stern can sell wheels for less money is by minimizing the up-front costs. Maybe they are using outdated machines and tools. Maybe their manufacturing facility is not kept to the utmost of industry standard. Maybe they are using B-quality aluminum stock. Maybe their quality inspection is less extensive that the more expensive wheel manufacturers. Did the lower price wheel maker have an engineer to design the wheel and a draftsman to draw it, or did they just have a draftsman to look at an existing more expensive wheel and copy it?

I truly believe that more of the price difference is driven by quality, and not solely by name-brand recognition.

EDIT: Ok so I ended up arguing just a bit : )

A good argument both ways.

I will address only one part of your post though, in that maybe the reason that Stern wheels are so much cheaper then PIAA when they are 98% the same is because they don't display a booth at SEMA (just an example of course but you get the idea). Keep overhead low and you can offer the same or similar product at a reduced price

As any of the vendors on here will tell you, exhibiting at SEMA costs $!

That's true, I hadn't thought about that.

pics of my stern wheels on my z pretty damn close guys the difference in the wheels are about a 1inch of deep dish action in the back. the piaa's have i think a 4.5 inch lip and the sterns have a 3.5 inch lip both lips are pretty damn big. I got my 19 for 1100 with tires and i sold my stock rims ended up paying just 800.00 for my wheels i love them and i get alot of compliments

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The sterns weight over 30 lb each, hurt performance & look cheapy for those who know the brand.

The PIAA is awsome but over priced.

Solution? Get PIAA on ebay, be a little patient, a used set would come on from time to time, that's where I got mine for about $1000.