If you want more industrial look, but done right, the wheel should be high quality polished and then brushed.

 

My wheels are painted, and black. Hides the brake dust. I'm not a blingy kinda guy. I bought these wheels because they look good, black hides dust, they are a good size and offset, and I can run 275's comfortably on all 4 corners.

Form following function for me.

 

Not sure what I think about them. I would have to see them mounted.

 

Some of us don't compromise. Go all out or stay home.

It's like people that buy knock-off designer items... it's just tacky.

Because they're a copy. If you want Volks, save up your allowance and get them.

 

Why waste my money on Volks when there is a very small chance I'll notice the difference while driving? I found on wheelweights.net that a Volk CE28N in 18x9.5 which is very similar in style and size to my 18x9's weighs 17lbs. My wheels weigh 25lbs each, 8lbs heavier. I don't think it's that big of a difference.

I think it's hilarious when people dish out thousands for Volk RACING wheels and NEVER go to a real road race track! Too scared to play with the big boys? Or just too broke because you had to have the expensive stuff?

 

^Because you're buying a knock off product. If I rock a fake Rolex, most people would laugh at me for fronting like I can afford something that I really can't, these wheels are no different.

 

8 pounds on each wheel seems a lot to me.

piece of mind I guess? I don't think fear plays into it. But I can see why you'd have a little more money buying a base Z and cheap rims, some people just don't choose to go cheap.

 

My cheap Rota's look and work the same as Volks. The guy driving the gutted 911 RACE CAR at VIR probably felt a little stupid when he saw that a STOCK BASE MODEL NON-BREMBO 350Z was trying to pass him everywhere on the track! If I go off track and bend or break a Rota, I won't care much and buy another one for $250. It's a little harder to deal with a $700-$800 mistake like that.

Personally I think a base model is the best track car, it doesn't have any electronics to interfere with my driving and it's lighter, no VDC to worry about, no frills.

 

You know what is the problem with people buying those cheap wheel knockoffs? They know a little or nothing about how wheels are produced, and knockoff companies exploit it, this is why they think why spent money on Volks, it is easy to spot fake Rolex or Gucci shades and tell why the quality is inferior, not that easy when it comes to alloy wheels, this is why you should trust people who now something about this topic or educate yourself.

There are several wheel casting methods (as well as several forging), just to name few: gravity casting, low pressure casting, die-cast casting. Gravity casting is the cheapest one, the wheels are the heaviest and the most prone to damage - this is the technology Rota is using (the same technology most of OEM wheels are made). So how it is possible OEM wheels are so heavy comparing to Rotas? It is simple but sneaky trick, to sacrifice the strength of the wheel shaving of the material, this is why so many of them fail and fall apart. The other thing is, they nobrainer reverse engineer wheels which have been designed to be produced using different process (ex.low pressure casting or forging), the original designer at Rays (or any other company) knew that using forging the spokes could be much thinner than using casting technology and the strength wouldn't be compromised, Rota doesn't care, they just copy it 1:1. Also when you copy something the way they do, you never now why something was done in the following way in the first place, you do not understand the flow the designer had in mind creating, do not understand why this dimension is for example 72 mm not 70mm because you are doing a nobrainer copy.

You are right, both of them are round...and that would be all.

 

I agree with the driving experience > fancy equipment.

 

The Rota's may not be as strong or light as a Volk, but they didn't break when I abused them on a race track either. I know they worked flawlessly, I don't care how they are made. When I step up to racing slicks I will probably get a set of Volks for the piece of mind that I won't break one on a RACE TRACK. But for regular steet driving and even TRACK driving with great street tires, a Rota will do.

Better brakes, better suspension, more power, will all make you faster around a race track than lighter wheels. Throw in some 50 treadwear racing slicks and a 3,000+lb car and Volks may be a good bit of insurance at 100mph with a wall 25ft away.

But for street driving with all of the hazzards on the road and the nice fella that would like to steal those Volks, a Rota is a great trade off.

90% of 350Z owners will never go on a race track. I bet only 1% ever use slicks.

 

Show how much you know, I actually drove it on a race track! That's worth more than reading it online from a professional driver. At professional racing ranks I'm sure 8lbs is a huge difference. But, I don't think a single person on this forum is one of those people.

 

32 pounds off of rotating mass seems like it would be noticeable.

 

That is 1% of the entire vehicle weight. When my 220lb instructor gets out of the car I feel like I'm driving a Miata though.

 

rotating mass affects the car differently. See gyroscopes.

 

When you buy a fake Rolex your actually walking around sporting an item that says Rolex on it. I don't know of anyone buying Rotas that passes them off as Volk racing wheels. In fact everyone I know is pretty up front about it bc truthfully it's not that big a deal. Big difference IMO.

Either way those that want Volks will get Volks. Those that want a nice looking and cheaper alternative will get Rota.

 

Going from my factory 17's and 225/45/17 Kumho Ecsta MX's to my 18" Rota's with 275/35/18 Kumho Ecsta XS tires I didn't notice a difference.

Factory 17's weigh about 23lbs from what I found. 225/45/17 Kumho MX weighs 23lbs also. Total 46lbs.

Rota G-Force 18x9 weighs 25lbs from what I found, 275/35/18 Kumho XS weigh 28lbs each. Total 53lbs.

~7lbs difference and I gained about 2 inches of tire per corner.

Obviously I had a ton more grip at the track, 2 inches times 4 tires is like adding another tire to the ground.

As far as the car being less nimble or rotating around corners differently, I didn't notice anything.

Accellerating a tiny bit slower, guaranteed, but I don't drag race.

Overall gain, definitely. I paid $630 for my Rota's on eBay. Volks cost about that much for 1 wheel. With my savings I've already bought the Hotchkis TVS1 kit (used, works same as new, but I bet Volk owners wouldn't buy used parts either) and I'm probably going to get a used set of Brembo calipers, SS lines, and NEW Brembo rotors (track driving beats the hell out of rotors, I won't go cheap on rotors. Just spent $355 for OEM non-Brembo rotors because my factory rotors were finally shot). Factory Brembo brakes with a race pad is more than most drivers will ever need and weigh less and cost less than bling bling 13"+ rotors with more pistons than I have fingers on a hand.

^^^That is the kind of knowledge you pick up at the race track. The best way to spend your money to go faster. Going to the track isn't cheap either. I spend a minimum of $500 a weekend when I get my track time for free! If I have to pay for track time also it's easily $800+ for a weekend. I'm not cheap or broke, I just spend my money wisely on what provides the biggest bang for my buck with respect what I actually NEED and will use.

 

https://my350z.com/forum/autocross-r...ml#post6474006

Looks like Rota's hold up fine to 700hp RACE CARS and slicks. I'm sold.

 

You want a fake rolex and some imitation Gucci sunglasses to go with that?

BTW, you going to the Nine Inch Nails show on the 3rd in Greensboro?