For the millions and millions of knockoff fans out there, I suggest you read below. Recently, Chris from Speed Alliance sat down with Jim from Work Wheels to break down what are the possible hazards of purchasing knockoff..KNOCKOFF Wheels.
Jim broke down key elements to why and how knockoff wheels are not the best alternative for the consumer.
1. Casting control - The wheels are obviously poorly cast, the material possibly contains air pockets that cause the wheel to have weak spot. When a wheel takes an impact, the energy travels through the wheel, and when the wheel has a weak spot it would start to fatigue.
2. Design - Many copy wheels are not copied exactly the same as some originals. These are areas where consumer may over look, such as certain radius or angle on the spokes or back pad. The radius and angle plays an important part on a wheel’s strength. Example, a sharper radius corner will tend to develop crack over low radius if the corner wasn’t designed properly. So without proper engineering the wheel can fail under stress.
3. Material - Many imitation wheels out there may have done a good job copying other original design, but the materials are sometimes different. In most cases, imitation wheels use cheaper or lower grade material to cut cost. This will have devastating effect. The original designed wheel was designed and engineered with certain grade of material to support the engineering structure of the wheel. Even if a imitation wheel are copied exactly to the teeth, if the materials are not the same, the wheel will not achieve the same type of engineering integrity under stress and fail.
My thoughts - These companies who target copying original design products, sure have the talent to copy. If they would take this talent and incorporate with education and innovation, they can develop a strong brand image and company… I just can’t figure out why they don’t?
If you don’t believe it…peep the pictures below:
So now the question is, are you ready to risk your life, and other innocent drivers on the road just to save a few dollars? Yeah…Rotas are bad news.
Popularity: 11%
10 responses so far ↓
1 ROTA-Civic // Jan 15, 2008 at 12:05 pm
DAMN. This sucks, so much for Rota’s. It’s about time I stop being cheap and buy some real stuff. Maybe then I’ll get some respect. Thanks for the info!
- Bob Regal
2 Prashant // Jan 15, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Well it’s not just about getting respect, it’s about respecting your life enough to drive on real wheels that you shouldn’t have to worry about literally breaking in half.
3 Julian // Feb 10, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Funny how the Rota’s Still pass JWL and VIA Standards, and that Rota make OEM wheels for several of the top manufacturers hey ;o)
You can hate on them for copying, but they pass higher tests than most Aftermarket rims, all Rota wheels go through OEM standard of testing, which is higher than required for the aftermarket..
But im with you on the fact that they copy a lot of designs, which lets face it is whats ‘getting your goat’
4 Prashant // Feb 10, 2008 at 7:19 pm
Yes, ROTA did make wheels in the past for OEM’s but that was during the 60’s and 70’s if I remember correctly. The OEM’s were Mitsubishi and Toyota but the funny part was that they were for the Mitsubishi’s and Toyota’s sold WITHIN the Philippines. As far as I know, ROTA did not export their wheels out of the Philippines to to be used as OEM wheels in say, Japan. I am not aware of any OEM applications that ROTA has done after the mid 1970’s.
5 Broken and Cracked Rota Wheels | Import Factor // Feb 25, 2008 at 1:11 am
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6 Good bronze wheel - MX6.com // Feb 27, 2008 at 6:50 pm
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7 John // Apr 24, 2008 at 6:16 am
I don’t have anything for or against Rota…but looking at a picture of a ruined rim doesn’t tell me a lot. I can see from the debris on the tire that it’s been off-road. Is the off-road adventure a result of the rim breaking, or is the broken rim a result of the off-roading? Even the highest quality wheels will break in an accident.
8 ROTArded wheels? - Mazdaspeed Forums // Apr 24, 2008 at 1:41 pm
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9 Eric // May 9, 2008 at 8:16 pm
I’ve seen pictures of Volk TE-37s that looked like that. Hitting a curb sideways at high speed will mess up any rim.
10 Julian // May 30, 2008 at 4:22 pm
That is bullshit about Rota making oem in the 60’s and 70’s
they still do make wheels for OEM, including Tommy kiara in Japan, and toyota..
They wernt even around in the 60’s
Twat
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