New ROTA Wheels - "DORI DORI"

[2kwik2c]

I'm sure someone will eventually bring up, "Rotas will crack" story from long ago,but I've never met anyone here who's "cracked" their Rotas. But if they can handle the roads in the Philippines, pretty sure they can handle the roads in the US.

I guess if someone hasn't really been in the Philippines, no one will really know how traffic is "in the Philippines". Rota wheels are perfect for countries like the Philippines...why, that's because the fastest you can go on a highway/freeway is about 55 miles per hours. Side roads and surface streets... you can go about 20 - 25 miles per hour. And traffic there is very bad; bumper-to-bumper. That's why Rota wheels aren't really driven hard and push to their limits. Here's in the U.S. people drive like crazy in the freeway or surface streets.

[DatGuy217]

Hahaha I can take a bashing I don't care. I've never owned a set of "fake" or replica wheels before I'm just supporting the folks that aren't able to afford the nicer quality wheels and have to resort to buying the cheaper knock off alternatives. Like I said before the only knockoff part I own on my car is my obx headers and the crappy front bumper the previous owner had put on before I acquire it. Everything else I've built using my machinist skills or bought high quality brand parts. As for the wheels on my car they are "REAL" Advans a3a's.

[boomstik01]

I'm sure someone will eventually bring up, "Rotas will crack" story from long ago,but I've never met anyone here who's "cracked" their Rotas. But if they can handle the roads in the Philippines, pretty sure they can handle the roads in the US.

I guess if someone hasn't really been in the Philippines, no one will really know how traffic is "in the Philippines". Rota wheels are perfect for countries like the Philippines...why, that's because the fastest you can go on a highway/freeway is about 55 miles per hours. Side roads and surface streets... you can go about 20 - 25 miles per hour. And traffic there is very bad; bumper-to-bumper. That's why Rota wheels aren't really driven hard and push to their limits. Here's in the U.S. people drive like crazy in the freeway or surface streets.

Believe me I know how bad traffic is in the Philippines, it's so bad that it's faster to get where you need to go if you were to walk, haha. What I was referring to were the potholes and rough roads, even going 20-25 mph can cause damage especially if you're running low profile tires.

Also I never said that Rota's or knockoffs or replicas were better than the original wheels, what I meant was that they aren't that bad to have. I think they are fine for everyday street driving.I understand that many are angry at Rota for copying "real" wheels and selling off cheaper copies, believe it or not, I agree with you, I too wish they would come up their own unique design of wheels. But many that will buy Rotas, buy them for looks and not performance and will only ever drive on the street. So they are perfectly happy with getting that "good" looking wheel for 1/4 the price of the real ones. Not everyone can afford to buy the "Real" wheels, and since the Dori Dori have been discontinued long ago, most used sets will cost $2-2.5k for a nice set. I'm not complaining about the prices since I agree that supply and demand can drive up the cost of things. Which is why all I have on my car are a set of XXR's , perfectly fine for the street. Now if a nice set of "real" wheels came up for sale and they were the right price for me at the right time, then I would grab em up, but until then I'm happy with what i got knowing what I expect from them, i.e. daily driving and occasional autox.

ben

[gekishibu86]

It's like installing bosch platinum plugs on your Hasselgren built 4ag.

[kulitko]

I dont understand why everyone is up in arms about this. These wheels arnt made for racing auto crossing or any of the kind. Its for Style. Rota wheel are not bad at all. Rota is a pretty big company and did their own style way back when. They are now doing these wheels cuz the owner is a Corolla enthusiast. You guys build stuff for your rolla's and try to make a profit on them dont you? No one says they are knock offs or such. I try as much as I can to support the corolla guys. These ROTA-ROTA wheels are nice and for the price, I would pick them up. Scratch that, I would sell them to you all.... =)

Im not mad if anyone were to lets say knock off the epsilons. I'd be really happy knowing my wheels are good enough to get copied.


Bottom line, to each their own.

[ronny]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wztgttmjEto

[Moto-P]

I do question the build materials when it isn't the original SSR-made Dori2 Mesh.

However, with the original sets completely unavailable, and ROTA being one of the better manufacturers who's proven themselves on many amateur and some pro motor-sports at economical price point, I can't really say that it's not something should be considered. If it's easily available, and meets the needs of people, I must simply say, why not? right?

Why don't someone here ask for the specs on the rating, weights and material composition and discuss that here with the old fogeys like me, who's been around a block a few times on why and why not of wheels specs and designs for real-world use. I'll participate.

[carbd7age]

Lol why is my name on the letter from Dr Rota? I have a set of realSSR MK1's, and although they are known for warping when you look at them too hard, I like em. Before these I had a set of REAL Hayashi Street II mesh, and one of them took a VERY hard curb smack and they're still rolling fine on whomever's car lol.

But maybe I do deserve to be in the knockoff crew, I had a set of Nippon Racing F2's on my Golf. They are Rota Slipstream / Desmond Regamaster Evo knockoffs. So they were knockoffs off knocked off fake bootleg wheels lol.

[Yosuke]

Hentai vs DorixDori


i wouldnt be surprised if the 1 piece Rotas weighed less than the real ones tho.
Thumbs down for knockoffs, why is it so hard to make an original design? No sense?

[2kwik2c]

I dont understand why everyone is up in arms about this. These wheels arnt made for racing auto crossing or any of the kind. Its for Style. Rota wheel are not bad at all. Rota is a pretty big company and did their own style way back when. They are now doing these wheels cuz the owner is a Corolla enthusiast. You guys build stuff for your rolla's and try to make a profit on them dont you? No one says they are knock offs or such. I try as much as I can to support the corolla guys. These ROTA-ROTA wheels are nice and for the price, I would pick them up. Scratch that, I would sell them to you all.... =)

Im not mad if anyone were to lets say knock off the epsilons. I'd be really happy knowing my wheels are good enough to get copied.


Bottom line, to each their own.

OK James...how much did ROTA pay you to say that!??? Are you getting a set of wheels from them just to say something positive about their products? I can't believe that you are saying this. You need to stop inhaling them shoe goo cause you're getting confused. One thing I can say is that ROTA wheels looks good on a jeepney with chrome horse figures on the hood.

[kulitko]

I dont understand why everyone is up in arms about this. These wheels arnt made for racing auto crossing or any of the kind. Its for Style. Rota wheel are not bad at all. Rota is a pretty big company and did their own style way back when. They are now doing these wheels cuz the owner is a Corolla enthusiast. You guys build stuff for your rolla's and try to make a profit on them dont you? No one says they are knock offs or such. I try as much as I can to support the corolla guys. These ROTA-ROTA wheels are nice and for the price, I would pick them up. Scratch that, I would sell them to you all.... =)

Im not mad if anyone were to lets say knock off the epsilons. I'd be really happy knowing my wheels are good enough to get copied.


Bottom line, to each their own.

OK James...how much did ROTA pay you to say that!??? Are you getting a set of wheels from them just to say something positive about their products? I can't believe that you are saying this. You need to stop inhaling them shoe goo cause you're getting confused. One thing I can say is that ROTA wheels looks good on a jeepney with chrome horse figures on the hood.

=) ha ha ha... I think its the heat getting to me... but in all honesty... Rota isnt that bad... I used to rock those wheels in pinas when I was in High school and those things are pretty strong. The "lubak" or pot holes there are like big black holes on the road and they stood up to them. Unlike the other knock off wheels especially made in China. Now those wheels suck.

P.S. I am not getting paid or getting anything free from them.. This is just from experience...... =)

[kulitko]

I do question the build materials when it isn't the original SSR-made Dori2 Mesh.

However, with the original sets completely unavailable, and ROTA being one of the better manufacturers who's proven themselves on many amateur and some pro motor-sports at economical price point, I can't really say that it's not something should be considered. If it's easily available, and meets the needs of people, I must simply say, why not? right?

Why don't someone here ask for the specs on the rating, weights and material composition and discuss that here with the old fogeys like me, who's been around a block a few times on why and why not of wheels specs and designs for real-world use. I'll participate.

Moto this is what Mic Mic had to say about it:

The wheel is rated as per the JWL specs of 620kg for a 4x114.3 wheel. Tested using JWL methods with an addition of an impact 90 degree test which is not needed for JWL. This is a OEM standard that we adopted for all our wheels. Material is A356 foundry alloy which is pretty much the industry standard.

[ae86xy]

I dont understand why everyone is up in arms about this. These wheels arnt made for racing auto crossing or any of the kind. Its for Style. Rota wheel are not bad at all. Rota is a pretty big company and did their own style way back when. They are now doing these wheels cuz the owner is a Corolla enthusiast. You guys build stuff for your rolla's and try to make a profit on them dont you? No one says they are knock offs or such. I try as much as I can to support the corolla guys. These ROTA-ROTA wheels are nice and for the price, I would pick them up. Scratch that, I would sell them to you all.... =)

Im not mad if anyone were to lets say knock off the epsilons. I'd be really happy knowing my wheels are good enough to get copied.


Bottom line, to each their own.

OK James...how much did ROTA pay you to say that!??? Are you getting a set of wheels from them just to say something positive about their products? I can't believe that you are saying this. You need to stop inhaling them shoe goo cause you're getting confused. One thing I can say is that ROTA wheels looks good on a jeepney with chrome horse figures on the hood.



Sorry off topic.......I miss my lolo's jeepney he thought me how to drive on those when I was 11 I use to ride shotgun whenever he goes for (pasadas) so fun R.I.P lolo

=) ha ha ha... I think its the heat getting to me... but in all honesty... Rota isnt that bad... I used to rock those wheels in pinas when I was in High school and those things are pretty strong. The "lubak" or pot holes there are like big black holes on the road and they stood up to them. Unlike the other knock off wheels especially made in China. Now those wheels suck.

P.S. I am not getting paid or getting anything free from them.. This is just from experience...... =)

[DatGuy217]

Ok so what is this bashing about now I got confuse. Is it cause rota doesn't come out with a original design themselves or is it cause they make shitty wheels? Or is it both?

Lol why is my name on the letter from Dr Rota? I have a set of realSSR MK1's, and although they are known for warping when you look at them too hard, I like em. Before these I had a set of REAL Hayashi Street II mesh, and one of them took a VERY hard curb smack and they're still rolling fine on whomever's car lol.

But maybe I do deserve to be in the knockoff crew, I had a set of Nippon Racing F2's on my Golf. They are Rota Slipstream / Desmond Regamaster Evo knockoffs. So they were knockoffs off knocked off fake bootleg wheels lol.

Haha don't sweat it my name was on the head of that letter for some reason too. All I was trying to do was stand up for the people who can't afford $2k used wheels and would like to buy these cheaper alternatives all cause someone said they give ZERO respect to people who would ride on these.

[Jimmee1990]

I've had a pair of Rotas for a year or so on my 86, and they have stood up fine bouncing over ripple strips and pushing hard on some very average road surfaces. Hell, they're even lighter in a 15x8 at 5.5kg each than a friends real Watanabes in 14x7. I've had "legit" $2000 wheels before and they got stolen, so never again. Sure they look like wats, but so do superlites/minilights/compomotive etc etc etc.

On topic, the fake cap screws on these just look crap. Would look better if they just made them look like a one piece version of the dori's.

[ae90tuner]

^ yup that was my biggest worry when i owned some real volk te37's. with the wheel's being worth more than my car it made me to careful with driving it anywhere. also when it came time to sell it, no one had the money to buy them, even if they were the real deal. i finally sold them after 1yr locally to a guy who gave me a lower offer, and still was trying to be careful they weren't rota's. i wanted to just be an ass and be like dude if your willing to lowball then why you care if its the real deal. now that i think back on it had i not needed the money i would have held on to the wheels. but this experience kinda changed my view with sporting the real deal or using something thats decent and work. BTW if you track your car regardless of any type of wheel you use, its always good practice to look everything over before an event, wheels, brakes, suspension weld points, suspension bolts.

[Autonerd]

Lots of JDM wheels are copies of wheels you've never heard of. Don't shun Rota because they are copies, shun them because they're low quality for your application. For the street, I think everyone can admit, Rota satisfies a big money market that everyone wishes they had a piece of. I can't wipe my ass w/out seeing a car on Rotas roll by here in SoCal.

[JapaneseDeman]

lol fat guy wrote me a letter. tell him i said thanks. haha. way i see it. moto isn't hating, and he's been around in the 86 game longer than alot of us on here hating or liking the wheels.
i just dont wanna spend alot of money on daily driving wheels. i daily my xxr's. but for race days, i roll on my volk te37, bought off this board. name brand is better and the legit wheels deserve their respect. another reason i don't want to daily a super ridiculously nice/expensive set of wheels.
i'd PREFER to beat on those rota's or my xxr's as a daily, because they're just that. cheap & replacable. just my two cents.

[DatGuy217]

^^^this

[ronny]

Bunch if fail

[DJManila]

I have no hate against Rota. If that is what they want to make and people buy it sure, everyone has a choice as to what to invest their money in.

I currently have have Enkei Apache for the 86 and I felt they were a good buy for the money. I've also had TE37s for my S2000 previously. I recently observed though that outside the US a good bit drift teams use Rota and I haven't seen them explode lol I guess their quality is going up

[FC_13]

Dear DatGuy217,

I understand you called our office with some concerns regarding our product quality. The false claims and photos floating around the Internets are, well, JUST THAT. SSR, Volk, Work, and other reputable manufactures are upset we are cutting into their profits and as a result are producing Photoshopped-images of our finely engineered reproductions and distributing them online (see the examples below).
Rest assured we use only the finest recycled Coke,Pepsi, and Budweiser cans in the production of our wheels (you can still see the CRV markings and born-on-dates if you look closely!). We take quality very serious here at Rota and will never cheapen out and use Pabst cans, or any other cheap hipster drink cans.
That said, if you still wish to request a copy of the material test reports, simply write us with the model name and details of your Rota wheels purchase and we will promptly reply with certifications. Heck, I personally will send these right away, as I have Word installed on my PC and can type up any cert in a matter of minutes!
SAFETY for you and your 2 lil kids is our number one priority. Profiting from others ideas and hard work does not even come to mind.
We thank you, and JapaneseDeman, boomstik01, carbd7age, FC_13, John H., DJzmanila, for your continued support.
Now its time to hit the buffet with my good friend, Robbie Rizzo. See you there, bon appetit!

Sincerely,
Mr. Rota

Ignorance is bliss.

.

yikes! never seen these...luckily for the one' who I know, they've never had this happen, but definitely scary pics!

[HASport AE86]

I support companies that I believe in. I've seen Watanabes blow up just like a Rota. Name doesn't always mean everything. If you make a good product, I will save up to buy it. Lambos and Ferraris catch fire like they are made of straw. A name is a name.

SSR and Volk I will save money and pay for the real deal. I track my car and drive the Los Angeles I-10 rally stage. From time to time you get one of the "thud and phuck" moments when you hit something hard with a wheel and run out to expect half your car missing. Its nice knowing the wheels will hold up to anything you can throw at them. If they do good by you, then pay for the full price and show them you want them to keep making cool stuff. There is nothing more frustrating than seeing someone else profit from your hard work.

[driftzilla]

It's a matter of self-respect, pride and appreciation for genuine quality that sets "real" and "fake" wheel loving enthusiasts aside. It's a "real" wheel, because it's actually designed, gentlemen. Rotating mass, methods of forging and machining, paint quality, spoke rigidity... There are so many factors that go into a wheel design that most don't care for or simply don't know about. If you're still all about the looks though, I hear the lady-boys in Thailand are something else!

For your perusal:
http://www.kingsofthailand.com/the-thai ... a-ladyboy/

[K24RWD]

They look great

[84ae86]

Fake wheels or not, makes no difference to me. If people like Rota wheels then good for them. It could be some people do not have the funds to buy $3,000 wheels. Even then some people can't justify spending that much money on a Corolla. Sometimes I still wonder why I dropped so much cash on my corolla when I could of invested that money on my 63 SS Nova. I'll be honest I've never personally run Rota wheels on my car, but I go to the track every other month and I see a number of cars running Rota wheels and I yet to see any of those wheels break. I see SOME of the same cars over and over as well. Plus it's a Corolla not a Benz or Lexus. It's like driving a expensive car and sporting expensive clothes while living in a one bedroom apartment!

[John H.]

Does anyone know if these are available here in the US yet?
Or when they will be?

-John

[kulitko]

I heard that August is when it should be coming...

[NJP17]

I actually saw a set of these in the Philippines. They looked pretty good IMO although I too am not a fan of replicas nor do I own a set of replicas. I was really wanting to buy them as an extra set for my collection but hesitated simply because they were rotas. When they come out in the us I might grab a set though.it caught me off guard when I saw them as I thought they might have been a set of old stock Dori's.

[Honoturtle]

Some new photos surfaced:




Looks like they'll be offered in at least silver, white, or gold faces.

As for the bad news, they're changing the name from "Hentai" to "Kensei."

Ohh and BTW, how about some ROTA TRD TOSCO Wheels dubbed "RETRO 2?"