ROTA vs VOLK

[AUCH]

sweet as now...  im just seeking for the weight specs of the 2 ROTA WHEELS that appeal to me, that's SUB ZERO and ATTACK but if there are any other lighter styles at the same dimensions of 15 x 6.5 then please do inform.  thanks guys

[ChampWht]

Of course, forged wheels is always superior. If you have the money and willing to spend, Volk is there for you.

For those on a budget, need a wheel for racing or street use, then we are an alternative.

Strength of our wheels come from a combination of metallurgy and process. I won't go in to details as many Taiwanese wheel makers have tried to find out how our production process is.

Beauty to see the truth come out directly from the owner/manufacturer.
That statement puts an end to all the Rota vs. Orig rims thread (from the words of Mr. Rota himslelf).
Makes us respect you and your product much more.

[swiftdevil]

rota rules.. im on my third set now..  rota torque 18s.. 

[Leepu Awlia]

There was this corner at Streets of Willow that was notorious for bending wheels. it was a deep hole right next to a right hander and if you caught the edge of it, youre surely drop your wheel into a hole about 7 inches deep and bend your wheel. When I got my Rota wheels new, I would purposely drop my wheels and see if they would hold and i am happy to say that i bent a control arm but not the wheels. Now, if only the wheels were a little bit lighter...

[AUCH]

well within 10-20% more weight is not that significant to affect rotational resistance but remember buckling (or bengkong) wheels is a matter of tyre profile as well (and of course vehicle kerb weight, etc...).  if the tyres used were to be low profile and extrememly high pressured then pretty much any wheel will deform under impact whether it be vertically or laterally. 

did you guys know that true sprung weight is everything above the tyre rather than just above the suspension?  so this means that ride stiffness and cornering reaction will conclusively end at the tyres engineering as well.  no matter how weak a wheel construction is, if it were to posses a high 205 75 profile and the correct tyre pressure is applied, the bulging effect will abosrb up to 80% or more of the road pit impacts.  hence it feels like riding on wooden wheels when the tyre profiles were like 205 45 even when its at a moderate 34psi of tyre pressure.

correct me if im wrong here...

[Accord GTR]

I find running at 30 psi tire pressure and adjusting shocks to full soft gives the best ride no matter how heavy your spring rates are.  34 psi and above makes the ride harsher.

[Leepu Awlia]

AUCH:
unsprung weight is anything that is not borne by the suspension. Examples are:
wheel, tire, brake rotor, brake caliper, wheel bearing. In the case of a rear live axle, the entire differential and the dirveshaft is also considered unsprung weight.
Unsprung weight, to a certain extent,  doesnt make a difference too much in the acceleration but it makes a big difference in how the suspension moves up and down and how it transitions. you want to minimize unsprung weight to help the suspension mechanism transition better in its up and down movement. less weight means an easier time for the suspension to oscillate better in its up and down movement which translates to better traction because the tire is able to maintain its contact better with the road surface. It also translates to reduced harshness in your ride. It also translates to better steering response. A car with less unsprung weight is less harsh going over road irregularities, steers better with better feedback. A car with light wheels will feel better planted.
One advantage of an individual rear suspension is the elimination of the differential in the unspring wieght equation. In an IRS, the differential housing is bolted down to the chassis or frame and is not suspended in the suspension. Its only the wheels and the axles that travel up and down and the differential housing is stationary.

[AUCH]

nice piece of suspension annalysis and i totally agree with the comfortablity factor.  nacho libre, you ever thought of writing an automotive magazine column?
less weight will mean less static, dynamic and inertial forces enacted on the suspension's oscilations that's why response is swifter and time span of suspension jounce is lessened to favor comfort and better traction (depending on weight distribution calibration)...  great guys keep the mind juice flowing...  thanks

[Accord GTR]

AUCH:
unsprung weight is anything that is not borne by the suspension. Examples are:
wheel, tire, brake rotor, brake caliper, wheel bearing. In the case of a rear live axle, the entire differential and the dirveshaft is also considered unsprung weight.
Unsprung weight, to a certain extent,  doesnt make a difference too much in the acceleration but it makes a big difference in how the suspension moves up and down and how it transitions. you want to minimize unsprung weight to help the suspension mechanism transition better in its up and down movement. less weight means an easier time for the suspension to oscillate better in its up and down movement which translates to better traction because the tire is able to maintain its contact better with the road surface. It also translates to reduced harshness in your ride. It also translates to better steering response. A car with less unsprung weight is less harsh going over road irregularities, steers better with better feedback. A car with light wheels will feel better planted.
One advantage of an individual rear suspension is the elimination of the differential in the unspring wieght equation. In an IRS, the differential housing is bolted down to the chassis or frame and is not suspended in the suspension. Its only the wheels and the axles that travel up and down and the differential housing is stationary.

I couldn't have said it better 

I might add, there are other ways to reduce unsprung weight other than lighter wheels.  For the Civic, you can buy those aftermarket aluminum rear control arms.  Also, you can replace the coil springs with Swift springs.  Aluminum bodied coil overs are also lighter than oem parts.  Some aftermarket brake calipers, like Spoon, are lighter than oem.  Finally, forged lug nuts and wheel studs like Skunk2 are lighter than oem too.   

[Leepu Awlia]

Unsprung weight is one of the major reasons a car becomes crappy feeling after a big wheel upgrade. The suspension is overwhelmed by the additional weight that theyre not able to control the oscillation of the wheels anymore. wheel inertia is hard to overcome and thus, you get that "washboard", jarring ride. Porsche, BMW, etc can get away with it because they design their cars suspension from the start to use these wide wheel, low profile tire combos.

[AUCH]

ABSOLUTELY SPOT ON MEN but its sad for non-civic owners as there are not much lightweight suspension assys offered.  ok so who has experience with these aluminum T61 billet materials that's so scattered in the aftermarket parts market? 

arent most aluminum alloys have a low elasticity property and so shear strength is low under torsional twist or impact? 

thanks guys for carrying thru the convo eh as i've always been ignored when more technical matters are discussed...

[yourdone]

I had an incident regarding a high speed tire failure but the Rota's I had on had only minimal scratches. In fact I should get a new piece but my tire pressure is holding up so I'm ruling out even micro fractures and I'm confident enought to still have em on.

And IMO, if I had money to spend on a set of Volk, I'd rather get 1 or 2 sets of Rotas and use the money I saved for quality tires (1 or 2 sets) and perhaps some other improvements on the car.

Plus you'll also be helping the local economy by purchasing from a local manufacturer making sure our Peso isn't devalued.

Just my opinion 

[rota wheels wrx]

ABSOLUTELY SPOT ON MEN but its sad for non-civic owners as there are not much lightweight suspension assys offered.  ok so who has experience with these aluminum T61 billet materials that's so scattered in the aftermarket parts market? 

arent most aluminum alloys have a low elasticity property and so shear strength is low under torsional twist or impact? 

thanks guys for carrying thru the convo eh as i've always been ignored when more technical matters are discussed...

Actually, the reason for T-6 heat treatment is to change the mechanical properties of aluminum. Generally, during pre heat treatment state, the alloy is soft and plaible. Hardness and Elasticity/tensile strength is altered since you speed up the molecular movement in the alloy. What results is a much harder alloy  that retains elasticity. We actually have a test for every batch of wheels heat treated that determines the elasticity and hardness of the wheels

[AUCH]

Actually, the reason for T-6 heat treatment is to change the mechanical properties of aluminum. Generally, during pre heat treatment state, the alloy is soft and plaible. Hardness and Elasticity/tensile strength is altered since you speed up the molecular movement in the alloy. What results is a much harder alloy  that retains elasticity. We actually have a test for every batch of wheels heat treated that determines the elasticity and hardness of the wheels

so magwheels use the T6 aluminum alloy as well?  interesting...  i was actually refering to the T-61 billet  aluminum suspension components.  i never knew they were heat treated since it is billet isnt it CNC machined from a mono-block?  being billet, shouldnt the molecular grain structure be consistent throughout the material except for the polished surface? 
more specifics that im seeking are these aluminum suspension components' strenght and durability.  are they resistant to fatigue?  being aluminum i should think that they have relatively low elasticity, moderate plasticity and instantaneous yielding when reached its maximum tensile stress.  i apologize if i was unclear...  thanks guys

[rota wheels wrx]

I think you are reffering to 6061 billets. That is a different material than a356 alloy which wheel makers use.

Actually 6061 billet is a hard alloy with very little elasticity. I would not be surprised if you get a hardness rating of at least 100 BHDN and that is why they use it for suspension components. A letter T before the alloy number generally means it is heat treated making it even more harder. I am no engineer so I may be oversimplifying things a little.