Track Report: Rota Rims And P-cup Slicks..

[LSX-438]

At the risk of having my head bitten off (again) thought i would post up the results, running these Rota rims and 2nd hand Porsche Cup slicks.

Previously at Oran Park i had run 18" Enkie GTC-01 with RE55's (SR). My time on the GP circuit was 1:16.7, which should translate to a flat 47 or thereabouts on the south circuit. However i had never run the Enkie/55 combo on the short circuit before. Anyhow, as some of you know i stumbled upon these Rota rims - they happen to fit the R35 (just). If you want to argue the merits of these being TE37 copies, please start another thread and/or send your abuse to me via PM. I just want you guys to know the results.

Fitment: Front caliper to wheel clearance is extremely close. Probably too close. I ended up running a 3mm spacer to extend the clearance +1mm or so. Running at Oran Park (where the back pit area is like driving through a frigging gravel trap) i was getting a few rocks stuck between the caliper and the wheel. Lots of scratches on the inside wheel and caliper. Not good. Probably a non issue at a clean track though. So fitment, whilst it works, it is not ideal in this regard. Sizes: The rims are 18x9.5x30 (fronts) and 18x10x15 (rears). Tyres were 2nd hand Porsche Cup slicks (270/68/18). IMO these tyres are da bomb. They fit absolutely perfectly, see pic below. You can run the same tyre front and back. Weight of this combination is about 10kg per corner less vs stocker wheels with bridgestones, or 3kg lighter vs the enkei + 55 setup. Insane.

Performance: Absolutely sensational, stunning. Now, i was running a new Willall tune which i know helped, but the car felt much lighter and nimble. It was like a difference car in that sense. It took a while longer for the slicks to come on (probably 1.5 laps vs 1.0 laps) and they are more slippery when cold. When they came on there was definitely more grip. I would hazard a guess these tyres have 10% to 15% more grip than the 55's - this is just a seat of the pants guesstimate. Perhaps a new set of the slicks would be better again.

Results: Ended up running a 46.3 on the day. So by my estimates this combination is about 0.7s faster on the short track, which should extrapolate to about 1.0 ro 1.2 seconds faster on the GP circuit. Now, as mentioned i was running the Willall tune too, which was a key component to the overall performance on the day, however the short track is rather one dimensional. I think the improvement due to the tune would be greater on the long circuit. Can't wait to try!

Rota Robustness: A have a video showing lots of curb hopping on the day, i smashed these rims like all the others We've since had the rims x-rayed and ultrasonically tested. The rims are faultless. I will post the x-rays as soon as we get them converted. I think they are doing some material identification and hardness testing too. So, if you have something disparaging to say about these rims, keep this in mind.

Conclusion: Tyres show lots of promise, i would love to run a new set. The rim/caliper clearance is questionable. It does work, but not ideal. I would really like to compare the caliper clearance to say a TE37. If the TE37's have the same clearance, i would not be happy to pay $5000 for a set. So, i am contemplating wht to do. Martin, have you info on the TE37 caliper clearance yet? Really keen to see how you go.

Edited October 31, 2009 by LSX-438

[Martin Donnon]

Dunc, I am still waiting for UPS to clear my TE37s - should have them tomorrow afternoon all going well, then its straight onto the car for fitment

The brand spankers Carrera Cup slicks are sitting here waiting. Also took another 40kg off the car with this baby - our new full Titanium Race exhaust, its light as a feather, around 8kg in total

Edited October 31, 2009 by Martin Donnon

[LSX-438]

That exhaust saves 40kg? are you serious. Damn where is my cheque book.

Please let us know how you go with the TE37 clearance. (rota's maybe demoted to backup status lol)

[Martin Donnon]

Yes its a big saving thats for sure....and regardless of what Mizuno might want to tell us all weight taken out of a GTR is good weight taken out of a GTR

[LSX-438]

Yes its a big saving thats for sure....and regardless of what Mizuno might want to tell us all weight taken out of a GTR is good weight taken out of a GTR

Ahh yes.. 1749kg is WHY the 35 circulates around the ring as quick as it does. Downforce, 390kg per corner + driver and fluids, lol.

[LSX-438]

xray scans of the rota rims, after one track day:

http://www.forrestfamily.com.au/duncan/GTR...rota_xray_1.JPG

http://www.forrestfamily.com.au/duncan/GTR...rota_xray_0.JPG

apparently the cast is perfect.

[fatz]

geat rims

even better price

lol to all teh haters... especially when these weigh the same as your te37's

[nisskid]

not trynna fire u up again, but was there any strength test results? i mean ud hope they aren't flawed from the factory, but i guess that's something you have to worry about when you buy ROTAS. but for a GTR that see's test work id be worried about the general strength of the material. it's one thing to not have wheels that are flawed from the factory and dont fail within the first few times you use them, it's another to have wheels that simply cant handle the forces they are dealing with and fatigue over time.

[LSX-438]

not trynna fire u up again, but was there any strength test results? i mean ud hope they aren't flawed from the factory, but i guess that's something you have to worry about when you buy ROTAS. but for a GTR that see's test work id be worried about the general strength of the material. it's one thing to not have wheels that are flawed from the factory and dont fail within the first few times you use them, it's another to have wheels that simply cant handle the forces they are dealing with and fatigue over time.

You can only test so much in this fashion, but yes they've done some hardness/ultrasonic testing. A problem is we havent tested say Rays to compare. It's hardly scientific. I guess we can say the wheel has no obvious flaws. An old racer i spoke to says he used to xray every wheel he raced on, and reckons about 50% of the wheels he tested had some flaws. Anyway the ultimate test was smashing it around Oran Park bouncing off the curbs in an R35 pulling way more than 1.5g's. There will always be keyboard jockies who could find holes in such non-scientific testing. We should just leave it at that. I think the wheels are good value, and reasonable quality.

[Beer Baron]

looks good. oran park will be the test for sure. wheels take a pounding there. especially if you drop one off the edge of the track or past a curb (which does happen) they sometimes get nailed on the inside of the rim as they come back over the drop off. seen plenty of $$ rims get hammered in that way and warped or buckled.

they will most likely be fine but even if not at least they are cheap to replace!

[Gibbo_R35]

not trynna fire u up again, but was there any strength test results? i mean ud hope they aren't flawed from the factory, but i guess that's something you have to worry about when you buy ROTAS. but for a GTR that see's test work id be worried about the general strength of the material. it's one thing to not have wheels that are flawed from the factory and dont fail within the first few times you use them, it's another to have wheels that simply cant handle the forces they are dealing with and fatigue over time.

Nisskid, you made your opinions very clear in the last thread. Please do not come and continue your posts here, Duncan is posting information for those of us who actually are interested in the merits of his trials not on someones speculation on strengths of materials etc.

If you would like to go out and buy a set of Rotas and destroy them in the name of strength testing then please do that and come back and post your results, however we are very much versed on your dislike of the ROTAS. Point made...now back to the actual testing.

[nisskid]

Nisskid, you made your opinions very clear in the last thread. Please do not come and continue your posts here, Duncan is posting information for those of us who actually are interested in the merits of his trials not on someones speculation on strengths of materials etc.

If you would like to go out and buy a set of Rotas and destroy them in the name of strength testing then please do that and come back and post your results, however we are very much versed on your dislike of the ROTAS. Point made...now back to the actual testing.

im not arguing, im just bringing up a question. but thanks for the concern.

[Rota OZ]

Hi Guys ,

Excellent results ,

As an importer of ROTA rims to australia its great to see these rims getting the credit they deserve.

I personally have used ROTA rims on my Street and track cars (STI 8 + 10 - EVO 6 - 8 - X - R32 GTR) over the last 5 years and they have performed faultlessly , i have also sponsored a large number of the UK Time attack and EDC (european drifting championship) compettitors with ROTA wheels with fantastic results

In the 2007 UK Time attack Champions in Pro class (zen performance impreza) and Club class (Kev Atkins MADevelopments EVO 6) used ROTA wheels supplied by us.

Duncan, I have those ROTA Grid wheels in stock but a 18x9.5 ET20 which would surely solve your problems at the front ?

Best Regards

John

ROTA Australia

[LSX-438]

John,

20mm offset on the front isnt going to work, it will stick out of the front guards (i need to avoid that due to cams rules). I think a 9.5" with 25mm offset may work.

[fatz]

yea i run the grids

good lokingr im for the price

[hrd-hr30]

Nisskid, you made your opinions very clear in the last thread. Please do not come and continue your posts here, Duncan is posting information for those of us who actually are interested in the merits of his trials not on someones speculation on strengths of materials etc.

If you would like to go out and buy a set of Rotas and destroy them in the name of strength testing then please do that and come back and post your results, however we are very much versed on your dislike of the ROTAS. Point made...now back to the actual testing.

1 sprint event? let's not get too carried away just yet.

hasn't the price of ROTAs gone up to the point they are the same as Works and the like?

Edited November 4, 2009 by hrd-hr30

[Rota OZ]

Dunc ,

I have 18x9.5 Et25 all round in the other styles , let me make enqiuiries with the factory about the ET25 GRID for you.

HRD - I Retail a set of 4 x 18x9.5 GRID or a 18x9.5 front and 18x10 rear for $1795 including delivery to your doorstep , Steel nuts and centre caps.

Incidentally a UK magazine tested a wide selection of rims to destruction , and then graded them on weight / strength / price and they chose the ROTA 's as the best option based on lightest and strongest for the lowest price.

[DCIEVE]

If they did indeed run hardness tests (very simple) then you can make a good approximation of the tensile strength. Given casting flaws are one of the main drivers for fatigue cracking I think you can be pretty comfortable based on the x-ray results.

Other than (expensive and time consuming) fatigue testing the only other thing you could possibly do is get a metallurgist to take a look at the microstructure (something the distributor might donate a wheel for perhaps).

[NISMO]

Duncan

What kind of spacer did you use? Given all the scare stories you hear about spacers breaking not at all worried?

Was there any sign of damage?

[LSX-438]

I just used a generic 3mm spacer (not hub-centric, too small to be hub-centric I think).

Plus I was running the extended wheel studs. No problems at all.