are rota p45f's good racing wheels
Aug 18, 2008, 03:56 PM
#1
are rota p45f's good racing wheels
Just curious if anyone knows how good p45r's are, as in the weight and strength, they look amazing and I am considering getting rid of my heavy 18's for some lighter ones, or 17's even, just looking for some input...
Aug 18, 2008, 04:42 PM
#7
yeah what he said. personally, i'm a volk man. rota's are very heavy for their size, and aren't the strongest wheels out there. i guess it wouldn't be too bad if you had these already and just used them to race because they are already there, but i wouldn't go out and buy a set for the purpose of using them to race.
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Aug 18, 2008, 10:32 PM
#10
you get what you pay for. they are cheap cast wheels, so they aren't going to be light or strong like more expensive forged wheels. rotas are made so people who want the look of more expensive wheels can have it at a reduced cost. they thrive on making knock offs of every popular wheel made with no real interest in the performance of the wheel. for example, the RE30 and SVN. they look almost identical, but the RE30 weighs about 6lbs less per wheel in the same size(somebody correct me if i'm wrong, it may be more), and the SVN is no where near as strong as the RE30. there's also a lot of R&D and performance testing that went into developing the RE30 to make sure that it is a valuable part of the car's performance that it will be applied to. also to ensure the wheel's strength, and structural integrity during harsh track conditions to make sure it doesn't become the failure point on a race car and damage the car, and possibly injure the driver. the SVN was made to look enough like the RE30 that people would buy it based on that, and not how it actually performs. so no, the P45F is not a good racing wheel.
Advans are cool too 
Aug 19, 2008, 04:24 PM
#14
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The P45R wheels are awesome for track use and will perform very well. As others have mentioned the GST Motorsports Impreza is running Rota P45R and Torque R wheels with great success. They are the #1 Subaru time attack team in the US and they recently took 1st place for the entire Red Line time attack in Socal. If these wheels can hold up to the insane abuse GST puts them through then I'm sure they are fine for 99.9% of the other cars out there on the track. You also can't beat the price as they are very affordable and you will have money left over for an awesome set of competition tires 
Also just to note, 17x9.5 P45R wheel is only 21 lbs. Not bad for a cast wheel 
I've posted this in another thread but here is a post from someone with first hand track experience with these wheels. Having actual experience with a product really means a lot as there are tons of false claims/rumors online about Rota wheels.
Quote from GST Owner/Tuner Mike Warfield
"We have smashed burms, jumped the car and done all things brutal we can and we have never hurt a Rota rim ever.
For sure the best wheel for the $ and strong as hell.
Mike"
Rota P45R
Rota Torque R
-Dan
Also just to note, 17x9.5 P45R wheel is only 21 lbs. Not bad for a cast wheel I've posted this in another thread but here is a post from someone with first hand track experience with these wheels. Having actual experience with a product really means a lot as there are tons of false claims/rumors online about Rota wheels.
Quote from GST Owner/Tuner Mike Warfield
"We have smashed burms, jumped the car and done all things brutal we can and we have never hurt a Rota rim ever.
For sure the best wheel for the $ and strong as hell.
Mike"
Rota P45R
Rota Torque R
-Dan
Aug 19, 2008, 04:40 PM
#15
WheelDude, that argument does not make them "awesome" for track use. They certainly do not fall into that category. Serviceable? They seem to be. Awesome? Not quite, unless you mean to dilute the true meaning of awesome. I have had Rota Torques for almost as long as I've had my Evo - I got them for Winter use. They have made it through racing (drag, autox, and circuit), Colorado and DC winters, and regular DD. They were a GREAT purchase for me as they were the exact same size and color as my stock BBS rims while also looking quite similar. The price was low, and they have done everything I've needed.
However, I would never buy them for the purpose of racing. 21lbs for 17X9.5 is heavy in my book. My stock BBS rims are only 17.74 at 17X8, and my 18x9.5 Enkeis NT03+Ms that I use strictly for racing are only 19.xx lbs.
It seems from GST's comments that they actually are pretty strong. I have no evidence to the contrary. However, they are certainly not optimal nor awesome for racing. I do not know why GST would use cheaper, heavier rims when the rest of the car does not seem to spare any expense.
However, I would never buy them for the purpose of racing. 21lbs for 17X9.5 is heavy in my book. My stock BBS rims are only 17.74 at 17X8, and my 18x9.5 Enkeis NT03+Ms that I use strictly for racing are only 19.xx lbs.
It seems from GST's comments that they actually are pretty strong. I have no evidence to the contrary. However, they are certainly not optimal nor awesome for racing. I do not know why GST would use cheaper, heavier rims when the rest of the car does not seem to spare any expense.