Im a mechanical engineering student at Oakland University and for my final project our topic was real vs knockoffs. My partner and I decided to test the strength and quality of Advan RGII and Rota Boosts which are its knockoffs and what i currently ave installed on my GE. Both rims were 16x7 4x100 with a 40 offset. So they were identical. The weight difference is only 17 grams per wheel with the advans being the lighter of the two, which by our testing only requires 16 more joules of energy to start rotation for the rotas, which is almost nothing. We also tested the tensile strength of the metal used in each rim. The rotas were actually STRONGER than the advans. They could handle 7 more ponds of pressure per square inch, which isnt much but for all the hate rotas get it made me happy. Unfortunately i cannot post the findings since our science department does not allow publishing of student findings. But i guess what im trying to say is rotas arent bad wheels at all. So all you people who have the money to blow, more power to you, but us poor student dont get that bad of a deal buying knockoffs.

 

this is interesting, but why can't you show us your data? if i'm not mistaken, there's a big difference between publishing your findings and sharing your findings. i mean, you're already telling us what you found, just without any evidence. this does mean you destroyed one or more of your wheels and advan wheels in order to test the strength right?

 

^what he said.

 

also, the main argument in real wheels vs fake wheels is really a test of forged vs cast. forged being the most common construction of "real" wheels. you chose two cast wheels, therefore you have proven nothing other than the name on a wheel doesnt matter. i call shenanagans.

 

Also the difference of what happens to a cast wheels vs what happens to a forged wheel when put under that pressure. This thread is worthless without evidence and testing other than the pressure it can take, and what the wheel does in that pressure.

 

i know the real test is forged vs cast but what i was trying to say is that advan wheels which are way more expensive then rotas and arent really better. and i will try to post the findings after i get them back. i had to turn in all my notes and stuff so i cant tell you any exact numbers. and to jdmchris. the test we did as far as pressure testing is any sort of flexing in the wheel. we did 12 tests from different angles and the average difference was 5psi advantage rota. and to doctordoom. we did damage 2 wheels but thats under student expenses which is first of all a tax write off and any big company that offers intern to work programs will pay off all student loans and expenses.

 

also, did you document what type of casting each was? squeeze process? slip casting? and did you do an analysis of each wheel to determine the alloy contents in the metal? there are sooooo many variables that must be accounted for before you make a statement like you have.

 

Most of the people I meet who have beefs with knockoffs is because they lack any originality. They never really come up with any of their own designs they just copy everyone else.

 

kelso. i dont think you understand what im trying to say. im not testing the pros and cons of different alloys or casting methods. im testing the difference between rota and advan. youre clearly not understanding that. they may use different metals/casting techniques but what matters is the strength and weight

 

How were the pieces tested? Were they crunched? Attached to a hub, and had unilateral force applied to them? Interesting test, though this is a pretty heavy subject that needs something concrete to back it up. An age-old debate with little data behind it.

 

They were bolted on to a makeshift hub. They had pressure applied to them by an hydraulic press. They were being monitored by a Reigl laser system that stopped the press after the rim has bent more than 2 mm from its original shape. We later found out that at 3 mm of movement is when both rims started to crack. Mind you this movement is being measure in the spokes.

 

Oh and both the wheels were brand new to rule out any torsional fatigue

 

So the force was only applied to one part of the wheel at any given time, and no crushing? Sounds like a pretty good test assuming that hub is super-solidly affixed and you tried a lot of different parts of the wheel and shapes of the surface exerting the pressure. I am in no way an engineer btw.

 

This thread just confirms what I already knew from first-hand experience: Rotas are not weak wheels by any means.

A shame you couldn't post your findings though.

 

Subscribed. Very interesting indeed

 

Real Rolex vs. fake Rolex. I don't see an issue, buy what you can afford and doesn't make you lose sleep. There will always be differentiations in form and function, so to say one is better than the other can best be based by experience and long term a long term study. One set of rims isn't a good data pool in my opinion. More of a snap shot, not an overall result. Props on the study though. If anything, the only thing about knock-off's that are ghey are the folks that try to pass them off as real. If you buy fake, stand up and shout, no shame to tell people the truth, no need to hide behind a lie.

 

i love haters

 

The problem I have with rota and other companies like them is they rip of the designs that legit companies spent time and money R&Ding. they rename it, sell it at half the price and take sales away form the original company. By the way cost are cut some where that's why they are alot cheaper, its not going to be made the same way, with the same material or quality control that the original company made

 

If I bought status wheels and found that a cheaper wheel that looked as good was as light and strong I would sell the status wheels to some one that kind of thing is important to and hook myself up with some of the less costly wheels.... I would never be able to relax with expensive easily stolen or damaged wheels on my car.

 

Agreed! makes me think of a funny story in Northampton, MA a few weeks ago. A TW GD3 had his sports wheels stolen and posted it in the local paper with a huge sign reading "If you have any info on who stole my shoes, please call #######" the previous day I saw an old beat up green Integra on rt 20 with 4 brand new sports rims! the kid looked at me looking at the rims and sped off, kinda odd. Yes, I notified the authorities.