Earlier this week, Antonio showed me photos of his friend Mark’s FD3S RX7 in the UK. I’ve never been there myself, but from what I’ve been told, I certainly don’t think you see a car like this driving on the street every day. I think the rear underbody diffuser and sideskirts look pretty cool on it, and those big green wheels just seem to pop out at you, especially since the rest of the car is flat black. The fitment of the wheels is pretty aggressive too!
Take a close look though. Those aren’t Volk Racing TE37s. They’re actually Rota Grid wheels. Wait a minute though… is Rota finally catching up to the aggressive offset game? I know that authentic wheel afficonados like Jay Bryan from JDM Ego would never stand for this, but I wonder what grassroots drifters think about these TE37 knockoffs which cost a fraction of the price of real Rays/Volk TE wheels.
Whatever the case may be on the wheels, I think Mark’s FD has a nice, aggressive stance. It looks low and it’s a driver so it must really catch your attention when it’s cruising the freeway. Or is it motorway? Dual carriageway? Not sure.
Here’s another look at the fitment of Mark’s FD from the rear. The Z33 350Z parked next to it belongs to one of Mark’s friends, and appears to have that same blacked out look, except for the green wheels.
What do you guys think? If Rota starts making aggressive offset wheels for a low price… would you use them on your cars?
:: Jose Gonzalez
rota have been making decent offset wheels for a couple of years now, most of the uk drift guys run them! Seen this FD on a few uk forums before, looks great!
Looks tough but looks can also be deceiving. Rota’s are forged – as in counterfeit 😉
They aren’t forged of the same grade alloy or process as Rays TE37’s are made.
You may get the look and fitment, but not the quality, strength or lower weight
IMO Rota’s at the price are great for grinding gutters.
How much “quality and strength” does one need? That’s really the question.
I beat on a set of 17.5lb Rota Sub-Zeros at Sebring twice and 20 autocrosses over 4 years’ time before I sold them.
I mean, knock yourself out, buy Volks for your street car … just don’t delude yourself into thinking they’re necessary.
You can drop $80 on running shoes or you can drop $300 on running shoes. Either way, you’re still just a dude ambling down a *sidewalk* in running shoes.
Not taking anything away from Marks FD – it’s a beast! Rota’s are probably fine if you’re a just going to cruise on them, but I don’t have confidence in them for competition use.
fake TE37s are stupid.
Poor people shouldn’t be playing with cars.
Volk has tested random rotas, and the scary thing about them is that no two are made the same. Some are better, some are much worse. You don’t know what your getting. With Volk you know your getting the absolute best of the best.
I agree with you brian. They look nice, but they are disappointing.
If you don’t the money for forged Rays TE37s, why not get cast Gram Lights, 5Zigens or Enkei’s? Those are original wheel designs at an affordable price, which come in concave/deep offsets that look cool.
Rota basically steals Rays’ wheel design. I’m an engineer and I’d hate it if some lazy person copied my design after all the hard work I put into it.
BH with the smack down!
heh. i knew that this would pretty much become a wheel bashing thread when people read rota. XD
the wheels look really nice on the car. its good for a daily drive. maybe the owner is saving up for something “better” or “original” in the future. ^_^
if guys noticed the drift works S15 rocked the orange Rota’s when they were still fresh at the drift competition: http://www.driftworks.co.uk/images/IMG_2265.jpg http://media.driftworks.com/S15/S15Decals6.jpg
several rounds and sponsor sign-ups after they are now rocking new rims (do-luck perhaps?): http://media.driftworks.com/S15/BlackS155.jpg
so maybe the guy is saving up for something better in the future. ^_^
im just wondering though how many of the users right here have ‘tracked’ a rota. a lot has been complaining about the quality of the wheels they have. i’ve seen rota’s being tracked by lotus elise’s and some cars running the time attack both in the US nad UK. they are also used for formula races (not F1) on other countries as well. i think the proper argument would be for the designs. hands down they have been copying designs from the original ones but it doesnt mean they have cheap quality. i know forged is the way to go, but for people with a budget rotas are fine. or maybe 2nd hand enkei’s or rays. its their choice really. ^_^
*puts flamesuit on*
hehe. imma get burned. XD
oh and i love the peeking pedo bear sticker on the doors. hehehe. XD
as long as he doesnt put volk stickers on it. im fine with it.
Cheers for the comments (good and bad haha!) Not sure if i agree with the er, ‘poor people shouldn’t be playing with cars’ comment but whatever floats your boat, being 21 daily using an RX7 isn’t easy haha.
Anyways, whilst i know there’s a lot of hate for the Rotas i myself am a bit of a wheel whore – heck my previous EK ran Advan RGs, BBS RM012s and even SSR Mk2s in its final look (pic here for anyone interested: http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s265/markriccioni1/front2.jpg)
I love Rays wheels, and when i get my overfenders there’s a set of Gram Light 57 Pros going on the RX, but until then the Rotas are ideal for the use this car gets – if i kerb one, no problem. If i want to paint them a different colour, doesn’t matter too. If i’d spent all my cash at once on a set of Rays initially, i wouldn’t have been able to do anything else to the car, and in my eyes i’d much prefer getting the RX looking like it does above for the same price as a stock on VR rims
Awesome to see you on the site, Mark! Hehe, don’t feel too bad, it’s just the internet. Holy crap I didn’t realize you were only 21????
Anyway, I absolutely LOVED your Civic on the SSR Mk2s, it’s too bad I didn’t get to shoot it last time I was in London cause you never called me back, bastard!!! haha
So even though I’m not the hugest fan “forged wheels” (LOL great term!) myself, I honestly think you made some good decisions on your car based on your budget and plans for the build. I’m sure most people didn’t know you would be doing overfenders and wide 57 Pros on your FD, and these Grids were just for thrashing around on temporarily. I sure hope those 57 Pros fit aggressively with your overfenders! Are you planning to make it look close to the R Magic D1 car? Takayama?
Hey and if you see Paul with the Lupo tell him I said hello, and please tell him about the site!
Mark you gay! Getting some nice coverage alas! Get some b/w numberplates though you clunge!
I struggle enough with my lowness so I bow down my pedo bear powers to you!
Need to hook up again later in the year when I sort out my monies!
DAILY SCRAPE FTW!
x
Dope looking FD…truly aggressive wheel fitment. I cant help but have a sour taste in my mouth knowing these are ROTA’s. However, Im sure the owner has honeset intentions of upgrading to a “quality” set, fitting of a quality vehicle such as the Mazda FD3S. My final opinion is that this rotary deserves the best all around…the ROTA’s are hopefully just temporary.
Very very nice FD. What is the size of this wheels?
one of the sickest rx7 ive seen
those arent Fake TE37s. Those are Rota Grids
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Haters, dont hate just because somebody got a set of wheels that has a killer look for a fraction of the TE37.