Japan racing alloys?

[chan61922]

Hi guys are Japan racing wheels any good or just some budget rubbish? The designs seem to be spot on as are the prices, but usually a cheap price is reflected in quality. Are they prone to buckling and even hairline cracks?

Many thanks

[chan61922]

Anyone?

[Weekendrebuild]

Better of in the jap section mate , although it’s pretty dead over there aswell. as I’ve found out .

[chan61922]

Cheers mate

[ecksjay]

They're replicas in the same light as rota and all that crap, other equivalents would be XXR etc. Not great, and for the money you can get genuine jdm wheels (not brand new, but still good) so it can be a false economy.

[chan61922]

Thanks mate, as I thought then. Bola any good? Reason being I’ve paid for a set off Rotiform and the company I ordered from emailed me stating it’s a 3 month wait as Rotiform themselves are out of stock, this was true for another unit I then then decided to go for from Rotiform too. Received another email saying that Rotiform have come back and said it’s now either longer than 3 month? Seems strange to me! So it’s either a refund or choose another wheel similarly priced. The Rotiform 19 inch came in at 774 for all 4corners. Don’t really want to spend anymore then 800 quid so bbs, OZ etc etc are out of the question

[swampy442]

Bola in the same vein as JR, Rota etc. Heavy, crap, surface finish lasts about 5 minutes. Friend of mine had a set of JR's, couldnt get them to balance up with a number of tyres, returned them for a refund. Just get used real wheels.

Or places like Driftworks do quality brands on finance

[Digby]

Have known many people with Japan Racing wheels who had no complaints.

[grudas]

many people run them without issues even on expensive cars.

the cons are -:

not super light
finish is average(they will last but not as long as higher end wheels)
all designs are "inspired" by some other wheel so depends if you enjoy "fake" wheels.

[Liamjrhodes]

As said many people use them with no problems, they are cheap wheels at the end of the day so judge them by that and they do pretty well

[designforlife]

Fine for what they are but not the greatest quality and fairly heavy,

I'm running stuttgart wheels and i've run Ultralites in the past, both at ssimilar price points to Japan Racing... you get what you pay for but they are functional enough.

Rota are a step up in terms of quality and finish from all these.

[chan61922]

Thanks for input guys, funny enough the order I have put in is from driftworks, only prob is I require a 5x112 19inch with a ET 45 so limits me as to what brands I can actually go for. I’m in two minds about going cheap because I live in London so pot hole central so need something that can take a bit of a battering to be honest.

[designforlife]

tbh any wheel is vulnerable to pothole damage... personally i would rather that happened to a set of £500 Japan Racing Wheels than a £1400 set of RAYS.

[DaveyBoyWonder]

I certainly wouldn't want JR or Bolas if I was after a set of Rotiforms. Which Rotiforms are they? Have you spoken with the likes of Car Audio Security near Heathrow? Otherwise look at stuff like 3SDM - better quality i'd say than JR etc, will do them in the sizes/offsets/PCD you want and should be similar price to Rotiform, if not cheaper.

[chan61922]

Very true, every wheel is prone to pot hole damage and cracking, thing is the cheaper ones seems to be cast and the more pricier options are mostly forged. I was after the roti form FLG wheel and BUC as a back up plan, both out of stock and apparently everyone is affected as it’s a problem from the supplier themselves... I’m not far from car audio security I’ve been meaning to give them a ring but according to driftworks everyone is being affected by supplier running out of stock and therefore having to manufacture more units

[ecksjay]

DaveyBoyWonder said:

I certainly wouldn't want JR or Bolas if I was after a set of Rotiforms. Which Rotiforms are they? Have you spoken with the likes of Car Audio Security near Heathrow? Otherwise look at stuff like 3SDM - better quality i'd say than JR etc, will do them in the sizes/offsets/PCD you want and should be similar price to Rotiform, if not cheaper.

I'm fairly sure 3SDM is made in the same place as the other cheap brands we are talking about. From the examples ive seen, they're certainly no better (laquer failing after 6-12months etc).

For the sort of money you're talking about, you could get some nearly new quality wheels, even something like a BBS etc if you're willing to look about and be open minded. I'm fairly good at finding wheel deals and they are about. Just keep your eyes peeled and be patient with it. With respect to pot holes, obviously a forged Rays or BBS will cope with a pot hole far better than a Rota/JR etc, so thats not really a fair comparison. You get what you pay for at the end of the day.

[Olas]

if theyre round and you want to pose, go for it.

if you want a significantly lighter and stronger wheel made from better materials that will last a long time and make you car turn and stop better, forget it - would you wear fake Berluti or John Lobb? or a fake Omega or Hublot? apply the same logic to your wheels.

look to BBS or Compomotive or Oz (there are other respected manfacturers) for something appropriate.

[chan61922]

Lol fake omega or hublot made me chuckle I really had my heart set of the FLG and BUC wheel to be fair, suits my MK7 R perfectly, it’s hit and miss, only few wheels really suit it. Only other option is a Rotiform KPS but not so sure about it. Only prob is I think the FLG and buc may be discontinued as they are at clearance prices everywhere. In all honesty I think most of you are right not worth going with a budget wheel esp as I’m going for a black, don’t want them peeling away after a few months.

[coldel]

They copy their designs from other premium manufacturers but with a cheaper process that means heavier wheels and not quite the nice finish. These wheels will not explode or fracture within a minute of putting them on, I had a set of refurbished Rota GTRs on my Celica GT4 for four years and they went on two road trips, one of a couple of thousand miles across Italy, and guess what, they were fine.

If you are in to marginal gains then sure go for expensive brands that are lighter, I had some Volks Racing wheels on a car before, they were very light and as such the unsprung weight was a benefit in a number of areas.

It really depends on what you are using your car for, if you are pottering about with the occasional spirited drive and parking it up at static meets then JR/Rota etc wheels will do you just fine.

[designforlife]

Not to mention, Rotas are TUV marked, so if it's good enough for ze Germaans, then certainly safe for the rest of us.

Can't comment on other cheaper brands... actually looking at Rota Slipstreams this morning as I fancy going back to lightweight wheels.