Originally Posted by chincster

We used Rota wheels this season for Touring Car competition in a Civic. We chose Rotas because they were the only ones with the size and offset available (15x8, 35ET) and also lightweight. During the season, we broke almost 8 wheels during racing competition and not in accidents, etc. Typical breakage include the face (spokes) separating from the rim and hub separation from wheel. Tires used were full slicks with stiff low profile sidewall. There are some examples of Mazdas in World Challenge that experienced this type of breakage at Laguna Seca when the car was driven through the corkscrew. At the end of the day, you get what you pay for. However, budgets will always dictate what you can buy. The quality of Rotas is indeed not up to par with a true wheel manufacturer with R&D and racing heritage.

The majority of drivers will not "stress" these wheels for DD or even some events at autocross or tracking, as most don't drive hard enough to do so. Not because they can't drive, but usually the tires used limit this ability. Hitting potholes, curbs, etc are not proper tests that can indicate wheel quality or strength. Hot temps from constant and hard braking, high g's in corners, downhill and uphills and then constantly repeated, like those experienced in road racing, definitely highlights a wheel's quality.

Using Rotas with your avg street tire will probably be good enough for almost all consumers in that case, as there are probably no reported incidents of breakage. If you run a competition tire like a semi or full slick, run aggressive\racing brake pads, then you probably won't be buying Rotas anyways.

So if you want Rotas, go ahead and get them. If you go to competition, I recommend running your stock/oem wheels; can't go wrong with those.