Work Vs. Drag wheels

[vividracing]

Originally Posted by blackfireball5

This doesn't answer my question though? So some wheels can be but others maybe not?

Pretty much. Although, usually if a company is certifying one wheel they'll do them all. The initial cost is the hurdle. Once they're set up to certify 1 wheel, it's not a huge expense to do the rest of their product line.

Basically, the company has to buy/lease the testing equipment and then VIA comes in and certifies the equipment. The manufacturer has to pay almost 300k JPY (Japanese Yen) for this if they make their wheels outside of Japan. It's like 150k if they're in Japan. Then, they can test their wheels and if they pass, they stamp them JWL. Or they could be shady and just stamp them.

Then, in order to sell them in Japan they have to give the wheels to VIA who does their own testing. If it passes, the wheels can wear the VIA stamp and be sold in Japan.

If the wheels are never being sold in Japan, they could theoretically just stamp them without testing. I haven't seen any evidence of anyone doing this yet, though/

Originally Posted by blackfireball5

Can anyone actually provide me with links or sources showing that Drags fail more than other wheels, are poor quality, or even are not JWL or VIA certified? I cant find anything. I've owned mine for a while and love them.

vividracing, you makes it sound like I'm in danger having them on my car right now. Can you elaborate on what makes them dangerous, you seem to know what your talking about.

Maybe I was unclear. I didn't mean to imply that Drags are unsafe 100%. I meant that they could be. That's why I said "potentially weaker." I'll admit, that's an assumption on my part. I've only had personal experience w/ a Rota cracking. No other wheels. The one thing I can say for sure about Drags is that the finish isn't as nice as higher end wheels, and they're a bit heavier. Also, for the designs that are based on a forged wheel, the cast version from Drag will be weaker. Cast wheels are fine though as long as the manufacturer has good quality control.

I've done some research and from what it looks like, Drag wheels are made in Taiwan. Based on the fact that I haven't seen any Drags fail unexpectedly, I'd consider them safe. Don't worry about driving your Mitsu

[poormans_LFA]

chill out man, or you'll have mods applying infractions to your account in no time.

VR - Thanks for the info. Easy to get duped on wheels if you don't have your facts.

[meltman]

Wow this thread spiraled out of control didn't it?

I've run Works, Drags, and Rotas. If you can afford the real deal, do it. They hold resale value better when you get bored of them.

I've tracked and autoX'd on all of them and they are all quality. I personally find the price premium tough to take when buying real Works since they are cast just like the Drags and Rotas. If they were forged it would be worth the extra cash.

You cant go wrong with any of those brands honestly. The wheel design plays more into the wheel strength than anything when comparing same-process wheels. I've never cracked any of them but it's possible with any obviously.

[denkigrve]

Originally Posted by vividracing

Compare that to a company like Google whose corporate culture revolves around the slogan "Do No Evil." See the difference?

Google is a BAD comparison. Their slogan is a joke considering how much of peoples information they steal. Hopefully everyone got your point though.

Originally Posted by vividracing

I'd suggest that you relax. You're clearly very angry, although I don't know why. Oh, and what about proof of Rota or PAWI owning Enkei? I asked for that proof on page 1, I think.

I'd like to see this as well.


I don't feel like vivid needed this hostility though, that's a little uncalled for...



On the topic at hand, to each his own. Rota sells TONS of wheels to the WRX community, they are okay wheels. I think the "ROTAS ARE WEAK AND BREAK" argument needs to just die already. This is 2012, not 2002. ROTA is a very different company now, and wouldn't be so successful if they had so many issues. The ethics are what vivid is talking about at this point, and I understand the copying being sucky. I think once something is successful in ANY industry someone tries to hop on the bandwagon.

Look at smartphones and PCs. Everyone is trying to figure out how Apple has so much success, and at this point even HP as stooped to copying the design of the Macbook Air in an attempt to get some more users looking for simply that aesthetic design, and not necessarily concerned with the rest of the computer.

The thing is, at the end of the day, real Volks, Rays, Weds, Advans, etc are very apparent. The copies never look as good, and never hold up as well. However, they are an investment. When spending that kind of money you want to make sure your choice makes sense. I'm personally considering a set of grids to roll around on until I decide on my final set of "big boy" wheels. I think the grids would look good on the car, and I'm not afraid to accidentally rub them against a curb.

Weds are likely going to be getting my money in the next 6 months once I finally decide on the setup I want to do. Rota and Enkei are also likely going to get my money since Enkei makes some of the best track wheels you can get, and I can get the Rota's next week instead of in 60+ days. If I'm dropping 2k for a set of wheels I won't settle on anything other than exactly what I want, and so far no-one has that yet.

[poormans_LFA]

watch out for Weds: the finish on their wheels scratches easy and aren't easy to touch up to match the original finish.

[meltman]

Here's an example of a cracked legit Work Emotion. See? It can happen even to premium brands.

[denkigrve]

Originally Posted by poormans_LFA

watch out for Weds: the finish on their wheels scratches easy and aren't easy to touch up to match the original finish.

But they look so good!

Ask Vivid, Enjuku, RavSpec, Evasive. I've been PMing all of them to get prices and dates to understand how much I'd need to spend, and when I'd get to have the wheels while I research. All of them have been super helpful, and I appreciate them taking the time to talk to someone to just help me understand what to expect.


Also this thread is all about the ROTAs:
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=298289

[blackfireball5]

Originally Posted by vividracing

Pretty much. Although, usually if a company is certifying one wheel they'll do them all. The initial cost is the hurdle. Once they're set up to certify 1 wheel, it's not a huge expense to do the rest of their product line.

Basically, the company has to buy/lease the testing equipment and then VIA comes in and certifies the equipment. The manufacturer has to pay almost 300k JPY (Japanese Yen) for this if they make their wheels outside of Japan. It's like 150k if they're in Japan. Then, they can test their wheels and if they pass, they stamp them JWL. Or they could be shady and just stamp them.

Then, in order to sell them in Japan they have to give the wheels to VIA who does their own testing. If it passes, the wheels can wear the VIA stamp and be sold in Japan.

If the wheels are never being sold in Japan, they could theoretically just stamp them without testing. I haven't seen any evidence of anyone doing this yet, though/

Hmmm. ok.

Originally Posted by vividracing

Maybe I was unclear. I didn't mean to imply that Drags are unsafe 100%. I meant that they could be. That's why I said "potentially weaker." I'll admit, that's an assumption on my part. I've only had personal experience w/ a Rota cracking. No other wheels. The one thing I can say for sure about Drags is that the finish isn't as nice as higher end wheels, and they're a bit heavier. Also, for the designs that are based on a forged wheel, the cast version from Drag will be weaker. Cast wheels are fine though as long as the manufacturer has good quality control.

I've done some research and from what it looks like, Drag wheels are made in Taiwan. Based on the fact that I haven't seen any Drags fail unexpectedly, I'd consider them safe. Don't worry about driving your Mitsu

Ya, my wheels weigh just about the same as the comparative FN01RC's. And they were much cheaper and i love how they look on my car.



Thanks for your help.

[vividracing]

Originally Posted by denkigrve

But they look so good!

Ask Vivid, Enjuku, RavSpec, Evasive. I've been PMing all of them to get prices and dates to understand how much I'd need to spend, and when I'd get to have the wheels while I research. All of them have been super helpful, and I appreciate them taking the time to talk to someone to just help me understand what to expect.


Also this thread is all about the ROTAs:
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=298289

Thanks for mentioning us

We're always here to help.

Originally Posted by blackfireball5

Hmmm. ok.


Ya, my wheels weigh just about the same as the comparative FN01RC's. And they were much cheaper and i love how they look on my car.

Thanks for your help.

You're welcome. With cast wheels, you'll probably find that the Drags are close in weight. The difference becomes apparent when you start comparing Drag (or any other cast replica) to the higher end forged motorsports wheels.

[vividracing]

Originally Posted by meltman

Here's an example of a cracked legit Work Emotion. See? It can happen even to premium brands.

Definitely. The major difference is how drastic the failure is, and what caused it.

Like I said in the Rota thread... I had a Rota crack under normal use; but I've got several friends that beat the crap out of Rotas on the track and have no problems.

[TwinscrollGT35R]

Originally Posted by meltman

Here's an example of a cracked legit Work Emotion. See? It can happen even to premium brands.

Do you have a photo of the whole wheel? As of right now we have no idea how it broke.



Rotas do have thier place. Personal budget and taste. It lets the guy without a budget get into some wheels for his car. As for this thread. Id take the works. They are less weight. And i think they take more pride in their work.

I really dont like these vs threads. They dont do much but turn into a mess. We are all enthusiasts we should all keep that in mind. We are joined here because we all have the same sickness.

[Dave-ROR]

Originally Posted by TwinscrollGT35R

Do you have a photo of the whole wheel? As of right now we have no idea how it broke.



Rotas do have thier place. Personal budget and taste. It lets the guy without a budget get into some wheels for his car. As for this thread. Id take the works. They are less weight. And i think they take more pride in their work.

I really dont like these vs threads. They dont do much but turn into a mess. We are all enthusiasts we should all keep that in mind. We are joined here because we all have the same sickness.

Budget doesn't always matter. I have owned Volks, forged 5Zigens and Rota's at the same exact time. I still run Rota's, but the 5Zigens and Volks have been sold, I got no additional benefit from them that I could tell. That's not to say that they are bad, they just didn't do anything for me and I instead spent the money from selling them on parts that did

I agree on needing a full pic of that work wheel, that's the same strategy many rota haters use, just post the cracked/broken spoke and ignore the massive damage to the rim from the car slamming into a curb at 80mph..

[mickey177]

Originally Posted by TwinscrollGT35R

Do you have a photo of the whole wheel? As of right now we have no idea how it broke.



Rotas do have thier place. Personal budget and taste. It lets the guy without a budget get into some wheels for his car. As for this thread. Id take the works. They are less weight. And i think they take more pride in their work.

I really dont like these vs threads. They dont do much but turn into a mess. We are all enthusiasts we should all keep that in mind. We are joined here because we all have the same sickness.

Thank you everyone for their opinions. I did not mean to cause such an uproar. I was just trying to figure out if Drag is acceptable for daily driving. Cause chances are I wont be able to take it on the track in the next decade. And I totally understand the whole deal with big brands and the quality. When I was young I had a Walmart bicycle and bent it pretty bad one day. But after I upgraded to a GT Dyno which cost 3-4 times as much.Rode that thing like crazy and never had an issue again. But I also agree that alot of the money that the consumers spend on big brands goes to marketing (although I do enjoy seeing the girls posing next to the wheels.lol). I mean if all the companies in the world cut half of their marketing budget.I am sure people will still buy their products, and it will end up saving the consumers a whole lot of money. I realize this will never happen, but in a perfect world it could.

and in regards to the weight issue I think they weigh approximately the same. According the the manufacture website http://www.dragwheels.com/product.asp?ID=130 they weigh 22.45pounds per wheel for 18x8 which is similar to what the Work wheels weight.

I love the looks of the Work wheels.But due to my budget and the fact that I still owe Toyota Financial Service 18K or so on the FR-S; I wont be able to afford them. But after serious comparing both of these wheels weigh more than the oem wheels and i wanted to go lighter.So I am saving up for a set of 18x7.5 Enkei PF01 cause they are 17.6 pounds I think.

[Dimman]

Originally Posted by Dave-ROR

Budget doesn't always matter. I have owned Volks, forged 5Zigens and Rota's at the same exact time. I still run Rota's, but the 5Zigens and Volks have been sold, I got no additional benefit from them that I could tell. That's not to say that they are bad, they just didn't do anything for me and I instead spent the money from selling them on parts that did

I agree on needing a full pic of that work wheel, that's the same strategy many rota haters use, just post the cracked/broken spoke and ignore the massive damage to the rim from the car slamming into a curb at 80mph..

And a strategy that pro Rota types use is to mis-represent the OEM nature of Rota wheels.

Toyota only uses PAWI wheels in the Philipines. This had to do with their re-entry to that market and was likely a regulatory requirement. Toyota has a single plant in Canada (CAPTIN) that produces three times the wheels of Rota's entire production capacity.