Rota Titan?

[RAAMaudio]

50 years of modding cars to make them faster, hundreds of wheels and tires, thousands of hours of research which includes what championship race teams run, a bit of rally, tons of autocross, many HPDE events, road racing(not as much as I wished I could of done), built up dozens of cars and quite a few trucks, hundreds of thousands of high speed miles(mostly back in the days when easy to get away with), never a fan boy picking style over substance, I have a pretty good idea of what works well in most situations and just want to share it so others can hopefully make more educated choices.

I did two track days in 2014 after 8 months of mods with the car on the lift and shocked some pro racers and a Porsche race shop owner as to how fast my car was on track and I was on the very first Cyborg and needed much more power then would of been quite a bit faster. Then we sold our place and went full time RVing so not many places to work on the car and I suffered eye injuries which took time to get over and then did not feel safe taking the car on track any longer.

I built it, over $50k invested and thousands of hours of work, built many parts myself, still have mods none others do that make the car faster on track, cooler operation, reliable, etc....bought a $120k trailer and $60k truck to tow the car around the country to track it then could not do so

I put it up for sale at an incredibly good price hoping a true enthusiast would buy it and use it for what it was built for, track, autocross and a very reliable grocery getter, sight seeing, etc...with 600lb on board it gets just under 40 MPG, rides better and quieter than stock.

Blew the head gasket due to faulty higher end hose clamp and factory temp gauge not reading overheating so offered it for sale for less as is or a bit more with the better 2015 engine but no takers and the car is too far modded to take back to anywhere near stock. I might be selling the turbo kit soon if the deal works out for a hybrid type system, then sell off a few more things but keep it still nicely modded but not as fast and keep it.

I DO NOT KNOW IT ALL, NOBODY DOES, but I do know far more than most and not afraid to learn and seriously look into tires and wheels for all my vehicles, always have, always will they are the only thing that keeps us on the road, track, trail, by far the most important mod one can do.

I ALSO RESPECT OTHERS WISHES TO DO WHAT THEY WANT, just not when they try to spread BS based on fads, very limited knowledge, etc.....and I realize many just do not have the experience to pick the best setup, why I have posted hundreds of threads on the subject to help them see there is usually a better way not based on looks but on reality.

AND I LOVE A GOOD LOOKING SETUP AS WELL AS ANYBODY COULD

 

[Stargate69]

Oh wise wheel Sensei. Lol. I know I can count on Rick to show up on a new wheel thread. Tell em Rick. Preach.

Sad to see his Silver St on a Craigslist ad.


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[Stargate69]

Not my car, so I have no idea.

You should always use hub centric rings. They are easy to find.

Wrong. You should contact wheel mfg like I did for my xxr527 wheels and no you don’t always need them. Inform yourselves and don’t go with this broscience bullshit


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[Stargate69]

So I bought a set of these about 6 months ago, I didn't get a chance to get some decent shots:

Yes they are very light, 17x7.5 and just over 16lbs, the 2 pictures I have don't do it justice...they look absolutely amazing. Noooow for the bad news: 2 weeks after getting them I ran over a muffler at about 80mph. I'll won't jump on any bandwagon one way or another but I'll say this:

• I ran over a muffler that JUST fell off a truck doing 80mph
• It was the most violent thing I've experience in a car outside of a full accident
• The car (and I guess driver) where in complete control. It tracked straight as an arrow, I've had flats that were more dramatic
• I was able to calmly and smoothly get to the shoulder

Front Wheel...took the brunt of it and crushed the muffler

Rear Wheel...not as bad:

I know there are Rota haters out there that will surely jump in and say: "see...told you they were crap". If anyone has any data/pix on $3000 forged rims running over a muffler at 80mph I'd love to see the "damage". I'd have NO hesitation buying these again. Why you ask? I'm alive and there is not 1 other scratch on the car, as far as I'm concerned they did their job and NO rim would have survived that. I've personally seen $3000 Volk get their asses handed to them with less of an impact. The only reason I didn't buy 2 more is they were on back order so bought these instead:

That being said I have 2 in mint shape...guess I should try to sell them sooner or later.

Enjoy the carnage!!

That sucks man. Thanks for sharing and yes I know any wheel would get some type of damage running over a muffler at that speed.


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[Stargate69]

I couldn't seem to find these in flat black either... It's nice to see what a 7.5 et40 looks like though. I'll be ordering a set of xxr 527s in that size this week.

Remember, xxr527 wheels don’t require hub centric rings, I called the manufacturer, that’s how I know.


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[M-Sport fan]

WHICH "high end" radiator hose clamp failed, so we all know what to avoid in the future?
(I was planning on using the Turbosmart/Murray constant tension 'corrogated' section clamps, like I have on my charge pipe hoses, I HOPE it was not one of these? )

I FULLY respect your advice (and AM very grateful for it as well), and will even admit that you are more than just 'correct' when it comes to the actual physics involved in wheel/tire selection.

But your abject love for the 15" 6UL wheel's aesthetics is NOT necessarily shared by everyone else in existence, despite your shock about that, and inability to accept that.

I for one am NOT going to do a hub conversion just to be able to use THAT wheel (others which you have also used, albeit dissed by you for not being as weightless, YES, but NOT THAT one!), which would make me HATE ON the whole car when I walk up to it to drive, just to have the most zero gravity feathers one can put on these cars.

IF that makes me a "fan boy" as far as rolling stock goes, then so be it!! LOL

 

[RAAMaudio]

I wish I could remember the brand of the hose clamp, cannot get to it and see what it is but when I pull the engine hopefully I will remember to look. I know I paid a premium for them, told the were the best, just a little one around 3/4" or less was the one that came loose.

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I know I get carried away about wheels and tires and to some a bit of a pain in the arse about it but I keep seeing things promoted or talked about that does not make much sense and many will never see the older posts so just trying to make sure people see the reasons why as many just do not know.

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I am not just into the 6UL, only have one set of them, the rest of my wheels have all been Konig or Advanti, made by Konig, many sets....there are more sizes to choose from but more rare outside the 4x100 and other common bolt patterns.

I am stocked about the 16x8 wheel in 4x108, to bad not more concave as it would of been pretty easy to design it that way or at least more lip.

I was in the product meeting at a major wheel supplier for Miata wheels and they listened to my recommendation on 16x8, colors, etc for either Advanti or Konig, I forget which one, just could not get it made at the time which was a real bummer to me even though I did not plan to buy them I wanted them for the rest of you guys, 4x100 only though.

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You are far from a "fan boy", not meaning you in the least

 

[alexrex20]

Tl;dr

You've only done 2 track days in your Fiesta. Thanks.

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[RAAMaudio]

Yep, only two in this car, more than I can remember in all the other cars I have built, Datsuns, Toyotas, Scions, Subarus, Vettes, some modestly modded, some full race cars, most in between......I started to build a Prius once just to see what a turbocharged hybrid could do but the car was such an appliance I just could not go through with it and took it back after 4 days of looking it over. I could barely stand to drive it as so awful, not really a car....Now there are some incredible hybrid supercars, real cars made better by being hybrid.

 

[559FiST]

FWIW, I installed Titans on my car last month.

I originally ordered 205/45R17 Michelin AS3+. I did this because I wanted a little more cushion to the ride (i'm 38 and this is my daily). I had them installed on the car and noticed a huge hit to performance, I was devastated. The turn in response was mushy and disconnected, the acceleration was noticeably slower. The weight difference the titans have over the OEM wheels didn't seem to make up for any of that.

My tire shop was able to take the tires back and get the stock size for me, I was out the labor though. Expensive lesson to learn for me I guess.

I just wanted to give my 2 cents, in case anyone else was considering the 205/45s. Also, from certain angles the car looked didn't look right, like it was too tall. - I know, subjective.

Here's a pic of them I snapped before taking them off.

 

[Ford ST]

FWIW, I installed Titans on my car last month.

I originally ordered 205/45R17 Michelin AS3+. I did this because I wanted a little more cushion to the ride (i'm 38 and this is my daily). I had them installed on the car and noticed a huge hit to performance, I was devastated. The turn in response was mushy and disconnected, the acceleration was noticeably slower. The weight difference the titans have over the OEM wheels didn't seem to make up for any of that.

My tire shop was able to take the tires back and get the stock size for me, I was out the labor though. Expensive lesson to learn for me I guess.

I just wanted to give my 2 cents, in case anyone else was considering the 205/45s. Also, from certain angles the car looked didn't look right, like it was too tall. - I know, subjective.

Here's a pic of them I snapped before taking them off.

I just went through a very expensive wheel, and tire change on another car I feel your pain. I highly regret my decision making.

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[M-Sport fan]

So you have the 205/40-17 AS/3+es on now?

I purposely ordered this car with the AS/3s, since I planned for the factory wheels to be my early spring/late fall setup, with a dedicated winter only setup bought in the future, and I already have a dedicated summer setup.

I cannot believe how great these things are in dry and rainy conditions, and even freezing dry conditions for an ALL SEASON TIRE, on top of being driveable in shallow snow and slush.

Their turn-in and 'response' is better than some pure summer tires I've had, and they grip FAR FAR better than their 500 tread wear rating, and 'sipey'/cut tread pattern would belie.

Their only real drawback is their price.
So given what I need out of a tire for these wheels (given I will have two other season specific specialized setups) , once these wear out I will probably go with the Neo Gens in the factory size.
IF I could only have ONE tire for all year 'round though, the Pilot Sport AS/3+es would be it.

I also think that these are NOT as insanely loud as some other members on here have claimed.
IF they want to hear TRUE rolling donut BANSHEES, let them try the Federal RS-RRs! LOL

 

[559FiST]

So you have the 205/40-17 AS/3+es on now?

I purposely ordered this car with the AS/3s, since I planned for the factory wheels to be my early spring/late fall setup, with a dedicated winter only setup bought in the future, and I already have a dedicated summer setup.

I cannot believe how great these things are in dry and rainy conditions, and even freezing dry conditions for an ALL SEASON TIRE, on top of being driveable in shallow snow and slush.

Their turn-in and 'response' is better than some pure summer tires I've had, and they grip FAR FAR better than their 500 tread wear rating, and 'sipey'/cut tread pattern would belie.

Their only real drawback is their price.
So given what I need out of a tire for these wheels (given I will have two other season specific specialized setups) , once these wear out I will probably go with the Neo Gens in the factory size.
IF I could only have ONE tire for all year 'round though, the Pilot Sport AS/3+es would be it. [emoji6]

I also think that these are NOT as insanely loud as some other members on here have claimed.
IF they want to hear TRUE rolling donut BANSHEES, let them try the Federal RS-RRs! LOL

Yep, stock size AS/3+.

I like em a lot too. We recently put them on my wife’s GLI and was very impressed. In my opinion they are about 90% of what the potenzas are performance wise without the tire roar and choppiness.


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[99riocobra]

FWIW, I installed Titans on my car last month.

I originally ordered 205/45R17 Michelin AS3+. I did this because I wanted a little more cushion to the ride (i'm 38 and this is my daily). I had them installed on the car and noticed a huge hit to performance, I was devastated. The turn in response was mushy and disconnected, the acceleration was noticeably slower. The weight difference the titans have over the OEM wheels didn't seem to make up for any of that.

My tire shop was able to take the tires back and get the stock size for me, I was out the labor though. Expensive lesson to learn for me I guess.

I just wanted to give my 2 cents, in case anyone else was considering the 205/45s. Also, from certain angles the car looked didn't look right, like it was too tall. - I know, subjective.

Here's a pic of them I snapped before taking them off.

Sorry to hear of the disappointment with the upsized sidewall. Good info to have. I stuck with the stock size tires on mine as I was concerned about handling and "mushy" feel, and you more or less confirmed it here.

 

[99riocobra]

Just wanting to throw a couple pics up here also for others to reference. Hyperblack 17x7.5 (+40mm) Rota Titans, Swift Spec-R springs, stock tires.

 

[RAAMaudio]

Glad you guys are happy with the AS3+, I had the earlier none + version, must of been the combo with my stiffer bushings, 205/45/17 AS3, and the salt damaged I80 over Donner Pass which was the worst by far, we could barely talk, mirrors useless from the vibration, etc....They were great all around tires for an AS very impressive.

Since my wife would not ride in the car again I had to make a change and the best was the NeoGen in 205/50/15 which are great on 15x8 as quite a wide 205, ride great, handle great and hugely quieter and smoother than the 17" AS3. I also saved around 24lbs of unsprung weight which absolutely will help a car ride better and grip over bumps.

I am really glad for those of you wanting to stay with 17's that you can now finally get some better wheels though I still think the car is better on 16's or 15's to get the right tires

 

[felopr]

I had this for a while, like how they look, cleaning them is a bitch though

205/45/17 , 17x7.5 40 offset, stock suspension

 

[Xaendeau]

I had this for a while, like how they look, cleaning them is a bitch though

205/45/17 , 17x7.5 40 offset, stock suspension

Looks sick man!

 

[M-Sport fan]

Yeah, I WISH that Ford offered THAT color for my model year.

 

[BIGSRTURBO]

What springs you on here? Good stance.