The "Most OVER-rated wheel thread"

[firelizard]

Oh, right.

Work Meisters. I don't get the big deal.

[Jason@Rotiform]

^I guess I sould have also thrown in the fact that, unlike CCW, who had an enourmous amount of capital when entering the market and bought a ton of parts/material at once, Rotiform didn't have the same ability when entering the market, so their cost on those parts is higher.



Also, I mostly meant that they also outsource their cast wheels, paint work, and plating sevices. None of that is done in house, which drives costs up a good bit..... especially when having to ship them to and from the plater/painter, thenship to the customer.

Thought I should chime in and give my perspective on this subject

Brian and I started this business from nothing about a year and a half ago. I had been in the automotive performance / racing industry for 14 years and Brian was doing IT and design. We were (and still are) in love with cool cars and interesting wheels. We were bored / fed up / unhappy with our current careers and after many long, involved, scary, and exciting conversations we took the dive and gave up our comfy corporate day jobs to follow our dreams and start Rotiform. We sure could have timed it better as the economy was in the shitter and jobs and pensions were disappearing faster than tire tread at a drift event. We just borrowed what we could and put our noses to the grindstone to make it happen. It has been a hell of a ride!

We DO outsource our cast wheels - we have them cast for us by a few different factories overseas. There are very few "wheel companies" that cast their own wheels as the sheer amount of real estate needed dwarfs the neighborhood I live in - not to mention machinery, raw material, casting machines, heat treating ovens, 100's of employees, painting lines, test equipment, etc etc etc. Huge overhead! Casting our own wheels would require multi millions of dollars of investment and necessitate moving out of California. I dont want to do either. It would also dilute our aesthetic. We would have to make what the investors wanted - not what we like. Bottom line... I want to make parts we are proud of. We wont make it if we wouldn't run it on our own cars.

Additionally all of our plating, powdercoating, polishing and machining are done for us locally. We use and partner with local (driving distance) businesses like ourselves that specialize in their crafts. We see or talk to them every day. We support our local economy! Plus, they do it better than we do - You probably would not want to run a wheel that I changed the bolt pattern on, or that Brian polished . We partner with people who are the best in their fields to bring you a better product at a fair price.

^ One of my main points here...... They have multiple designes in their cast line that sell very well, and it would make sense that their next step be, to buy the equipment to cast in house. And get a powdercoat booth for christ sake. That is a relatively innexpensive purchase that will pay for itself in about 1-2yrs.

Whos going to run it? If Brian and I are knee deep in powdercoat dust yelling at eachother in the baking oven you can bet that we wont be coming out with any new designs anytime soon. We do everything. From wheel design, to packing and shipping, to website, to photography, to marketing, to accounting, to cleaning the bathroom, to traveling to shows, to sourcing new manufacturers, to ordering materials and products, to building shop cars. We would rather concentrate on the things that make Rotiform special rather than lower our powdercoating bill in 2 years.

We retail our powdercoating services for $80 per wheel (or $60 per face on 3 piece) including chemically stripping the product before hand and turn it around in 4 days usually. We could do it cheaper if we media blasted instead of chemically stripping but that takes material away and sometimes damages castings or vintage wheels. We would rather do it right then do it cheaply.

^ I understand what you are getting at. I guess I just don't have expensive taste, nor will I ever buy a "government motors" car. Just stating that, if passion was these companies bottom line, I think the market would be better off. IMO....... Slay me....

Passion for wheels and cool cars is what gets me out of bed every morning!

I guess since I'm in the restaurant industry, my views are very different. I break my back in the kitchen and on the books in order to put out the most awesome food I can. And, I try to charge as little as possible, while making a small profit to keep my seats filled.

Think of it this way... What if you had to go kill the cow for your steaks, grow the spinach for your salads, grind the flour for your breads and harvest the sugar for your deserts? Sounds tough right? Even if you could manage it you would certainly have to charge more for it. There are only a few wheel companies that do EVERYTHING in house and even the ones that do everything still outsource. Running a business is an excersize in scale - the bigger you are, the more you need to feed the beast. It is a balancing act that is really really tough for non business owners to understand.

We do things a little differently at Rotiform. We have a ton of cool shit coming out in the next year and things we are working on for the future beyond that. I'd like to personally thank the Stanceworks community for helping make Rotiform what we are today. We could not have done it without your support. Thanks!

[adamsrotors]

We do everything. From wheel design, to packing and shipping, to website, to photography, to marketing, to accounting, to cleaning the bathroom, to traveling to shows, to sourcing new manufacturers, to ordering materials and products, to building shop cars. We would rather concentrate on the things that make Rotiform special rather than lower our powdercoating bill in 2 years.

ditto plus some...we wear alot of hats.

Think of it this way... What if you had to go kill the cow for your steaks, grow the spinach for your salads, grind the flour for your breads and harvest the sugar for your deserts? Sounds tough right? Even if you could manage it you would certainly have to charge more for it. There are only a few wheel companies that do EVERYTHING in house and even the ones that do everything still outsource. Running a business is an excersize in scale - the bigger you are, the more you need to feed the beast. It is a balancing act that is really really tough for non business owners to understand.

there it is.

[maicher]

I can't wait to see the cool shit is it 2011 yet?

[Petis]

Thought I should chime in and give my perspective on this subject


We do things a little differently at Rotiform. We have a ton of cool shit coming out in the next year and things we are working on for the future beyond that. I'd like to personally thank the Stanceworks community for helping make Rotiform what we are today. We could not have done it without your support. Thanks!

Just to clarify, I was defending you guys. Someone was saying your wheels were overpriced, and I was pointing out the fact that there are numerous reasons why you guys ask what you do for your products.

The comment I made about 'passion being the bottom line' wasn't directed at you, rather, directed at industry in general.

Keep up the good work Jason

[hill9]

I think wheels on cars depend on the tire size. For 21 inches tire its best to use American Racing wheels or Enkie. For lower tire sizes BBR works and looks well. But more than choosing on tire it’s better to choose on the type of cars like shiny wheels do well on muscles.

[aar0n.]

^
Wut?

[Kielan]

Successful troll is successful.

[Dubstance]

1. Bbs rs
2. Bbs rs
3. Bbs rs

:d

[Deltron]

Successful troll is successful.

[x10hz]

this thread saved my day at work lol

[MikeG]

Borbet type A's uber fugly in my opinion but people cream over them like crazy..

[Stephen]

But type As are just so blocky and good looking on cars that are blocky themselves. They certainly dont look like a lot of other wheels out there. Been done? Sure. But i like em on the right cars

[Mkv Flipp]

This thread. It's not very good.

im with you.

[TheNeek]

Post 137 is the only one worth reading.







oh and whatever Ben wrote.