Hey Guys,

Is there a difference between the Konig Rewind and Rota RB's? From these pictures...

ROTA RB



Konig Rewind





I see the sharper angle on the spokes on the RBs... what do you guys think?

 

I think the Rota's look a whole lot better because of the sharper spokes.

The offsets and weights are also a bit different.

That style is my favorite and I have a set of the Rota RB's in my garage and ready to install as soon as I save up for a set of 16" tires.

 

Well out of both copycat wheels the rotas actually look more like the original wantanabe R-type,RS or f-type wheels which im not sure is actually a good thing to have copied something but real RS wheels are hard to get expensive and you have to know the backspacing offset and other measurements when ordering so yo dont order wheels that dont FIT(lol) and there is usually a long wait for them. Which is funny cause I know somebody who ordered the konig rewinds and he had to wait about 90 days to get the cause the were back ordered. The first 4 pics are the real and the rest are the rewinds. I have the website on where to order the originals if anybody is interested





[IMG]http://i30.tinypic.com/ealbol.jpg[/IMG

 

The Watanabes are copies of Panaracers, which usually came on old triumphs and minis.

Copies, if structurally sound and faithful to the originals, are a very good thing, as they let me rock a style that I love and yet are affordable and not difficult to find.

They are also a good thing because they are made in sizes and offsets that are compatible with my Fit and many other cars.

 

if only everyone looked at it this way!

great post!

 

Funny...we have a set waiting for 16" tires in our basement. We got the 16x7, 40mm offset RB's in Gunmetal with a polished lip.

I'm also not sure yet what to do about the TPMS. I plan on keeping the stock wheels/tires for trips, but don't want the light on when we're on the RB's.

 

Thanks!

I appreciate your comments.

 

Mine are yellow with polished lip. I'm replacing my stock '07 wheels, so I don't have the TPMS issue.

I think I saw a thread here somewhere on how to transfer the TPMS sensors to your new wheels.

I'm keeping my stock wheels/tires too, but I'm going to paint them. Haven't decided what color, but probably white.

 

I dont know about that buddy after some research I found out that wantanabe's where first made in 1960 which if you go to there web site it tells you that. I did find out that Panaracer wheels were on some mini's and the triump (Tr ...something or other) but as far back as I could trace there begginig was 1970-something even thought that that style of wheel has been around awhile and on such cars as the GT40(please dont kill me for mentioning ford pruducts) I almost killed myself for saying ford left a nasty taste in my mouth saying it. But any whay I also asked so hard core sport car guys and some old jdm wheel sights and thate also said they thought wantanabes where first to. Now that said you could actually be right but from what I can find and what I have been told wantanebe's are the originators of that style wheel. So if I was you I might want to eaithe A.show some proof or dig for the answer yourself. or B. or find somebody thats been in the racing industry from before that era who know to prove it. But for right now I seriously dought it. Sorry guy

 

Now in the end buy what you want if you just want the look of that wheel and cant find or cant afford to buy them then get the copies but in my opinion its like buying fake jordans from the corner boutique yeah they might look the same but they aint as good as the original that also like buying a fit from honda and finding out later its a kia that looks like a honda I would be pissed. Plus people have a habbit of trying to pass of copie wheels as the jdm originalsand you cant cause the hardcore jdm guys will know and they will let you know your a fake. But in the end you buy what makes you happy or what you like its your money hell I even like the way the rewinds look but me personally I rather have the real ones. Mabey thats just me

 

Well, you all are really going to hate us. My wife and I like all kinds of cars and picked the RB's because they remind us of American Racing Torque Thrusts from the early '60's. The Fit is a modern retro design to us and we thought a modern version of an old wheel would "Fit."

 

got an email just now from a place that only sells vintage wheels they said the panaracers are lighter so that could be a reason why one could be better for racing but of course thats not what the issue is is it??? that also may be a reason why copies are not as good as an original cause after like 20 plus or even just like 1 or two years if you going to copy something at least be better cause I would hope for a 14 15 16 inche wheel that a copies especially a wheel made after 2003 would at least be lighter and stronger so if you like the look of that wheel and the originals are lighter or stronger or both then thats another reason why fakes are not as good Now im going to borrow my buddies rewinds an weigh them and ask about the weight of the rotas and the wantanabe's since they still sell there wheel and see which is lighter I should have that done buy the end of the week so hold tight guys untill I find out

 

We just picked the wheels we liked. The RB's have a polished lip that I think looks good on the SSM. I've been around cars long enough to see EVERY style get copied/updated. There's only so many ways to make a wheel.

Hondajunkie, to help with your data collection, our 16x7 RB's weigh 16.5 lbs on my digital scale.

 

Thanks with or with out the tire plus I think my buddies wheels where 15 and I think with offset and rubbing issues and that people will more than likely but the deep dish ones cause they look a little better in some opinions not all that I would try the 15 to because with a deep lip it would take less work to make the 15 work I think but I will call my frind and ask him what sive he has if he has the 16 inche then you just saved me some work time and money for mountin unmounting and rebalancing.

 

I like the look of deep dish, but it's hard to pull off with a front driver. The stock wheels are around +55mm offset. The RB's I have are +40mm offset. Deepdish wheels are mostly negative offset which means they won't fit without fender flares or other modifications.

The 16.5 lbs is without a tire...different tires have different weights so better to just compare wheels.

 

yes you are right but and I wasnt going to weigh it with the tire on but I figure I would try and get an accurate weight for all sizes deep and regular I allready emailed rota and wantanabe' which I found out is a sub division of panda racing come on somebody + something rep for me

 

I like the Konigs. A friend of mine has them on his 240 hatch. They look great. Way better than in pictures (like above.)
Also, get them full colored. No lip as it makes them look small due to the size of the lip.

The lowest offset on the Fit in 15's without CRAZY mods are +30mm. And to run that offset youll need a semi stretched tire.
Youll still probably rub a bit around turns. Then the fender lining mod most be done.

 

All in all, the Rewinds and RBs are pretty much the same. I went through this same comparison process. My 92 SE-R has a set of silver RBs w/ polished lip. I went with the RBs over the Rewinds simply because I was able to get the offset I wanted from Rota.

I'm thinking about throwing them on the Fit to see how it looks, but I'm worried about rubbing. They are 15x7 +35 with 205/50/15 Falken Azenis.

 

well there are 2 problems with this.

1. one thing is real jordans, one thing is a 3k set of wheels.

2. the fit/kia thing is ridiculous and merits no more said on the matter other than that.


i can understand trying to pass your wheels off as 'og jdm' or whatever, but i wouldn't do that, but nor am i a hardcore JDM guy.

and no its not just you, a lot of people share this narrow mindset. if you have the money to blow on super expensvie rims just to be able to say you did or to have 'street cred' thats fine. its your money, spend(waste?) it as you will.

 

Other members have done a very good job in addressing your "original" versus "replica" bias. Don't get me wrong, I understand pride of ownership and the fact that you can spend your money any way you want, it's when I see stickers like "friends don't let friends buy Rotas" and other similar nonsense that I think your perspective becomes rather silly, narrow-minded and childish.

The wheels I was referring to that I believe Watanabe copied are "Panasports" and "Minilites." Panaracer is not a wheel, it is one of my favorite brands of bicycle tires.

This is all I could find on RS Watanabe's website that refers to anything having to do with chronology:

"The varieties of offsets are available to provide a perfect fit from the latest high performance cars to the vintage cars in 1960s."


How do you gather from that statement that they began to manufacture wheels in 1960? All it says is that their wheels fit some vintage 1960 cars, not that they began building them that year.


In any case, out of curiosity, I am contacting Watanabe so I can ask them what year they began making wheels. Panasports and Minilites seem to have been available as early as 1960 or 1961.


Really pretty much a moot point for me as I consider imitation the sincerest form of flattery.


If Watanabe copied a classic design like the Panasport, I wouldn't think any less of them.