What are AeroDiscs ? And why do you need them? All about Rotiform Wheels

Did you play with Beyblades as a kid? If so, we might have the perfect thing for you - meet the AerodDisc, effectively Beyblades for your wheels. Before we get into all of that, let’s look at who makes them, Rotiform.  

The relatively short history of Rotiform

In their own words, they’ve been “making cool Sh!t since 09”. You might know them because of the AeroDisc, but they’ve made a lot of other stuff along the way.

As you can probably tell from their slogan, they were founded in 2009. What you might not know is this company is based in SoCal, USA. Two car guys, Brian Henderson and Jason Whipple decided ‘Let's show the industry our take on wheels’. Right away, they had the backing of a sizable wheel company called MHT Alloys, which you might know for brands like US Mags, Fuel Offroad, and Niche. MHT gave them the facilities needed to bring their ideas to life. Besides drawing up new wheels, Brian and Jason would carry a lot of the weight for marketing the brand.

So how do two car guys market car parts? Build cars, of course. The strategy was to build stuff that would garner attention, use Rotiform wheels on the builds, then attend as many car shows as possible to show them off. Almost every season they brought something new, from their Audi A8, to FR-S in 2012 (first year of launch), to Porsche 964, to CLS55 AMG, the list goes on and on... They featured cars new and old, most slammed on bags, all on Rotiform wheels. On occasion, they would even ship their creations worldwide to attend international events.

They had some absolutely sick builds that blew up on social media. These were the days when the stance scene was at its peak. Naturally, bringing bagged and slammed cars was the perfect recipe for getting quick notoriety in the show scene.

Design philosophy

In the early days, the goal wasn’t to make the lightest or strongest wheel, but something that’s fully customizable and will come in the specs that modern vehicles require.

Most wheel manufacturers will start with high-end, built-to-order 3p wheels, then work their way backward, offering the same designs in cheaper cast options for the mass market (or vice versa). Rotiform started by offering a limited number of wheels, but you could get em any way you want: cast 1pc, forged monoblock, or forged 3pc. The BLQ and NUE are two examples that are still available today.

With early success, they started rapidly adding new wheels to their lineup. A staple of their monoblock wheels were spokes that sit flush with the outermost edge of the wheel, as opposed to slightly recessed. They pumped out new, original designs, but also added their own flair to certain classics. The SIX is a good example of this. It’s a 6-spoke, but quite a bit different than say a TE37. It uses Rotiform’s signature styling with spokes that taper plus extend to the outer edge.

Another approach that they took was looking at factory wheels for inspiration. If you browse their catalog of CustomSpec Forged wheels you’ll find a bunch of retro-looking wheels that look like they could be a monoblock to 3P conversion - but they’re not. They’re clean-sheet designs that are a whole lot stronger, have better brake clearance, and can be made in pretty much any spec you want.

Acquisition by Wheel Pros

Throughout the first 10 years, the story pretty much continued the same. Brian & Jason drew up new concepts, some based on iconic aftermarket or OEM wheels, while some were completely done from scratch, but all incorporated the typical Rotiform flare.

In 2019 big changes happened when MHT Alloys was acquired by Wheel Pros. If you’re not familiar with Wheel Pros, they're basically an even bigger auto parts conglomerate, with brands like  American Racing, TSW, and many, many more.

Changes were inevitable, but the goal wasn’t to upend the brand (which they may or may not have done with certain other brands). Brian & Jason were still given the creative freedom they needed to do their thing, but now new doors were open courtesy of Wheel Pros.

Involvement in motorsports

One such connection was with Hoonigan, a brand also under the Wheel Pros umbrella. This made Rotiform a de-facto provider for Hoonigans’ builds - effectively free promo. Rotiform wheels can be found on the Hoonipigasus and Hoonitron. And it didn’t stop there, they went on to collaborate with Ken Block to make the signature series: KB-1, VCM-E, and GTB.

If you want racing heritage, you have to start somewhere. And how about a partnership with Ferrari? This is exactly what happened in 2021 when Rotiform announced they would be the official wheel provider of the Ferrari 296 GT3, a homologized race car. The benefits were twofold. Not only did this show Rotiform could build wheels capable of handling 24 Hours of Le Mans and Spa 24 Hours, but they also proved their wheels could look good on exotics.

Rotiform’s involvement in motorsports didn’t stop there, they got involved in drift, hill climb, Rally Raid, and more. At this point, they pretty much killed the argument that their wheels were ‘all-show & no-go’. After all, it’s not like Rotiform didn’t have experience making performance products, they had offered forged monoblock wheels since day one. The difference was that now they could substantiate their claims.

The AeroDisc

If you haven’t heard of Rotiform from their involvement in the show scene or motorsport, maybe you know them for this invention - the AeroDisc. These are not actually wheels, but rather wheel accessories - ‘hubcaps’ if you will. The inspiration comes from the WRC ‘turbofans’ of the late 80’s and 90’s. The idea behind the turbofan is to create a vacuum that expels heat from the brakes.

Turbofan wheels have been available from brands like BBS and OZ for decades. The difference is that Rotiform set out to make a version that’s purely aesthetic, and they don’t mince words: “it’s there to make a statement”. AeroDiscs can be installed and removed on a whim and Rotiform provides all kinds of free graphics that can be printed on vinyl and stuck on the discs.

Running these is truly a bold look and they have been seen on a number of high-profile builds. Recent examples include Mad Mike’s drift Mclaren and the retro-themed C4 Vette that blew up on social media. Obviously, these won’t look right on every build, so, when should they be used? For our money, they work best on hot hatches going for a throwback rally theme. Another interesting prospect is EVs for a hypermodern tron-look, think BMW I8 and Tesla.

A look at the Rotiform lineup

LAS-R and RSE

These are the only two wheels compatible with AeroDiscs. They’re both cast monoblock with a bit of concavity. The LAS-R is a multi-spoke with a strengthening ring; especially popular in the Euro scene. The RSE, on the other hand, is a wide split-spoke, suitable for modern vehicles of just about any make or model.  

Both wheels are pretty affordable and can be purchased in sizes from 17-20”. Note that AeroDiscs are made for 18/19” diameters only.

BLQ

We had to mention this one. It’s one of the OG wheels that debuted in 09’ and is still around to this day. This is an original mesh design. Cast options are available in 18s and 19s, while forged 1/2/3-piece variants can be ordered in any specs you want. If you want concavity, go for a lower offset.

You can also check out the BLQ-C and BLQ-T, which are variants of the original design.  

CustomSpec Forged

This is a family of products consisting of 1-piece and multi-piece forged wheels. If you browse the 100+ options you’ll find dozens that resemble awesome factory wheels. Here are some of our favorites:

• ARO - inspired by the classic monoblock W140 AMG wheels.
• BM1 - based on the iconic BMW M1 wheels of the late 70’s.
• FTD - looks a bit like EG Civic wheels but with an extra spoke.  

WGR

This is a simple 5-spoke design that will look baller on any modern sport compact with big brakes. The cast version is only available in 18s and 19s, but there are lots of custom forged variants including the WGR-S, which adds a strengthening ring, or, the super concave WGR-M.

BTL

From our research, this is Rotiform’s first and only flow formed wheel. Sizes start at 18” and go all the way to 22” with a 12” width. This makes them a perfect candidate for big-bodied luxury cars like the 7-Series and S-Class. We reckon they’d look right at home on a Hellcat too. Oh, and if you wanna get them Forged, don’t sleep on the two-tone paint option.

Should you buy Rotiform wheels?

If you want the turbofan style, but don’t want to pay the turbofan tax, you should absolutely check the AeroDisc. Another good reason to choose is their custom multi-piece wheels. They have a ton of retro and modern designs that you simply can’t find anywhere else.

If you’re looking for budget-friendly cast wheels the question gets a bit more difficult. Some of their cast wheels can run $450+/piece, which starts to get into flow-formed territory. They can also be a bit on the heavy side, but this is a tradeoff for strength. If you like the designs and want a reasonably stout cast wheel, you should check out their cast monoblock lineup.  

What's next for Rotiform

If you kept up with recent news, you’d know Wheel Pros has found itself in literally tons of debt. While we don’t know what will happen to its respective brands, we can confidently say that Rotiform is going absolutely… NOWHERE. While the brand could change hands again (and probably will), they simply make too many bangers to outright close the doors and disappear.

If you’re rocking some Rotiform wheels, be sure to show them off in our fitment gallery. Show off your hard work and help others by sharing the parts and mods needed to make it happen.