The billet grille that I saw at SEMA was a one-off - not availible. So, I went to Pep Boys, and bought some chrome wheel well molding for $9.99, and with some snips, created my own.

awesome... directions?

Not bad. It does make it distinctive.

Not sure I like it, but great job, just the same!

looks too cluttered....you should remove the inner grill...but how are you attaching it?

creative...nice.

I agree. If you could remove the inner black grill it'd look cleaner. The idea is good though. The stock grill isn't striking enough.

isn't removing the black stock grill dificult
does anyone know how

and how did you get the billet to stay in place.

Hey Bob, You should write a DIY and that might spawn some more ideas from the forum, nice work!

Here is a better picture. The first one was with the flash, which lit up the original. It's pretty simple to do - the wheel well molding has a sticky backing. Just cut to fit, and stick it.

I like! I'm definitly doing something like that this weekend.

Here's another, without flash. It's cloudy and rainy today, on a sunny day you won't see the original.

That's really nice.
Well done mazdabob!

you could cut these out, print out some directions, and set up shop on eBay with these. Might be a nice way to supplement the holidays.

Greese

The one from the SEMA Show had 4 strips. I thought 5 would look better, but you can use as many as you like.

mazdabob, that's SICK!!!

i'd suggest keeping the stock grille, but it's gotta get blacker, and further behind your trick horizontal chrome grill further... but that looks GREAT :D

I love when people get creative.

Good job!!!! :p

Originally posted by mazdabob
It's pretty simple to do - the wheel well molding has a sticky backing. Just cut to fit, and stick it. Bob, I know you take it pretty easy, but how will it hold up at highspeed? Are you going to the Sunnyvale meeting? I would like to check your mod up close.

Heh, reminds me of the Passat :)

looks good
five lines looks better than the sema 8 that had 4

This simple mod looks great in person. Great job, mazdabob.

how bout adding 1-2 more to each of the oil coolers next to the fog lights? that may look pretty cool too

Originally posted by ectomort
This simple mod looks great in person. Great job, mazdabob. Yes, it did look very good in person. I may give it go on my car, hopefully I don't jump the shark given that I have the rotary accent and bob's didn't (may make it look too busy). We will see.

Originally posted by brothervoodoo
Yes, it did look very good in person. I may give it go on my car, hopefully I don't jump the shark given that I have the rotary accent and bob's didn't (may make it look too busy). We will see.

if you do this please post pics of materials and install:D

I bought the material last night, $10 bucks, just like mazdabob said. Picked it up at Pep Boys, comes in a red package titled "wheel well molding". It's been raining cold and miserable so I haven't had a chance to install, maybe tomorrow? :)

So the strips adhere to the grill itself?

Yes, I'd like to hear how they hold up as well.

It is growing on me. lol.

i like it a lot too, i just really don't like the plastic mesh in back...

My concern about removing the stock plasic mesh is that the front bumper is immediately behind about 80% of it. You'd see it and then the big secret of the false front grill is revealed. Since the factory mesh screen isn't flat but rather an inch or so deep, you could remove it and install a flat piece of metal mesh screen for barbeque pits behind it up against the bumper itself and then find a way to mount the bars an inch or so in front of them. This would still obscure the factory bumper but also give the effect of a floating grill.

Now if only someone could figure out how to make decent looking $10 strakes...

It's been a couple of days since the pics, are they still lookin' good...or have you left them scattered along the highway?

I took mazdabob billet grille idea one step further and used the same materials to do the front and rear rotary bumper shapes , they come up great , sorry i have no pics , you could also do the side strakes with the materials . cost 1.50 cents +super glue.and 15 minutes of your time.

Thanks mazdabob

michael

Would love to see photos Lock chain and Barell....good idea!!

Did it just after washing the car (sun was going down).....have to see what I think in a couple of days. I think I'll like it. Thanks Mazdabob!

like the above pics, I gotta tell you the camera doesn't show how this really looks....If I like it, I'll re-apply with a bit of glue to hold 'em & take a bit more time to space the pieces better.

Originally posted by English
..If I like it, I'll re-apply with a bit of glue to hold 'em & take a bit more time to space the pieces better. The strakes and now this, you just can't keep it straight can you English.. ;)

looks good
please post more pics in the day

did you do the left and right sides by the coolers also?

Originally posted by mikeb
looks good
please post more pics in the day

did you do the left and right sides by the coolers also? Mike, doing the coolers is a bad idea.. The coolers could heat up in traffic and melt the glue and what not, I wouldn't recommend it. Because of paint, I plan to do my grill after I get the emblems shaved with an added twist of course... ;)

what twist?

I drink way too much coffee, and job stress makes me shake like Michael J. Fox sometimes (poor taste?).... I doubt you would want me to perform surgery if you ever needed some medical assistance.

Plus, after seeing this post, I was psyched to try it out...It makes the car look so much faster. wink wink. I'm sure, like the strakes, I'll finally straighten things out in a couple of days.

VERY interested to see what kind of "twist" you have in store for us.

****update****

Just went out to the garage to check again... they're still there, and they look pretty good.

Originally posted by English
****update****
Just went out to the garage to check again... they're still there, and they look pretty good. HAHAHAHAH!!

It's been 10 days, and the grille is still intact. It's stuck on there pretty good. There have been some comments about the grille being visible in the background. It shows up in the pictures, but from 10 feet you really don't notice. Good job, English, and thanks for the idea about using this stuff for strakes. I think I'll give it a try.

on my way to pepboys tommorow, (behind on this post)

Started mine today, I will finish off the look tomorrow.

http://home.covad.net/~store006/IMG_0895.jpg

Brothervoodo

looks great how about placing strips either side of the rx-8 logo.
great idea

michael

Originally posted by Lock & Load
looks great how about placing strips either side of the rx-8 logo. Agreed, that is what I meant by finishing it off.

Originally posted by brothervoodoo
Agreed, that is what I meant by finishing it off.

Ooops sorry mate.

Originally posted by Lock & Load
Ooops sorry mate. What? You apologized? Where's the off color comments I've gotten used to.. really I'm quite disappointed in you. :mad:

Originally posted by brothervoodoo
What? You apologized? Where's the off color comments I've gotten used to.. really I'm quite disappointed in you. :mad:

Turning 50 last week i thought i would try and create less waves and become more diplomatic be less like IKEWRX ,(confrontational) not that i dissaprove his style .he he he

However there still is hope to go back to my old ways," An old leopard doesnt change its spots they only get older". ha ha ha.

michael

Classy - very classy voodoo...

I did my little billet test today. I only put 3 lines across, properly spaced. I like it a lot :D Now that the test peices are in I just need to pull them off, clean everything really well, and cut the peices with proper side angles and all that to fit right in.

No digicam today for pics BUt I'll try to get some tonight or tomorrow. 3 lines looks really nice too if anybody was wondering.

Also after gluing them on I started thinking about cutting a channel into the grill with a dremel so that the strips are flush with the rest of the surface. Might try that out on a peice of plastic grill I have to see how I like it.

BrotherVoodoo,

Very sharp looking. I may have to give that a go myself.

Do you think Mazda sells spare RX-8 Logos? I don't want to have to shave mine to put it on the bumpber grille.

Cheers,

OverLOAD

Originally posted by OverLOAD
BrotherVoodoo,

Very sharp looking. I may have to give that a go myself.

Do you think Mazda sells spare RX-8 Logos? I don't want to have to shave mine to put it on the bumpber grille.

Cheers,

OverLOAD


yes, I'm sure they can order a rx8 logo for you

http://home.covad.net/~store006/images/IMG_0897.jpg


hot damn that looks good :o

Brothervoodo

Looks great , but why not use the RX8 logo from the foot steps of the rx8 in the front doors. ???

They are larger easier to glue as its flat , and possibly a cheaper spare part ??

I am not tryng to criticise your fine work , IMO the other logo may be cheaper and more appropiate for the front grill .

Michael

Brother voodo

The rx8 logo doorstep measures length 13.5 inches x width 1 inch . making this look great on the front grill and not needing as many lines accross the grill .

Michael

hmm.. worth a try if someone wanted to give it a shot. For me the solid plate with RX-8 logo wouldn't provide as much contrast and its thickness "may" create a mismatch next to the other horizontal lines. All this stuff is subjective so there's no right answer. I like the way mine turned out. Bob certainly hit on a novel idea that can be catered to one's own needs and preferences. :)

footstep logo rx8 on its own in the front grill .
Originally posted by brothervoodoo
hmm.. worth a try if someone wanted to give it a shot. For me the solid plate with RX-8 logo wouldn't provide as much contrast and its thickness "may" create a mismatch next to the other horizontal lines. All this stuff is subjective so there's no right answer. I like the way mine turned out. Bob certainly hit on a novel idea that can be catered to one's own needs and preferences. :)

You could always put the foot step rx8 logo on the grill on its own , without the extra lines .

Could someone photo shop a picture of the logo with and with out the lines ??

Brother voodo my name is Michael who is Bob??? (I hope it doesnt stand for Bad Old Bastard .) ha .ha .ha

BrotherVoodoo,
Your 8 looks really good. Perfect balance of style and originality without going too extreme.

I saw earlier in this post something about using the wheel weld trimming for strakes. Can someone explain (or provide pics) of how this can be done to look nice?

I am the Bob that brothervoodoo is talking about. I saw the billet grille at the SEMA Show, and decided to see if I could do it cheaply. As far as the strakes, I have not had time to experiment with them, yet.

Great idea on the grill. I like the black grill though. What about the same idea in the foglamp area if the center grill is left as-is? Somone n here mentioned the need to put something to protect those "oil coolers" anyway. Whatya think?

Originally posted by Lock & Load
Brother voodo my name is Michael who is Bob??? I meant Mazdabob, he came up with the billet grill idea.

kinda curious to see what the strakes would look like. Anyone experiement with this yet?

Ya know, I really like the grill and was intending on doing it until I realized I live in NJ.... we are required to have front plates.... :(

Originally posted by TheColonel
Ya know, I really like the grill and was intending on doing it until I realized I live in NJ.... we are required to have front plates.... :(

mazdabob and brothervoodoo are Californians and our law didn't stop them. :)

Yikes! I see nothing, I hear nothing, I know nothing! ;-)

hey does anybody have the pep boys part # for thr chrome wheel well molding.
thx if you do

there is no part number
just ask for wheel well molding and all auto shops should have some

Picture and info on wheel well molding:
http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=206559#post206559

OK....so I am new to this modding stuff.....and maybe a bit slow....but where are these strips you added mounted on....I know the strips have the adhesive goo in the crack....but what does it adhere to??? The black mesh is flat across....just dont see how you get it to stick to that surface. As far as your RX-8 Logo...did you just use the adhesive that the badge comes with and stick it on???? Just wanna figure this out...before I mess it up or buy anything....Although I do have an extra RX-8 badge already....so I really wanna try this... Thanks for any HELP.

Bob and I went down the "spines" of the grill, go look at yours and you will understand what I'm trying to say. This offers as much surface area as possible.

For the RX-8 badge buy 1" wide 3m double sided tape which you can pick up at any hardware store, got mine at Orchard's. I then used a razor blade to cut off the excess.

Vegas_RX8,
I think you may be thinking of "door trim molding" not "wheel well molding". The WWM is flat and has adhesive on the back.

I accidently bought the DTM first then I realized my mistake.

Yep...I went to Pep Boys and figured it out....but thanks for helping with my confusion....hehe

Now gotta find a warm day to install it on....

Here's my car right after I put on a billet-type grill like MazdaBob and BrotherVoodoo did. This is a really easy job - if I can do it, anyone can...these pictures are lousy, and it doesn't photograph well because the stock back grill shows up so much in pics - in real life you can't really see it that well.

.

What color is the molding?? It looks like a gold color.....

very nice..Originally posted by MikeA
What color is the molding?? It looks like a gold color..... Probably the lights..

Yeah, it's just the flash from the camera and the garage etc. Bad pics...the molding is chrome, matches the other accents on the car. By the way, thanks to MazdaBob and Brothervoodoo for the idea!!

MAZDABOB is the man

is there really a v8 under that hood?

Lookin good!

That's not the car he stripped out and put the V8 in, is it? It the garage light, it just looks normal...

hey can you tell me where you bought that?

Looks good....I have silver and wondered how it looked! Any tips and info? Thanks for sharing!

thats the car he lied about saying he put a v8 in.

Originally posted by JmurphRx8
hey can you tell me where you bought that?

Jmurph,
I made it using wheel well molding, as originally described by MazdaBob and later done by BrotherVoodoo, MikeA/MikeB and I believe some others. The wheel well molding is available in a roll from Pep Boys and probably other auto parts stores for $10. You cut the pieces to fit, and peel off the backing which exposes sticky tape. Then you just stick em on there where you want...sounds cheap, and is cheap, but it looks good and IMO isn't too ricey...

Originally posted by cruzdreamer
Looks good....I have silver and wondered how it looked! Any tips and info? Thanks for sharing!

Wendy,
I don't really have any info other than what the other people that have done this said. It's really easy, I can tell you that - just make sure you measure well and get em on there straight. The stuff is pretty pliable and doesn't stick too hard immediately, so if you need to make an adjustment you are able to, before you press really hard. Perhaps the hardest part is cutting the ends at angles to match up well with the body around the grill - not bad though, took me 20 minutes.

Very nice looking! Have you considered doing something functional to protect the oil coolers? I just got 5 sample grilles from customcargrills.com and am thinking about protecting the coolers with the hexoganal type. The black diamond sample is real close to the stock RX-8.

Originally posted by MPG > HP
Very nice looking! Have you considered doing something functional to protect the oil coolers? I just got 5 sample grilles from customcargrills.com and am thinking about protecting the coolers with the hexoganal type. The black diamond sample is real close to the stock RX-8.

Thanks MPG. Can you post pics of the grills you're thinking of using? I went to that website and it says they're for domestic cars - can't find the black diamond you're talking about.

noah....
I can't find that wheel well molding anywhere??????

Originally posted by JmurphRx8
noah....
I can't find that wheel well molding anywhere??????

You looked at Pep Boys? Did you ask anyone there? I haven't heard of anyone having trouble finding it...it comes in a black 1 ft. square cardboard box. If you ask at the store they should at least be able to tell you where you can find it in town.

where do you purchase this grill? and how much?

10 bucks
any auto store

Originally posted by RX8FanMan
where do you purchase this grill? and how much?


To clarify, it is not a grill that's purchased. You buy wheel well molding ($10) and cut it into strips which you put in the grill to look like that. There are a few other threads on the subject (MazdaBob, BrotherVoodoo, MikeB)

Click on the billet grille link located on my sig.

Auto Zone has the same molding. I like all the looks. How do you debadge the 8? I'm glueless about this stuff. I'm not clueless about driving the s**t out of the car!!!! Thanks for any help..........

Hey noah thanx for your help..i installed my billet grill, looks sweet

Originally posted by Go4It
How do you debadge the 8? I'm clueless about this stuff. Thanks for any help....... Taking off the emblems is easy, heat from a hairdryer and dental floss will help you pry them loose from the glue. The next step is finding a body shop that will charge a fair price to fill the holes and repaint.

Very nice! Moved to appearance/body kits.

Originally posted by brothervoodoo
Taking off the emblems is easy, heat from a hairdryer and dental floss will help you pry them loose from the glue. The next step is finding a body shop that will charge a fair price to fill the holes and repaint.
Thank you! BTW your car looks great. I better start slow and do the grill first. Alot of great posts that are really helpful to us novices.
:p

OK, now that everybody copied my 5 bar grille, I bought an RX-8 logo from Trussville for $15, and redid my grille with 4 bars.

So only doing mine with 3 is original? Cool! :D

Great Job. Creative ideas are hard to come by. And thank for the tips.

nice looks great
i have done this for my cousins gs300 yrs ago.he sold the car now but i think it might still even be on the car.lol
but it does look horrible now.the crome looking plastic/sticker comes off and starts to fade,but its well over months to a yr.for the price and how ieasy it is well worth it.
the look is what its about so go for it.

Horizontal grills makes em look like Chryslers. :)

Good thinking Bob, I think I'm gonna cover the entire grill though.

Dude that looks sweet... I always like it when someone does a unique job
outstanding... to cool dude.

How about if somebody does VERTICAL bars? :D

I noticed last week after washing my car two of my lines on the grill are starting to come off. This is probably due to the water from washing the car loosening the 3m adheshive. Anyone else have this going on???

I wasn't diggin' the 5 bars, but the 4 bars with the RX-8 logo looks pretty sweet. Post up some better pics if you can.

another picture

so no one is having problems with the grill losing its stick

Not I. I wash the car on a regular basis and it's still stuck on strong. I never even changed my "temp" install as the sides that are a bit ugly arent even visible.

How do you fasten the RX-8 logo in the middle to appear as if it is "floating" That looks like an awesome custom job, ncie work!

The RX-8 logo has sticky backing. I stuck it to a piece of black duct tape (which was stuck to wax paper to protect the sticky side). Then, I trimmed the duct tape around the edge of the logo, peeled off the wax paper, and stuck it on the grille.

I don't care for the billet look, but I like the RX~8 logo idea. I used a 1.5" x 7" piece of 1/8" aluminum (Lowes). I drilled 5/32" holes for mounting (put them under the spot where the logo mounts, not to the sides, like I did!). Aluminum primer, then flat black. Mount the plate using two #6 x 1.5" stainless flathead screws, tighten nuts on the back of the plate. Install logo.

Drill 5/32" holes in plastic grill - the threads of the screws catch on the edge of the holes. I got lazy and blew off securing with nuts inside the grill and added 3M automotive double sticky tape to the back of the plate. That, with the screws seems to be quite secure. I'm worried about Michigan's wide variations in temp and humidity, that's why the overkill! We'll see if it stays on!

How are these mods holding up ? They really look good in the pic's. And the price !!!!!

Mine has been on about 6 months - still stuck on securely.

They look awesome in person!! It was the first thing I noticed about the car.... I thought for sure Bob and the others had spent hundreds of dollars on them!!!! I'm very impressed!!!

Bob, when you took off the 5 strips to change to 4, was it hard to get them off? What did you use and did it leave any marks or damage to the grill??

Well, the top one is the original - still stuck on securely. The others came off with a little effort - kinda like a bandaid. There was no residue.

Thanks Bob... oh by the way... did you make the strakes on your car as someone suggested on one of the threads? They looked like mine and it seems like it wouldn't be that easy to make them exactly the same and look as good.

Anyone consider adding molding to the rear grille?

Rear Billet Grille (http://www.yellowlightman.com/dmc/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=1431&fullsize=1)

That is an interesting look...

Originally posted by Loaded8
Thanks Bob... oh by the way... did you make the strakes on your car as someone suggested on one of the threads? They looked like mine and it seems like it wouldn't be that easy to make them exactly the same and look as good.
I bought them on ebay for $149.95 from JapanParts.

Is it easy to take the moulding off if you get tired of the look? Any damage to the black grill??

Ya, it's easy to take off, but sticks on pretty well... haven't had any problem of it sticking on.

Thanks all for this great idea. I did mine this evening .. with a different touch :) I did the front/rear ***ROTORY ACCENTS*** with it and some on the black trim as well. What do you say, yay or nay?

PS: pics aren't that great. I'll post some day time ones later. Looks great in person

Good job. Looks great!

Here is my version - I also added a strip at the bottom underneath the front rotary - unfortunately for me here in BC, we have to have the front liscence plate!! :(

If ONLY I had all the time in the world...been talking with Omi about the development of a front billet grille. I did a mock up of it last night after a few PMs and came up with this pic from the '04 SEMA show. This can be done by removing the center part of the plastic grille and fabricating this grille using some plastic and pvc tubing to keep it in line in the rear. I would also add a bit of the black aluminum grille and if it cannot be found in a large enough piece to cover the entire grille, the line where they but up against can be hidden behind one of the billets. Ooops, I also included the fog light strakes I am planning. :D PS Love he rear strakes with the accent, that looks very sharp, IMO.

Did the rear with a bit of a twist. Thanks DavisRX8 for the inspiration. :D

Also added the RB cat-back the same day.

I'm not feelin that chrome on the trunk lid

Yeah, I know, I just put it there to see what it would look like since I had a whole bunch left over from doing the bottom rear grille there. I will probably take it off soon, I did it as a test. I'm not that fond of it either.

Hey guys, thought I should post pics of my 10 dollar billet grill install yesterday. I had no creativity while doing it, so it is basically what everyone else seemed to do. Did a four bar and rotary symbol in front and two bar with rotary symbol in back. VERY EASY! Thank you MAZDABOB and everyone else for sharing the info on this DIY. Much Appreciated.

Pics of the front.

Very nice! I especially like what you did in the back. :)

Thank you MazdaBob, but all the thanks go to you. Lets just see how long the good looks last before the trim starts to fade and peel.

My top strip has been there for 8 months, or so, and the others for 5 months or more. They've survived hot and cold, car washing, and more with no problem.

Thats good to know, now I just need to avoid the cops. Was at a 4 way stop just now with a cop facing the opposite direction. Front plate required in Texas, but I just had to try this DIY. A couple of right turns and a couple of lefts, and into my garage, never looked back to see if he turned around to find me =)

ok here's my design now :D

How about using this stuff in place of the fender strakes? and for the rotory accent? I love the front and rear work you guys have done.

How about using this stuff in place of the fender strakes? and for the rotory accent? I love the front and rear work you guys have done.

Dude, trust me I have tried the fender strakes one on a boring night and as soon as I stepped backward to see what it looks like, I began to have premonitions of key scratches around my car. I knew that if those 10-dollar chromey things were placed there, I would only call out for some bad attention. What a horrible horrible thing to do to my 8!

How about using this stuff in place of the fender strakes? and for the rotory accent? I love the front and rear work you guys have done.


As a matter of fact, my rotory accents are made of this very same stuff, can't you tell? I hope not. They don't like bending to that degree, but once you get it, they stay pretty well.

I am going to do mine when i get home in an hour, this is the greatest idea anyone has ever come up with, thank you mazdabob and everyone else for their ideas.

I will send pics in a little, my car looks awesome with the grille, thanks guys.

That looks hot

Well....
Went to Pep Boys and bought the fender well trim and spent an hour and a half today installing the "MazdaBob" billet grill. I like it--the spacing for 4 across is aboout 1.75 " apart which looks good. I tried a varied spacing like 1,1,2,5 but it looked like s**t! I also installed oil-cooler strips, which look ok until mine are done and seem to be sticking ok. I drive 65 miles to work each way with some of that in grid-locked traffic, so I can do a "heat test" on the oil cooler adds over the next week. I added an avatar with a pic.

Well I was in a hurry yesterday, and took my car to a car wash. Maybe it has been the hot texas heat, coupled with the pressure washer, but I lost two front strips, so took the rest off of the front. Keeping the back for now, hopefully they stay.

They should stay. This is the first cast of anyone loosing them as such. However, heat does play a role in loosening adhesives. I know that the adhesive on these is very strong. However, with heat and high pressure you are probably right in your assessment.

I had the front and back strips, but one day i noticed that half of two of the strips in front were undone and wouldn't stick anymore. so i took them off and left the back. I think it was the heat because this happened back in early August.

Thanks Mazdabob. I put the wheel well moldings on and it turned out pretty nice. Decided to go with 3 strips in the front.

I like it! It's interesting all the variations that have been tried. I like innovators.

Finally did mine this past week. Gotta say, I love it. I will have to get another roll to adjust my spacing and tidy up some minor errors and maybe do something in the back like some of you guys did. Once again, good cheap mod MazdaBob!! Can't think of a better way to spend 10 bucks.

Nice job! Looks good on a silver car.

I'm having trouble getting the front's rotary to stick. How did you go about doing this? The back was easy cause I have it on the indentation of the rotary, but the front I am having trouble.

I had to try this mod on my ride. Everyone's cars all looked great. 4 bars on the front and some thing I'm trying to see if it works out on the back. Thanks for the idea mazdabob!

:cool:

just wondering, how exactly do these stay on?

that look terrible :(

For the love of god, I cant find these anywhere, I've been to like 7 stores in tyhe detriot area. Can anyone PM me and maybe pick me up a box and send them too me I'll pay for everything.

Thanks

i did it to my car, i have it uploaded as a pic on my vbgarage. not sure if i can link it from there.... tell me how to do it and ill show you how i did mine..... its somewhat different than the way everyone else does it.

heh just remembered how to post pics. you cant see it very good in this pic. but its still there, ill try to get ahold of a better pic soon.

As a sucker in NY where we are required to have a front plate, I'm not going to try this. However, I really want the rotary accents and don't feel like paying Mazda $150 for them. Am I right in reading that other people have used this chrome wheel well moulding to make accents? How did you bend it? Did you need a template of sorts to do it right, or just bend it around the rotary symbol somehow? Any info before I try this would be appreciated. Also, I do think I'm going to do this on the rear grill....no plate there :)

Andrew

hey people i just did mine today.. i dunno what i think.. tell me what you think..
do you like it over the fog light? i only did one just to see how it looks..oh yeah and where is the cheapest place to buy hyper whites for my lights??

You jumped the shark with the fog light....

Certainly looks unique.

On only on foglight?

The grille part looks good

ok i did both fog lights to see what it would look like.. i still think it might be too much..
it doesnt look bad, but i dunno if it looks good.. let me know!!!
here are some more pics

Wow is that three black 8s in that garage? That's soo kool.

Anyway, I agree it does look too much.
I put two chrome moldings in front of the oil coolers on the oil cooler grilles I put. I don't have a picture though.

i have three shinkas in my garage

3 shinkas... wow... shinka color is pretty ugly though.. sigh oh well..


the rear billet setups look interesting.. its like some sorta japanese furry creature with whiskers out of a triangular mouth... hahahha

Here is a better picture. The first one was with the flash, which lit up the original. It's pretty simple to do - the wheel well molding has a sticky backing. Just cut to fit, and stick it.


That looks great, IMO.

hey people i just did mine today.. i dunno what i think.. tell me what you think..
do you like it over the fog light? i only did one just to see how it looks..oh yeah and where is the cheapest place to buy hyper whites for my lights??



I just purchased a set for less than $20 here at the biggest bay in the world :

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MAZDA-RX-8-RX8-03-05-XENON-BULBS-H11-Fog-Light_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6755QQitemZ456687 7108QQtcZphoto

They are H11's 55 watt (very important not to get higher than 55watt because the harness can't handle it I've heard).

i have three shinkas in my garage


why?

why?


:iamwithst

I was wondering the same thing

well i liked it then my dad decided he liked it and my sister loved the color so she decided she needed one, and since we bought 3 all at once, we got a good deal.. but me and my sister are moving out soon so yea... plus.. why not.. haha

ok i did both fog lights to see what it would look like.. i still think it might be too much..
it doesnt look bad, but i dunno if it looks good.. let me know!!!
here are some more pics

I like the 3 bars, and it looks like the bottom one lines up with the ones over the fog lamps. I like it - it's different. I also like the Shinka color - classy.

if anyone wants, i noticed that people said they couldnt find the molding, if you all want i can put some of them up on ebay, or just ship them to some people.. if there are any takers let me know.. :jump:

so no takers??

so everyone found them?? so maybe i wont bother... but if i do does anyone care if i use thier pictures? if not ill go ahead and use them if i do post them on ebay.. if you do care plz tell me.. thanks

so everyone found them?? so maybe i wont bother... but if i do does anyone care if i use thier pictures? if not ill go ahead and use them if i do post them on ebay.. if you do care plz tell me.. thanksDo not post my pictures...

thanks

ok

I see that Lock & Load was banned for what ever reason but has anyone else tried this idea for the rotary bumper shapes? If so do you have pics and some steps to follow?

Thanks.



I took mazdabob billet grille idea one step further and used the same materials to do the front and rear rotary bumper shapes , they come up great , sorry i have no pics , you could also do the side strakes with the materials . cost 1.50 cents +super glue.and 15 minutes of your time.

Thanks mazdabob

michael

haha, if you can forgive the dirty car (chicago winters are not kind) here are the accent shapes done in that stuff ...

if you're picky (like i am) it does take some finagling to get the stuff cut right. i wanted a smooth look with no obvious cut-line. i probably used 3x as much when i was cutting it because i was being so picky. i thought about using a paper template, but found that cutting a longer piece than you need and then just playing with it for awhile got it to look good. The rear one was a bit harder as that stuff is not too thrilled about being bent like that.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a245/rsd428/FotaryREAR.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a245/rsd428/FotaryFRONT.jpg

Just finished my 5 bar grille last night, and took a few pics this morning.

http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=82269

I also did the front rotary symbol, but didnt have the patience to do the back one. This stuff really really really didn't want to bend that much.

SheDevil,

Thanks for the tips, I will have to give this a try. Those turned out really good.




haha, if you can forgive the dirty car (chicago winters are not kind) here are the accent shapes done in that stuff ...

if you're picky (like i am) it does take some finagling to get the stuff cut right. i wanted a smooth look with no obvious cut-line. i probably used 3x as much when i was cutting it because i was being so picky. i thought about using a paper template, but found that cutting a longer piece than you need and then just playing with it for awhile got it to look good. The rear one was a bit harder as that stuff is not too thrilled about being bent like that.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a245/rsd428/FotaryREAR.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a245/rsd428/FotaryFRONT.jpg

SheDevil,

Thanks for the tips, I will have to give this a try. Those turned out really good.
PM me if you have any other questions! and def post pics when you get it done!!! :ylsuper:

Thanks, I will. I just got the molding last night and I will give the try this weekend.

EDIT: Just finished the accents today, I'll do the grill (front and back) next weekend or when I can find more time.

Here are a couple of pics.

PM me if you have any other questions! and def post pics when you get it done!!! :ylsuper:

How wide should the trim be? Is a half inch good, or should it be thinner?

BrotherVoodoo posted this in another thread about the billet grill..

Here's the info on molding:

S37630
3/8" HLF RND 20' CHRM

Take this info to your pep boys and they should tell you right where it is..

3/8 in to give you a direct answer.


How wide should the trim be? Is a half inch good, or should it be thinner?

If anyone lives far away from a Pep Boys, the same kind of molding can be secured at any Wal-Mart. It's made by Bell (as in the bicycle accessory people), and is in the "trashy mods" isle of the auto section. It's about $3 for 6 feet of it. Just in case anyone's having that problem ;-)

the "trashy mods"
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!! kinda says it all, eh?

Mazdabob...

http://www.rx8club.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=12067

That looks really great.. So great I bought the RX-8 (#) badge from Rosenthal Mazda (#) and I am going to put this on this weekend. I still haven't decided if I want the grill with the badge or not but my question is....
How is the black duct tape holding up? That is my only concern and I would hate to lose the badge. Let me know if you get a chance. Thanks from a fellow Nordic Green...

Well, I don't have the RX-8, anymore, but the badge was stuck on real good. It never came off, or appeared to be losing it's grip.

Thanks for the info and the PM. I'm going to put this on this weekend. and I'll post pics.

I'll have to see if I want the grill part on the front with it or not.

Thanks again MB. Hopefully you got another 8 to replace that one.




Well, I don't have the RX-8 (#), anymore, but the badge was stuck on real good. It never came off, or appeared to be losing it's grip.

Hopefully you got another 8 to replace that one.

Well, not yet, but I did put a billet grille on my Corvette.

I finally got the time to sit down and do the grill (front and back) and the RX-8 badge.

Comments? Good bad or indifferent...

Beautiful grillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

Nice MazdaBob.........



Well, not yet, but I did put a billet grille on my Corvette (#).

Did you guys just stick the stuff on your grill (on the honeycomb part)? Does it feel like it stuck well?

Thanks! I had the stuff to do it for a few days and I finally got time to put it on. somethings may not look 100% straight but it looks decent from a normal distance.



Beautiful grillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

yes, right on the grill... except for the RX-8 badge...

It feels like it is on there quite good.. thats what everyone else did in this DIY... right???

:Eyecrazy:




Did you guys just stick the stuff on your grill (on the honeycomb part)? Does it feel like it stuck well?

Did you guys just stick the stuff on your grill (on the honeycomb part)? Does it feel like it stuck well?

Mine was on for almost a year - no problems. brothervoodoo's has been on longer.

Good to know guys! My "fotary" accents have been on for awhile now too!

Most of mine stays stuck on pretty well, but the left end of the top bar is coming undone just a little bit. Any suggestions? I think I might just put a little bit of the double sided adhesive from my strakes under the end of it so it sticks again.

If that doesn't work I think the next best thing to do is pull that whole loose strip off and replace it with new trim. That is what I would do anyway. :)



Most of mine stays stuck on pretty well, but the left end of the top bar is coming undone just a little bit. Any suggestions? I think I might just put a little bit of the double sided adhesive from my strakes under the end of it so it sticks again.

i had a hell of a time finding this wheel well molding at any of my auto stores in g'ville fl. also had a hell of a time finding it online, but i finally did find a site that had it.
www.jcwhitney.com part # ZX103403A price 10.99 with 6.99 shipping total 17.98 for anyone else looking

wow... it should be easy picking at pepboys or autozone. i guess not over there.

my front one fell off early summer, i have yet to replace it.

back one is STILL on!!!

Mazda bob....You should cut some of those strips to fit on the plastic slits on near your fog lights....just a suggestion it will make your front look custom and it will match the center piece nicely...

nice job on the center piece very creative and very cheap

i added fotaries....check out my DIY....Rotary's and trim

looks cool. not my flavor, but cool none the less. IMO it would've looked better on the oil cooler holes only...
2 cents.

what do you mean the oil cooler holes?....once again im kind of a noob
this website was great for cheap rotary symbols though www.rotary13B1.com

bump this inspiration thread

I know I'm totally digging up this old AWESOME thread, but I just wanted to post my pic of doing this very economical mod! Mainly since it seems no one with a VR did this.

So here it is: http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx295/jakejacobson/RX8/003-1.jpg

Oh and for anyone looking to do this now, the price apparently went up to $14.95 at pepboys! LOL

I'm not gonna lie, that looks really clean. Btw what are those rotary shaped things on the bottom of your grill on both sides of the rotary accent?

My friend told me that they're deer repellant or something... I'm not entirely sure though.