Does anybody know of a picture that shows the 16 inch wheels that will be standard on the base model Automatic? I have a customer that is considering this car, but wants to know what the wheels look like. If anyone could post a pick, or at least point me in the right direction, I would be most appreciative.

a waaay long time ago someone took some shots outside of mnao of a silver one that had 16" wheels on it. i dont think i have that pic anymore but if you search my posts there should be one from me about it because it was the first one i saw in silver.:D

edit:check grimaces posts too as i think he did some posting about those pics because they were the first ones in which you could see the pop-out mech for the rear windows:cool:

here is one of the pics i was talking about! unfortunately the car is moving so you can't get a good look at the wheels:o

http://www.rx8forum.com/attachment.php?s=&postid=7202

Thanks, i searched all the way back to almost july i think, and found this picture. Anybody know if these are the 16's?

yeah i think they are! i think there may have been some discussion about those and seveal people decided (how i don't remember) that they were the same wheels as on the silver one above.:)

edit: of course by now mazda could have and probably did change which wheels they were going to use.:( so the pics may not help you after all:o

I'm going to show them to him with the disclaimer "this is the best i can find, they may have changed by now" I think he is leaning more towards the sport package, but he wanted to see what it looked like with the 16's. Thanks for your help.

Those things look hideous IMO. Ewwwww!!

I hate it when car companies offer base models of cars like this. Just ruins the whole RX-8 population that will be on the road in a couple of years. Even the base Mazda 6 looks totally gay compared to the loaded up model.

Where's the Nissan 350ZX with 15" steel wheels with hubcaps?:D

I don't think they look that bad. at least they're alloys, and not steel wheels with wheel covers. A couple of years ago, 16" wheels were somthing to brag about, now Protege's come from the factory with 16's.

I'm thinking we're gonna need 16"s for our winter tires, huh? Or will 17"s work? Any ideas?

I snagged this quote from Mazda's press kit.

"The choice of a 17-inch rotor size for the 18-inch wheels was determined in consideration of owners using studless tires in harsh winter conditions. (Owners will be able to fit 17-inch studless tires, the size most readily available.)"

"The choice of a 17-inch rotor size for the 18-inch wheels was determined in consideration of owners using studless tires in harsh winter conditions. (Owners will be able to fit 17-inch studless tires, the size most readily available.)"
Excuse my ignorance! I don't know what 17" rotor size means.

Does this mean a 17" winter tire will fit on an 18" wheel???

Originally posted by jonalan

Excuse my ignorance! I don't know what 17" rotor size means.

Does this mean a 17" winter tire will fit on an 18" wheel???

Sorry about the confusion.

When Mazda selected the rotor size for the upgraded brakes they wanted to be sure that it would still fit inside of a 17" wheel. By not maxing out the rotor size for the 18" wheels Mazda gave us the option of buying narrower 17" wheels and snow tires for winter driving.