hey guys, imagine your perfect street wheel:
lighter (~3lbs less than stock), stronger (way more rigid), wider, and better looking (yes, very subjective thing), along with SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS for the RX-8's Tyre Pressure Monitor (namely, a seat for it, and a counterbalance designed INTO THE CENTER OF THE WHEEL, so you don't need that ugly weight tape), Paul Yaw's new RX-8 Specific wheel kicks serious ass:

check it out, post comments:
http://www.yawpower.com/wheels.html

:D i love them already

They sound awesome but I would love to see them on the 8

you're right, very subjective. would love to see them in 19" though.

Originally posted by wakeech
along with SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS for the RX-8's Tyre Pressure Monitor (namely, a seat for it, and a counterbalance designed INTO THE CENTER OF THE WHEEL, so you don't need that ugly weight tape)

Hmm - so that means that Canadians who buy these wheels end up with a strip of ugly balance weights since we don't have any TPMS sending units in our wheels!

Regards,
Gordon

Very nice. Anything designed directly for the RX-8 is great! :D

3 piece Rim,mmmmmm:D

$100 is that what it cost?

Originally posted by Gord96BRG


Hmm - so that means that Canadians who buy these wheels end up with a strip of ugly balance weights since we don't have any TPMS sending units in our wheels!

Regards,
Gordon

Gordon,

Yaw Powerl is going to make a wheel with the counterbalance and one without. The tire sensor is not necessarily desired in a racing applications which they have already thought of.

I really recommend going to the link Wakeech and I posted to see the full description of everything that will be available. There is a lot more than just the wheels in the works.

The really cool thing is that everything will be designed specifically for our cars!

^bump^

I've never been a fan of exposed bolts, but I am excited about the prospects of a 9.5 wide x 18 fitment all around, with 255/40-18 tires. I totally agree that 19s are not worth having on the Rx8.

Originally posted by wakeech
hey guys, imagine your perfect street wheel:
lighter (~3lbs less than stock), stronger (way more rigid), wider, and better looking (yes, very subjective thing), along with SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS for the RX-8's Tyre Pressure Monitor (namely, a seat for it, and a counterbalance designed INTO THE CENTER OF THE WHEEL, so you don't need that ugly weight tape), Paul Yaw's new RX-8 Specific wheel kicks serious ass:

check it out, post comments:
http://www.yawpower.com/wheels.html

:D i love them already What is the stock width and offset of the Rx8 18-inch wheel?

I think it would have been cool if they integrated the "soft triangle" rotar shape into the wheel somehow :)

Here is a picture of the Yaw Power wheel from Sevenstock...

I had a picture of it on their car also but can't find it, I will post it if I find it.

its hard to say if I like them without seeing them on the 8

i love "mesh" (multi-spoke) wheels to death... Paul, they're beautiful. congradulations man :D

Something about the rim just not quite right. I'm not quite sure what exactly, but I think it's those spokes. I think the edge of the spokes are too sharp, it might look slightly softer with the edge slightly rounded off. Maybe it's just me...

Or maybe the 2 tones is a little too abrupt. I'm a fan of 2 tone rims, use to have these Momo on my Miata:

Oopss, miss out the pix

Those would look killer on a titanium grey.

Hi everybody,

Now that the prototypes are done, we are down to tweaking little details.

The biggest variable is cosmetics. We tried gunmetal, but my own opinion is that it is too dark. At least it seems that way on our red 8.

I will photograph the wheels just like they are on the car today. I will probably change them to a basic silver, or maybe a very light metallic gray. Someone else mentioned a very light gold. Similar to the original BBS color, but not as bright.

We're trying to find the best combination for the "standard" wheel, with options like painting the centers body color, or polishing as an option.

We will photograph these combinations, and post them to the website.

If any of you would like to make comments, we want to hear it. Good or bad. What I think of the looks doesn't really matter, I want to know what the average RX-8 owner would like to see.

We will also be changing the fasteners. The heads of the existing pieces are too big in my opinion. (What's your opinion?)

Thanks

I liked the look of the wheels a lot, and liked the color because I think it would look nice on the Ti RX8, I agree about using the smaller fasteners, it will maybe make the silver lip not look as tall.

That is probably my largest complaint about the current rim, the silver lip looks really tall which makes the overall rim size seem smaller (not an 18) I think if the silver lip was a bit shorter it would make the rim look its proper size and overall improve the look of the wheel.

Is there anyway to get a dished effect with the current rim design?

Also I would probably remove the blue yawpower lettering, instead of that maybe have it etched into the lip or part of the centercap instead of the Standard RX8 Rotary centercap?

The first pic I saw of the new wheel design I thought had a rotor design. Maybe those were the Mazda optional centers?
I want it to look good on the red too. I think it looks okay as is. Maybe the blue could be more subtle. I don't want the wheels to stand out so much they take away from the rest of the car. Silver or a BBS-type light gold might be nice. The main concern I'll have is when will I be able to afford to buy them!

Hey there synthtk,

and liked the color because I think it would look nice on the Ti RX8

We are checking on availability of stock colors. It occured to me that the Mazda Ti color would look great on the Ti car.

the silver lip looks really tall which makes the overall rim size seem smaller

Our original design used a different rim shell, and the center was 1" larger in diameter. Unfortunately, there was just no room for the tire pressure sensors. Another thing that occured to me is that dark colors make the wheel look smaller. I will disassemble the wheels and change the color to something lighter and photograph that as well.

Is there anyway to get a dished effect with the current rim design?

That is also something we looked at with the initial design. Unfortunately, the calipers stick out so far that the outer rim shell must be relatively short. Maybe a better description is that the center must be nearly at the edge of the wheel to allow for caliper clearance.

We have more clearance than stock, so there is room for aftermarket calipers. Dave Lemon at Mazdatrix has developed a Brembo caliper kit which requires a small wheel spacer. If used with our wheels, no spacer is required.

We could have given it one inch more dish, but then it would have just barely cleared the stock calipers, and aftermarket pieces would not have fit. We tried to solve as many problems as possible in the design stage so that the wheels could accomodate everyone.

I would probably remove the blue yawpower lettering

We could delete the lettering for those who do not want it. We may make a custom center cap later. We designed the wheel to accept the stock caps so that people could use the rotor caps from Mazda.

I just posted pictures at http://www.yawpower.com/wheelpics.html

Please let us know what you think. We will have ordering details available by the first of next week.

Originally posted by yawpower
We are checking on availability of stock colors. It occured to me that the Mazda Ti color would look great on the Ti car.

Maybe also have a solid color option instead of having the silver lip

Originally posted by yawpower Our original design used a different rim shell, and the center was 1" larger in diameter. Unfortunately, there was just no room for the tire pressure sensors. Another thing that occured to me is that dark colors make the wheel look smaller. I will disassemble the wheels and change the color to something lighter and photograph that as well.

Ah I forgot about those, and I agree that darker wheels make the rim look smaller I have a set of 18s on another car that are black on the inside with a silver lip and they look more like 17s esp when off the car.

Originally posted by yawpower
We could delete the lettering for those who do not want it. We may make a custom center cap later. We designed the wheel to accept the stock caps so that people could use the rotor caps from Mazda.


I would personally also like an option of having yawpower etched into the rim or the lip (lip preffered) I would like everyone to know who made these awesome rims :)

Originally posted by yawpower
We will have ordering details available by the first of next week.

Cant wait :D

ok, i saw the drawings, and i saw the real wheel... i was still thinkin' "meh, they're pretty ok"... something about the centres just didn't seem as appealing to my aesthetic sense as your classic BBS design... then, i saw them on the car:

http://www.yawpower.com/whl2.jpg

http://www.yawpower.com/whl3.jpg

:eek: ye gods man :eek:... don't change a bloody thing. i like the big fat fasteners, the lip on the rim looks fine to me (yeah, a whole-wheel colour scheme might be more satisfactory for some owners)... i actually really like the contrast, especially with that iron-grey colour for the centres in these pics... they'd look just spectacular on a black RX-8 (the only colour i care about ;)).

bravo. i must say, they just look awesome.

IMHO I think silver would look better

Paul,

I agree with synthtk that the lip looks a little too tall/thick. Making the rim looks a tat too heavy. But if the 2 piece are of the same colour than it will be ok.

Yes, Paul, the fasteners could do with a little smaller, I'm a big fan of expose bolts, but still thinks that smaller fasteners will make the rim more slim line.

Paul, did you read my earlier post about the spoke's edges looking a little too sharp? Is that too late into your project to look into it as all your mold have been casted?

Colours: Very subjective, it will be great if you could do it with just basic color (eg. silver) but allow people to customise it to whatever color that pleases them. Then it would save you lots of headache.

I'll second that. Paul, could you post a pic of silver (better yet, polished) wheels on the car, or even just a straight-on pic from your CAD system rendered in silver (for photoshopping)?

I like them better on the car than off. I also like the idea of body colour centres, but there's not enough flat surface area IMO for doing it effectively in velocity red (my colour) on the YAW rims.

I'd love a wheel with reducung concentric rotors :D but the material would need to be too think (and therefore heavy) to support that design.

Being a gram shaver on bicycle wheels, I'm very much aware on the benefits of reducing the outer rotating mass as much as possible... 3lbs would make a fair difference.

Hey there,

Thanks for the comments. We're in the stage right now where we need to hear those things and make changes to suit the buyers tastes.

I think silver would look better

I'm leaning that direction myself. I will have pics of the wheels in silver posted by Friday.

I agree with synthtk that the lip looks a little too tall/thick

Looks are subjective of course, but I think everyone is more or less in agreement on this one including myself. As I mentioned before, the lip is required for proper mounting of the tire pressure sensor. I think the dark center really makes the lip dimension stand out. I think that changing the centers to silver will make this a non issue.

Years ago I bought a set of 15" Isuzu Trooper wheels for my Mazda rotary pickup. I painted them black, and mounted them on my truck. They looked smaller tham the original 14's!!! I took them back off and re-sparayed them silver, and suddenly they looked 2" bigger.

I also think that the lighter color will make the spoke design stand out more.

Paul, did you read my earlier post about the spoke's edges looking a little too sharp? Is that too late into your project to look into it as all your mold have been casted?

The centers are machined from a large lump of forged aluminum, so the shape is completely dependant on the machine work. Adding a large radius adds nearly an hour to the machining time which is why most forged wheels have small face radii.

The production pieces will have the edge softened more, and I think (hope) a color change will add to that effect.

Paul, could you post a pic of silver (better yet, polished) wheels on the car, or even just a straight-on pic from your CAD system rendered in silver (for photoshopping)?

I would be happy to post that, but I'm afraid that it wouldn't have the right look. My software is for engineering, and so the visual effect is not as nice as what you would get from graphic design oriented software. The light just doesn't seem to reflect properly, and there is no sense of depth.

I just tried to pull a file of the wheel in silver and red (Just for fun!) and my floppy drive is screwed up. I'll have to sort that out.

Look for the pics of the silver centered wheels on the car by Friday.

Thanks for all the comments.

man there isn't much i like about how they turned out...i'm a fan of pretty simple/big 5 spoke wheels (think ferrari) so i guess i should just keep mine!

My photoshop skills aren't the greatest, but here are some pics I hacked together to try it out in other colors

[Deleted Ti, color came out wrong]

Yellow

Blue

Titanium (second try)

It looks great on blue and yellow. Titanium is just too hard to reproduce accuratly in photoshop.


Anyhow keep it up the good work, i'll be interested in the final product for my titanium.

Thanks Kuf

I'm working on the centers right now.

here's a more accurate yellow RX-8 with the yaw power wheels.

Wow!!! A manufacturer responding to inputs from his customers? I don't recall ever experiencing this . . . except, of course, at Burger King years ago ("have it your way" or some similar pitch). I've heard theories that businesses could operate this way, but . . . . This is really exciting! I DO like the simple massive 5-spoke appearance of the stock wheels, and these new Yaw wheels are ALSO very attractive. Mmm. Some aspect of these wheels having 'body color' would be very classy! (My '8' is Sunlight Silver.)

Holy shit Squidward, how did you do that? If you had been around during the initial design stages, I probably would not have made the wheels the wrong color in the first place!

The wheels are redone in natural aluminum. I will pick them up from the tire shop tomorrow, photograph them and post the pics.

In my opinion, they look MUCH better. I think I realize why, now that they are done. With a dark color, it all just looks the same. The dark color seems to suck up all the light. With a light color there are shadows, so the edge of the spokes really stand out, and the design is more visible.

What I notice looking at the current pictures is that you almost have to concentrate to make out the spoke design.

To LTAGFERN, I appreciate the nice comments. I really don't have a choice but to ask for input, because a wheel is a cosmetic piece. What looks good to me may look awful to everyone else.

When I look at a wheel, all I see is load paths, and stress concentrations. I don't think most people are interested in a cosmetic piece designed by an engineer.

I did try to make them look good, but like I said, my tastes may be very different from everyone elses.

What I hoped for was a wheel that would complement the styling of the car, and not look dated 5 years down the road.

Anyway, thanks for the input. Especially you guys who took the time to photoshop the wheels.

Look for new pics sometime tomorrow.

For those who can't wait til tomorrow, here's a little preview of the silver finish.

Well, almost.

Originally posted by M-ster
preview of the silver finish.

hoooooly crap. that's hott :eek:

Wow how did you do that! The silver looks great, good job!

Could you do the car in any of the other colors asked about before?

Black, Blue, Red, etc...

Any word on pricing yet?

D-san

any word on pricing is right
the silver does look boss

This post might be a little different than the others on this thread but...

Are there any plans for a yawpower 17" wheel? There are many people looking for a 17" wheel for winter tires and an aftermarket 17" wheel without the tire sensors might screw up the DSC yes?

Brian

Originally posted by Buger
This post might be a little different than the others on this thread but...

Are there any plans for a yawpower 17" wheel? There are many people looking for a 17" wheel for winter tires and an aftermarket 17" wheel without the tire sensors might screw up the DSC yes?

Brian

Depends on if 17" will fit on the front, brake calipers may get in the way.

winning blue metallic

lightning yellow

nordic green mica

titanium gray metallic

velocity red mica

sunlight silver metallic

brilliant black clearcoat

I think the polished aluminum looks the best.

Nice work Squidward.

D-san

Great job Squidward!

I am going to have to agree, silver does look the best. Although, the gunmetal looks pretty good on the brighter colors blue, yellow, and red.

Wow squidward's photoshop skills far surpass mine!!! Nice job! :D

I actually like the gunmetal better. To each his own.

Paul,
The more that I see the wheels the more I like the design but I do have a couple of suggestions.

First the shell looks a little thick where the tire seats. Is there any way to reduce the height of this lip without compromising the strength of the wheel?

Also instead of painting a blue Yaw Power logo why don't you try to mill the logo into one of the spokes. We use this technique on one of our upscale torches and I think it looks pretty good.

What the hell was I thinking???

I just posted pics of the wheels on the car in natural aluminum, and they look completely different!

I like them MUCH better. They look bigger, and the lip dimension doesn't stand out anymore.

The fasteners even look better. At least I think so.

The rim shells are brushed just like before. I tried something a bit different on the centers, and I like the way it turned out.

We have an automatic blast cabinet here used for removing paint, carbon, etc. from engine parts. Instead of glass beads, we use stainless steel shot. The shot gives it a nice shiny look, and it is dimpled slightly. The dimples are small enough that it looks like sparkles in metallic paint. You really don't notice that it is dimpled unless you get right up next to it.

The cabinet is automated, so the process is quick, and that will probably be our standard finish.

We will engrave the logo as seen in the Hypertherm picture. Originally I thought that a splash of color would look cool, but I think you guys have the right idea. It looks a bit too trendy for a classy car like the RX-8.

We will get some professional photos taken, but we might make a few more pieces with the logo engraved, and possibly change the fasteners before we do that. That could take a few weeks.

If anyone in Phoenix would like to see the wheels on a different color car, let me know. We can arrange to have you come by, and swap them on to your car.

We are targeting November 15th for a ship date.

I'll get back with you guys next week with more details. I have to run for now.

Please let me know what you think, and thanks for all of the input. It has been a big help, and we can offer you a better product because of it.

Forgot the link!

http://www.yawpower.com/wheels.html

Paul,
I really like the silver finish because it makes the details of the wheel more apparent. Good job!

The next time you are taking pictures can you get a close-up of the wheels so we can see what the dimpled finish looks like? Thanks!

thanks squiward for all the colors

its cool that they have a rx8 specific wheel and all, but the price ?
The weight 3 lbs lighter, so 19lbs since stock wheels are approx. 22.5lbs without tires. Volk racing forged alloy wheels are race proven and look better. Props for makin those rims and all to Yaw Power, but I went Volk TE-37s cuz they are the 19lbs and extremely awesome lookin wheels.

Originally posted by Speed Racer
The next time you are taking pictures can you get a close-up of the wheels so we can see what the dimpled finish looks like? Thanks!

You probably would have miss the 'click here for more pix' link, any way here's the close up.

Originally posted by Efini 8
its cool that they have a rx8 specific wheel and all, but the price ?

The price was mentioned in one of the other thread. I think it's somewhere around $580. (per piece of course)

This wheel reminds me of the RX-1 wheel.

From BryanH site:
RX-1 Wheel (http://www.pbase.com/image/21858380)

580 is steep IMO

well not really if you consider that these rims are designed specifically around the RX8's requirements. I would expect it to be pricer for that reason alone, much less the fact that they are exceed the OEM specs by being lighter and more rigid.

I think Squidward is right most of the wheels I have looked at start at about this price range. Add to these wheels the fact that they are engineered for racing performance (much stronger) and they seem like a pretty good deal. I was reading another thread where they were talking about race wheels that cost around $900 a piece.

you guys make some good points
but its still 2400 without tires

Originally posted by mikeb
you guys make some good points
but its still 2400 without tires

2400 is alot of money to spend, especially wheels, no doubting you there.. but as a comparison, the YP's are within an 'expected' price range, when compared to competing wheels of the same caliber...

yawpower,

What's the widest wheel/tire combo that will fit up front? I'm thinking 9 x 18 with 255/40-18 with a 40 to 45 mm offset? I see you're offering the 9.5 x 18 with 255/40-18 in back. I'd like to run same width wheels/tires all around, to preserve the wonderful handling (ie, NOT add additional understeer by going with skinnier wheels/tires up front). FWIW, I completely agree that 19s add no performance advantage over the stock 18s. BTW, what wheel/tire combo are you running on the Speed World Challenge Rx8?

I like them they look really clean I would compare these in quality to an HRE 5 series w/ the stepped lip. I kinda wanted a straight but I understand that you cant do the straight lip with the sensors and I'm not about to give them up. The $500-$600 pricetag isn't bad at all since I paid $4000 for my HRE's that are made the same way. I want to see them with a high polished finish tho and a different center design I'd like to see a 5 or 9 spoke design too next to the mesh look.

Also will you offer replacment parts so if we curb a lip or crack the inner barrel, on a crappy downtown pothole, we can order a new lip or barrel and pull the wheel apart and replace ourself. I would definitely like to see an 18x9 or 18x9.5 size too. Not a fan of 19's anymore


Don't want you to bite off HRE's designs but something like these for the centers
http://216.73.121.214/wheels/images/enlarge/enlarge-543.jpg
http://216.73.121.214/wheels/images/enlarge/enlarge-546.jpg

I had these on my old car and loved the design...
http://216.73.121.214/wheels/images/enlarge/enlarge-547.jpg

These are kinda european looking!!!
http://216.73.121.214/wheels/images/enlarge/enlarge-549.jpg

Thanks for the input Pro Tools

"I want to see them with a high polished finish"

We will offer them polished for an additional charge.

"a different center design"

We have plans for a second design, similar to the last picture you show, but that is a ways off.

"Also will you offer replacment parts"

We will have replacement parts, but you will have to send the wheel in for repair. We don't want someone to put their own wheel together and ignore the torque sequence, or assemble them with an uncalibrated torque wrench, etc.

If the wheel has been damaged, we want to inspect the center and be sure that whatever bent the rim didn't damage or weaken the center section.

"I would definitely like to see an 18x9 or 18x9.5 size too"

We are working on fitment of the larger wheel right now, with the goal being the largest wheel/tire combo that will fit the car with no interference.

We looked at a 5 or 6 spoke design because I have always really liked the look. While doing stress analysis, we found that in the case of a 3 piece wheel, we had to make the outer edge of the center quite thick to give support between the spokes. The end result was a fairly high moment of inertia.

I'm not saying that HRE or anyone else is building a bad wheel by using a 5 spoke. It's just that in our case, we set a fairly high standard for rigidity, and to achieve that with a 5 spoke, we ended up with too much weight at the outer perimeter.

We designed the wheel to work well in a racing environment, and that had quite an effect on our priorities.

Hopefully we have met our performance goals, and designed a piece that is unique, and visually appealing to most potential customers.

I really appreciate you taking the time to post the pics, and offer input. If you have any further questions, just let me know.

I'll take the Wheel center design of the last pic in 18x9 all around

Originally posted by M-ster
You probably would have miss the 'click here for more pix' link, any way here's the close up. Oh, I like it. It will great on a silver 8. 9.5 x 18 with 255/40-18 S-03s for me :)

We're trying real hard to make the 255/40 on a 9.5 fit front and rear. It's a piece of cake with stock ride height, but clearances get tight when the car is lowered.

Right now I'm 90% sure that it will work. When I say work, I mean lowered or not, and no rubbing.

Thanks again for the input.

Originally posted by yawpower
Right now I'm 90% sure that it will work. When I say work, I mean lowered or not, and no rubbing.


I don't plan on lowering I like being able to get into parking lots W/ a steep entramce.

Originally posted by ProToolsKid
I don't plan on lowering I like being able to get into parking lots W/ a steep entramce. You just gotta slow down for the parking lot entrance curbing :) I think most of us agree that Mazda skimped out on the 6-speed Rx8's wheel width. The 18-inch diameter looks great, and I even like the wheel's styling and functionality, but 8 wides with only 225/45 tires are just plain silly and inadequate for spirited road work. I also think the stock sway bars are a bit on the soft side, and allow too much body roll. I'm looking forward to Yawpower's suspension upgrades. Should work beautifully with Yawpower's wider wheels and tires :)

but 8 wides with only 225/45 tires are just plain silly and inadequate for spirited road work.

are you talking from experience, or from theory?

My experience (Deal's Gap) was that in spirited driving the entire set up works great - it might be better with the S-03s but I had no problems with the stock setup. Of course, I wasn't autoxing but that's a whole different [non-road] environment.

Originally posted by rx8daniel
are you talking from experience, or from theory?

My experience (Deal's Gap) was that in spirited driving the entire set up works great - it might be better with the S-03s but I had no problems with the stock setup. Of course, I wasn't autoxing but that's a whole different [non-road] environment. Both. My reference car at this point is my current FD3S Rx7. Suspension is stock Showa R1 shocks, H&R springs, and Eibach sway bars. Wheels are SSR Integral A2s in 9 x 17 with 255/40-17 Pirellis. The Rx8 feels like a luxo-cruiser in comparison to my FD3S...but during normal driving conditions, the Rx8 wins hands down in driving comfort :) I'm just looking for a bit more stiffness in the Rx8, but not anything like my FD3S mind you :)

I haven't driven Deal's Gap, but I've read/heard great stories about this route.

I've taken the back roads through the Allegheny mountains to MADS @ Summit Point back 1999 with the FD3S. I was exhausted when I finally reached Winchester VA.

my back door (Winchester); I live across the mntns - west of the Appalachian trail - just off of I-81 in PA.

therein lies the compromise the 8 is - better for day-to-day driving (not as compromising, IMHO, as the G35) than a FD3S- but- not as hot on the track with the stock setup. But stiffer springs, more open exhaust, wider wheels - all will be available quite soon as I think these are under development by several vendors. But I think for the masses (to get the level of sales Mazda wants) it is an excellent starting point. But I also think it takes a lot of pushing to get the stock tires out of control and that most [RX-8 owners] do not/will not have the knowlege guts or desire to disable DSC and take their car to that point.

Originally posted by rx8daniel
my back door (Winchester); I live across the mntns - west of the Appalachian trail - just off of I-81 in PA.

therein lies the compromise the 8 is - better for day-to-day driving (not as compromising, IMHO, as the G35) than a FD3S- but- not as hot on the track with the stock setup. But stiffer springs, more open exhaust, wider wheels - all will be available quite soon as I think these are under development by several vendors. But I think for the masses (to get the level of sales Mazda wants) it is an excellent starting point. But I also think it takes a lot of pushing to get the stock tires out of control and that most [RX-8 owners] do not/will not have the knowlege guts or desire to disable DSC and take their car to that point. DSC? Real drivers don't need no stinkin DSC! That's why the base 6-speed is the 8 to have :) Seriously, I do agree with your point. As a serious driving enthusiast, the FD3S wins the contest between Rx8 and Rx7. Having owned the 7 for 8 years, driving it daily 4 seasons per year, plus instructing at 10 open-track events per season, the 7 is showing its age, and is starting to become tiresome to drive during the daily grind (I must be getting old:) ). The 8, OTOH, is really quite easy to drive for the ho-hum commute, and very comfortable. I especially love the much softer clutch (compared with my ACT pressure plate in the FD3S). The off/on ramps are still fun, but accelerating on the interstate is a bit disappointing...but...to be fair the FD3S (quite modded) has 360 rear-wheel-hp, while the 8 has less than half of that power pushing 250 lbs more weight. Still I think the Rx8 is a real 4-door sports car. People say BMW 3 series is the 4-door sports car, but those folks have not tried the Rx8 :)

Paul,

Your Yaw Power wheels look great! http://www.yawpower.com/wheelpics.html

Are those 9.5 x 18s on 255/40-18s?

Is the Rx8 in the pictures, lowered with an upgraded suspension?

The wheels will look even better on a Silver 8 base 6-speed :)

Nope...Stock tires, but with a 40mm offset as opposed to the 50mm offset of the stock wheels. The track is wider by almost an inch.

The car is lowered a bit. Too much in the rear. It needs to come up a bit so that that it doesn't run short on travel with 4 adults, and golf clubs, or luggage in the trunk. Besides, I think it will look better with more rake.

Our Stage I suspension is meant to be "dual purpose" and right now the car is fine with 2 people, but it runs short on travel in the back with 4 full size adults, a full tank of gas, and about 40 lbs of stuff in the trunk.

It is still in its VERY early development stage.

I shot some better pictures of the wheels yesterday. I hope to have them posted early next week.

The production pieces will be slightly different. They currently have 40 fasteners. The production pieces will only have 28, and they will be dished out a bit more in the lug area much like the stock wheels.

We are close to starting production on the wheels. Once we get started, we will take deposits, and the first batch will take 4 to 6 weeks for delivery.

The first run will be 100 wheels, and we already have solid orders for 13 sets in 18X8 (Mostly people running track events)

After the second production run, we plan to keep wheels in stock so the delivery time will be shorter.

The second production run should start at the first of the year.

If I was any good with Photo shop, I would show the wheels on different colored cars.

Thanks for your comments.

What's the wheel width pictured on the Yawpower site?

8" Same as stock.

I'd be interested in reading about your 9.5 x 18, 255/40-18 fitment, and any pics you can post! I'll probably leave the suspension stock since it'll be a daily driver with occasional autocross and DEs.

I will post information to the website as soon as it is available. We're still noodling around with different fitments. With all the work involved in CNC programming and prototyping, we need to make sure everything is just right before we make claims/start production.

We just need to be sure that everything clears under all conditions.

The 255/40 is about the only alternative with wider width, and the same diameter as stock. I'm not going to offer a wheel/tire combination that throws off the speedo/odomoeter.

We're moving as fast as we can.

I appreciate your interest.

Is there any hope of a 45mm offset? I ask because 40mm offsets are not legal for SCCA stock class. I know the local club won't care, but I would hate to be protested at a nation level.

Thanks.

Is there any hope of a 45mm offset? I ask because 40mm offsets are not legal for SCCA stock class. I know the local club won't care, but I would hate to be protested at a nation level.

Thanks.

It seems that SCCA has a knack for screwing with my plans. I'll have to give that some thought.

Could you send me an email at paul@yawpower.com in a week or so? I can have an answer for you then.

I doubt anyone would protest for 10 mm of extra trackwidth. You'd have to be damned good for anyone to be pissed off at you enough to protest :)

Paul:
Sure no problem.

SleepR1:
I know, but sometimes there is just the one jerk who will do it just because he can.

Actually its only 4mm extra because the rules allow +/- .25 in which is +/- 6mm so any offset from 44mm - 56mm is allowed.

If I have the money I will still get the wheels, but just checking to see if a legal version exists or possible.

those rims are ugly

Originally posted by mental pimp
those rims are ugly Dude, that's rude. Least you could do is suggest some improvements.


Paul, I basically really like the wheels, but find them a bit too busy. Kind of remind me of the old Pontiac TransAm "honeycomb" wheels. I notice that the wheels have 7 spokes, all of which split near the rim, forming a rotary-shaped opening, which is WAY cool. But I wonder if you could do the same wheel with 5 or 6 spokes that split. Might make it a bit simpler looking...

Finally, will you be making any kind of a less expensive variant of this wheel? Perhaps ones with less spokes, to reduce the manufacturing costs? :D I know pricing hasn't been announced yet, but I suspect you'd sell a lot more of them if the price for 4 came closer to $1000 than $2500. I know I'd be severely tempted at the lower price point!

Thanks...

well, i went to see them again and they were still ugly, but the gunmetal one looked pretty hot, so they aint that bad

Originally posted by Omicron
Finally, will you be making any kind of a less expensive variant of this wheel? Perhaps ones with less spokes, to reduce the manufacturing costs? :D I know pricing hasn't been announced yet, but I suspect you'd sell a lot more of them if the price for 4 came closer to $1000 than $2500. I know I'd be severely tempted at the lower price point!

Thanks...

Knowing what type of work goes into making this type of wheel this is acyually a really good price. Reducing the # of spokes will not reduce the cost because the centers are machined from a solid piece of forged Aluminum. Making less spokes will actually make more work for machining. The only way I can see the price coming down is if you switched to a 1 piece cast wheel which totally sux. These prices are actually really nice HRE will charge you $1200 each wheel, for this quality of rim except these are made for the RX-8 to accomidate the pressure sensor unlike HRE. The only part that is custom on an HRE is the center piece they use standard size outer Lip and inner Barrel to work W/ different cars.

Not debating this is a reasonable price. It definitely is. But money doesn't grow on trees, and I would rather spend less if I can. Thought it might be worth asking the question.

Paul?

Originally posted by Omicron
Not debating this is a reasonable price. It definitely is. But money doesn't grow on trees, and I would rather spend less if I can. Thought it might be worth asking the question.

Paul?

You might be able to save about $100 a wheel if they were 2 piece wheels :)

Yeah Fikses are $750 to $950 each for similar sizes and quality...

Ok, ok, so I'd rather just have less spokes. Geesh. :)

Paul, one comment on the finish...if possible, PLEASE have the rims clearcoated if they're anodized. I have a set of very expensive Volk Racing SE37A's in bronze which did not last more than a few months before they really started to look like poop thanks to water spots and brake dust contamination. I paid over $500 each for these rims and I've been very disappointed with their "street" performance because of this. Just a head's up :-)