Yeah.. the days of the "bling bling" polished rims are gone.. I don't like those either. Put them on a Mercedes/Escalade etc.. Give me Magnesium 12lbs 17" rims!

 

Mind you, those are the show rims.

The ones that come with the car are going to be regular polished aluminum, more than likely.

 

From that angle, I don't like the color, the rims, or the windows. The windows should be tinted, no doubt. The color is way to bright and yellowish for my taste, and the rims arn't bad, but they would look better if the were regular polished aluminum, or my favorite, smoked chrome.

 

I don't think we'll see shiney chrome rims on the production cars (at least, I hope we don't).

 

Well maybe another angle... I like them.

 

Let me make an addendum...

I like them because they will be easy to clean AND they look decent

 

From that pic they look pretty good.. Are those 16" or 18"?

 

I believe that they used 18” rims on the yellow prototype.

 

The bottom pic has been photo-shopped (by Mazda). The top photo is a real photo.

I like the photoshopped, less shiney rims better.

 

Good eye Grimace.

 

As this, I beleive is the newest (closest to production) model that we've seen, notice the saet belts which are attached to the rear door.
This makes sense since when closed, the front part of the rear door is actually the 'B' pillar. This is obviously the strongest place in which to have the saet belt anchored. IMHO:o

 

yech...i hate chrome rims. I like the dull silver finish (polished?). I dont necessarily like the wheel design either...how the spokes flare towards the outside. I think 6 straight spoke rimes that are a little thinner would like nice on the car.

 

I want thinner, more lightweight looking (if not actually lighter) rim, with a satin finish, with a thick clearcoat on top.

Don't want it too outragous like the chrome rims with wide spokes, but not too pedestrian either. We need restrained aggresiveness, with mostly straight lines and a few well placed curves.

The car itself looks thin and muscular, not big, thick, and overbuff. The rims need to reflect the same design continuity.

Actually though, the showcar rims with the powercoat looks fine too me, just not quite... it.

And damnit, make them 5-spoke rims that are easy to clean. Anyone who has a german car will know what I'm talking about.

 

Where is the SUNROOF!!!!???? Got to have it!!!

 

Hmm,,, I kinda like the wheels, so long as they are not chrome... the dull ones are nice and simple.

Oh, somone asked what rubber it had on it... well from the High Rez pictures you can see that it's Dunlop 225 45/R18

I want a sunroof too, glass definitely... makes the whole car feel more airy even when closed.

 

i like the way the rims are now. Its just the chrome that i do not care for much. I like the photoshopped version of the rims, those are great. But honestly if i had the fortune to own an rx8, i really wouldn't mind. I'd probably change them later on anyway.

 

Looks like we will be getting different rims (by my eyes anyway). Check out this thread of new spy shots of the 8.

http://www.rx8forum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=589

 

No, those are the 16 inch rims found on the automatic version.

There are still 18s on the manual version.

 

Anyone know if those 18" rims will be on the UK version?

Manufacturers seem to have a habit of going for 17's here... but the car looks sweet with the 18's and as for automatic... no thank you!

 

You're right - if you zoom in on the picture you can tell the sidewalls are taller on the tires.

I was thinking the 16" rims wouldn't fill the wheel wells very well, but this car doesn't look bad. I still think 17" would be the perfect size though.

Aren't the 16" rims coming on the base RX-8, manual transmission version too?

 

If you get the 6 speed, you get the 18s, and if you go with the automatic, you get 16s.

I'm sure the dealer can work something out if you WANTED the 16s, but personally I like the 18s a lot more

 

Well I want a manual transmission, "no ifs, ands or buts"!

What I've heard is the following:
-Auto tranny versions get the 16" rims (like you said). It said that in the R&T article
-There will be a base model, detuned (~190 HP) with 16" rims, and will still be available with a manual transmission (5 or 6 speed). This is more speculative and rumour based.

I simply wish there was a compromise between the 16" rims and the 18" rims. 17" rims would be perfect. A slightly taller sidewall (50 series for example) would be better around the streets of Toronto. There are also more tire choices in 17", and the tires are cheaper than 18". But I won't complain if the '8 comes with 18" rims either.