the vents will hold the weight of the strakes...but since i dont have strakes i cant really let Marc play around with a pair to figure something out about that...

Since i dont have the strakes... i dont know how the strakes attach, how they attach...etc etc.... so i am not much help to Marc on that area

the stock vents are held by clips, thats true. but the clips can only be released from behind the wheel well, which requires a couple screws to be undone, which in turn requires effort. If someone was to rip them off without doing so, they would break the clips and any chance of reattaching them.

Ones with double sided tape are a different story. Also, the strakes screw into the mesh of the stock vents, so if there is no mesh for the strakes to screw into, then i guess you'll have to use tape to hold the strakes too. That to me is a cheap way to attach pieces to your car, especially after spending the money to be different.

If some people dont care, then by all means do what you like...i'm just throwing it out there that it's pretty lame to ONLY use tape as a way to attach it. Tape will not last forever, especially after enough rain/snow/dirt works its way in.

I am not referring to wind taking them off, I am referring to water and dirt. Biu, I honestly can't believe you think that tape is the end all answer as opposed to something that actually clips into the frame. :rolleyes:

Yeah i get what you mean, you are entitled to beleive in your own thoughts so if you think this product doesnt suit your taste then by all means you dont have to get it...its just another product out in the market :) The choice of 3M tape is just because it is easier to fabricate and that clips are too hard to make from the fibreglass backbody of CF products....it will snap and break for sure..... plastic clips...YES.....FB clips... NO...

But if you were to take off your OEM vents, you would only need a phillips screwdriver to take off 3 push/pull rivets of the fender lining and voila reach and pop off the clips. And if you were to take off the CF vents, you would also need a flathead screwdriver or some sort of tool to pry it away, because with just your bare hands i am sure it will be broken in pieces by the time oyu have it off.

I guess this product is just like eyelines, there has been alot of debate on the security of eyelines and such but hey look at the modding community for all cars, many ppl seem to like them and buy them :)

So just like any other product in this world.... some like and some dont :D

and no need for the " :rolleyes: " face because we are all here to share our knowledge and help each other on this forum.... dont really need any attitude of any sort....but if you were not meaning any harm and that i misunderstood you then i take back what i said.

Cheers

and just to clarify about the strakes issue....

when this product was designed AND produced there was no plans or intentions to have the strakes fit on there because simply the fact that i did not have strakes to provide Marc to experiment with.

so NO we are not encouraging you ppl to put the strakes on the CF vent by "simply taping it" or "glueing it" .....

please understand.

And for the last time i need to clarify i am only one faithful RX8 owner that has contacted Marc at Gemini to share some ideas with him of possible CF products for the RX8 to be made so ME and all your fellow 8 owners can make our 8s look more unique.... i am NOT the one making any money on this....i am NOT the vendor.....i am simply the one trying to get CF parts made for the 8...so please dont treat me as a vendor or take stabs at me for a product's weak points and mishaps... i am just sharing with you guys what i know....im just trying to be the good guy....

So soem of you gotta chill.....lol

PEACE

not trying to give you attitude, just making sure you understand my concerns.

what makes me think that these are easier to rip off than the stock vents is the fact that there is no mesh in the middle, therefore providing a very nice "grip" to tear them off the car....not sure a flat head screwdriver would really be necessary. this is not the case with the OEM ones, since the mesh is very solid with very small spaced mesh, which really provides no real way to grip them.

the finnished product WILL have mesh (a choice of black or silver)

maybe you read otherwise ;)

I have a hood from gemini and I'm pretty confident of the quality of the vents that will be made from a conversation I had with Marc last month on the phone. He also mentioned that he was working on the mirror covers in carbon fiber also, which would be another nice touch, especially if you have a hood to match. (not trying to highjack your thread BIU).

One more question BIU, do you know if the vents will be available in any color choice so I can match my hood with them. From what I remember of the conversation I had with Marc he said that we had choices, as we did the hoods. Just let me know if I'm right or wrong on this, thanks.

Yup they will be avaliable in colored kevlar/CF also :)

how much?

I'm living near Toronto Canada and I would like very much to get my hands on the number #2 for sure, my RX8 is sunlight silver , the grid should be in black, I wonder how much it will cost me ??

Yeah, CF and FRP are not suited to making clips .... gonna need a more "flexible" material, like urethane.

I don't know, some folks like CF just for the sake of CF, which is fine, but "the look" just does nothing for me. I was looking forward to seeing something more scooped out and integrated into the fender. Something that looked as though air flow was being managed/channeled. Like the OEMs these just kind of sit there and maintain the "vent" theme. With all the pics of the Auto-Bahn Strasse earlier, I thought that was the design direction... something more "Italian".

There definitely appears to be no way to properly attach strakes. The sculpt of the opening will not match the OEM strakes, so there's gonna be a significant gap and the attachment screw will be visible. The mesh is not suited to strakes either. I don't see strakes on this design, as has been pointed out.

Since we have not seen actual costs, but just upper $100's/low $200's projections, I think there's an opportunity for a fresh re-design and a more aggressive cost structure that offers more value. A design that's more sculpted, integrated, strake friendly is what's needed. Something that enhances the "Italian" fender lines more like the 575M Maranello. I had been working on such a design, but put it aside when this came up ... but I'm going to pick it back up again.

Thanks BIU for all of your efforts. It's not easy herding cats, I know. No shots intended for the messenger here, just "opinions".

thanks Derwankel :) Appreciate it ;)

I'm sure that the strakes can be attached with a bolt that is used for sheet rock walls with an anchor that would anchor to the back of the fender wall and would not be seen. I still want the vents and I will have fun fabricating or trouble shooting the strake issue. Thanks to BIU for taking the time out to help all of us.

I'm with derwankel, he wrote just what I was thinking! I was looking for something a little more functional looking, more the look of an air management piece. Think of like a hood scoop but not with the scoop to the outside but with the scoop part to the inside of the fenderwell. The autobahn type is more this style, it looks like it is managing the airflow! If you look at it close it apears to direct the air from the inside of the fender out towards the rear of the car, like you would see on a ferrari or a jet . As for the mesh on these (Gemini) when you look at the vent while looking directly at the side of the car you see all the mesh flat as if you were holding a news paper in front of you to read it, flat. The style I was interested in would be, if you looked at it in the same position you would not see the screen mesh at all, because it would be at a 90* angle to the body going into the fender well where it would meet up with the back functioning part of the fender vent scoop. Think of the side flank scoops on a, say 67-69 shelby mustang, only inverted to the inside of the body, or a hood scoop/inlet on a '58 Ford passenger car. Maybe I can find some pics to support what I'm tring to get at.

more, like.....

As stated earlier by derwankel and myself...OEM strakes will not fit in these areas of the fender. Notice the enlargement I made with the arrows pointing to obvious gaps. Yes, I know this is the auto-bahn picture.

Back on subject...Like everyone else, I was expecting to see the forward vented version like the one pictured here.

Give us a little time, we are going to release a different side vent, these are not as easy to produce the working prototype as the one that has been shown above. derwankel and I have been working on this project seperately even before we knew who each other was. I designed a very similar piece several months back and posted Photoshop pics back then and have even worked on removing the grill material and have one side all removed and have not had the time to go back to working on more of it in recent time period. derwankel is much further ahead and it should not be too long before we turn out something that is forward vented that can have strakes attached...then cannot be the OEM strakes as the angle changes with position of the strake along the fender. However, we make strakes and derwankel has already designed a 3 strake set that had to be designed by changing the angles at which the strake sits on the grill in relation to the angle of the fender.

Like derwankel said...BIU, you have done a great job of bringing custom made items to light, we all can appreciate these efforts.

BIU. I was expecting something more like the autobahn version. Gemini's product is not the same. Add to that these pieces are stick on... Sorry, but I'm going to have to withdraw my interest (unless changes are made)...

#140 10-29-2004, 03:11 AM
BIU is Offline:
Registered User Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 783

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lets get more details on this product I'm a little warry too

ok update guys.

i got the final production pieces on my car today.... just thought i'll post some pics up.... its been raining all month and my car is dirty.. and yes i know the quality/ lighting of the pictures sucks..... but i'll get some better daylight pics in the new few days when the weather gets better :)

And as for the ppl that are worried about the double sided tape part.... i tried ripping mine off today after they were installed and let me tell you its quite impossible.... theres no where to hold onto for a good grip and the only way to get them out is if you pry them with a tool... but without some careful prying they will crack for sure so dont worry thieves are not really a problem here...

just a shot of the CF hood... well i meant to have the vents in the picture too but i failed miserably at angling my picture lol
http://www3.telus.net/public/a5a55088/vents1.jpg

picture of the CF hood/side vents with black mesh (1)
http://www3.telus.net/public/a5a55088/vents2.jpg

picture of the CF hood/side vents with black mesh (2)
http://www3.telus.net/public/a5a55088/vents3.jpg

and YES i can now say these vents are FUNCTIONAL! After driving i put my hand where the vents were and there were ALOT of hot air rushing out from there... the vent area is connected to the engine bay and the mesh allows for a much better air flow

Now we just need final production prices for everyone :)

i think the prices are up at Gemini's site if im not mistaken.

www.geminicomposites.com

just feel free to email Marc at info@geminicomposites.com

he will be more than happy to answer all your inquries :)

BIU, I am also withdrawing my interest in these. I do not care to have someone prying at these once they know they are stick on after reading the boards. Thanks

they are stuck on? As in stickers? Thought it was a replacement?

wow.... 275canadian for just lil carbon fiber vents? thats like ... 235 american. sheesh! u could get a carbon fiber hood for cheaper! count me out and theyre stickers? wow feels like we're gettin jipped here guys