D MENAC 7

I haven't had a lot of time lately so this was a 2 week project that would normally have taken 2 - 3 days. I got the Gemini CF vents a while back and never installed them as I kept thinking about the way the side vents on the RX-8 should look. I posted the first over a year ago and then a couple of companies came out with very smilar looking vents. This first pic is a photoshop and not real. The second pic is of the Autobahn version. (Very Expensive!)

However, the third and fourth pics are real and on my RX-8. Better pics to come.

The material behind the vent is real CF though it comes in a sheet and has an adhesive backing. I backed it up with an additional sheet plastic that made the whole back side twice as thick and very durable. I used the same adhesive that I use on the Oil cooler grilles that I make to bond it all together. I only have one side done as you all should know, I am quite busy. The other side will be finished in a while as I just do a few parts at a time. After it is done, I will be custom making my own strakes that will be finished in Velocity Red. Further pics to come.

I will also post how I did it and the materials needed to do so. It is about a 6 in difficulty on a scale of 1 - 10 with 10 being the most difficult.

NO, I am presently NOT planning to make these! (Though I wish I could)

Total cost for the project:

$180 for the Gemini Side Vents
$25 for the CF sheet
$5 for the tube of polyurethane adhesive.
$210 total. Not bad for a nice looking project as this.

DIY to come.


Of course, I am also thinking about how these would look if they were done with the aluminum finishing process I do. :D Not everyone likes CF.

XDEEDUBBX

i love carbon fiber but i hate side strakes...

D MENAC 7

Yeah, I think you have told us this several times.....LOL :D

XDEEDUBBX

hahaha i least you guys are listening to me...hahaha but those CF pieces are nice...

BIU

Nice ! :D Another Gemini happy customer !

D MENAC 7

ha ha ha Any other strake haters out there?
Maybe you ought to have him contact me about how they can be done this way that way they can complete the process that was susposed to be like these before. :D

I mean they do excellent work but it seems they stopped before it got to this point. Gemini is very helpful and great to do business with. This isn't meant as a neagative comment about them not completing the process.

These truly look awsome and do what should have been done by Mazda.

hotpot

I hate CF and I think strakes are overrated.
Strakes look very good in pictures but after I installed mine, they didn't look quite as good in the flesh (Brillant Black here). I personally think that the black piano b-pillar trim adds more to the looks of the car than the strakes.

But keep up the good work DMenac.

XeRo

wait..so what are you doing Dennis? i'm lost...

DaveRX8

Can you get those autobahn vents anywhere? Are they for sale?

D MENAC 7

Yeah, you either like CF or don't like CF, that has been my experience with opinions. I am not a big fan of "too much" CF such as doing the hoods, fenders, spoiler, etc., but a little here and there is not too bad to me. I know a lot of owners are not big fans of CF on Velocity Red but I tend to like the looks of it as I am not a big flashy chrome fan and it is an alternative.

However, I do have one of the vents aluminum finished without the clear coat just to try it out as soon as I can get the time to put the back pieces on. If I do not like it, I can always remove the finish with rubbing compound as this aluminum finish will not stay without a clear coat. If I like it, I will clear coat it and then do the driver's side.

As I make the second grille, I will add on here the DIY as to how and what to use to do it with.



As with the CF eyelids, these can be painted any color combination one would like, even basic black or the OEM car color.

The strakes I am going to customize for this are not going to be permanent at first. I will mount them with just the tape to see what they look like before deciding.

First off, these are not going to be offered as a product for sale. The labor alone would drive the price up $100 as it takes some time and I don't have a lot of time to do this stuff with all of the other things I make.

It would be nice if someone could offer them for a lesser price than Autobahn though. You never know.

I do know that the Autobahn version can be had but am unsure of to go about it. Here is a link to their site: http://www.autobahnsports.jp/lineup/rx8_1.html

After you purchase some, let us know how you went about it.

I did the math and at today's rate of yen to US $ I figured it would be $235.96 for the Fiberglass version and $314.61 for the CF version so I guess the prices are not too far out of line but those prices would not include shipping from the good ole country of Japan (Nippon).

XeRo

DaveRX8...Thew can get them...