Nemesis8

iTrader: (3)

THE Mazda ones come with a rubber gasket behinf them, but the gasket has moved slightly

poolsidenaz

I'd like to see pics of your 'ugly' vents to understand what it is that you're describing exactly. I think strakes look good unless you kit the car. If there's a body kit on it the strakes don't complement it.

JeRKy 8 Owner

For those of you anti strake people looking to get rid of them...here's a possible buyer.

I think they add class to the car just like the accents. Maybe it's because you see them on all the Mercedes and Crossfires.

Having strakes looks better than not having them at all. I definitely don't like the different colored vents people have installed that do nothing for the car except look weird.

Avalonstar

I was considering getting strakes, and I might do so after reading this.

Nemesis8

iTrader: (3)

What I need to do, is to remove the fender vents and use a back to balck polish on them. They have turned a slight grayish speckled color. The problem with removing them, is the OEM strakes I have are a pain to remove because they are bolted on from the rear. I dropped my wrench in the fender well when I put thme on originally, so I just need to be more careful this time when I remove them. I'll try and photograph them later - busy at the moment.

JeRKy 8 Owner

So the fender strakes have stained your vents? How many years have you had the strakes for? Is this a problem that everyone has?

TheDosDog

I like strakes on stock body. They don't quite go with many of the kits though. I would pull the vents, use back to black and reinstall with new tape. Regarding the aftermarket vents, most have too much bling for me. Mine have held up well (Vents and strakes). Almost 3 years and 45k+ miles and they're still like new.

Nemesis8

iTrader: (3)

No, the strakes have not tarnished the vents. The vents have just aged on my car, and now look ugly. I think taking them off and using back to black will make me happy. The strakes are OK, they have held up nicely, but the rubber gasket beneath them has moved and looks bad.

Not sure if I can pic it - givbe me a minute.

Nemesis8

iTrader: (3)

It's raining - no pics for now.

Nemesis8

iTrader: (3)

You can never have too much bling

Actually, my car looks stock from the outside, but under the covers it's all business

New Yorker

Just installed 'em this afternoon. They look mah-velous—the opposite of plastic, if that makes any sense! The quality of the stainless steel—and how smooth they are—subtly add to the illusion of the 8 as an expensive car, though that wasn't my intention.

I'm not removing 'em, at least don't plan to. But I wonder if they would leave scratches too, if I did. Hope not.

BoosTED

iTrader: (2)

They shouldn't if it has the double sided tape on the ends to keep them in place along with being secured to the vent.

EyeBall Fixer...(o)(x)

All this talk about installation difficulties and the "gasket" behind the strake...
This is one of the easiest mod. anyone can do...! Just turn the wheel, remove four plastic
pop bolts, reach in and pop out the grill. What's so hard about that...?
As for the so called "gasket..." There is no gasket. It's double-sided 3M tape. Sounds like
yours were installed on a dirty or oily car and didn't stick properly... Usually that stuff holds
forever.

I'm a Strake Fan. On my BB, it reminds me of a bow-tie on a tuxedo...

Nemesis8

iTrader: (3)

Mine are Mazda OEM version 2 strakes ordered from Trussville. I have a black rubber gasket. If yours are Mazda strakes, then they must have addressed the fact that the black rubber does not stay in place, and have gone to tape.

icyur2

Anybody bought from rx8strakes.com? If so, how are the quality of the strakes?? Next question..I installed the front splash guards..anybody installed the strakes without having to peel the front guards off? Can I get to it by just removing all wheel wells and reaching in with hand to remove the vents? Any input, much appreciated!!!

OH! Think aluminum alloy is the best match for Titanium?

w0rm

Anyone know where there are some gunmetal strakes being sold?

BoosTED

iTrader: (2)

You should be able to get around the splash guards without taking them off.

You could pull the wheel well cover out.

Or attempt to move it around the mud flap by pulling the screw and clip from the flap and working the well cover out so you can access the side vent from inside.

New Yorker may have some more insite on it.

icyur2

Thanks! I'll check it out and see if I can access it before ordering..I heard the England guy's strakes are alot better quality? Any input for those who bought from RX8Strakes.com vs. England (rx8-accessories.com)?

BoosTED

iTrader: (2)

I like the stainless steel ones from Howard.

New Yorker

"4 years to" is right, you can easily install the strakes even if you've already installed the splash guards—and you DON'T have to remove the splash guards or their double-sided tape. Here's what I did:

1) All strake instructions (no matter where you get the strakes from) tell you to remove the four plastic fasteners—but if you already have splash guards, you won't find four fasteners—you'll only find two. One is several inches above the top of the splash guard, and the other is on the splash guard itself. Remove both of these, PLUS the metal screw that's also in the splash guard. So, for each side, you're just removing two plastic fasteners and one metal screw.

2) I don't know if the fact that I have small hands/wrists made a difference, but I was then able to pull back the inner fender and (pretty easily) stick my hand into the space and reach the the grilles. (If your hand is too big, maybe there's a kid who can help with this step.)

Regarding the different strakes available, I went with the strakes from Howard in England at rx8-accessories.com. They're polished stainless steel, very smooth to the touch, and very shiny (almost but not quite as shiny as chrome—think of your mom's stainless steel silverware polished up nicely). They feel heavy in your hands—not too heavy, more like a "quality" piece, if that makes any sense. They fasten with a screw and double-sided tape (already attached). (Oh, and if you go with Howard's strakes, go to his website and print out the instructions from there—the xerox instructions he sends are dark and muddy, making some of the pictures hard to see.) Apparently these strakes are just a bit narrower in width than the ones from Mazda and RX8strakes.com. Supposedly Howard went to stainless steel because he found that aluminum strakes (like the first ones from Mazda) tended to pit and turn color from salt on winter roads. But others who have aluminum strakes have not had this problem. I have not seen the others, but I really like Howard's strakes and feel like I made a good choice.

icyur2

Thanks New Yorker!!! I'll have to buy them then

Nemesis8

iTrader: (3)

Pic of ugly vent and migrating gasket

LiL BenNy

crosssss post...

hey deedubb i got some strakes for sale... asian discount i can hook you up brother... pm me if you're interested

EyeBall Fixer...(o)(x)

Hey Nemesis8,
Thats an easy fix with automotive doublesided tape...
Probably not a gasket coming loose, just old 3M tape applied incorrectly.
EBF

Nemesis8

iTrader: (3)

Yeah - I think I'll pull the vents off and do some repairs. I'm going to clean them up and fix the gasket.