Good choice of rims. I actually like the N better than the NF, but its up to you. These were CE28's were actually my runner up choice, but it was going to be a bunch more to get them in white, and they weigh just a little bit more. With the 19" wheel/tire combo I ordered, it will be almost the exact same diameter as the stock combo (0.1" smaller actually). It should be lighter than stock as well. Expensive? Yes, but oh well, they're Volks... :rolleyes:

there are several reasons why... but they've been talked about on so many threads that it's silly to repeat them here.

The Volks look nice, and at that weight... go for it. :)

digging up a six-month-old thread... well that is how long it took Rays Engineering to send my wheels after I ordered them in February!! those japs took their time, but since good things come to those who wait, I am very pleased to have them now on my car!!
I bought the CE28 N rims. 18x8 front and 18x9 rear. everyone that saw them was amazed and I personally never thought it would look that great. its the first time I'm buying new wheels...
but it was not appearence that mattered to me most. I want to lighten up the car. shaving off unsprung weight is the best trick!! there is an improvement in acceleration in the low rpm range. in the twitsies it feels light on its feet and faster than before.
the carbonfiber center cap is great, and the special superlight lug nuts, with the "Rays" logo on them, make you wonder! they weigh just a few grams.
here are some pics of the rims and my new tires...

listen to blueEyes you nomws what he talking about...

We got these wheels in stock 19" gunmetal on serious blowout. Let me know if you're interested. Please take advantage.

Yes, Japanese special orders take a ridiculous amount of time to come in. A lot of it is just logistics. I know cause i import endless and work into the US and it's a serious PITA to schedule containers.

Peace, Rishie

I love endless, they make amazing brake kits :)
bought the wheels and now I'm broke:o but when I have some money I'll go for one...

Very nice rims RotorManiac, what kind of offset are they?

thank you very much bong. you are the first one saying a few good words:(
I trusted Rays engineering for the offset and used the numbers they are suggesting for this car. so its +38 for the front 18x8 wheels and +40 for the rear 18x9 wheels...

I weighed my car today. the reading was 1336kg with half tank!! last reading was 1350kg but with much less gas (about quarter of the tank) thats why I can feel the difference while driving;) my advice? get rid of as much unsprung weight as you can.... seriously.

So where to buy these wheels and how much are they?? Btw, are they forged?

yep, they are forged monoblock.
I'm not from the US, so I don't know any dealers there, sorry. if you live in the states, maybe a fellow american can help you;)

I must agree with the masses..19's and I personally prefer the ones in the first pic..19' Volks with a lip=pure sexiness!!! great choice btw
EDIT: oops I didn't read the whole thread before posting.. :rolleyes:
they look good! great choice!

well ....thanks
maybe a moderator can change the title, since I have the rims now. "Volk Racing CE28 on black RX8"
I still think 19 is an overkill, especially on a car with low torque... even the McLaren F1 had 17s on ;)

Sweet car... I've been looking everywhere for a black 8 with these wheels.

I actually ordered a set of Bronze CE28N's for my car today. 18x8.5J +47's w/ 245/40/18 and 18x9.5J +47's w/ 265/35/18. That'll make my front rim -3mm in from yours and the rear -1mm so that the Nazi's can't mess with me for protrusion of rotary parts. They will get you here in Japan during inspection if the fuzz on the string of the plum-bob touches the raised letters of the tire from 30' forward of the center of the wheel to 60' to the rear of center. That and I didn't want to mess with rolling the fenders on a black car... Do you by any chance have any clearance issues that you've noticed?

Thanks...

Nice!!! I really like the look of those Volks. And I bet they feel nicer on the road.

Good job on getting the 18s! I'm going to say that even 17s would have been a great choice.

This is what I see. The first pic has a nice lip, but the spokes bend back into the rim before the lip. What this does is make your rim look smaller than 18. I have 19 inch Volks and they look like 18's because my spokes do the same thing. If you are set on 18's, I would suggest going the same size rim and same sized tire. This way, you could continue to rotate your tires. I've seen many people who get 245's on all 4. With that second rim, the spokes do not bend in prior to the lip. This means that the rim will look very similar in size to your stock rim. Again, go with the same size rim 18x9 and same size tire. You do realize you will lose your TPMS, right.

I wouuld suggest that you do a search on this forum for 18 inch Volks and see how they look on other 8's. You'll also see 18 inch Volk rims up for sale every once in awhile on this forum, as most people upgrade to 19's.

Dragonfc3s: I have no problem at all with the setup I chose...

kwescott: only few people told me that my rims look like 17s. they look pretty much like 18s to me and personally I don't like rotating my tires ;)

I totally agree with you on the value of same size tires.

RotorManiac,
Kudos on a very fine choice indeed. 'Weight is the enemy', ESPECIALLY when it comes to unsprung weight. These things are pure perforamce, loosing the unsprung weight is the best you can do to a light weight sports car. I bet you'll feel the car dancing in the twisties, lighter on its feet but more planted to the road. CE28N's are one of the lightest (if not THE lightest) wheels in any wheel size. Believe it or not they weigh an incredible 6.5 lbs per wheel in 14x5.5 size !!!! (for Miatas and the likes). They look great on your car.
Max.

you're worried about rotational weight but then put a staggered setup on an RX-8?

Maximus, thank you for all the kind words! (great nickname by the way:) )
indeed these wheels are the best thing I bought for my car. I knew they were amongst the lightest ones out there, that's why I chose them. I also loved they way they look from the first time I saw them, so I had to buy them. I never thought of another rim, not while I was waiting for them for 6 months, not ever...

TeamRX8, I found out that the setup I chose has one great advantage: even without the proper alignment, the understeer is gone! This is not a fact that I made out of my mind. I visited a circuit with stock wheels/tires and then with my new setup and, to my surprise, the handling was much better than before, although the rear tires are quite bigger...
this is something that I 'feel' in everyday driving. along with that, the low-end torque is no longer a problem. the car accelerates from 2000rpm very easily, compared to stock. even a huge 255/35 tire on a 18x9 rim, is a lighter combination than stock;)