Ok, heres a question - Are the fender strakes installed like the ones in the picture? The reason I ask is because they look crooked.....

 

yes...poorly applied strakes...or some punk gave them a hard twist.

 

Darn!!! Now hard is it going to be for the dealership to realign these babies without scratching the body????

 

Depends on how tight they are applied.
When in doubt, use a leveler! :D

 

Yeah but the dealership installed these and I haven't bought the car yet, so I can still get them to fix it. I just don't want them to scratch the body!! Like I've been telling everyone, I'm not an 8 owner yet, yet I act like one...

 

no leveler needed. All you need to do is follow the lines on the outlet grill.

 

So recommendations?

 

realign is easy as gyro said but make sure they loosen them before doing it. if they twist them while they are tight that could cause a scratch.

 

*GASP* Bite your tongue! EVERYTHING has to be an exact science!! lol :D

 

Those are messed up...get a hammer and give them a few whacks. That'll fix'em!

 

Don't forget the two-sided tape. That'll need to be loosened (with a hair dryer or heat gun) and they'll need to use new tape to stick the strakes back down once they've straightened them. (I'm assuming they used the tape in the first place - reading posts on this forum has made me very paranoid about dealers.)

 

I put my strakes on in about 20 minutes.
There is a template in the instructions.
Just cut it out, hold it up to fender,
put the grill with the strakes attached back,
twist into position. Remove grill.
Remove tape. Stuff grill back in.

Repeat for other side.

I bought mine from Trussville Mazda.

They wanted 170 for the Rotary Accent, and 395 for the strakes
when I bought my 8 and I still would have had to drive back to
Trussville to get them installed.
Instead, I paid 120 for the RA and 195 for the strakes at the
parts dept. Spent 25 minutes and saved 250 bucks.
Dealerships rip you off on install and frequently screw up the job.
I don't know how well Trusville Mazda does, but I know on this that I did just as well.
Buy your 8 without the accessories then go to
www.trussvillemazda.com and buy online.
Put your stuff on yourself. I will just bring you a little closer to your
8.

 

Any way you can scan and email me a copy of that template? The fender strakes were already installed by the dealer before I even saw the car. I'd like to be prepared with the template incase they 've 'lost' it. Please PM me. Thanks.

 

DOH! I would be very embarassed if I were the salesguy! Very very embarassed!! And spitting fire at the poor looser who did that install!!!

 

Well I have a whole checklist I have go through before I sign for the car. I already saw the car a couple of days back and mentioned a couple of things I'd like done before I picked up the car. Like make sure the car is detailed impeccably, oxidation is removed from the brake discs, check the oil level, full tank of gas, check ECU version and of course, make sure the fender strakes are leveled. Don't know if they will do the TSBs I brought to their attention but hey I had to try.

 

Looks great otherwise! They'll probably remove the oxidation by a drive around the block. :D

It's missing something though.... oh yeah! Some RX-8club.com decals from Polak!

 

Hehe I'll most probably pick up a pair when I have my car at our next meet i.e. in May. He actually lives minutes away from me :D Don't know him personally though.

I did drive the car around the block but didn't get all of it off. So I asked them to when they detail it.

 

Looks to me like the dealer may have used the directions that came with the strakes and forged ahead, even though they were crooked. Several people have reported that the directions are wrong; I used RX8-U-UP's directions to put mine on, and they were straight. See the DIY Strake Install Thread (In the tech section) for details on installing strakes...

By the way, if there is a moderator that could fix that install thread, I'd appreciate it. When I posted it, the photos actually appeared in the thread. At some point, they became links instead of photos... I don't know why the thread was changed - it was better before.

 

The strakes are supposed to be horizontal, and (as shown in the close-up photo of the Gray in this thread) there are horizontal bars making up the vent grill - just line the strakes up with the horizontal bars of the grill and they'll be fine. BUT - the forward and rearward tips of the strakes are mounted with a double-sided foam tape, so the dealer can't just twist them to re-align them, they need to remove the side grills, put new foam tape on, line the strakes up with the horizontal bars of the grill, then re-install.

The easiest thing would be to insist that they install a new set of strakes so that they have the double-sided foam tape properly installed - if they refuse, then tell them to just remove the strakes from the car and from your bill of sale. Buy a set from Rosenthal or Trussville, and install them yourself!

Regards,
Gordon

 

How can someone screw up a simple install as this?? I mean thats what the template is for right? Wouldn't you after installation just double-check with the template to make sure they are level?? Sheesh....I hope I don't have to make a stink about this this coming Wednesday. I love the car, but it would be nice if it comes looking impeccable.

 

Insisting that they remove the strakes and take it off your bill may be the the best way to go. 1. You get to confirm that they haven't done any damage to the paint. 2. You get strakes installed correctly and know that the job is done right. 3. You save money.

 

Yea. I'd follow Megareds recomendation (and DIY thread) or at least be therre when they adjust them. Making sure they remove the grills before they do any work. Good luck!

 

Well I already asked my sales rep to get it adjusted and will find out this week if they did it or not. If they haven't, I'll most probably have them adjust it while I'm there else just have them remove them as you all suggested. The price I paid for the fender strakes was equivalent for what you would pay Trussville for without any labor change. Same with the rotary accents. Plus because they've installed it, its covered under the car's warranty, which when you think about is not a very important deciding factor. Either ways I'll be checking around the fender strakes to make sure there is no damage done to the body.

The more I think about it, the car didn't originally have the rotary accents and fender strakes. Considering the car must've been on their lot for a while, they must've added these to make the car more appealing. So I'm not afraid to walk away from this deal if they don't accomodate my needs, which I think they will. Worse comes to worse, I'll buy a Winning Blue MT with the GTP, AP and NAV. :D I'll just add on the accesories later.

 

The strakes would be easy enough to straighten out, it's very quick to loosen the fender liner, remove the side grills, loosen the single screw on each strake - BUT they're also held in place and aligned by the double-sided foam tape. Unless they remove the old foam tape and put on new stuff (by default, the strakes already have the foam tape attached, and you just remove the tape from the back side to stick to the car) - there's no Mazda source for separate foam double-sided tape pieces. Adjusting them is not going to give a satisfactory appearance, IMHO.

Regards,
Gordon

 

Unless they have Loctite lying around...... Now I'm worried......Sigh.... I suppose as long as they use a heat gun etc. to loosed the strakes, then clean up with alcohol, put on the other adhesive and they finally install it leveled, should be ok. But is that asking for too much from a dealership??