D MENAC 7

There will be two versions of the oil cooler grilles. The first is strakeless for those who do not like the look of the front fog light accent strakes I am making. The second will have these accents. As far as looks, the first one will be fairly transparent if you wish to get the powder-coated black versions. I am also going to have bright aluminum for those who like to have them stand out more so. The fog light accent strakes are at the front of this thread.

Update, I got the RX-8 automatic tranny fog light cover today so I can start working on the final design. I cut the back out of it so as to be able to work on the protoype for molding. This cover is for the right hand side of the car. That is the diagram above as to what it is similar in looks to. I will have to design something that fits up against the rear of the opening in the front with a grille behind it. The strakes will fit up against this frame and I am planning on molding a pair per side into this structure. I will also, as explained above, make some without the accent strakes for those just wanting the protection and not the additional accents. So, these are coming along soon after the side strakes and the fog light strakes. This process is slow due to work and supplies slowly coming in. I have a bit invested in this already so I am not going to stop proceeding on these and other projects.

Tamas

iTrader: (1)

What will be the material of the oil cooler grilles? Is it going to be galvanized steel or something else?

I'm also down for a set of the grilles with the fog light strakes (strakes will be hopefully tilted upwards so that they follow the similar elements' setup inside the headlights)

D MENAC 7

Material will be polyurethane resin for the frame and mounts, aluminum screening either in bright aluminum or black powder coated. Depending upon cost of powdercoating, these might be the cost of the powder coating process higher than bright aluminum.

The foglight accent strakes redesign is tilted along the same lines as the opening as in the phot shop rendition. The finial design is different from the prototypes in that they are not as deep so that oil screen screens can be integrated directly behind them. They also have two aluminum pins that will require drilling two small holes in the side of the fog light covers to insert these into. This will ensure they stay put because they will also be backed up with the trim tape. The outside edge will still utilize trim tape. This 3M trim tape is the same stuff many of the other accessories use in addition to the pins and nylon fasteners. They will stay on.

Irish_in_a_RX8

iTrader: (1)

Goodluck with the AT design. Polak and I had some problems molding screens. Much easier if you simply have two oil coolers. Good to see results :-)

ella7

So, how is this project getting along??

D MENAC 7

It's coming along. I have the bottom ones finished and molded and even have a few cast. The top ones I am working on. Presently I am expecting these to be ready soon as I am trying to catch up with the side strake production. I also have to take the front of my car off and I haven't had a lot of time lately. This will happen soon and it will not take long to make the prototype frames for the oil cooler screens. I have already made some physical drawing and measurements on the protoype material.

BlueGrimRX8

Is there anyway you can make a single strake that is a little thicker. More like the X-Men Car. Just another idea I think would look really good. Otherwise you can count me in!

D MENAC 7

The first question I have is do you have fog lights? The challenge I have designing such has to do with the fact that I have to have a car to model it off of. I have fog lights and the only way to achieve a model without fog lights is to take mine off. So, the question is, would there be a market to do such to warrent the work in volved?

In addition, I can replicate just about any small part, however, unless I have to totally manufacture it by hand, it is much faster to have the original part to make a mold off of to begin with. That is what I am planning on doing with the front and rear Rotary accents since I already have them, I can make a mold to replicate them.

The front strakes I am making have to be manufactured with a physical model that I have to make. I made the original prototypes but, I needed to revise their design so as to accomodate an oil cooler screen system in the design and fitting stages. The bare front strakes will come out first and soon followed by the oil cooler screens. To make a single thicker strake is possible provided there is a fog light. Without fog lights, it will be further down the road if I were to get enough demand to warrant the extra work.

Right now I am working on side strakes and determining how much time it takes to make them versus the amount charged to do so. This takes up a bit of time and leaves me less time to work on the other two designs I am wanting to produce. My help is not with me this week but he will return on Sunday evening so if I am still behind on strake making, this will be taken care of very shortly to catch up so I can move into the next phase of producing the front strakes. I am half done with that part since I have the bottom two already built and molds made, I just need to find time to make and fit the upper two to finish that process. Then I need to take the front end of the car off to fit the oil cooler screen frame and after that, I will be offering those accessories. Next will be the accents and by then I will have to hire real help to produce the volume I am expecting.

BlueGrimRX8

Well for me, I do have foglights so your designs will work perfect for me. I just think having two is a little too busy, I really like the one design of the X-Men car. Sounds like this will work once you have time, you can put me down as a definite buyer if you can get the one strake going for the oil cooler, and if not then I will buy the two also.

Thanks for all the hard work.

D MENAC 7

The one strake is a definite probability then. That way everyone can have one, two or three strakes on the front so as to look like a billet grille too. A quick question, would you have it made in the color of your RX-8 or the same color as the headlight lens strakes. Are the X-men strakes white or silver?

BlueGrimRX8

The X-Men strakes are Silver and I would definitely want silver.

Omicron

Yes, silver "brushed aluminum" finish for me too.

thew

OHH MY GOD... MY wallet cant take it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Credit cards on overload,,, ATM card has melted... Must Buy more Mods...

Hey who hooked up my Nav system to my bank account.. I wake up and find boxes of new Mods sitting around my 8 and my bank account has been drained...........

"Bad 8, stop spending my money with out asking first"


Of course I want some Fog light strakes................ Yummy.....................

Kushballah

Maybe i jsut didnt find it, or skipped over it, but im curious, is it possible to have the foglight strakes w/o the oil cooler grills? It seemed since ur thinking of selling with the oil grills, that it is attached to the grill and with the two screws taht were mentioned? correct me if im wrong.

D MENAC 7

Yes, they will be offered without the oil cooler grilles but, I decided to design the final ones so that I do not have to have 2 sets of 4 different front strakes. The final design will fit with or without the oil cooler screens and vice versa.

Without the oil cooler screens there will be a template that will have to be taped on the fog light cover and it will have the place to drill the four small holes in the side of the fog light cover into which the strakes will insert to mount them at the correct spot. These are tiny holes and the pins are made of aluminum so they will not rust. The edge closest to the outside of the car will afix with a 3M tape that will hold them in place through anything except a huge impact.

This tape is made by 3M and it is rated stronger than the tape that Mazda usually puts on such accessories. I have had a small piece holding up a poly strake on the side of my computer for well over a week and when you pull on it, it actually moves my computer. It has been rated at -30 to over 300 degrees Fahrenheit for holding. If anyone wants to look this up it is 3M VHB double sided adhesive and is on a poly material that is clear. This beats the gray thin foam tape all to hell.

With the oil cooler screens, there will be two pins that will be located in the rear of the strake that will insert into the frame of the oil cooler screens and there will also be the tape to hold them to the edges also. The oil cooler screens will necessitate taking off the nose but, this is not a hard thing to do, I did it myself in 30 minutes and I will include instructions as to how to do this along with the other mounting instructions.

Tamas

iTrader: (1)

I'm positively going to buy a set of these, together with the oil cooler screens. You can put me down for a set - I won't bail out.

cgrx

ME TOO ! ~ powder coated black....

Lock & Load

Dmenac 7

Count me in for a set of fog light strakes , they definetely look way better at an upright angle .

GREAT WORK MATE :D
.Maybe you can on sell them to mazda at a good profit :D

cheers
michael

D MENAC 7

Mazda will probably rip my design off and offer them for $250 a set as an option on the next model year. :D

takahashi

Sell your design to them!

At least you are getting a hundred thousand dollars for a legal transfer! :D

D MENAC 7

Don't I wish? For that much, I would be able to buy everyone in my family an RX-8! Hmmm, could I take that off of my taxes as a business investment because I would have to use them all to fit new designs with? Tax free, $100,000....LOL in my dreams! :D

However, on a more serious note. I am going to take the time this weekend to finish the final upper fog light strake so I can make the molds a reality. I will also make molds of the oil cooler screens. I am planning a very productive Saturday.

Presently, I am finishing up a couple orders of side strakes and searching for decent screen material for the oil coolers that looks good and does not cost an arm and a leg to use. That way I can keep down the costs to everyone and make a greater profit. If it's too high, they don't sell as well and I make less. It's that simple. High quality, low cost, low overhead and high volume. That is my goal. :D

It would be nice to pay off my car in a couple of years. Right now any profit is being eaten up in the tooling and supplies expense. However, soon, I will reach that point where I can pay off the loan I got from my 17 year old son to start this venture...:D He has more savings than me.

Lock & Load

Its hard being a capitalist enterprenuer in this world , everything has way to much competition , at least you have a captive audience on this forum who knows your quality products .

cheers
michael

D MENAC 7

Thanks Michael, I appreciate that. :D

Cheers to you all there in OZ, too.
Dennis

playa78

kudos to your work, Dennis.
one thing, the Australian version has only 1 oil cooler on the leftside.
will you ever be planning to make them so that there is a set of 1x oil cooler grill+strakes for leftside and 1x foglamp strakes for the rightside?

D MENAC 7

Yes that can be done since I am making these so that they can be installed without the oil cooler screens too. I will have to special price those for those in OZ and other one oil cooler version RX-8s when I have them available. Thanks for reminding me.