These are the new wheels I just picked up. 235-40-18 on the fronts and 245-40-18 on the back.

18x9 +38

Thoughts?

 

congrats. I have these in bronze and I am really happy with them. why did you go with 235 in the front? I used 265/35r18 all around.

 

Nice!

 

Looks good with the winning blue man. Is that the vis Js hood? How do you like it? Have anymore pics of it?

 

Nice. I like these wheels.

 

Thanks guys.

JCrane, honestly one of my tires blew out and i had to get a pair quickly and found these goodyears cheap. So these are temporary until my new set of 4 come in. I plan on doing either 275-30-18, or 265-35-18.

Joe---It's a Option Racing Hood a friend had imported from Japan a couple years ago. I love it. It's a different style than most I've seen and the scoop is more or less functional but there are a couple spots where the clear is coming off so that's a project I'll do in a couple weekends.




And one more of the wheels with the blue lugs

 

^ That wheel gap is huge...you need a drop!

 

I know, I know! I want to do the MS shock and strut drop since it's currently my daily, but have yet to find a set to buy.

 

Understood, I wondered if that was the case. I would suggest the 265 over 275 on a 9" wheel. A 275 needs a 9.5"minimum.

And +1 on a drop.

 

Ohh ok man. It looks sweet still, don't see a lot of those

 

Cool, thanks for the advice JCrane, will definitely do that! Any suggestions on tires?

And the pic of the wheel is when it's on a slope leaning on the back, so the front gap looks a bit bigger than when just on flat land. But yes, a drop is my next mod, as soon as I can find a MS set!

 

Your tire choice will be heavily dependant on your application. I chose Kumho XS in 265/35R18 as I only use them in the summer (I have a separate set of wheels/tires for winter). I also autocross and do HDPE's, so I needed a tire that could take the heat of tracking and not chunk. If you aren't planning on doing autocross or track days, you wouldn't need an extreme summer performance tire like the Kumho XS.

So what are your intentions with the car? The Mazdaspeed spring/shock combo is a great performance suspension, but many claim that it is a little brutal for the street, as they are the stiffest aftermarket springs available besides coilovers. With the Mazdaspeed setup, you will be on your way to a capable track toy if you choose.

 

I drive this car most days. It will be my DD for probably the next year or so, so I'll most likely need something that is more multi-season and not just summer.

I don't plan on tracking often, if at all, so any other suggestion on spring/shock combo for a performance/street compromise?

 

As for tires.....do you plan on running these tires year round, and what climate do you live in? If you see snow, and won't have a separate tire/wheel set, then you probably will need all seasons. If you see snow, I would suggest running two sets of tires/wheels since all seasons pretty much do nothing great. All seasons don't get around great in the snow, and their summer dry traction is pretty bad (poor stopping distance as well as lateral grip). If you give a little more information on your climate and your expectations, I can help a little more.

As for the springs/shocks........there are plenty of people that run really stiff coilovers on their RX8 as a daily driver. It is really subjective and dependent on what you can tolerate. The stock RX8 is rather soft (for a sports car). Most aftermarket springs are about 20-30% stiffer than stock. The most common aftermarket shocks are Koni yellows or Tokico D-specs. How do you rate the current stock suspension? Do you think it is soft or hard? If you think the stock suspension is stiff or uncomfortable, then you probably don't want to run the Mazdaspeed and would like something more like the Racing Beat springs.

Good luck and happy rotoring.

 

Thanks again for all the advice!

I live in Northern Virginia area, so warm summers, and unpredictable winters. I won't be driving it in the snow, but will be in the rain every once in a while.

I think the stock suspension is perfect, not too stiff to take harsher dips in a road, but stiff enough to handle a corner well. I just want to lower a little and to be perfectly honest, it would be mostly for appearance purposes. So whatever is the closest to the stock ride would probably be the route I would go.

 

If these tires won't see snow, or any anything below 40 degrees F, then you can use performance summer tires. They won't be as good in the rain at 40 degrees compared to all seasons, but it is all about compromise. I have no issues driving on my extreme performance summer tires in the rain at 40 degrees, but that is because I slow down and am aware of the lower traction and increased hydroplaning.

If you aren't going to be tracking the car, I would suggest a ultra high performance (UHP) or max performance summer tire. These tires will give good street performance, and perform on a nice backroad when asked. Just don't take them to the track or they will melt under heat. A specific UHP tire that caught my eye recently is the Bridgestone RE760, mostly due to its low price and great reviews on tirerack. If I was looking for a street only tire, it is probably what I would choose in 245/40R18 on your 18x9 wheels.

If you are happy with the peformance and feel of the stock suspension, but just want a lowered ride, then I would suggest the Eibach Pro Kit, or the Tein H-Techs, or the Racing Beat springs. These three options are the softest of the aftermarket springs. The attached snapshot is of a spreadsheet I put together when I was looking at springs for comparison. This is not an all-inclusive list, so also do some searching in this thread for other springs not in my list:
https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-multime...%7C%7C-158035/

 

Wheels look really good man! Thinking about getting the exact ones. Would these look good on a titanium grey? I'm lowered on teins basics already. :/

 

Copy cat. Lol looks good!

 

check out the last page of the aggressive fitment thread.... I just posted pictures of the GM Battles on a TI and they are similar to the Weapons.