Ok so as some of you know I recently purchased a RX7 FD. Seen here:-
(http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b175/carlb4/RX7Salepic002.png)
However the wheels have seen better days. Seen here:-
(http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b175/carlb4/P4246460.jpg)
So here are my options. Just wondering on your opinions as what would be my best option.
1) Get them refurbished but to get them how I want them is probably going to be very exspensive. I would like the outter deep dish rim polished back to a mirror finish again. And the centres painted black. But I hear obviously painting the centres black is the easy part. But only way to get the high polish rim again is to use a technique called diamond cutting which is the exspensive bit. But this is what I am really leaning towards doing if the price isnt too high. Going to pop to wicked wheels in guildford to get a quote.
2) If price of getting refurbish is too high then try to refurbish myself. But so worried will make a hash of it.
3) Get a new set of wheels perhaps just rims to match my current tyres to keep the costs down a bit.
4) Get new set of wheels and tyres slightly smaller in size for a more comfortable and managable ride. As it is rather harsh on 19\'s But then gotta go to a lot of exspense and complicated working out of offset and spacing etc and worrying if they will rub etc. And then I have this set of wheels who no one is likely to want.
I really dont know what to do. All I know is I love the deep dish rim and want the centres black. Regardless if I keep these wheels and have them refurbished or perhaps consider new wheels.
Here is my goal thanks to some photoshop:-
(http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b175/carlb4/RX7Salepic002copy.png)
(http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b175/carlb4/IMAG0069.png)
Opinions and advice would be greatly appreciated
Seeing as they look like split rims it shouldn\'t be too hard to put the car up on axle stands and dismantle the rims into the respective parts, put the black centers that look fine off to one side marked up which came from which wheel and start rubbing down the dish bit of them. Although they look nice metal on black I personally have no idea how to refurb back to that, but given the colour of your car, I would be sorely tempted to completely rub down all the \'metal\' work on the dish bit of your rims and spray them a matching red to your paint job.
I did think about that lacey but thought it would perhaps be a bit too much red. And cheapen the look. A high polish adds class. At least thats the way I see it. I know it means a lot more work. But I think it looks better. Although have yet to do photoshop of red rims. Could see how it would look I guess
Black on red rims look wicked <3
Oh dont get me wrong I agree. But only if the red bit on the rims in minimal. Like a thin line. Not a whole deep dish rim. In my opinion I think it will just look too much and look a bit like a clown car lol.
Fair enough :)
I\'m not convinced that they\'re genuine splitrims, very possibly it\'s just a look and they\'re one piece. If that\'s the case, then they\'ll be a lot cheaper to refurbish than proper splitrims, a lot of places won\'t touch them or will quote stupid prices cos they don\'t want the work. Doing it yourself is comparatively easy, rattlecans are very good quality nowadays, but it\'s still a lot of work to do it properly and the trouble is that it\'s difficult getting a strong enough lacquer from a rattle can. Nothing more annoying than watching all your hard work dissolve and flake off when the salt hits it!
As to the colour, I think it\'s hard to top dark wheels on a red car. I had mine done in anthracite with polished rims first off, like in your photoshop but the lacquer went through and rotted on the rims, so I eventually ended up with all-gunmetal and I think they look better for it. Added a red stripe (that glows in the dark, woooo) and I think they look ace. But then, I would, I suppose :rollin
(http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv43/Nik_da_Greek/My%20new%20RX%207%20version%20two/DSCF1799.jpg)
hmm. They do look quite nice. But would still prefer to have it like my photo shop. Although I am a bit nervous as could cost a lot of money and worried like with your issue the laquer could peel and the rim could go all horrible again. :-s They did say when I phoned up Wicked wheels that instead of polishing the rim again could just paint it in a high silver. But I really dont know about that. I think it would look a bit naff. I suppose I could get the centres done in dark shinny black and then the rims done in gun metal. That might look quite cool. Might photo shop that a bit later see how that would look
It\'s really hard to lacquer polished alloy, that\'s the trouble. Mine were done by a good quality firm (Lepson\'s in Kent) and they still went through as soon as the salt hit the road. I guess if you don\'t use the car in winter or have spare wheels for the cruddy weather then it might not matter to you. Another point to consider is having the centre dark and the lip polished makes the wheel diameter look smaller (if you care). It\'s one of them hoptical delusion fings
Don\'t mind if the wheels look a bit smaller as my mate said they look a bit big for the car in his opinion. So making them look a bit smaller won\'t be a bad thing. And doubt I would use the Rex in winter anyways. Will just use my subaru when weather gets rubbish
Sorry this was a double post
Have you had a quote back from Wiked wheels for the refurb work?
Adam
No been working so haven\'t had a chance to het over there yet. Hoping while car is in guildford on Friday having alarm fitted they will finish that in time before wicked wheels closes so I can get over there for a quote then
Pretty sure Mania alloys are imitation splits. I would get the lips polished without laquer or diamond cut and then do the centres black.
Quote from: carlbrainiac;759934They did say when I phoned up Wicked wheels that instead of polishing the rim again could just paint it in a high silver. But I really dont know about that. I think it would look a bit naff.
i think most OEM wheels are finished like this now. it\'s been a while since i\'ve seen a new car with bare alloy that\'s been polished.
Ok I spoke to Wicked wheels in guildford. They are indeed fake split rims and apparently the bolts are only plastic so will lose those and short metal ones will need to be installed to retain the look. He also said that because they are not split rims it makes it very difficult and therefore very exspensive to do two tone. I.e black centre with polished rim. Therefore on his advise I have decided to go with centre and rim done in black chrome powder coat. But he said he can angle the spray gun differently in order to create a lighter shade on the rim to give the look Im after and to not lose the deep dish. As obviously when the wheel is all one colour you then cant see the deep dish as well. But he seemed to know what he was talking about so I completely trust his judgement. Booked the wheels in for next Friday. (Yeah I know I know Friday the 13th) But Fridays and Sundays are my only days off work and they arent open Sundays.
Sounds good Carl. Did they give you a price for that?
Adam
Glad you came to a decision. Good luck and post some pics up when you get them done. I\'m intrigued how it looks with 2 dark colour shades.
Yeah should hopefully look pretty good. £337. Was well chuffed at that price. And here I was thinking of possibly new wheels lol
For that style rim I might consider jap gold with polished lip? Like these BBS rims:
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_E4bf4QLEtiw/TTvLw73aY9I/AAAAAAAAA2s/alVH2nt3VxI/s1600/newBBS.sized.jpg)
That\'s pretty tasty actually
Gets me thinking about mine now too. Like the gold and chrome look :D Just wish i had some dish on them wheels
Adam
Quote from: m1tch;760699For that style rim I might consider jap gold with polished lip? Like these BBS rims:
Look fantastic. But at the risk of sounding pedantic, wouldn\'t they be German gold? :confused:
Gold wheels on a red car? Not my taste. All personal preference though
Those bbs wheels are sexy, however i agree with Carl might not work on a red car. If it was seriously being considered you\'d have to photoshop it first.
those BBS wheels must be £A LOT :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:
Buy a set of Xd9s, these are mine, the 17 inch looked boss :Tongue1
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RX7-SUPRA-SKYLINE-S14-WORKS-EVO-XD9-ALLOYS-TYRES-/220778242491?pt=UK_CarParts_Acc_Wheels_tyres_Rims_Car_Wheels_ET&hash=item336768a1bb
or get someone to refurb \'em for ya
isnt it like 40 quid a wheel
Quote from: DR SCHNITZEL;760780Buy a set of Xd9s, these are mine, the 17 inch looked boss :Tongue1
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RX7-SUPRA-SKYLINE-S14-WORKS-EVO-XD9-ALLOYS-TYRES-/220778242491?pt=UK_CarParts_Acc_Wheels_tyres_Rims_Car_Wheels_ET&hash=item336768a1bb
or get someone to refurb \'em for ya
isnt it like 40 quid a wheel
If you read the rest of this post you will see I have already made a decision
Quick question guys. Where are the best jacking points on the rx7 FD? Also where is the best place to put axle stands while my wheels are being done? Pics to show these points would be very helpful if at all possible. Cheers
You can jack it up on the subframe on the front and on the diff at the back. Then just put 4 stands on the sills, one by each wheel... if that makes sense :D
Adam
jacking the car up to take the wheels off has had to be put on hold. Went to undo the wheel nuts before I jacked it up obviously. All came undone apart from one on the offside front. Its FT. Had a good strong bar on it with half inch driver and it just wont move. Guessing this is why previous owner didnt replace the front brake pads. The nut then started to round so have now used a special socket which cuts into and grabs the nut. Only problem is this socket is only 3/8 driver which just isnt man enough. Even tried my mates battery powered impact gun. But not man enough. Gonna take it up to the car boys tomorrow (car workshop division of where I work) And see if they have the same clever type of socket only with a 1/2 inch driver and then put it on their windy gun and hope and pray it comes undone. Obviously it was a windy gun set way too high that put it on there. Have ordered a new nut. Just hoping its gonna be the right nut. And just hoping that the stud is going to be ok. :-( Nothings ever bloody simple is it. Just hoping I can get the wheels off the car in time as they are booked in this Friday.
I had a problem like this on my 106, had to replace the hub after finally getting it out :(
Best of luck, maybe you\'ll be lucky! Remember always use a dap of copper grease or face the expensive consiquences!
Didn\'t come out so got the thread doctor coming out tomorrow which isn\'t gonna be cheap :(
Harsh Carl, really hope you can get this sorted soon :/
Me too. Then my next problem is gonna be getting a replacement wheel nut to suit. Apparently previous owner said they came with the wheels so gonna contact them and see if I can get one. Gotta be 17mm nut size and about an inch long
Nut is out :) mate came in and said what Nah you don\'t need a thread doctor. Stop being a girl. He then proceeded to undo it. Lol. He is a god. :) now just gotta find a suitable bloody nut
Wheels are off and my dad just happened to have a nut to suit perfectly :) lol its a 19mm where all the others are 17mm but other than that identical just means I need to have two sockets in the car plus the locking wheel nut.
Good work. Now get those wheels sorted out how you want them :D
Guildford meet soon, keep you eyes peeled. Tell you family and friends about it and come join the fun :D
Adam
Yeah definitely. Should have the wheels back early next week. And I have done nearly all the other bits I wanted to do it. Bled the brakes and clutch. Fluid was horrible lol. And front pads were crazy low. Also did new coolant and couple of other bits. Just need to paint my calipers now. Then when I get the wheels back bolt em on and she\'s done :) I\'m well up for guildford so will keep my eyes peeled. I assume it will be ladymead?
Ladymead... Pah!! No mate, it\'ll be somewhere nice :D
Adam
How about newlands corner?
I like Newlands Corner, been there on the bike a few times. Mind you, that pub we met up at last time was nice, too. Wherever it was :3Confused. Can\'t remember the name of the pub either :o. I\'ve slept since then :p
Got a couple of nice pubs in mind so will put something up soon :D
Adam
cool. Look forward to it. And guessing a Sunday would probably be the best day for everyone?
Getting my wheels back tomorrow :-) Cant wait. Will post pics up when I have them.
By the way have been meaning to ask. All my mates keep asking me and I realised I cant answer.
What BHP is a standard FD RX7 1992? Ok I have a K&N Panel Air filter and a HKS cat back exhaust and a Baileys dump valve but I doubt that will have made that much difference. So just curious.
Also anyone know the factory spec 0-60 time of these cars?
Oh and also predicted top speed?
Oh and also I noticed in the Full members section that there are discounts on Membership with the RAC and AA. Which sound great. How much is it to become a full member. And then to get membership with the discount with either AA or RAC?
Only thing is my mate told me there isnt any point in joining with a breakdown service as they turn up, take one look at the engine and see its a rotary and just say "err dunno what to do with that mate" And all they can do is tow ya to a garage that does know rotary engines.
True??
True .
However, a more comprehensive answer would be that it\'s worth joining the RAc or whoever simply because it\'s probably cheaper than having to pay recovery yourself should (when) you need it. Speaking as someone who\'s gone home by flatbed truck more often than I care to remember, I wouldn\'t be without cover personally.
When I say "true" it means true that most recovery blokes know fckall about rotaries.
(http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b175/carlb4/IMAG0115.jpg)
(http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b175/carlb4/IMAG0116.jpg)
(http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b175/carlb4/IMAG0111.jpg)
Chuffed :D
And the final bill was less than expected. Just £312 As they were able to re-use the old bolts.
Just need to fit the centre caps
Wheels look good Craig.
To answer your question about power, a standard fd has 255bhp. You\'ll release a few more ponies with a air filter and cat back exhaust :D
Adam
ok cool thanks. Oh and the Name is Carl. Not Craig. lol. But its cool