RAYS mazdaspeed wheels?

[Koenig]

What's anyone's take on these? They're supposed to weigh in around 16.97 lbs (lighter than the stock now) and fit into the factory Bridgestones.....
I could see powdercoating the spokes a nice black or gun metal color while leaving the lip silver..... your thoughts? Only problem is the site I found them on is $450 per wheel and I've found some of the mesh racing design I like for under $400...

 

[mountjonas]

i've read that certain methods of powdercoating will weaken a forged wheel. you could paint them, though. the black/polished lip seems to be over done now, but it does look good on certain cars.

 

[Koenig]

Really? I had no idea about powder coating..... painting would be it I guess..... it's just that my speed6 is the Black Cherry, so I want a dark wheel, not really chrome or silver... I have looked at gun metal wheels too, and those are real nice.

Thanks for the heads up man.... powder coating is out!

 

[Black_Protege_5]

yea painting would look good. Just no polished lip.

 

[Koenig]

drat, I like the polished lip.....lol.... so i should just paint the entire wheel gun metal and slap it on my speed6 like that huh? interesting, I think i'm gonna work out some photoshopped pics of that.

 

[BlueWolfCry]

I agree that the polished lip/black spokes is being over done. They look good as they are right now! expensive but very nice!

 

[Koenig]

Yeah they would probably look good just the silver like that but $450 per wheel is a bit out there..... at least they fit in the factory tires.... gonna see if I can find another site with a better price.

 

[Koenig]

well the few sites i've found seem to have it for the same price range.... doesn't look like i'm gonna find it any cheaper.... guess I'll have to decide on different rims or go with the cheapest shipping.

 

[L8R]

Those are bad ass. Authentic? I know all the Mazdaspeed rims made by Rays were a lower offset so we couldn't run them on our Proteges.

Nice!

 

[Koenig]

I believe they are authentic....... I also found them on the mazda6online.com site for $449.95..... and the rim pretty much says "mazdaspeed" on it... and they're supposed to be for the speed6.... I wish there was more info for the wheel cause the speed6 is basically 5x114.3 and +55 offset........and I do like the fact the wheels say "mazdaspeed" on the lip (2thumbs)

I could definitely see this slipped into the factory tires and the car lowered maybe 2 inchs on some springs (naughty)

 

[L8R]

Yah, same as our cars (offset wise). I have no idea about powder coating, sorry to go off topic, but imo, I'd keep it silver and get a set of nice tires instead. That is a really nice finish. Subtle.

Chris

 

[Koenig]

thanks man, no worries on the off topic.... I would believe that the mazda6online.com store would have the right stuff for sale.... I would keep it silver but my speed6 is black cherry so I kinda wanted a darker wheel, maybe gun metal even.... I don't know....personal perference I'm not really fond of silver or chrome wheels.

 

[Bluesultan]

as a fellow Black Cherry Mica owner, you should paint them gunmetal/grey in color. it will look real nice. i'm trying to get my hands on either an aftermarket set of wheels in that color or thinking about getting my stockers painted/powdercoated grey

 

[Elicious]

Personally I think it's kind of silly to spend $2k on wheels and then paint them. Just get the wheels you want if you're spending that kinda bank.

 

[Koenig]

as a fellow Black Cherry Mica owner, you should paint them gunmetal/grey in color. it will look real nice. i'm trying to get my hands on either an aftermarket set of wheels in that color or thinking about getting my stockers painted/powdercoated grey

That's the thing, I'm very interested in these wheels

I would definitely love a set of those on my car, and technically they are cheaper than the ones above.... HOWEVER to address that and both Elicious down below regarding the 2k price........ seriously these wheels (RAYS) are under 17 lbs a piece...... WHERE are you going to find lightweight wheels for our car? lighter wheels = less rotational mass = less HP loss to the wheels...... follow me?

That's always a plus in my book, especially considering our speed6s weigh in around 3600 lbs.

Personally I think it's kind of silly to spend $2k on wheels and then paint them. Just get the wheels you want if you're spending that kinda bank.

 

[mountjonas]

WHERE are you going to find lightweight wheels for our car? lighter wheels = less rotational mass = less HP loss to the wheels...... follow me?

check into rotas. unless you don't like knockoff wheels. but they do make lightweight wheels that are reasonably priced.

 

[Koenig]

I've heard rotas are nice, i'll check if they make darker wheels...... thanks bro (2thumbs)

I just like the "racey" "sporty" look........ that's just my flavor..

 

[Elicious]

WHERE are you going to find lightweight wheels for our car?

Uh, everywhere? Enkei, 5Zigen, Gram lights, Volk, Kazera, Kosei, all make 18" wheels from 16-19 lbs. And that's just off the top of my head. If I were spending 2k on wheels they wouldn't be over 18 lbs and I wouldn't be painting their high quality finish.

Unless you want some exotic color like orange or blue wheels, you should be able to find a wheel in the color you like for $2k. Black or gunmetal? You can find tons of those.

 

[Koenig]

I forgot to mention CHEAPER....... I don't really want to spend $2k on wheels....... I've found wheels for $1500 and they weigh 19 lbs.... and come with a tire package?

I'm just saying $449 per wheel and no tire package? I do like the wheels that say "mazdaspeed" I was referring to painting them because I'm not fond of the silver, that's all. and the problem is finding a design I like......Enkei I don't like as I've seen my friend go through a bad experience with them...... 5-Zigen and Volk are nice but tend to cost more than $2,000 for the designs I look at

 

[mountjonas]

i got my rotas for $650 shipped from subydude. 17" weighing in at a little over 17 lbs. then i hopped on a tirerack special for tires that came out to $388 shipped minus a $100 gift visa card. if i planned it out right, i could've waited on the wheels while the gift card was being sent to me and then applied the card to the wheels. instead i used it on other mods.

if you're not upsizing the wheel, why not use the stock tires to save some cash now and then upgrade those later... unless your tires need replacing.

5zigens usually don't run in the rays pricing neighborhood. and the enkei racing series are real nice.