BTW, I broke one of the hubcaps just before the meet. If anyone knows where to get a replacement, please let me know. Part number: F100 V3 810E 6C



I had to go back five miles to luckily find it in a bush (beside a pothole)!

With 25 year old plastic tabs to hold the hubcaps in place, maybe these wheels best stay in the museum.

They pried off so easily, it should have been a warning.

(It seems the option catalogue gives the paint code for those wheels as: "6C". This may be the same 6C paint code for the 1994 Protege: "Mighty Grey Metallic".)


[[[ Nevermind: Mighty Grey Metallic for Protege seems way too dark to be the colour for these wheels.]]]]



Nevertheless: I wonder if other options catalogue part numbers would give a clue as to wheel paint colours. Btw: the red version of this wheel is F100 V3 810 NU.

 

glad you found it! Now make sure they never see the light of day! (Three spokes are an abomination, especially on an FD ;P )

 

Three spoke or not, the wheels are an example of how extremely well the design coordination is done on the FD.

As shown above this wheel design was being considered early on in development of the overall FD design.

Maybe because the three spoke was too radical, the design became an option wheel as a consolation?

 

Only thing they look good on is a 916 Ducati, and even then it's a stretch

 

I complained about my problem to enough friends until one came up with a simple solution. He runs a wrap shop. He simply clear wrapped the hubcap in place. Took five minutes using scrap clear wrap.

(Come to think of it. I should ask him to do all four wheels.)

 

From November 29, 1995 Ferrari World Magazine


Two page inside cover ad November 29, 1995 Ferrari World Magazine

27 years later in a friend's friend's basement.

 

I know it’s an acquired taste, but doesn’t this show this design never took?

I think the rarest wheels for our cars would be the stuff Rays engineering made. Plus they have an elegant design to them…

 

i love this. it looks awesome. haters gunna hate.

 

Perhaps some are looking at the wheels in the wrong way. Focus on the holes not the spokes.

 

I have a production update for everyone that I think many will enjoy. We had a pretty big meeting the other day:

Koby Kobayakawa. Takao Kijima.

Besides the late Kenichi Yamamoto (may he Rest In Peace), the above gentlemen are perhaps two of the most well known individuals associated with the FD RX-7 and 787B Le Mans project.

Koby was one of the original “47 Samurai” under Kenichi Yamamoto tapped to develop the rotary engine for Mazda’s usage. Since joining Mazda in 1963, Koby rose through the ranks to lead Mazda’s motorsports division and successful 1991 Le Mans campaign. Koby was also the first program manager for the FD RX-7, overseeing its development from concept to creation.

Koby is pictured above between the 787B and FD3S.

Mr. Kijima joined Mazda in 1967 and is known for coining Mazda’s “Jinba Ittai” philosophy. Mr. Kijima has been heavily involved with chassis development for the MX-5, and was the program manager for the NB and NC. Mr. Kijima is also the second program manager of the FD RX-7 and oversaw the FD program from the mid-‘90s until the end of production in 2002. He was also involved in the development of the 787B.

Mr. Kijima can be seen above kneeling at the driver side of the last RX-7 ever produced (a Spirit R model).

This week, Kaleb and I had the great pleasure of speaking with Koby and Mr. Kijima about “Dreams of Hiroshima” during a meeting facilitated by former Mazda PR chief Bunzo Suzuki. We also had a couple of familiar friends from prior conversations join: esteemed automotive journalists Jack Yamaguchi and John Dinkel.

What did we discuss? Well..we can’t spill ALL of the beans now, can we? Let me put it this way: Fans of the rotary and RX-7 are in for a real treat.

It is hard to put this feeling into words. Working on @dreams_of_hiroshima has been one of the greatest pleasures of my life. I am so proud to work with this fantastic production team.

We are so grateful for your support. Your enthusiasm propels us to create a film that you will also be proud of.

Never give up!

Images: “RX-7” by Brian Long, History Channel, and Mazda Japan.

 

https://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/auction/...uggest_history

 

We’ve had some promising developments after our most recent meeting. We will be sure to keep everyone posted when we see where the latest path leads.

I think you should make a wheel thread.

 

Post to bump thread. Picked these up off Buyee this week.

 

MUCH better than the three spokes!

 

3 = Rotary. Just like the triangle door handles.

I agree the 3 spokes were pretty....lets say "period correct", but they did look a little better with the Zenki front end.

 

I wonder how the documentary is going?

Meanwhile, here are some Bugatti wheels to contemplate.

 

Thanks for all the continued interest. These projects take time but it’s still moving forward. The production team will be filming interviews with owners, enthusiasts, and businesses at Sevenstock on November 5th. If you’d like to talk with us send a message to our @dreams_of_hiroshima Instagram. Otherwise, if you see us walking around stop and say hi!

 

Any release estimate yet?

 

Looking for the Christmas Box Set.

 

No estimates yet but we are still making progress and are nearing the end of production.

 

Out for a Cruise&Shoot today. Striking how much the FD design endures in the ND.

 

IMBD shows this is in post-production now.

 

Looks like it was renamed, I guess Heroshima in the title wasn't so great after Oppenheimer


The Road Taken: A Mazda RX-7 Story.. no mystery in this title

 

Seems BBS got the Bugatti Bug in the early mid-'90s as well.


Also went for the massive antennae mod.

 

@darktower @bossbattleRX7

Any updates?

Through a friend in California, I have had some exchanges with T. Matano regarding the three spoke wheels. He said that his and my set are the only ones he knows of in North America.

He said he pushed for the three spoke, but was overruled by "production" who wanted a lighter wheel.

Therefore he asked that they included as options in 1992.

My wheels are dated 1/92.

The earliest catalogue I have is from circa 1995/1996.

He said the wheels where meant to match the muscularity of he overall design, but also sent a picture of a bonsai plant with similar shapes.