I'll reserve my comment until I receive my bumper...I've yet to see this bumper installed on any car except the car ED provided and the fitment looked perfect.

 

You generalized G35 bodykits... not just bumpers. So for a full kit, all the savings adds up to $1,500 - $2,000.

As for pocket change... its all relative. Spending $38000 for some people is ALOT of money, leaving them broke Either way... to each their own. Lets not start another debate in this thread too lol

 

Agreed.. maybe I should have used better words.. Instead of pocket change, maybe I should have said "better spent", as it will cost that $300 and then some to get the replica up to the standards of the original.

It's also a good feeling to have the real thing..

 

narkotic i'll say to u like what i said to rest

u can have ur authentic, i'll spend (and have already spent) the $2000 i saved on the HKS High Power TI Tip Exhaust/Z-Tube/Blitz Sus Intake

thank you very much =]

 

With only a $300 difference between the knockoff and authentic, I don't see the logic of going replica. It may cost more to correctly modify and fit it to your car. Also, if the knockoff really has no mounts for the license plate, that is another disadvantage. Pictures of these problems would definatly help.

iChiBahN, you should spend more time researching where you spend your money. The HKS High Power is like a box of bricks. The titanium tips are neat but if I was going to spend over $1400 for and exhaust, I would rather get the Amuse R1 exhaust and get the benefits of a full titanium exhaust. (the weight savings of this exhaust are more beneficial to the performance of your vehicle than the added power that both exhausts give)

 

for the record, Narkotic is the ONLY one that paid $550 for this bumper. Everyone else paid $390 in the group buy. If they were in SoCal, they didn't pay shipping if they picked it up and only paid $35 for tax. That $425 to TS's $920 after tax with the same shipping deal. So, those who bought the replica paid less than half for it. So far, besides Narkotic, no one has actually allowed a body shop to fit this thing...the RUB guy who was banned was a troll that had it in for 350zForums and started the thread to spite him. With a $495 dif between the two, I'm sure people will still come out ahead after fitment prep. Paint, primer and installation will be the same for both no matter what.

 

As mentioned in one of the earlier threads, I picked up my bumper a week or two ago. I haven't intalled it yet, however I did get a quote, and the total for everything came out to be less than what I would pay for the real TS. Just by "appearance", the bumper looks pretty good. I have no complaints!! I don't expect fitment to be perfect, but nothing a good bodyshop can't deal with. I respect those who buy brand names, and also those who buy replicas. It's all good!! All in all in the end when my car is park next to your car, in your eyes, you have the brand name, and in my eyes, I have the replica, but no one can really tell the difference..except us of course. No biggy!! We are all after the same thing, a nice looking car, with a big fat intercooler in the front!!

 

Even if they still come out ahead, it won't be by enough to justify buying the knockoff. Paint and primer may not be "the same for the both no matter what" as threads are begining to surface regarding bubbles and other issues with the finish after the knockoffs are painted. (In other words, the knockoffs may require additional prep work for the paint to be done properly)

What are you trying to say? You spend a little less money on the bumper, alot more time and money at the body shop, and then it still won't be perfect or look 100% like the authenitc piece.

Exactly my point. The price difference in the end doesn't justify the extra time and effort to buy and install a knockoff.

 

Nice spin, but I saw that thread and it was determined to be the body persons fault, not the bumper.

 

Heres what I think is funny. The knock off for those that didnt get in the GB price is 300.00 away from the real deal. Why would anyone buy the fuggin knock off! How is it that the KS can be priced so low? Now we have the guys that make the knock off trying to make more money! If your so cheap that you have to save 300.00 you need to sell your fuggin car and buy a civic!

 

What I am trying to tell you here is, and a lot guys have been trying to do so in other threads is, we would probably be happy in spending the money on the replica and take our chances at the bodyshop, rather than spend the big cash on something that we don't think is worth paying for. Some of these body kits are so outrageously price, it's pitiful. Your bumper falls into that category. If you want to eliminate the middle man, be competitve, make your prices competitive...that's the bottom line!! Play the game or get squeezed out!!

 

I have the real TS front and hearing people paying less than half of what I paid hurts.... I dunno why most of you guys get so pissed off at replicas. If people want to buy them and deal with fitment issues shouldn't that really just be their problem? Let them bitch and whine...

On another note though, I remember back when I had it painted, the guy at paint place had just done a GReddy front and said my fiberglass is thin compared to it. Is that bad? I mean its held up just fine, just curious about the quality/duribility of the TS original as opposed to other fronts... I mean its the second most expensive one out there for our cars right now right? so it should at the minimum be the second highest quality one right?

Oh well, just babbling... still love my bumper...

 

This is like Polo getting pissed at Old Navy for sellng "Polo style" shirts....rediculous!

 

Actually it's not...it's more like unethical companies sending a polo shirt to sweatshop factories to be counterfeited in mass quantities to be sold as "replica polo." Yes, it is ridicules...

In cases like this one, with all the issues being brought up regarding the knockoff, the price difference just doesn't justify the time, trouble and money to buy the knockoff. For the record, I don't have any say in the prices and you don't have to tell me that the parts are expensive, I know they are. Let's take a look at why...

Materials aside, a large portion of the cost involved with producing these parts is labor. It's just a fact that Japanese labor is more expensive that the sweatshop labor in countries where most knockoffs are made. The Japanese attention to detail and quality is what most JDM tuners value...and that's why you don't see lots of the JDM companies moving their production to china/taiwan/mexico/etc. Actually, Bomex did this and dropped their prices but their fitment and quality isn't anywhere near most of the parts made in Japan.

Middle man...wha?

Anyways, the issue at hand is not a "game" to be played. The parts are not designed, marketed, or intended for just anyone to slap on his or her vehicle. They are designed and manufacturered for quality and priced accordingly. If the price is too high, noone will buy the parts and it should be left at that....but that is not the case here. If this product was an original design that was just plain cheaper, it would be just plain competition. Instead, it's a counterfeit copy of our design, stolen without our permission. If the innovative companies that create original designs get "squeezed out" then you will be left with nothing...

 

this coming fromt the people who charge 300 dollars for hood shocks and 1400 dollars for a carbon fiber hood... you guys over price way to much.. and its not like its a little its alot! bottom line is fiberglass is fiberglass at the end of the day it does not matter to me which is which its all gonna look the same if you have a good body shop just cause two people took a sheet in a box but one person was more popular dosnt mean i would like to have that box of sheet more its still a box of sheet.. haha