Don't you know after 1995, there were no more LHD FD's? If you have a LHD 99+ FD, it must be a fake one. We all know you don't want any non-authentic stuff. RHD 99+ FD is the way to go!!!

Chuck

 

actually Chuck, can you make replicas of ALL the body panels for an FD?? an FD costs too much to buy and maintain, so ill just install the FD body panels and bumpers on an 87 Fiero. it will look just like an FD!

 

yes i know. thats why i said "didn't think so".

 

Sounds good!!! If you can find me 10 buyers for that, I will make it! I will even have it made out of carbonfiber. hahaha...

Chuck

 

hey Chuck, whats the name of the actual company making your kits?? like if someone were to ask, "hey, what kind of body kit is on your car?", saying "FEED Knockoff" is describing it, its not the company. whats the actual name of the company making these kits??

 

Just tell them it's the FEED style. "xxxx style" if you have other kinds of kit. I can't reveal my source. Sorry. If you purchased something and you were not happy with it, you would come to me for refund anyways. You are not going to complain to the manufacturers so I don't find it necessary to reveal my source.

Chuck

 

Have you ever owned an FD and if so, did you enjoy paying/working on it yourself?

 

I have to agree with JoeD. I personally hate knock offs. I've spent a lot of time and money to piece my car together. KnightSports- Type IV bumper, Hood, SideSkirts, Dual Flap Aluminum Wing, Headlights, and Side view mirrors. I even have the KnightSports Blister Flare kit in the garage that will be installed this year once my KnightSports rear bumper comes in.

I take a lot of pride in owning my 7 and that also goes for all the parts on it. When i think of Knockoff kits i think of the kids that drive around with civic and unpainted body kits. Yes it is personal preference but like Joe said it's not like some is going to say"oh yea this kit is a knockoff kit I bought for my 7 cuz i couldn't afford the real thing." They're just going to say...."oh this is a FEED kit from Japan" or "this is a Knightsports kit that they make for the 7 in Japan."

Hell who is going to admit being a cheap ***. If money mattered that much you shouldn't own a 7. Hell just keeping the car running is expensive. That's like buying a nice suit and renting a limo for a nice evening out with your woman but going to McDonald's cuz you ran out of cash.

This is a losing battle JoeD. There are a few like us and the masses have spoken.

 

i feel you bro!

BTW, VERY nice analogy with the tux and McDonalds! it brings a tear to my eye when i see a single turbo FD with all the other parts to go with it and everything, only to see that it is outfitted with a kockoff piece of bodywork.

this is a losing battle for us. pretty soon, it will impossible to have an original body kit like one from Knightsports, C-West, FEED or RE Amamiya imported here because of all the knockoffs.

im affraid the FD guys have gone down to the level of the civic ricerz. sad my friend...so sad.

 

It is a loosing battle. But again what do you actually drive? You kinda remind me of Node, but the only thing irritating about him is avatar. Where the hell is that ignore button? Help me someone.

 

is there a rule somewhere in this forum that states you must drive an FD to have an opinion about it?

 

the Ignore List can be found by going to the top of the screen to "User Profile" than to "Edit Ignore List". please add my name to your ignore list so we wont have to read your useless and pointless replies to my posts. its a capital "J" followed by a lower case "o" then a lower case "e" which is then followed by a capital "D".

 

If you had bought the real Mazdaspeed hood, you would no doubt have to have it replaced as there was a factory recall on it (for faulty latches I think?). And if you read one of the SportCompactCar Project RX7 articles, then you would have heard how they complained the real Mazdaspeed hood flexed so much that above 80mph, the hood would actually flex as much as an inch. (give me a bit to dig thru my issues for the exact issue)

Mazdaspeed is Mazda owned and operated. If they were having problems with all the resources and the incentive of protecting thier reputation - what guarentee's are given with a organization not associated with Mazda at all?

The point is, buying the 'original' gives no guarentee that you will not have problems/etc.

And honestly - less then one percent of the people you encounter on the street will know what your bumper is a copy of - and will not care. The only people that may have an inkling are those in your neighboorhood 7 club and those on this Forum. As long as a person does not try to pass it off as the real thing - who cares?

BTW, thanks for the nice comments guys!

Peace.

 

No, but owning one sure gives legitamacy to your opinion. I can respect RotaryKnights opinion because he worked to achieve what he wants with his car. A person who buys the vehicle, maintains it and screws around with it at the risk of rebuilding his engine, has a voice of experience worth listening to.

Over all, car kits aren't really high on my list of week-end tinkering. But there people on this forum that should be informed about the quality of things such as body kits out there in the market, and not discouraged from looking at the best option for their particular circumstances. Disrespecting people with something as trivial as a replica kit that has no bearing on performance is offensive, especially when I hear it from you over and over again like Node's nauseating avatar (node's pretty cool otherwise, I mention him because he doesn't have a car either, but some in the fc forum take his advice due to his high post count).

Ricerz are pousers, but what's being more fake than not experiencing the trials and tribulations (being dramatice here ) of owning an FD but talking mad **** about replica body kits for a car you don't even have.

I actually wanted to pick a fight with you and your opinion, which isn't worth much in the performance realm, so people with replica kits can stick up for themselves without you badgering them to silence. Some people find you entertaining, that's cool. But screw it, I just want to ignore you now. Give me a few minutes to figure out how.

By the way, I scanned through hedgehogs post and you give him props on his mazdaspeed replica carbon fiber kit. So I guess you have a bit of hidden rice in yourself, so be careful of what you say, because you might detonate into ricedom .

heres, my car and my mods: R1, Blitz intake and BOV, Bonez dp and mp, Greddy cb and fmic, block off plates/relays/ resistors to emissions, petite ecu, and a load of other crap i bought/made or installed with the help knowledgable people in internet and this forum

 

thanks JoeD, you finally said something useful.

 

Do a search on widebody2 and you will see he has the Mazdapseed replica hood offered by Mr. Long Ngyuen. I don't sell any Mazdaspeed replica hoods. So his bad experience with that hood has nothing to do with me. I wonder why he got confused with where he purchased it from. Are you behind all these, JoeD??? How much did you pay Widebody2? Did you promise him an authentic MS carbonfiber hood??

Chuck

 

Since we're so far into 'opinion' territory here, I'll go out on a limb and guess that anybody who just has to have the right brand on their stuff must have gotten some sort of Madison Avenue implant at birth, the same one that makes them go all goofy over the likes of Nike, Tommy Hilfiger, CK, etc. Brand loyalty is probably the most coveted consumer behavior in the retail industry, and it's plain to see their efforts haven't been wasted on you guys. Except now you're showing loyalty to brands you've never even bought! I'll bet even the ad guys didn't think they were that good.

BTW, why do you think brand loyalty is so important to these companies? Simply because there's so little difference between their products and everyone else's; if it weren't for brand loyalty they'd really have nothing except their products' merits to sell their stuff. They know that isn't enough.

 

If you want to make this an issue of brand then the people who buy the Knock offs are doing the same thing. They want the FEED or Amemiya kit but havt to settle for a cheap knock off of it like a FOLEX or NIKKE.

I spend my money wisely and buy the things i want. Just like an engagement ring you gonna settle for a glass or a diamond? If you want something you save. I don't eat with a silver spoon but i do spend money on the things i want.

Damn are those Payless shoes comfortable?

 

Is that what they want? I'm not too sure. Maybe they just want a body kit that looks good, but they don't want to have to live in their cars to afford it.

Personally, I know what I think looks good on an FD, but there certainly isn't any brand name attached to that image.

And I can't tell you (and no, I'm not going to look) what brand of shoes I have on right now.

 

Well, I understand what people are saying about having a product and then having it knocked off and sold cheaper, but hell that's business.

How many different window cleaners are there in the stores? How many different cola's are there? How many different makers of tissue paper?

If someone can make something similar, but cheaper, go for it. It's business, without competition in business all prices are inflated when they don't need to be.

Would I buy the real thing or a replica? I don't know. I'll be purchasing the body parts for my car soon but I don't see anyone with replica parts of what I'm looking for so it doesn't look like I'll have the option.

As everyone has said, replicas don't always fit will and usually require a little more prep work, so you are basically getting what you pay for.. If someone wants to go cheaper and do more work, more power to them. Since I don't have the resources to do any prep work currently myself, I would probably try go for what would be the best fit out of the box. If that meant paying extra money, for me that would be my only choice at this point.

For those that have the time/materials to do their own prerp work and wanted to save some cash, I would just say good for you. An FD is a FD whether it has a replica or non-replica body kit on it in my eyes.

 

It's not a similar product...It is a copy of someone else's ideas and hard work. Similar products would be an EVC and an AVC-R. This would be some company making an cheap copy of an EVC and trying to pass it off as their idea.

Creativity would be nice but just making a copy of something to make a quick buck is just sad. Also an FD is not an FD.....we have a car that is like no other...don't stoop to a ricer level.

 

Are you kidding? Stores are filled with knock offs... Just go to your grocery store and check the labels and ingredients of 90% of their selections.

If only one person makes a certain item, they can charge whatever they want for that item, no matter how inflated the price may be. If someone else can make a similar item, then that forces a price war to keep prices "on the level".

There's a class called "Economics 101" that teaches a lot of this stuff.

You use a computer to type on this board, do you remember the days when Intel was the only one making decent processors? How have the prices of all processors changed since the introduction of the Athlon? Quite a lot I would say. I remember people paying over $800 for P2 400MHz brand new. Now, CPU's are being introduced newer at half that price.

Sorry, it's business. If it REALLY cost these companies that much money to make their product when someone can make something similar but sell it at have the price, one of two things is happening:

1. They are inflating the price because then can
2. The manufacturing is WAY too expensive and they need to cut their own cost.

 

This is not an economic debate, this is a moral/ethics debate. A knockoff kit is a copy of someone's idea and artistic representation. We are not talking intercoolers here, we're simply talking about someone's fiberglass sculpting. Computer chips are completely different, there is technology involved. AMD didn't make a mold of the pentium chip and fill it with fiberglass and resin. They engineered their own chip. I think knock-off's are a moral issue. I also feel that not all knock off's are bad. First take Chuck's Carbon Fiber replica of the Scoot Hood. That is something that is NOT offered by anyone, so he's creating something for the market on his own. Sure he's using the Scoot hood as a template, but he's doing the work of creating his own product. I don't know where I stand on knocking off pieces, that are NOT available in the U.S. I'm sorry but if a company doesn't have an official U.S. distributor, then all bets are kinda off. If a company such as Cwestin is having their products copied, when they are readily available then that is a different story. It all comes down to ethics, I personally would never purchase a completely flagrant knockoff. I believe that if you want someone's intellectual property, then it's up to you to PAY for it, when it's readily available. Let's face it, it's all your personal beliefs, if you want to buy a knock-off or replica kit, for less money, thats completely up to you, after all it's legal. But is it moraly and ethically right? thats something we all have to ask ourselves.

eric

 

I think most people don't even know that much about FD, not to mention Japanese company's who make kit's for it. They'll just be like "cool car". I highly doubt they'd ask me who makes it. I'd say 95% of the people out there don't know who makes what kit for the FD. Most of the people who knows anything about this car is in this forum. So if a few people don't like knockoffs, who cares. That's my take on things. If it fits good and looks good and can save me some money, then the better. It's just cosmetic, I can change it anytime I feel like it.

 

This is one instance where I agree with JoeD 100%. I used to think it was ok as long the quality and fitment was there...but after talking with my partner about it and doing a little research...as capricious as it may sound, I do not really support it anymore.

After reading about all the time, energy, and funds Jim LaBreck put into research and development of his bushings, I decided against it. Aftermarket companies put the same amount of effort into developing those kits, and in the end, knock-offs hurt both the community and the developer. It would be a pity to lose the support of a quality manufacturer because a knock off company stole the market for the part-- all their r&d will have been in vain.

The only time it 'should be' acceptable is if the kit is not copied verbatim, and is created to be better than the original. That's how capitalism works which helps fuel technological advances, while keeping the market alive. Innovate, don't replicate! :p