I am trying to find a bodykit for the my gs. From what I see The fiberglass one cost 1/2 as much (the full bumper replacement one is like $1299) and the L-sportline poly one is $2050. Is it worth the extra money to get the poly one or is the 7 layer fiberglass one good enough. What experiences do you have with bodykits can you tell me (like disasters and all) etc any help will be appreciated.

 

Welcome to CL

im in the same boat as you

i have a fiberglass front bumper ...Wise Sports

and it needs repairing ...i think i d rather have Poly ...have you looked at the RMM kkit

Fiberglass cracks but if you get expel ..it will make it stronger

i think poly is easier to fix ????

sorry for the jump on the thoughts ..lol

 

It depends. There are the cheapie knock-off fiberglass ones that are not that durable. There is the JDM FRP (fiberglass reinforced plastic) which are stronger and then there are the PU (polyurethane) ones. I don't know of any JDM kits that you can get for 1300.

If you want PU, then you are limited in styles. I think there is the L-Sportline and RMM. There is the Vizage, which is kind of too out there for me. There are also lips like the TTE.

As for the lower cost fiberglass ones, they are hit and miss (usually miss) in terms of fitment. It may help to know what fiberglass kit you are talking about.

 

Nope. I believe is the other way around. You can work and build up fiberglass (with more fiberglass) but you are stuck with PU. I am not saying it is impossible to fix PU, just more work.

 

I've repaired two significant rips in my PU RMM kit. It's not impossible, but most repair shops will tell you to get a new piece cause they don't wanna work on it and the labor cost might not justify just getting a new replacement.

Repairing the PU is a different process than repairing fiberglass or metal. You typically have to reinforce the damaged area from behind. I usually add an ABS piece of plastic to the back side of the damage and glue it on with a PU 2 part glue / filler. No cracks or visible damage after several years.

 

hmmm

Neo

so you would choose FRP over Poly

im saying the good stuff FRP

the reason im asking is because where my BOV is i can nonlonger use the metal bumper behind the foam bumper

ive been considering cutting it too fit but ...i dont know if that would defeat the purpose

 

This is the same debate that goes on at Corral.net. Do you buy the fiberglass Saleen kit or the polyureathane kit that is used on the real Saleen Mustang? I used to frequent Corral forums when I had my Mustang GT. Most people recommend the polyureathane because it is better for a daily driver because it more flexible than fiberglass. The polyureathane bumper will give more if you run over a small curb. The fiberglass can crack easily and the paint will chip easily when rocks hit the front bumper on the highway. The benefits of fiberglass are the prep work, the cost, and it is very shiny and smooth. The downside is that you might be repainting your front bumper more often.

 

If I had a choice, I would go with PU for a daily driver. The issue is that there really is not many choices when it comes to PU. In the current state of the market, I would have to pick FRP because of the styles I like. If they made a PU kit in the different styles I like, I'd go with PU.

 

Has anyone shipped a poly kit such as lSportline kit cross country?? If so, how much does it weigh? I am trying to determine shipping costs from Cali to Florida

 

I called a guy up that sells bodykits, he told me that the PU one is hard to shape and loses it shape very easy while the fiberglass one stays rigid but the fiberglass one is easier to break. The bodykit I am going to buy is the VERTEX kit (it isn't from the actual JAPAN place but it is from a company that bought the acutall kit and then made their own from it. He said most people "cheap" ones out there take replica copies of the Japan stuff and then make there own from the replica and that is why the fitment is way off and they sell it cheap. I am going to go with this one

 

Save yourself the hassle and get the real JDM kit. I ordered my win kit from steve and it fit like a glove. I never had any problems with it as far as cracking or anything. Because the kit is so low I had plenty of scratches on the underside of the front bumper from driveways and bumps but never any cracks. The quality is out there you just have to be willing to spend the money. Sure you can get a knock off for $699 but you will spend the money you saved paying the body shop to straighten out the wavy kit and get it to fit right to your GS. Some people have gotten lucky and have had knock offs that fit great but there are a lot more that had some major problems getting it fixed, and some that couldnt be fixed. I would rather invest the extra money and get the good stuff, just mho.

 

not much respect for knock offs here, sorry about that

imho, the jdm fg kits they are more flexible. they are not just fg, they are frp, still crack but a bit flexible.

i would rather have no kits on my car than have some knock offs

 

if you ask me johnny, i would probably prefer fg coz' it's easier to shape, kit, and repair. yes you can crack it but you can repair it. if you damage a poly kit you can easily kiss it goodbye

of course, that's if you can drive carefully in the area. i can tell for sure that it's not easy to drive with fg kits without scrapping (knock on wood). but that's the price you pay

 

i think it's going to be hella expensive. i think they are very heavy?

 

you spent $4K on the kit from there? or is that a different one