From what I understand, all fiberglass kits have some type of fitment issues. There seems to be no relaliable method to producing these kits. As such, there is going to be a certain degree of discrepancy between each unique version.

Essentially, if you change the kit from stock, you are gambling with correct fitment. How much so is partially determined by the kit quality and price paid.

You will have to see for yourself as a conclusion.

No else has mentioned that "fender-benders" or anything of the sort on your current SC, will almost guarantee that nothing will fit right without modification.

Just something to keep in mind.

 

i too don't want to start a flame war with you... although i feel i have to defend Idrewfelix in this matter because we seem to be in the same frame of mind when it comes to real or fake bodykits.

First of all, the huge gap between the fender and the bumper is merely a visual illusion because the bumper actually has a round curve that sticks out and isn't flush with the fender where it meets. at least thats how it is on my stock 97 bumper... im also not seeing a gap between the bumper and hood, but like you said, maybe the picture is just too small.

This really depends on what your going to be using it for. You are making a big generalization on it. im sure thick fiberglass would be heavier and there for not suitable in a race car. but it would be great for a daily driven car that has to be able to take the abuse on city streets. there are plenty of pros and cons to thick or thin kits depending on the application...

- the kit looks exactly the same... thats why its a "replica" a "copy" a "knockoff"... to make a fake kit they actually have to make a mold from the real deal... and i don't think the Vertex kit came with 97-00 fog lights either.... maybe his car is a 92-96 and he just hasn't purchased fog lights.

definitely your choice... and that is what this thread is about, right? proper fitment? price deffirence on whether a real kit fits better... or that a knockoff can be made to fit right.

1. depends on how bad the kit fitted. i say anything more than 1/2 in. gap is really bad.
2. depends on how good your body shop is. i know of shops in socal that can make miracles happen...

so did your Vertex kit fit perfect right out of the box? so this statement is not true... i know of a couple guys on this forum that have aunthentic AutoCouture kits (my opinion, the best looking kit out for the SC...) and had fitment issues. come on... you know who you are guys.... don't be shy.

First of all, people in japan buy authentic kits because its cheaper for them. They dont ship japanese kits to japan. and yes they do get top dollar for it... in the states! the JDM market is booming... i saw a $3,000 body kit for sale at a local "JDM only" shop and it looked like its been through hell and back. but its was selling for 3G's because it was the only one in California. So i guess it could be considered an invesment if you lived in Japan and bought all of these really nice "authentic" body kits for really cheap... and then turned around and sold it in the states and make over a 400% profit. i guess then it would be an investment. but i think somebody has already thought of that.

 

Blah blah blah, if you want me to send you some pics of my SC you'll consider otherwise. If you would like to send pics of your suped up beautiful and perfect SC, please email them to idrewfelix@hotmail.com

Thank you BMWhat?, I really appreciate that you understand who and what we're trying to do here. At least there are some decent people like you who don't go around dissing everyones car.

My car is a 96

Just because a part is a knock off doesnt mean that it has horrible fitment or looks bad, its all how you put it together and how much work you put into it. Many people here are saying that the $2000-$3000 kits fit perfect, well it doesnt. Check out the sticky'd thread about the information about bodykits.

"Settle for nothing less than perfect " it all depends on what you believe is perfect. And I think having a body kit that looks good and is cost effective is better than anything.

I don't understand how you can give a comment like that when you didn't see my car in person?
And FYI, I do have fogs on there, the pic in the sig is old, but I don't feel like I need to update every day in order to feel secure.

I didn't need to force the kit on there, it fit just the way it was.
.
Its just pretty funny how you can diss my car in so many ways without knowing me, or seeing my car, and saying Im 18, Im financing the car myself, and I work as hard as I can to get my car as perfect in my eyes as possible. It sometimes amazes me - the attitudes of people on these forums.

 

Enjoy










This was the car stock

And yes, its a V-speed 1 not a vertex

 

i have a friend that just had his v-speed kit put on....when we first test fit it..it didnt fit very well at all..the front bumper was the main problem. and it actually still doesnt fit perfeclty.

you basicly get what you pay for..and if you give the kit and car to a good shop then they can make it fit the way it should fit...of course you'll have to to pay for that extra labor.

 

i have to concur. that is good fitment. i have the authentic vertex, and i do notice a slight difference. the front bumper actually slopes down as it goes towards the highbeams. the part right under the lights. vertex kept it parallel as it runs across the car. also, the front grill between the high beams is too high, and you have the usual catfish bowing out effect from what i can see in the from top pic. i remember someone else pm'ing me that he had the same problem, the lower portion of the front bumper sticking out too much.

but as you can see my fitment wasn't so good, probably because of the accident from the first owner. but for anyone on the street, they won't notice.... you're a lucky one that you didn't get a too screwed up one... good job

 

good eye LexAnt...

your VERTEX has more defined "curves."

 

Like I said, I'm not out to start out and hate/flame wars. I don't have anything personal against you and i don't go arround "dissing everyone's cars." (but I don't have an appriciation of those who contribute to the theft of a design buy buying knockoff parts to begin with) I was basing what i said off of the image in your sig and your own statements that contradict themselves. (first you said it had fitment issues and now you're saying it fit fine the way it is) Anyhow, your car does look better than the image in your sig but it still has fitment issues where it meets the hood and needs a front grill. That mesh has got to go but the fogs you put in there are unique. The wheels need some work...size, design, offset.

As to BMwhat's comments..

It's not a big generalization. Thick fiberglass is almost never a good thing with aero parts. Thin, flexible, fiberglass parts are the most durable...not thicker parts. The best material available right now is "hybrid aero" from ings+1. It's a thin fiberglass blend that's lighter than fiberglass and more flexible than urethane. (i don't want to get off topic here but most aftermarket urethane body kits should also be avoided like the plague...they're heavy, sag over time, and ado not hold paint over time)

As far as gap goes, you gust don't want anythng bigger than stock. I know the body shops here in socal can do miracles with some of the crap they come across but they shouldn't have to modify anything to begin with. Many times they end up molding parts which cracks horribly and looks terrible over time or after even a small impact.

Yes, there are some authentic kits with crappy fitment. I'm not here to defend them and would reccomend to avoid those just like i'm reccomending to avoid knock offs.

I went with the Team Target front because the knockoff Vertex front is on every other modded SC in the U.S. If you want to look at it from a moral standpoint, when a knockoff comes out, the company that designed and created the original suffers quite a bit. Their design is stolen and other unoriginal companies begin to profit off of their work. That's just not right and it discourages the orginal company from making other products for the vehicle.

As far as parts being cheaper in Japan, yes, they are but not as cheap as you make them out to be. 400% markup is insane and unrealistic. It seems you're just throwing out number at this point. The majority of JDM products I see are marked up from 0-25% from the Japanese price. Alot of that markup is, as you said, shipping and importing cost. When parts are developed and manufacturered in anothe country, it's just a given that our cost will be more after the shipping and importation. (not to mention the wait time) Anyways, my point is that the cheaper price is not the motivating factor for the Japanese to buy authentic. Design, quality, fitment, and resale value are the factors most Japanese consider when buying aero parts. Unlike the U.S., most people in Japan tend to value the quality of what they buy rather than base all their purchases on price.

 

well, i guess to each of his own.

Personally I would like to see your car and see how much work you put into it.

 

That was my point though, it has nothing to do with you "personally."

As far as my cars go, I posted pics last week. I've only had the SC's for a few weeks so other than some "free mods" they are both stock right now. I have a decent amount of parts on order from Japan at the moment.

If you want to see what my previous car looked like, this is it:

 

my vertex knockoff.

 

Are those stickers authentic or knockoff?

 

hey din looks like you got a good one, the upper grill is in right location, front bumper area parallel... how's the problem with it bowing outwards toward the bottom?

 

the sides where the edges meet the fenders are a little off and the area where the highbeams where off but my body man took care of all that.

 

That is a really nice kit, how much did the paint+knock off cost you?