Original vs Knockoff...
11-19-09, 08:06 PM
#16
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I would take more pride in the real product, but knock offs are fine, more money to spend elsewhere on the car. Except knock off vertex kits with the misplaced grill, that angers me.
11-19-09, 10:40 PM
#18
It really depends on the part.
If the knock-off is close or exceeds the authentic part in quality while saving some money, then I am all for it, as in the case of me buying a Shine Auto Project aero kit. However, there are not that many knock off kits out there for our cars that fits right so there isnt much of a choice here.
With wheels, it is an entirely different issue. I personally love the design of a 3-piece wheel and there arent any generic 3-piece forged wheels out there that are cheap. There are tons of wheel companies out there that produce generic 3-piece designs but they are all expensive. So that is why I settled with my Work Rezax since there is no cheaper alternative that is well-built and looks the part. All knock-off wheels look like crap.
If the knock-off is close or exceeds the authentic part in quality while saving some money, then I am all for it, as in the case of me buying a Shine Auto Project aero kit. However, there are not that many knock off kits out there for our cars that fits right so there isnt much of a choice here.
With wheels, it is an entirely different issue. I personally love the design of a 3-piece wheel and there arent any generic 3-piece forged wheels out there that are cheap. There are tons of wheel companies out there that produce generic 3-piece designs but they are all expensive. So that is why I settled with my Work Rezax since there is no cheaper alternative that is well-built and looks the part. All knock-off wheels look like crap.
I put my black SP1s on. It's undergoing a makeover veryyy soon. Let's shoot for mid-December??
11-20-09, 04:51 AM
#20
I personally have no problems with knock off. What I don't like is people that have a knock off and try to hide it or bash the original. I actually do like the flexibility of the Shine Kit but when it was coming out there was a big thread and people were claiming it would fit better than the "bad fitment" the AC Kit had. Well what do you know, the Shine Kit had the same issues which were minor IMO. There's a shine bumper for sale in classifieds but the original title never mentioned it was knock off, it was titled AC front bumper for sale. I have nothing against the Shine Kit like I said, I'm debating getting a front bumper as a spare just in case. In regards to wheels, I like forged wheels because they offer better widths and offset options. A lot of knock off wheels use generic widths and offsets. Some of the knock off's are pretty strong for cast wheels and that's good. A lot of people bash Rota but I never see any stats of failures of their wheels, it's always the same picture that gets posted without any proper explanation. Oh and by the way I'm rocking knock off toyota window visors,D2 coilovers, no name hid's and no name ebay rotors 
11-20-09, 10:19 AM
#24
Lexus Test Driver
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There's certain things that are fine for knock offs as long as they don't fall apart. There's certain things that really don't matter though, like certain exhausts, catch cans, intercooler pipes, wheels, headlights etc.... Things I'd not buy knockoffs of would be like... brake pads, seats, bodykits(unless they fit close to the same), timing belts, cams, engine anything, turbos, etc...
That's my opinion.
That's my opinion.
11-20-09, 12:54 PM
#27
you have to remeber that most aftermarket companies do small amount of R&D to get good firment then is mass produced but what people dont know unless u do body work is that most of those knock off and some real kits dont have enough fiberglass re-enforcement
11-20-09, 02:44 PM
#28
Here is my take on it. I think a lot of people are only speaking from what they see or read and not actually from experience. It’s easier to blame the one who’s doing the wrong, instead of the ones not doing right. Coming from a manufacturing background (I worked for a skateboard manufacturer for over 6 years), we did a lot of R&D, spent countless amounts of $ with numerous patent offices, spent boat loads on lawyer fees, campaigned to “stop the copy” etc., concerning "fakes" because alot of our product was being "knocked off" in Asia and Europe.
I kept hearing this argument that the knock off takes $ away from the pockets of manufacturers when our research showed that people buying ko's wouldn't be buying the real thing in the first place, at least not yet. The majority of the people buying the ko's were never in the market to buy the original product anytime in the near future. As much as you can complain about originality, unfortunately, capital is the biggest culprit. Why would little Johnny buy a $60 skateboard when he can buy a $20 one that looks, feels, and in most cases performs the same. Now he can be cool just like his friends. As a matter of fact, most of the disagreements and arguments coming from our end were concerning quality, not necessarily because product was being reproduced. Simply put, some of the ko's were so good that it was difficult differentiating real from fake….Then a weird thing happened….When buyers realized that some copies were inferior quality wise, then and only then did they finally pony up and buy the real deal….So guess what?....They bought our product anyways! But, we found out that the industry as a whole contributed from the "buzz" these ko's were creating because it got people excited and talking about our industry in general. Our unfortunate wake up call for us, fighting knockoffs accounted for 10-15% of our bottom line.
Only when our executives finally decided to stop fighting these knockoff companies, and concentrate on how to make our own products superior (using different wood composites, honeycomb fillers, etc.) only then did we see our revenue stream prosper. Realizing that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, we concentrated our efforts to not only make our product superior, but in also trying to be cutting edge and modern. There will always be knock offs, but innovation only comes once….jes my $.02….this is purely my opinion…
I kept hearing this argument that the knock off takes $ away from the pockets of manufacturers when our research showed that people buying ko's wouldn't be buying the real thing in the first place, at least not yet. The majority of the people buying the ko's were never in the market to buy the original product anytime in the near future. As much as you can complain about originality, unfortunately, capital is the biggest culprit. Why would little Johnny buy a $60 skateboard when he can buy a $20 one that looks, feels, and in most cases performs the same. Now he can be cool just like his friends. As a matter of fact, most of the disagreements and arguments coming from our end were concerning quality, not necessarily because product was being reproduced. Simply put, some of the ko's were so good that it was difficult differentiating real from fake….Then a weird thing happened….When buyers realized that some copies were inferior quality wise, then and only then did they finally pony up and buy the real deal….So guess what?....They bought our product anyways! But, we found out that the industry as a whole contributed from the "buzz" these ko's were creating because it got people excited and talking about our industry in general. Our unfortunate wake up call for us, fighting knockoffs accounted for 10-15% of our bottom line.
Only when our executives finally decided to stop fighting these knockoff companies, and concentrate on how to make our own products superior (using different wood composites, honeycomb fillers, etc.) only then did we see our revenue stream prosper. Realizing that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, we concentrated our efforts to not only make our product superior, but in also trying to be cutting edge and modern. There will always be knock offs, but innovation only comes once….jes my $.02….this is purely my opinion…
11-20-09, 10:34 PM
#29
Some Japanese companies produce kits that fits like crap, as in the case of Wald kits for our cars.
LOTS of knock off companies mass produce copies of the Vertex and JIC kits for are cars at the cost of next to nothing and the fit like a complete joke.
Many Japanese companies don't provide any support or customer service for their products since they did not even export it themselves.
Many knock off companies actually produce kits one by one with great attention to detail and provide great customer service as they are here in the United States. For our cars, Shine is a great example and the same can be said for many of other vendors/manufacturers out there that make knockoff parts for the Euro cars and such.
Not all knockoff parts and manufacturers are created equal. Sure, if you buy the whole entire kit for $600 bucks off eBay, don't expect great customer service nor great fitment.
11-21-09, 08:43 AM
#30
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Many knock off companies actually produce kits one by one with great attention to detail and provide great customer service as they are here in the United States. For our cars, Shine is a great example and the same can be said for many of other vendors/manufacturers out there that make knockoff parts for the Euro cars and such.