mikeferrell

here's what i did............

RX8Carnage

It looks good once you get it all on and I see it painted I might get it. Thanks for taking this chance for the good of our Rx8 community

mikeferrell

how would you suggest i attach mesh grill to the openings of the front bumper. I dont wanna drill holes into it and use zip ties that i've seen before. something where you're not going to be able to see that much.....any suggestions?

Paul_in_DC

Questions... How does the material feel? Is is pliable like the OE bumper? Harder/softer? Heavier/lighter?

lesper4

iTrader: (3)

Really i would like to have that opportunity, they looks better covered up but the real things are better naked.

benduen

a few points:
-The ebay ads almost never show a car with THEIR knockoff kit. It is usually pictures ripped off from somewhere else of a genuine kit or of someone who already spent the extra money in correcting all the issues so if you go by the pictures to make your mind up, chances are you will be dissapointed. (My MR2 and my friend's NSX are perfect examples...we posted some pics on a forum and for the next year and a half, it was used in everyone's ebay ads to hawk products from rims to seats to body kits and even to promote on car show flyers which we knew nothing about)

-This kit cost $1000. Figure even if it was almost perfect, add another $300-$500 to prep to where it is flawless. Add $800-$1200 for flawless factory paint and about $200-$500 for install. (if you don't spend at least these amounts and settle for a maaco job, chances are even if your knockoff was almost perfect, YOU just sealed your own fate and made the kit look nasty.


-Then, figure in the added cost of $1500-$3000 for the money you lost in resale value if you ever sell it for not going genuine mazdaspeed parts with receipts and records to prove it.

-Keep in mind, the above scenario is if all the stars are aligned, the moon is in the right place, and you have so much luck that the knockoff kit comes in excellent condition. Most buyers of imitation kits can tell you horror stories. It is basically a gamble. And if you do get a kit that is too short on one side and too long on the other, keep in mind you are dealing with companies that sell KNOCKOFF kits....please expect KNOCKOFF customer service. (I once bought a set of knockoff wheels and the lug holes were OVAL shaped...after 4 months of trying to get my $ back, I gave up and chalked it up to a lesson learned-the wheels were expensive enough that it pissed me off but cheap enough where hiring a lawyer wasn't worth it...and that is how most of these places continue to thrive..they know they will rarely see legal action because very few will spend $2000 in lawyer fees to get back $800 in crappy products)

-As for me? I've went through over 10 body kits and purchased both knockoff and originals and I've had my fair shair of horror stories and also 'lucky' moments with the knockoffs. As for the original kits, they've always fit perfect to near perfect. And if it came cracked, I can call a live speaking person to raise hell at Mazda.

-Currently, I have the genuine mazdaspeed kit with wing which came with my car. And if I ever do a future kit for another car, I'm definitely going genuine.

But...if the money is tight, some may be tempted to go cheap and I fully understand that. Just remember:
It is not as cheap as you think-figure in all the potential extra future costs, hassles, and lower resale value. In the end it is pretty similar in $$ to getting the real deal.

good luck

mikeferrell

first of all the kit cost 1,000$ and for paint, foothills mazda (a dealer) is going to paint it and prep it for me for 500$ and i'll install it myself. so all in all, the kit is going to cost me 1,500$

A far cry from the cost of a complete mazdaspeed kit.

benduen

I'm not knocking you for anything...Just giving you my experience with body kits which you asked everyone's opinion for in this thread.

No dealer down here will paint and prep a kit for $500 so either count yourself lucky OR be very careful and get the quote in writing asap because an estimate always tend to go higher and never lower by the time painting is finished. And of course if the kit comes crooked or warped, it will not be a basic 'paint and prep' anymore. So cross your fingers.

-Installing it yourself would definitely save you money as long as you know what you're doing.

BTW, even if you end up spending as little as $1500-$2000 on the finished product, it really isn't too far of a cry as you think since when you sell the car, I can almost guarantee you will get a couple thousand more $$ if it is a genuine mazdaspeed kit with paperwork and records to prove it.
We all know that most imitation mods will either do nothing or hurt your resale value. If you plan on never selling your car, then of course this is a moot point. But again, just trying to give you some insight on something that most owners never think about.


Good luck though. Either way like I said, I have horror stories with knockoffs but there are some bright spots also... so cross your fingers and of course in the end, you should do whatever you like.

I also want to point out-I'm not trying to sell you anything-- I don't sell aftermarket parts and I'm not a aftermarket company. I'm just a guy who has a lot of experience buying 'car stuff'.

sampson

when i had my rx8, i had this exact same body kit. i did all the fitting myself and i must say with the exception of the sideskirts and the front corner light holes, this kit fit pretty good. the side skirts fit like *** and sagged in the middle. i had to make numerous slots in the bumpers so they would fit using the stock clips and what not. i had to enlarge the corner light holes like you said as well. i had to use spot putty on a large amount of this kit to fill in small pin holes in the material, but that was not too bad.. i attatched my grilles on the inside of the bumper. (from the inside) on the corners and in the middle around the perimeter of the openings, there is extra material there to screw down the grilles. i did this and you could see nothing holding them on. for what the kit cost, it was not too bad. if i could do it again, i would have gotten the authentic side skirts, but i was fine with the front and rear bumpers. also, the makers of this kit incorporated small vertical vents into the rear bumper, directly behind the rear wheel on the side of the bumper. i liked that addition. overall this kit is not too bad to be a replica.

mikeferrell

I dropped off my car yesterday at the dealership to have the kit perfectly fitted (possibly molded to the fenders) and painted. Should have it back sometime soon hopefully. They will be doing the fitting of the clear corners.
I did wet sand it myself so i didn't have to pay them for that. I like the addition to the rear bumper also.
I will post pictures once i get the car back from the dealership......

mikeferrell

here it is. while i dropped it off i also got an oil and filter change and 2 hankook ice bear snow tires (already had 2)

So all in all, I got paint, prep, (some bondo and more sanding was required) and fitting, mesh grill and install of mesh grill, 2 snow tires (went on stock rims) and an oil and filter change for 680$

Not too bad.....

here's some pictures....

RX8Carnage

Looks great man

1andonly

how much cutting was needed? looks great by the way. Great choice with poly

mikeferrell

no cutting. I did all the wet sanding myself. then the body shop filled in the discrepencies with some bondo, worked on the clear corner area a little bit. Normally for the paint and the install....if i was charged the normal 65$/hour for labor, it would've cost 1,400$ but I know the manager and i've given them plenty of business. So that's why it only cost me 600$

Wanganrx8

looks good. I'm thinking of getting rid of the body kit i have now and going with something else. I got an authentic veilside kit and it fit like crap. I paid out an *** load of $$$ to get it to fit, it wasn't even for the U.S. model, i had to have veilside and hopupracing refund me some dough for all the crap i had to go through just to get it on. So the next time i just might go with knock off. your kit has put a little faith in me getting a fake.

RX8_sunny

Hello MissyK,

If that is your car in your photo, it looks very good. Can you please PM me where you got it and let me know if you have any pictures of it?

Thanks.

RX8_sunny

I meant to comment on your body kit

Mazdaspeed RX8 ver2

whats with that slit on the rear bumper for? never knew what that was for. haha

mikeferrell

Oh, the slits in the back bumper? you didn't know?!?!? they did hours upon hours of research and found out that there's no ******* purpose to it at all lol, it's just for looks...and it's ******* bad ***! i'm from the streets bitch, and that's how we roll down here in Spokane, WA!

to be honest, i kinda like it...didn't think i would...but oh well....

Razz1

The kit on E Bay is of a Veilside. you got a copy MS.

Was it really Urathane? Lookks more like FRP.

Nice job. I'd like to see some real close up pic's of the fit.

mikeferrell

it's urethane.

mikeferrell

After a year or so of having a urethane MS style body kit, i can say this...DO NOT BUY Lookalike body kits! I still have the rear bumper and the side skirts installed, but will be replacing those soon. I purchased an authentic mazdaspeed front bumper and installed it already. the kit after a while, flexes in the heat and doesn't fit right. someone like me that notices all the small things....it really started to **** me off after a while and even though other people dont notice it doesn't change things. so i will be purchasing the full authentic kit and have learned my lesson not to purchase knock offs in the future!

Altair 8

thanks for the save.

faboo

so what replica did u get???

spoddyandthemazda

it looks great man, i could do with your old stock front bumper, mine has got a crack above the black V, or silver V in your case and a mark in the snout near the toe hook.