Kelli_Kitten

Hello!

So, for all of you curious people out there my final synopsis is that Shine is a wonderful, great alternative to spending an excessive amount of money for authentic - totally would recommend them to anyone. I had a few minor snags and it took me a while to get my car back (sloooow moving shop), but overall the shop said that it was fairly easy to fit the bumper after they made the appropriate adjustments (cutting the inner area down a few inches to make room for the reinforcement bar, cutting the side marker area to get them to fit right).

The only imperfection that I've seen so far is the area around each side marker... which is completely okay with me and very minor, one sticks out a little more then the other. Paint looks great, no imperfections in the actual bumper that I can see... I am very, very happy .

Ken, from Shine, was more then helpful throughout this process, definitely great customer service.

Here are some photos I took VERY quickly after I got the car back... like an hour ago - I was excited . I do need to go back and have them put grill mesh in the two side openings this weekend and I can't decide if I want the Mazda Emblem back on?

FYI
*Grey side markers are from RotaryFX.com
*Ordered the Shine bumper through Ken, google ShineAutoProject eBay.

Can't wait to take some pictures with it when it gets warmer!!!!

Thank you to everyone who helped me decide and pointed me the right direction =). Especially Greg who listened to all of my frantic concerns LOL.

xun4gvn4everx

iTrader: (2)

Looks good!!

xun4gvn4everx

iTrader: (2)

Now we need some pix with you posing with the new bumper

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

Looks okay, just hate how you can see the crash bar. FYI, your missing an oil cooler

Kelli_Kitten

Holy f, you are right!!!!! Is this normal??? I googled and found...
"In Australia we only have one oil cooler (on left side). In the USA + Japan they have two oil coolers. The Mazfix oil cooler kit gives you extra cooling as needed for performance in our harsh Australian climate.." Maybe my car is an illegal immigrant?

laythor

your 05 is an auto?

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

Laythor is probably right; early model Automatics only have 1 oil cooler.
Kelli: AT or MT?

Mazurfer

Looks good Kelli.
Yeah, if it's an early auto, then you would only have one oil cooler.
I think I'd leave the emblem off.

Rotr8

iTrader: (2)

Looks F***ing hot Kelli, The crash bar can be fixed, if you ever have to take it back for anything, ask your body shop to paint it flat/semigloss black. That would probably be the easiest fix...

The front 3/4 view is hottt,,

and nice wheels too,,,

I know you have my wing but I would go with a lip spoiler instead, keep it clean and low profile,,,

Oooh and keep it badgeless,,,

I also have a spare mock oil cooler blank from a set of fog lights I ordered, I really have no use for it so I just give it to ya at the next meet...

Kelli_Kitten

AT

Kelli_Kitten

Focking!

Yeah, I have been debating the wing for eons now... I definitely think I should leave it off for sure now. That would be awesome! I feel like I am missing an arm. I'll have to check when the next meet is now that I can finally drive my 8 again.

Did you have anyone in mind that you wanted to offer the wing to? Ahhh, I can't decide what to do.

MazdaEight

2 threads about your bumper?

mscamp02

iTrader: (3)

^yeah you need to delete one of the two threads because they seem the same.

Rotr8

iTrader: (2)

ehhh give it to whom ever you want I have no need for it...

cheapman

Just curious, when using a shine rx8 bumper, do you have to buy the grill for the car somewhere else? I may be buying a bumper from them. BTW, your car looks nice.

Kelli_Kitten

I posted one in here with an FYI about the Shine bumper and one in the Photogallery for the photos.

Kelli_Kitten

I bought the grill mesh on eBay actually.. it was like, 15$ after shipping. My auto guy thought I only wanted the middle cut though so that is why I need to go back.. .

Through eBay try searching for "aluminum black car mesh," mine is from Luxe.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWNX:IT

CTrx8

iTrader: (2)

what an amazing body.....and the front bumper looks awesome too

i have the shine autobahn and am happy with it. i went to kenny in NJ for fit and paint and he said it was fairly easy to work with so looks like shine must be doing something right. i also vote for leaving the mazda badge off.

Nopstnz8

iTrader: (6)

Looking good. I definitely agree with Rotr8 about the lip spoiler. I have the OEM one with the Autoexe front bumper and Mazdaspeed sides, and am definitely planning to change to a lip spoiler. Gives the car a much cleaner look IMHO. INGS lip spoiler is probably the next big mod on my list.

On a side note, how's the fitment of the replica? Having had both the replica and Authentic on my 8, the difference is night and day. Replica wasn't bad, but fitment around the corners and lights sucked, and there was a noticeable weave on the flat part when you looked at it at an angle. With the authentic, fitment, which only required sanding to fit between the crash bar, is pretty much perfect. I got my replica for free, already painted (not very well though), from the previous owner of my car. I could never determine if it was a Shine replica though since he never told me. Originally, he said it was real, go figure. When I received my authentic one, I took it to the top body shop in my area, and the paint match, and final fitment was amazing. I never expected it to look so good and match so well before hand.

All in all, a replica is good for people who don't pay attention to the slightest details, and also want a good deal. If not, authentic is a must because from what I have read, a replica will likely never match the quality of an authentic since Shine's molds aren't perfect.

Kelli, for a replica, yours looks very good though. Probably even better than my old replica. I would strongly recommend to paint the crash bar matte black, and get some thicker black grille mesh. With mine, it's thick and dark, with bigger holes, so you can't even see the crash bar, unless you really look closely.

SayNoToPistons

iTrader: (8)

I wouldn't be so surprised that Shine's replicas fit well. They have very good reputation over at RX7club for making great fitting replicas. Seems like they did have some trouble with the RX8's Autobahn bumper because of the side lights.

tza0001

iTrader: (2)

Looks tight!

Kelli_Kitten

Yeah definitely, I'm going to have to check out this next!

The fitment is great! Yes, the side markers are slightly different in fitment but it definitely doesn't bother me whatsoever, it's not that bad... the rest of the bumper is pretty near perfect. It's possible that the previous owner took it to a shitty shop? From what I've read that can make alllll of the difference when fitting authentic and replica bumpers, I got very lucky =). I'd be very upset if someone did that to me, when I went to sell my 3000GT I learned that it had been in all kinds of damage prior to me owning it (flood in Texas for example??), I had no idea which is great but sucked when it came to presenting the CarFax report =(.

Definitely true, but for what I was after I am happy .

Absolutely, for 7$ grill mesh from eBay I can't complain - I got what I paid for. I'll have to get it painted some time in the near future (hopefully) or buy the thicker stuff from customgrillwhatever.com.

ChrisRX8PR

iTrader: (1)

Kelli,

I hope you don't mind if I ask, when did you buy this bumper and how much as it shipped to you? I am asking because I cannot find it on Shine's web page.

Love the look BTW!

Best regards,

Chris

White_Shadows

Sucks about the carfax. Sounds like my car. I purchase it and the bumper looks good, three weeks later it fades out and starts cracking.
The shine looks good though. Keep it up Kelli.

Frosty288

Couldn't have said it better..also interested.