Tax Return = Money to Spend
 

OK, well my accountant called me today to tell me what I’m getting back. I almost feel off my chair when I heard the amount. It’s more than double what I expected. After speaking to my wife she agreed to let me have 20% of it :smoker: Now I have a problem, all this money and I don’t know where to spend it. I’m done with performance mods for now, as there isn’t much left for me to do other than a RB flash or high flow ca t(NA that it). I’m thinking appearance mods now. I want a body kit but I’ve heard many horror stories. I like the MS kit but I just can’t justify spending 2,600 on it. Though I know it would be the best fit (you get what you pay for). I’m not schooled on materials, though I’ve heard to stay away from fiber glass and FRP. I checked a few sites but they all say FRP or fiber glass, Any Ideas? I was also thinking of considering the appearance package for $800, much cheaper and not to bad looking. Feel free to chime in with Ideas, all are welcome.

Stay with name brands and stay away from knock-offs. You can email me if you'd like more help picking out a style that fits your taste. I carry many many brands and have lots of pictures.

rather than just writing off replicas, do some looking around. figure out what you like the look of and see who has originals and who has replicas. people aren't shy about letting you know that they are replicas. shine seems to have done some good work with the autobahn and is doing a vertex soon. i don't have experience with any but wouldn't be deterred from FRP based on the research i've done. plus you'll want to look at the authentics and see what they are made of. you might be surprised at the materials used.

this is just my opinion, take it as you will

i bought shine's au-to bahn replica made with frp. it's my first body kit, and really the first mod i've ever done to a car. ever. the quality seems good, there's nothing physically wrong with the bumper. However, i had to remove a part from my stock bumper and attach it to shine's bumper before i installed it. After this, i had to fabricate my own mesh screen to protect the radiator, a/c condenser, and oil pan cooler.

So, for a total noob, this is a huge hassle and not at all what i really wanted. If you have experience in doing this, i'm sure it's normal for you. In general, as a consumer, i expected a little bit more of a finished product.

In retrospect, i have a very unique front bumper that has an unbeatable price. Although i did a lot of my own work to get it to a finished stage. The MS bumper looks nice and requires a lot less effort. Neither can be "the right choice", only one might be better for you as an individual.

hoped this helped a little

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...3&page=1&pp=15

I wish I had the money for this kit, and could handle it being that close to the ground.

Otherwise I'd say go with the appearance package and the MS wing

the ings+1 kit is available in their material called Hybrid Aero which is supposed to be alot stronger than FRP. I ordered that kit but it's still in the mail. If the appearance package doesn't appeal all that much, there are alot of different kits on the market. Just truly stick to a brand name and be weary of eBay and places like extreme dimensions.

j-ondemand.com has alot of selection

talk to lazi and maybe he can help you out with some ideas.

What's the site address for shine? I have heard their name thrown around a bit.

I am a noob as well, I do have a friend that works at a body shop, so he'll be doing all the work.

The appearance package has its benefits. It's under $800 and painted. I like the MS kit, not to aggressive. The pictures on the site for Jondemand are not clear enough. I think I have to see these in person in order to make my decision.

you can get the genuine MS kit cheaper if you shop around. I'm only getting the front and side skirts, because I don't like the rear and the wing is pointless. I might get the wing down the road when I have a spare $800.
You also have to keep in mind with the Mazdaspeed kit is that is will fit perfect, just snaps on like the factory parts, and it comes pre-painted. Body shops charge a lot for paint. You have to subtract the paint value from the $1100 front bumper- makes it under $800. Plus it's a perfect factory match. The MS kit is a real good value.

tax return = bills + baby =(

tax return
i owed money since i invested and the government wants a piece of it

you can check the group by area. the two threads for autobahn and vertex replicas would be what you are interested in. they have closed out orders on the autobahn but are just starting the vertex package. you can view the autobahn thread for examples of their work.

https://www.rx8club.com/group-buy-center-85/

actually the mazdaspeed kit isnt all that easy. it requires cutting and drilling for install. even though templates are included, i think this is a bigger hassle

I have a JDM KS-Auto Burnout KD-IV body kit for sale. It is the original kit that Shine Auto used to produce a copy in flexible fiberglass. The original is done in rigid fiberglass, complete with weatherstrip seals for the edges and brackets for the bottom edges of the side skirts. It is pristine, unsanded and unpainted, in glossy black gel coat. I'm motivated to sell it too. PM me if you'd like to see photos of it.

I forgot to add, the Burnout kit is a lip kit, so it doesn't require permanent modifications to the bumpers. Looks fantastic, imho!

I don't like the rear eaither, I wonder how it would look without the rear.,

PM'd

Good news and bad news. Bad news is that a 2K may be out of the question, Good news is that a 42 Plasma may be on its way home. I think I can get both, I’m thinking of getting the front air dam and rear aero flares from Mazda for $588. Instead of getting the side aero flares I’ll get these side skirts from shine

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/JDM-M...5866QQtcZphoto

So what do you guys think of that? Total cost is $938 (not including painting of skirts). It will basically look like the kit shine has except that I’ll rather pay a little extra and now that the rear and front will have no fitment issues and already be painted. This way I can get the TV too. Any thoughts?

only the rear bumper does. The front and sides simple snap on in place of the stock pieces. I've seen it with my own two eyes

it looks great withou the rear. I've seen a BB RX8 with the MS front, sides, and wing, but no rear, and it looks awesome.
The only rear bumper I like is the Kenstyle rear, but it's over $1k unpainted (!!) so I'll hold off for it until I have some more $$

To many choices :crazy:

Kenstyle Rear Bumper FTW!

Any ideas on how this will look :

"I’m thinking of getting the front air dam and rear aero flares from Mazda for $588. Instead of getting the side aero flares I’ll get these side skirts from shine

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/JDM-...55866QQtcZphoto

How about MS front, MS skirts and just the rear aero flares? Would that look weird? Anyone seen it before?

yeah the BB I saw had that and the MS wing. Looks sexy

That's my red RX-8 with the black kit on it. One set of photos is the test fit of the original Burnout kit I'm selling, the other set of photos is the new Shine Auto flexible fiberglass kit. They do this to illustrate just how good their products are. The black pieces were supposed to be painted "flat black" by the bodyshop, but really came out "semi-gloss" which I didn't like. I've since pulled the kit and refinished it in a TRUE high-quality flat black, and it looks fantastic! Don't ask why I wanted to do it this way because I'm not even sure myself!

The flat black was about $58, with wet-sanding duties completely by moi. Having it sprayed by a body shop would probably run a couple hundred dollars, if that much. There's not much labor involved that way. They're also doing my Extreme Dimensions rear wing in the same black too.

Oh, I didn't get your PM...

I should have new photos of my setup tonight after I pick up my car from the stereo shop. I'll have the rear wing installed by then too! Check back later...

i thought you have to drill for the side skirts. it was my understanding that there are supposed to be holes all the way down the side. so if you have the appearance package you can use those and need a couple more, if you dont have the appearance package then you need to drill all the way down

Great thanks. I need to spend this money before my wife decides we need something else :Eyecrazy:

I made up my mind, MS front and Skirts are being purchased next week. Not sure about the rear. Will the aero flares be enough for the rear? Time to do some price shopping.

Racing Beat......Perfect finish, fit and good looking.

I narrowed it down to two choices:

1. MS Front, MS skirts with rear Aero Flares. Cost $ 2,208
2. Front Air Dam (OEM), Rear Aero Flares, and MS Skirts. Cost $1,288 Omicron on 8 club has it check it out http://rockymountainrx8.com/modules....ew_photo. php

Which one should I go for? Please help me decide

i would do the MS front setup just because I think the MS bodykit is hot.....

but the choice is completely yours

option 2, not a fan of the ms front.

Thanks, so far its 1 to 1

Here's what can be done with the Burnout kit...

A couple more...

I feel like an idiot. I didn't realize that the $700 price for skirts was actually for just one :mad: I really want to get this TV so I gues I need to find something more economical. So now I'm thinking about this http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/JDM-...55866QQtcZphoto

I'm worse than a girl at the mall.

Burnout lip kit my friend. Very economical choice :)

Yea, but I really fell in love with the Vertex and Autobahn kits. You wouldn't happen to have an extra autobahn kit laying around would you ;)

Well, since they make 'em, they should have one or two laying around! LOL

That's what I'm hoping for. Never seen the Auto Exe kit till now. Pretty sweet.

they do still have the authentic one i believe but i don't think they're selling anymore of the replicas for another 4-6 months.

Dang, how many of those Autobahn kits did they sell right off the bat? I remember Ken said he was going to make them something of an "exclusive", but I don't think he'd refuse someone waving money under his nose! :)

What is the issue with the Autobahn rear and exhaust issues. Will it fit around my MS exhaust? Will the Auto Exe or Autobahn kits fit with my MS CAI? Getting closer and closer to my decision. One more question I saw that mazdaparts.com has a MS urethan kit for about $975. I did a search and found threads on the rotary extreme one but not the mazdaparts one. Do any of you know if its any good? I heard that urethane is a little better under collision conditions beacuse it flexes. But it's down side is that it can warp in extreme heat. Any ideas on the MS urethane kit?

Basing your bodykit decision around what TV you can afford to purchase is inherently illogical. The TV will go on sale at Easter, and again Memorial Day, and again during the July 4th holiday. In August, the price will drop further as MFGs begin to clear out stock in anticipation of the upcoming Christmas season's new models. On the other hand, you'll have to look at that body kit every time you climb into your car. Everyone will look at it at every RX-8 meet you attend. Girls in fast-food drive-thrus will snicker if it looks like crap. No one will care that you have a Plasma TV at home. Everyone has a Plasma or HD TV anymore... Now if you needed that TV to watch the Speedsource RX-8 GT-class victories in beautiful High Definition, over and over and over, this would be a different story! :)

Well said. I'm a movir freak so I need a great TV. But you are right a nice looking kit will be more noticable. I made my decision. I'm taking the economical route. Burnout Kit it is. I just pm'd Shine, I have some questiuons first but my decision is made. Damn about time. :)

Burnout kit has been purchsed from Shine :ylsuper: