My first modification was a simple gear knob. I was seventeen at that time, and didn’t exactly have a high paying job. My initiation into the wonderful and expensive world of modification began with a Greddy gear knob for my EM1 Civic.
As the years passed, I moved on from car to car and each of them had progressively greater modifications. By the time I had my Evo, I was irredeemable changing the wheels, exhaust, suspension, sway bars, intake, injectors and stereo among other things. As for carbon fiber, let me just sat that the evil dark weave had me hooked from the first time I picked up a piece.
Talk to any one that has modified their car, and you’ll almost always hear some fresh perspective on why they did it. However on the topic of buying genuine versus replica, I find that people are split into two well defined camps, neither accepting the others way, and always ready for some verbal sparring.
Given my scientific and engineering background, I have always approached modifications from an analytical perspective. I try to understand why they designed a front bumper a certain way, and what aerodynamic advantages it has over others. I am interested in how the weight and rotating mass of a certain wheel will affect my car’s drive-ability. You can call me a nerd, and let me assure you it’s not the first time I’ve been called that. It goes without saying that function is key for me, but not without some form thrown in for good measure.
I have a lot of respect for companies that pour thousands of man hours, and millions of dollars, into research and development for developing a product. for the most part, I always buy genuine, or keep it stock. And by genuine, I am not talking about the origin of a product. With me it has never been a JDM versus the world argument. I like to look at each manufacturer, to see what they are all about, and I go from there.
I remember seeing a copied version of the famous TE37s on a shelf at a local tyre store. Looking more closely, I saw the sticker’s font had been cleverly reshaped to say “VORK WHEELS”, reading “VOLK” from far away. It made me laugh. As I continued looking, I started to see its other flaws. The weight and the paint finish were not like the original. The more I looked, the less I wanted to as I was lucky at one point, to run my dream wheels (CE28Ns) on my Evo and I knew them well. But I must admit, I was extremely tempted to get them. One Thousand dollars for all four compared to Three Thousand for the Volks. I could buy new wheels and tires, and still have enough money to go on a holiday. Or, I could buy genuine.
Looking back on all my modifications, from that Greddy gear knob onwards, I struggle to remember a time that I bought something that was a replica. I don’t know why I have this attraction towards the genuine stuff. It’s not like I am wealthy and I have always had a lot of financial and other responsibilities from a young age. I’ve never spent every paycheck on my car like some of my friends did. And yes, just like back when I saw the “VORK Wheels”, I am now and then tempted to give in and buy a replica body-kit, some wheels, some cheap suspension, and save myself thousands and thousands of dollars. But when push comes to shove, I can’t bring myself to do it. Does that mean I never will? To be honest, I don’t know.
Does it make you angry when you see someone with a replica of your wheels, when you paid three times as much? Or, are you happy to buy a replica body-kit because you can’t justify the expenditure, while understanding and appreciating the effort put in by the original manufacturer? Where do you stand on this topic?
Based on an original write up by Akuma
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on Aug 30th, 2010 at 5:19 am
fake ftl
on Aug 30th, 2010 at 7:08 am
You don’t pay my bills. Worry about your own car.
on Aug 30th, 2010 at 7:14 am
no it doesn’t make me made I have a replica mugen front lip and I can’t see how having the real thing would make a difference.
on Aug 30th, 2010 at 7:45 am
It would be nice to have all of the brand name stuff. However looking at today’s markets it would be so unrealistic to say that every knock off is going to be of lesser quality. Just because you can buy a 2000$ front bumper doesn’t mean that a 300$ bumper will function any less. really the only reason a part is usually so much more expensive is the r&d that the larger companies do. Also alot of the time your paying for is the name more than a product. look at amuse or mugen stuff. The prices are insane yet they keep selling. it all comes down to personal preference
on Aug 30th, 2010 at 9:02 am
Depends on the functionality of the piece. I have a ton of orignal gear on my s2k, even authentic Mugen and Bride products. It’s worth the extra money for the fiitment and quality of workmanship IMHO. In some cases, such as my rear wing i opted for a non-authentic piece. The fitment is also good, and shape and foil is the same so it offers the same performance upgrade. My wheels are authentic, it would worry me to be going around a track at the speeds I do and not be totally confident in what’s keeping my alive. Any moving part, or part that if it were to break would put my safety on the line is worth the extra expense.
on Aug 30th, 2010 at 9:59 am
if its quality ill buy, replica or not
on Aug 30th, 2010 at 10:54 am
i recently just picked up a set off BBS LM reps for a quarter of the price of the real deal. people look at my wheels and see the whole picture; the 4.5 degrees of camber on the rear, 10″ wheels and 225 tires, tucking almost all the tire, and the super low offset (lip). not one person has said anything about them being replica wheels because its how you execute a wheel to make it look good or not. same with any modification to a car, EXECUTION IS KEY, the wise phrase i once heard from the wheel god in my hometown can be used for any part of a car. its not who makes it or what name brand is on the bottom, its how you pull it off. my $00.02
on Aug 30th, 2010 at 11:44 am
I like to stick with OEM. You will never catch me spending 3k on a set of rims. It’s not that i can’t afford it, i would just rather invest my money into something that will not shed it’s value. I think it is the way one is raised though, I got my s2000 when i was 17 and living at home. If i layed that kind of cash down for some unnessisary parts, my parents would beat me.
on Aug 30th, 2010 at 3:23 pm
When it all boils down i really feel indifferent to what people decide to do to their cars and more specifically what parts they choose to put on their car. However i do have a enormous problem with companies that copy parts and create replicas. The difference is that the originally company came up with the design and deserves the credit for the design. For the companies that have the resources to create a replica they should be creating their own design and market that product. Also i highly disagree when people will defend that replicas are the same quality. Simply put they are not the same quality. While performance differences may be minimal they are still inherently different. Original design is extremely difficult and even more of a challenge to be successful. Furthermore i would encourage everyone to support the companies that shape our industry and push it to new levels. I would never look down or feel anger towards people who decide to purchase replicas. Replicas are found in all forms and sizes in almost every industry today. No one has the right to pass judgement and i certainly never will. Ultimately i would love to see the automotive industry grown and am interested to see the future of aftermarket parts.
Cheers
on Aug 30th, 2010 at 7:25 pm
What’s not discussed in this article is, what if the replica is for all intents and purposes: an exact copy. Maybe one is missing a stamp, or something so minor you’d have to be Sherlock Holmes to find it.
I feel like this isn’t a myth and it has happened with certain products. Is it okay to buy the replica then? I say, sure. I’m not a brand whore. I have HKS, Greddy, AEM, parts on all of my cars, but then I’ll buy (usually more minor parts) a replica and I think that’s fine. It’s really a case by case basis.
I will say more often than not the replica’s don’t stack up, and in that case you got to go gen-u-wine then.
-Towels
on Aug 30th, 2010 at 8:40 pm
Well said, YET=to me “function over form” comes to mind in such situations. A front lip can only be botched so much but coil overs, turbos, and even wheels get alot of stress. the front lip or axle spacer is faily simple(no moving parts, and faily low stress heck the lip is inches of the ground. i dont want 500 dollars hangin infront of my car when im driving the ” way i do”) but the coil overs are gona get alot of wear and tear, friction, and while you cant see it. its doing alot of work and changes the cars dynamics a good bit. certain things can be skimped but others i dont want bending or breaking making things more complicated and costly.
on Aug 30th, 2010 at 9:51 pm
my first rep part (ever) was the Shine top. i figured it was 12lbs lighter and half the price with the same aero.
traded for oem and no rep since then. no beef to shine or anything, i loved that top. i miss it, but i’ve gotta respect the companies that actually took the time to design such beautiful, functional items.
i can understand a lip, however, as it’d suck to eff up a $600+ lip and have it repaired and/or repainted often when one is dropped low enough.
never rep wheel’s imo haha.
on Aug 31st, 2010 at 12:38 am
I do share a somewhat similar perspective or opinion with Harisson and since this is just opinions stated, let me state mine. For me, a copy or replica is the ingenuity of one company or individual stolen by another. I dont steal and I certainly dont want to be stolen from either. So, patronizing copies is and will never be my thing.
on Aug 31st, 2010 at 3:40 pm
I’m all for original….. But when you say, you’re all funtion over saving a couple of bucks…… Okay anything aero dynamic for the s2000 is I think dumb. If original gets you some downforce. And replicas don’t…… Does it really matter? I mean, to gain any kind of downforce on an S. You almost have to take the car to the limit to experience it. Downforce on a car that can barely make it to 140mph?? LOL!!!!! I’m all about the S. But I’m not an idiot and I don’t believe that the real shit will give you any downforce at highway speeds. LOL!!!! Unless you track the S. Coilovers make no difference on the street. Tell me why My weak ass billstein pss9 can keep up with a set of KWV3 and a set of jays racing coilovers. They’re not fake coilovers but I just had throw the whole street scene out. There was some kid with a set of buddyclubs and it did well for street. And I hate buddyclub. Wheels are more for dress up or status. Status you get when you have the original wheel. But the replica car still looks sexy as well. Like I said. Only if you track the car will it make a difference. And if replica kits look bad or fall off. Then next time pay a little bit more but take it to a real shop, that know how to make things fit correctly. And if someone has there .02 for me………….. Well to bad. Like I said. I do original, but I never hate on the homies that rock replicas.
Original= We spent a lot for something that looks bangin hot.
on Aug 31st, 2010 at 9:23 pm
Like other people said, this kind of thing goes on in all industries and the argument will probably never end. But I’m for originals. I respect the work that goes into creating, designing, testing, and marketing those parts (even if I don’t like the part). People act like companies like Volk just draw up some wheels and then sit around collecting fat checks by ripping people off. The reason you even know what Volk wheels are is because they are constantly advertising in magazines and videos, sponsoring race teams, and using other marketing methods – all of which cost substantial money. There are lots of other costs as well, but I just wanted to make the point that they’re still eating huge operating costs, even without having to worry about knock-offs. Plus the quality issues and the general fact that replica companies are straight up ripping off other people’s hard work. People who buy replica parts are directly funding that, so I don’t have any respect for cars rocking fake parts. They can say that it’s a function over form thing, but the truth is that they just want to copy someone else’s look for cheap. To me that goes against the whole point of modifying a car — to have a unique car with upgraded parts. You can say you bought a knock-off lip or wing because its purely functional or you don’t want to damage an expensive part, but you can buy inexpensive lips and wings from original companies (like APR for example). The truth is that you wanted the exact look of that original part, but didn’t want to pay the price. I used to buy knock-off parts when I was younger and they are all different in some way. After growing up, getting burned by cheaply-made knock-offs, and appreciating the value of hard work, I just can’t buy them anymore.
on Sep 4th, 2010 at 7:23 am
“Daniel on Aug 31st, 2010 at 3:40 pm Downforce on a car that can barely make it to 140mph?? LOL!!!!!”
Considering there are aircraft that can fly at less than half that speed, and even a B737 has a final approach speed of 140kts. I think your understanding of aerodynamics is a little lacking.
on Sep 8th, 2010 at 8:29 am
Hello, i just got my s2000, not to long ago, before the S I owned a Honda prelude 1992. Personally I wasn’t really into the “JDM” hype, but rather into quality and what not. I’m only seventeen, a little young to be driving an s2000, but i work hard to get where I want to be. Back to the topic, I’ve always looked for quality in the products i buy and i agree on you when it comes to brand products. totally worth it