Alright, well Im usually the last one to ridicule anyone for their personal tastes. I realize we are all different and I try to respect other's opinions even when I dont agree with them. I wont post any pics or anything, but am I really the only one who feels that like 99% of the stuff that alot of the guys on this forum go nuts and drool over, is some of the ugliest and tackiest crap you've ever seen? Aside from the Mugen Hardtop, there is not 1 Mugen,spoon or J's racing body piece that I think looks even remotely good. Time after time there are pictures of cars posted with body pieces with canards, sideskirts, weird bumpers with holes all through them, green and orange wheels, those rediculous "dolphin tail" exhausts etc etc.. Im just wondering if Im the only one that feels this way? Im not an old guy, Im 25.. but I just really cant see how so many people like some of the things I see for these cars.

 

Most of our views are biased towards JDM stuff. You can't help it since we're S2000 owners. If I were to step back, completely forget about the fact that S2000 is a great car and have no liking of this car at all, I probably say some of the kits are ugly. Extreme cases are takata green wheels. I'd never thought I will like such wheels, but hell my tastes change overtime as an owner of the S. To be honest, if I think about the time before I owned my S2000, I never liked dolphin tips either, but now I love them. I've fallen into this hole.....

 

I dunno, while I like all sorts of cars, Japanese cars have always been my favorite. My 1st being an FC Rx-7, then falling in love with them and owning one of each gen, even stockpiling them to fix/sell/part out. Ive owned ~20 Rx-7s and have been playing with older Z cars as well. I like some of the "JDM" stuff for them also, and while there is some pretty funky stuff for other cars, it just seems almost everything for the S2k is fugly.

 

Bottom line is you can't please everybody. Don't buy it if you don't like it.

 

I used to own a few FC's and FB's and was heavily active on rx7club. I recognize your name on the forum there too.

When I registered on S2KI, I was surprised at how much rice there is on this forum and how almost everyone is obsessed with "JDM." I'm guessing its a Honda thing....

 

No you're not alone although I dare say you're an exception for your age group. Why? I think much of the far out customization is tied to an age demographic. I hesitate to use the JDM term, which simply means Japanese domestic market, because enough of the extreme stuff is not JDM.

I think it rather ironic that I recently posted a thread in the Gallery section as an attempt to contrast the "mods" I've made, as a retiree, to both personalize and optimize the car for my intended usage as a road trip / touring vehicle, against those of the overwhelming majority of posters there who are much much younger.

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=602310

--Bob

 

While you are on the verge of a shitstorm flamefest, here is what I personally think....

Now, I don't look at parts as JDM, DTM, or USDM. I look at their quality, appearance (if relevant) and their functionality.

The Japanese car culture (appearance wise) is very different to the European/American car culture. To me personally, most of the aftermarket parts that come from Japan are pretty ugly. Everything from the black Spoon rims, to Top Secret wings, etc just plain look bad and completely ruin the flow of the car's lines....which is what matters. This is why European cars are modified with a bit more class...they try to preserve and accentuate the lines of the car, rather than ruin it.

Looks however, are a personal taste, and one can't say "The Amuse widebody is ugly." That statement is false, and incorrect. The CORRECT statement is " I THINK the Amuse widebody is ugly."

There are lots of people on the board that have very CLEAN cars...by clean, I mean the stock lines have been preserved, the wheels accentuate the car, and any bodywork is not damaging to the car's lines. There are also lots of people who throw that out the window, and completely destroy the grace of the car. While this might not be for everyone, it has its own fanbase.

As for performance parts....from my experience, JDM/DTM parts are just higher quality than USDM or ones made is "lesser" Asia (Taiwan, China, etc). While we can argue that spending $2000 of Toda parts for 6 peak HP is pretty silly, the fact is their parts, and companies like it, are superbly manufactured. This all comes down to the Japanese workforce ethic, which is extremely ahead of ours.

So, while many, including myself are not big on JDM parts, it's all part of a culture that we simply are not interested in...much like many people don't respect a 1956 Jaguar roadster or an old MG....it's simply....not their cup of tea.

 

[QUOTE=Rxmfn7,Jun 15 2008, 10:38 PM]Alright, well Im usually the last one to ridicule anyone for their personal tastes. I realize we are all different and I try to respect other's opinions even when I dont agree with them. I wont post any pics or anything, but am I really the only one who feels that like 99% of the stuff that alot of the guys on this forum go nuts and drool over, is some of the ugliest and tackiest crap you've ever seen? Aside from the Mugen Hardtop, there is not 1 Mugen,spoon or J's racing body piece that I think looks even remotely good. Time after time there are pictures of cars posted with body pieces with canards, sideskirts, weird bumpers with holes all through them, green and orange wheels, those rediculous "dolphin tail" exhausts etc etc..

 

What do you think is a good looking aftermarket bodykit (non-s2000 specific)? It'd be nice to get a sense of your taste in body styling so as to contrast your opinion on JDM kits looking ugly.

 

I like the way mine looks totally stock. Only thing I would consider changing would be the wheels and even then I'd have to be pretty convinced of a performance benefit.

I've always liked cars that could hold their own in terms of performance while still looking classy and graceful. The stock S2K fits those criteria just fine (the CR is pushing it). In my opinion money is best spent modding the stuff that no one sees while the car is moving (motor, suspension, etc).

I'll take a sleeper over a ricer any day, and I never want to be associated with the Fast & Furious crowd and some of their reckless driving habits (obviously limited to reckless individuals). I'd rather take it to the track. I'm 25 as well.