Original vs Replica
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From: Arkansas
Whatever happened to giving credit where credit is due? Whether you're tracking, showing, or just plain driving back and forth to work, don't garnish your S with sub-par parts from some sub-par manufacture.
Support the companies that lead the pack (USDM or JDM) in keeping the quality parts rolling out for our beloved rides.
BTW, props to the OP for having the cajones to create a thread (controversial as it may be) worthy of making our forum homepage!
Support the companies that lead the pack (USDM or JDM) in keeping the quality parts rolling out for our beloved rides.
BTW, props to the OP for having the cajones to create a thread (controversial as it may be) worthy of making our forum homepage!
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From: Miami, FL
Originally Posted by rmc22,Aug 28 2010, 04:25 PM
I think the post I quoted is on the right track in terms of how people try to explain their preference, but it contradicted itself.
For the record, there is a tremendous amount of R&D in interior, wheels, and body parts. I guarantee more R&D goes into these areas. Why? At the end of the day these play a vital role in occupant safety. Header? No real secrets here and no magic formulas. Suspension? As far as shocks go, most small companies will just rebrand a Koni.
A major part of the purchase of an authentic item is the reliability and support of the company. These are Six Sigma and QS9000 companies; the big dogs. These companies have built their reputation on their product quality and stand behind it. They supply to the OEM market, pass governmental and regulatory testing, and still find ways to continuously improve.
All you guys getting fired up over the "replicas are for poor people" comment, it's the truth. Don't take it so personally. He didn't say you were literally impoverished. If money was no object, would you even think twice about not buying the original?
At the end of the day it's your personal choice as to how you allocate your resources. The replicas help push the envelope for the next authentic product. Personally, I would never buy the knock-off. But there are a lot of things I wouldn't do that seem pretty popular around here lately.
CLIFFS: I'm willing to bet your knock-off was a significant downgrade from stock. Most of that **** is just junk. And Honda engineers > random knock-off production company.
For the record, there is a tremendous amount of R&D in interior, wheels, and body parts. I guarantee more R&D goes into these areas. Why? At the end of the day these play a vital role in occupant safety. Header? No real secrets here and no magic formulas. Suspension? As far as shocks go, most small companies will just rebrand a Koni.
A major part of the purchase of an authentic item is the reliability and support of the company. These are Six Sigma and QS9000 companies; the big dogs. These companies have built their reputation on their product quality and stand behind it. They supply to the OEM market, pass governmental and regulatory testing, and still find ways to continuously improve.
All you guys getting fired up over the "replicas are for poor people" comment, it's the truth. Don't take it so personally. He didn't say you were literally impoverished. If money was no object, would you even think twice about not buying the original?
At the end of the day it's your personal choice as to how you allocate your resources. The replicas help push the envelope for the next authentic product. Personally, I would never buy the knock-off. But there are a lot of things I wouldn't do that seem pretty popular around here lately.
CLIFFS: I'm willing to bet your knock-off was a significant downgrade from stock. Most of that **** is just junk. And Honda engineers > random knock-off production company.
Every part is different, and I'm not about to sit here and list every single part that I would consider okay to be a knock-off. If actual R&D went into the product, I probably wouldn't support it's replica variant.
There's a lot more to designing a header than you think. Are you an engineer? I didn't think so. Designing a header that actually makes power for a particualr motor or to suit a particular motor setup is a different story. Go read the thread and see how many versions of the Fast Forward header were built before the final design was decided upon. For someone to take their final design, copy it, then sell it for half the price is ####ed up.
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This is actually the root of our economic problems in the world right now. If you buy knock offs you arent paying enough for what you are getting therefore you are getting it from china, taiwan, or another third world country. These countries citizens are being exploited by rota or whomever to make their product CHEAP. If you want new sweet parts to come out you have to pay the companies who hire designers and engineers to make their sweet parts. There is a reason amuse parts cost so much it isnt just because it says amuse on it (even though you are paying for that too). But amuse hires individuals who are not only qualified to make the parts but pay them enough money to live like you and I can. It is like buying wal mart parts for your car and it is bad for everyone except rota.
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From: Kodak, TN
Originally Posted by SakeBomb,Aug 30 2010, 12:58 PM
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The Challenge line from what I have read is made in the USA and is reflected in the price because they had to manufacture under the scrutiny of our government. Rotas are manufactured in the Philippines therefore they do not have the same manufacturing standards and practices as other countries. They do not pay their employees what an American or Japanese manufacturer would have to. And they make simple changes to the products that these American and Japanese manufacturers make and sell them much cheaper, exploiting their cheaper labor to sell a cheaper product. I was only using Rota as an example because they offer so many wheels that are so close to others made by larger manufacturers.