Bodykit material
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Bodykit material
I know theres been discussion on this before, but I really want an honest, no bs assesment of bodykits. I'm pretty strapped for cash right now, but I really want the r33 bodykit. I saw it on aerotrends for about 450 (fiberglass), and 800 (Urethane). Now, thats a big differnce for me in price. I really want to know the truth. I mean is the fiberglass going to be ok? I don't care if its not gonna last 20 years or something, but a reasonable amount of time? I really would like to get the fiberglass unless its gonna fall off the minute I start driving. Thanks alot guys.
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A basic summary is:
Hand Laid Fiberglass Pros:
-lighter than urethane
-stronger than urethane
-will not sag
-less likely to deform due to heat
-can be repaired if cracked
-better for race/track applications
-less expensive to produce
Hand Laid Fiberglass Cons:
-more likely to crack upon impact
-fitment issue if the kit is a replica
High Pressure Urethane Pros:
-Less likely to crack than fiberglass
-Sronger, lighter, less likely to sag than low pressure urethane
-Better for winter climates due to extreme conditions/etc
-usually better in terms of fit......than a replica fiberglass kit
High Pressure Urethane Cons:
-Heavier than hand laid fiberglass
-not as strong as hand laid fiberglass
-more likely to sag
-more likely to deform due to heat
-cannot be repaired if cracked
Urethane can crack as well, but much less likely. Overall Hand Laid Fiberglass has it's advantages as does High Pressure Urethane........Low Pressure Urethane is crap as is chopper gun fiberglass, which is what most replica kits are made of is garbage as well. Chopper gun fiberglass is weak and brittle......low pressure urethane is heavy, weak and sags more than high pressure urethane.
Hand Laid Fiberglass Pros:
-lighter than urethane
-stronger than urethane
-will not sag
-less likely to deform due to heat
-can be repaired if cracked
-better for race/track applications
-less expensive to produce
Hand Laid Fiberglass Cons:
-more likely to crack upon impact
-fitment issue if the kit is a replica
High Pressure Urethane Pros:
-Less likely to crack than fiberglass
-Sronger, lighter, less likely to sag than low pressure urethane
-Better for winter climates due to extreme conditions/etc
-usually better in terms of fit......than a replica fiberglass kit
High Pressure Urethane Cons:
-Heavier than hand laid fiberglass
-not as strong as hand laid fiberglass
-more likely to sag
-more likely to deform due to heat
-cannot be repaired if cracked
Urethane can crack as well, but much less likely. Overall Hand Laid Fiberglass has it's advantages as does High Pressure Urethane........Low Pressure Urethane is crap as is chopper gun fiberglass, which is what most replica kits are made of is garbage as well. Chopper gun fiberglass is weak and brittle......low pressure urethane is heavy, weak and sags more than high pressure urethane.
check out www.aftermarket kits. Im pretty sure they have the r33 kit, and ALL their kits are $300 for fiberglass. It also has a picture on the homepage of two guys bending a fiberglass front bumper like crazy and it doesnt break. Im gettin an r34 kit from there pretty soon.
sorry. www.aftermarketkits.com
ive had my fiberglass kit for bout 5months or so, and even tho its not a perfect fit, everything else is fine. just be extra careful not to hit anything(especially when parking and going over speedbumps/inclined ramps)
i personally wouldnt buy a body kit off ebay. The price isnt THAT good either. I dont know a lot about JDM kits, but all the kits on www.aftermarketkits.com are $300, and they have some nice kits.
you can't tell how well of a fitment it would be from just a picture alone. every pic from site to site will look identical, its just little things you wouldn't know about until you actually try putting it on. for example, when i got my second buddy club bodykit(the first kit was a compete piece of sh*t, got it exchanged(yes that bad)anyways, long story) it looked sweet! no visual imperfections, was all green. but when it came to installing, the sides were about 1.5inches too short(oddly on a side note, my previous kit had the same problem. wierd). it had to be cut, extended, re-fiberglassed,etc. my point is, every place is gonna use different molds and different quality materials, so try finding out how reputable a place is first and look for perfect fitment garantees. oh, and yeah, dont go through e-bay, too many things that could go wrong IMO
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i have urethane and am i glad i bought it, you can scrape and not cringe, if you hit a speedbump or drive way a little hard fibreglass is ****ed, so it depends, do u wanna drive everywhere, o rjust certain places?
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I checked out that aftermarketkits.com place, and they don't have the r33 kit for 2002 civics. Also, 300 is kinda cheap, do you think it would be any good. I probably would by the fiberglass from Aerotrends, does this place have a good rep?
actually guys ive had fiberglass kits for almost 3 years and i scrape all the time.... over the years ive also learned to repair the kits. so far ive only broke it once.
cracks are so easy to fix. i will prefer fiberglass over urethane anyday.
oh yea its harder to crack fiberglass than you think.
you know the wheel stopper thing when you park..... i hit it all the time and since i put it in neutral i just sorta roll back(perfect parking everytim
)
cracks are so easy to fix. i will prefer fiberglass over urethane anyday.
oh yea its harder to crack fiberglass than you think.
you know the wheel stopper thing when you park..... i hit it all the time and since i put it in neutral i just sorta roll back(perfect parking everytim
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I looked at importfan, and they don't have my r33 kit. I'm probably going to get the all fiberglass kit from Aerotrends. It's about 450 for the entire kit. What do you guys think? Aerotrends?
Edit: I take that back, importfan has only the front bumper, its its almost as expinsive as the whole kit from aerotrends!
Edit: I take that back, importfan has only the front bumper, its its almost as expinsive as the whole kit from aerotrends!
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