NOTE - Through this thread I am in no way supporting any company, nor do I certify the quality of the product provided - this is just for information purposes only. I cannot certify the prices listed, as they may change at the manufacterer's will. Buyer beware.
EXCELLENT post! this will reduce a significant amount of unneccessary threads, if people read before they ask..... i think we need a sticky on this...... thanks for putting this up.
EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT BODY KITS!!!
~From Probetalk
Welcome to Body Kit 101:
So you want your car to look cooler well youve come to the right place. There are several kits out there but before we get to those there are several different things you need to know first.
Looks:
When you begin thinking about purchasing a kit you need to do some reaserch. Your off to a good start by reading this.
1) First search the pic post for some shots of the kit actually on a car. its gonna look differnt if you just see it sitting on a table in the shop.
2) Go outside and take a good look at you car. Think about how it will look on your car beacuse youre going to be investing a lot of time and money into this thing. So if you have any doubts this would be a good place to stop.
3) To each they're own. Just because one person says a kit looks bad doesnt mean everyone thinks the same. Sure theyre are some exceptions, but if you like it go for it. originality wins points in the end.
Fitment:
It doesnt matter where you buy it from you should go in expecting this. most places have a no return policy. if you plan on pulling a diy i suggest you have somebody around who knows bodywork. if not its best to take it to a reputable shop. just ask around in you poc forum or at your local performance shop. Its gonna cost more but you'll be happier with the finished product. if you know what youre doing to you.
Should you get a fit that fits well pat yourself on the back. You got lucky. If youre llike the rest of us and the thing doesnt fit you may have a long road ahead of you. The majority of fitment issues happen with fronts and sideskirts.
For bumpers:
Most of the time you may just need to sand off a small portion of something, or add a little fiberglass and bondo around the headlight area. The tabs that help you connect it to the body may need strengthening or may not be there at all. There are some extreme cases tho. For example, with Erebuni bodykits you have to trim or REMOVE the front reinforcement bar to get it to fit. This is a very extreme case tho so dont let it scare you.
Sideskirts:
Most of the problems ive heard of stem from having it be to thin. in this case just add a little fiberglass to the inside to strengthen it. Others it may just require some sanding to get it to fit correctly.
Hoods:
Often forgoten because theyre only two or three good looking ones out there. Not to many fitment issues either. mostly just sanding to fit. also not that only one hood i know of bolts to the hood hinges so you'll need hood locks to keep it down. Most hoods are also made in carbon fiber if you want looks and weight reduction.
Cost:
So you decided on what to get. Now comes the shopping around for the best price. First place id look is the for sale forum. there is always a chance you might be able to pick up a used one or never used one for a good price. BONUS if its used than it was already fitted to a car so you dont need to worry about it!!
Just because you have just enough money to get the kit doesnt mean its time to order yet. you need to consider other things in the price as well. Shipping for one can be brutal, if youre getting it done at a shop you need to worry about labor costs, if youre diy you'll need to have some extra to invest in bondo and fiberglass just incase the fitment is horrible, and after all this you still gotta get the damn things painted. so you should estimate about $200-$600 bones extra to get this done but it maybe less or maybe more it all depends.
Importfan/GTP International:
Dont be fooled theyre the same company. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THEM!!! Any the dozens of horror stories heard they are probably the worst people to deal with. Tales of horrible fitment or non-existent cutomer service give them several horrible marks against their record.
Tell me, Mr. Anderson, what good is a phone call when you are unable to speak?
Location:
Things to consider:
Before you go out and buy a bodykit, there are still yet more things you need to consider.
1) Is this car you're daily driver? If so you might want to shy away. Maybe not the whole thing but just the front. You need to remember its fiberglass its not incredibly strong. Do you really want to put it through the punishment of your daily commute? Just be really careful on your driving.
2) Where do you live? This goes back to the whole daily driver thing. Live out in the country? just watch out on dirt roads for flying rocks. Live in the city? Pot holes everywhere!! Lots of cars jammed in close together = Plenty of chances for accident. Suburbia? Speed bumps and gutters at the bottom of the driveway all =SCRAPE!! The worst sound ever.
Getting it all together:
Well you ordered you're kit and its here. If you going the shop route take it in, and sit back and relax till its done. As mentioned earlier if you get lucky and get one that fits, the install is pretty straight forward. If your kit doesn’t fit address the problem areas. Odds are if you search someones already had the same problem as you and you can just pm them or whatever and ask for advice. This is usually the part where the bondo comes in. So when you’ve got it all fitted don’t be happy yet be happy but you're not done yet. Paint time. Now some people will fit the kit then get it painted then put it on the car. I think that defeats the purpose. Odds are you'll scratch it or whatever putting it on. I would, like others, fit it, install it, then get it and the immediate area around it painted. If you're going to mold it on (make it look like its part of the car) you don’t have any other choices.
Originally posted by darclex there is no way to navigate to the postert.de website, and that's only the beginning
it's only made in Germany and only sold in Germany...
otherwise hit me back yo.
www.postert.de works fine for me and there are people from other than USA hanging around in here. Like myself from Finland and a bunch of us from Europe. So I think www.postert.de is handy to put up in here for us European members. And you can get postert from other countries than Germany too, at least in Finland. Forgot to mention the postert.de kit is virtually the same as erebuni 44.
Just to keep out the misunderstanding possibility. This has come in need, I hope people read it too.
Mici
I myself am bouncing between ideas but I think I'll sit down and order a BC kit for my six for the next season. She's gonna be a show bird. (I hope)
i've looked for the mazdaspeed kit everywhere online, is it just a lip? from the looks of it, i think it is just a lip and sideskirts...can anyone redirect me otherwise?
Originally posted by dshin78 i've looked for the mazdaspeed kit everywhere online, is it just a lip? from the looks of it, i think it is just a lip and sideskirts...can anyone redirect me otherwise?
Yes, it is a front lip spoiler and sides but Jello's car seems to miss the rear sideskirt addition parts to the rear bumper.
Nopi online sells a VIS(i think) kit called the "Invader" but is really the shogun as we know it, the erebuni shogun and style 44, and they sell all three by compleate kit or by front lip, side skirts or rear. Note however the VIS kit's rear is the buddy club rear.
It's not like these are unique kits, but atleast we have other options, then erebuni, bbk, and tc spoilers, andy's and corksport. I think http://www.extremedimensions.com is having some sort of sale for a mx-6 something or other, so at least these two other sites are worth a look!
Tattoo's and a studed belt, and 215/40/17 Enkei Arashi's isn't that enough!
Yes, interesting page. But I can only find front bumpers for my MX-6 there. I would really be interested in the Mazdaspeed frontlip. Does anybody know where I can get it cheap?
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All Available Bodykits
This has come in need, I hope people read it too.
