First post everyone. I have been browsing these threads for awhile.

I have an 04 RX8 , but have never made any modifications. I like the AutoBahn authentic, MazdaSpeed authentic, and Shine Auto replica AutoBahn body kits, and and am planning on buying one over the next month.

I went to a trustworthy body shop who advised me to be careful buying kits that do not come from the manufacturer. He said over the long haul, they may crack, there is usually more maintenance involved, and they are never a perfect fit.

The problem is that I like how the AutoBahn looks more than the MazdaSpeed. My question is whether or not his advice is correct....

On Shine Auto's ebay store, it says the material is FRP. What is the MazdaSpeed made out of?

If you would go for the AutoBahn, what are the advantages of going for the authentic vs the replica? I can't really tell based on going to japanparts.com.

I have the following prices so far:
Anyone seen better prices?

MazdaSpeed (without shipping): $3,280
Authentic AutoBahn (with shipping): $3,165
Shine Auto AutoBahn (front, sides, rear - with shipping): $1,445

Thanks all.

 

where do you live that the autobahn is over $3k?!

 

Texas. That quote is from japanparts.com though, for the authentic body kit.

 

https://www.mazda-parts.com/speed/index.php?cPath=11_13

~$2624 factory painted

 

Thanks. Much better price.

Can anyone answer the other questions?

 

the mazda speed is made of a sort of plastic, kinda like the original bumper, shine is pretty flexible material rx7 friend loves their stuff, the autobahn not sure probably less flexible

shine is one of the better replicas, they have good kit and from what ive heard the bumper is extremely flexible so u dont worry as bad about it cracking, mazdaspeed is made from nearly the same material as stock so as long as ur not running though a wall with it should be like stock.

I have seen one complaint about the shine and that is because they didnt make the paint flexible enough when someone bump there car causing the paint the mess up, not fault of shine, their fourms have the suggest paint setup.

i used to like the autobahn but think the lines look weird from some angles

 

czar, thanks for the feedback. That helped out alot. I'm basically just trying to convince myself that buying the shine auto kit is worth the money and it won't get screwed up in the long haul.

 

^you WILL need to do some fitting witht he shine especially around the clear corners. that being said it, they do have good fitment for a replica and most of the fitting you can do with a dremel tool

 

Thanks mscamp02.

I noticed in one of your threads your front bumper was really damaged. Do you think that would have happened with the mazda speed kit? I'm really trying to gauge the quality here. I just want to put this one once and never deal with it again if I don't have to.

Which bumper/kit did you eventually buy to replace it?

 

yes I think it would have cracked/ripped the plastic as well with the mazdaspeed kit. I was hit hard enough to offset and crack my hood as well.

I ended up going with the tsunami front bumper to replace. its a polyurethane kit made by TSUNAMISTYLES.

mazdaspeed your gonna have perfect fitment and it will already be painted. the shine will need a little fitment and need to be painted. probably costing 700 after shipping for bumper then 400 dollars paint. only a few hundred less than the mazdaspeed one so the choice is really up to you.

personally i like the autobahn better for looks