Aftermarket Bumpers - Frowned Upon?
 

Hey guys, I'm currently 28 y/o and was heavily into the tuner scene when I was in my teens and early 20's. Back then bodykits and the like were all the rage. But it seems like there has been a bit of a backlash towards that sentiment in recent years.

The reason I am posting is because I have been thinking about picking up an Amuse or possibly a Zele front bumper, but I am kind of worried that aftermarket things such as this are frowned upon nowadays. Is this true? Or should I go for it?

Thanks for the help.

Well to me it seems people are going away from the more wild kits that change the look over all of the car. They want something that maintains the stock lines and clean appearance. The two kits you mentioned have quite a reputation though and I agree look very tasteful =) You would not go wrong with either kit.

All in good taste is fine. To me, Zele and Amuse are excellent options, and there are a few lip kits out there that are equally nice. But look at Tamon and abflug, both are wild but haven't received a lot of support here. (tamon probably because it's also stupid expensive haha)

Tl;dr
 

Too Long; Didn't read version:

Do whatever you want to do with the car but be wary to take some flak from anyone who tries to call you out on putting a body kit on your car without pushing the vehicle's performance limits. :tup:

Lengthy Version:

I cannot comment on how the fitment is in real-life and the fact is both kits are high quality. What you're asking is, however, not the quality of the body kits but the perceived response from other car enthusiasts and people in general.

It's my personal belief that you should pursue anything (in the automotive world) that makes you happy. If that means having a bone stock Civic and putting a 16" GT wing on it.... by all means do it. Don't worry about what other people think as long as you truly love what you're doing.

My other personal belief is that those body kits have no real weight in positively altering the performance of the vehicle. Now whether or not the Amuse wing provides sufficient down force to actually benefit the vehicle's performance is not really important. What's important (to me) is can you justify the body kit? Even a bolt-on* 370z, in my personal opinion, cannot justify having an amuse or zele or anything body kit wise.

Now I have no quarrels with even a stock 370z have some SIMPLE body modifications like a low-profile spoiler (like a cf version of the stock, etc) or a front lip. However, when you've put more into the body kit than making the car fast, I just have trouble taking you seriously. I know I'm getting some funny looks and how someone may consider me arrogant, ignorant, or "elitist", that's fine. I just can't justify modifying the way a car looks so significantly (especially since the car already looks fantastic, all it needs is a front lip to square out the front end) without at least getting a few bolt-ons or going forced induction with supporting mods. I just don't see the point in trying to make a car that already looks great, look so different. If you didn't like the way the car looked why didn't you just buy something else? But at this point I have completely digressed and possibly trod on my own personal belief that you should pursue whatever makes you happy, regardless of what other people think.


*Footnote:Lightly modified meaning exhaust/intake/tune/geared. anything that doesn't alter the internals of the engine. bolt-on DOES NOT include power adders; regardless of whether or not you believe nitrous/sc/turbo's are bolt-ons... no one considers those a part of a car with "bolt-ons".

Do what you want it's your money homesizzle

The 370z more than any other Z looks really good slammed on the stock exterior but both of the kits that you posted look very nice as well.

Just stay away from the furiously fastly look.

as long as its clean and doesnt include lambo doors and neon, its all gravy.

:iagree:

Mmmm .... gravy ... :yum:

Both kits are very hot. But go zele to many amuse out there ;)

Having said that if the nissan emblems just came right off like the 370z emblem does i would have just popped them all off and called it a day. A nice look IMO is shave atleast the front nissan and put a sunline/shineauto style front lip. Hot, simple, cheapish well cheaper than a new bumper.

i think when scoops or vents arent functional its a little gay unless they are extremely subtle...pretty much function>form is how i see body kits

:iagree: function over fashion. I don't believe anyones turned up their noses at body kits just non functional kits.

The craze is not it being ugly... well.. maybe a little, but it is more about QUALITY.

If you buy an ebay body kit and put it on your Z, thats a no no.

Buy an AMUSE kit, or something that is associated with quality and that is a yes.

I don't think I would do it mainly because I'm not a fan of the look, but if you like it and can afford a quality piece then go for it.

Body kits are coming back.. mark my words.

Note to self: Switch lambo dr. order to gull wings.
Contact Walmart tuner dept., re. scoops, lts., and stickers.

Well, when you reach 29 maybe you'll realize that as long as you're happy with the results, other opinions don't matter.

When you are taking your last gasp of air on this planet I doubt that the bumper mod you put on your 370Z will come to mind.

Just the front? You should get the whole kit. :tup: