bLackout

bought my z32 wit a stillen front lip. i think its called a 'chin' because it sticks out. anyways...its been abused by the previous owner, so the center of the lip bends down. im plannin on buyin a greddy urethane front bumper. was wondering if anybody knew if it was the same length in height as the stock bumper wit stillen lip? if somebody can inform me, id be really helpful. thx. fellow Z enthusiast.....


and to imagine i almost sold my car for a civic ek hatch....the misery i wouldve been in

emo236

I don't know about dimensions. According to Greddy's website, they only offer it in fiberglass:
http://www.greddy.com/
Another option is to get another lip. The stillen type 3 is goreous IMO and I plan on someday getting either that lip or a jspec front for my present TT. I'm assuming you have the stillen GTZ lip...found here:
http://www.conceptzperformance.com/C...2768.8.139.100

ZLover4Life

the urethane fascia you're thinking of is a knock-off of GReddy's (fiberglass) Gracer fascia. As a general rule for the 300ZX and the 300ZX Community, knock-offs are frowned upon.

bLackout

that pic is right on the money. i was planning on gettin the stillen typeIII lip. but the descriptions of it kind of confused me. whether it was to be mounted in front of the stillen gtz that i have on right now. or it was a whole new unit which would replace it. Y are knocks frowned on. because its a knockoff or because it wont mount rite?

entropy31

most knockoffs are of poor quality and they dont mount right. spend the money and do it right or it will look like crap.

RPS13_GZ32

Speaking of the urethane Greddy fascia. Does anyone know (from personal experience) where the BEST urethane Greddy fascia can be bought from? (I know dupes are lower quality sometimes, but the durability is hands down worth it, and I am currently looking for a good source for a urethane one, since I have had MANY bad expereinces w/ fiberglass and am willing to have a shop make the urethane look right). If anyone has purchased one and knows of a place that sells them in decent condition, I would appreciate any info. Thanks.

EDIT: I know Z1 sells the urethane gracer (the most reputable of all I have found), anyone seen or heard anything of theirs?

(I too agree, do it right, but steer clear of anything fiberglass , it just wont hold up to any sort of wear and tear, and eventually will need replacing.......which is why I'm searching for a knock off urethane Gracer)


EDIT: My personal experience:
6 bodykits on 6 cars, 5 were fiberglass, 1 was urethane. All the fiberglass kits were destroyed in one way or another except for one......just watch out, and if your going to go with a kit, make sure its URETHANE! it is just so much more durable and worth it in the long run.

WhtFairLadyZ

I know Z1 has one. It looks identical in the build of the bumper. They had a Greddy one sittin there near the Urethane knock off. I m not one big on knock offs, but I reallylike that bumper.

The only complaint with ANY unrethane bumper is that they are HEAVY AS HELL. The cheap urethanes are the ones that are notorious about cracking. The FRP and GOOD QUIALITY fibreglass fascias are more pliable and wont crack as easily.

emo236

I'm pretty sure that you'll have to take off your GTZ lip. Your GTZ lip may or may not be simply placed over your stock lip...if it is, you can mount your Type 3 lip the same way the GTZ lip was mounted.

ZLover4Life

... so why don't you pick a urethane fascia (like stock, or JSpec, or Stillen, or find a newer Wings West w-type, etc.)? Considering the GTZ-R, Wings West W-Type, and the Gracer are all pretty much the same, I'd recommend finding a used GTZ-R or W-Type and modify it to look like the Gracer if it's that important for you to have a Gracer fascia in urethane.

RPS13_GZ32

Well, I like the GTZ-R, but it's too expensive for me. I HAVE been considering a WW style as an alternative, but I figured I would just seek out a the Gracer first, and then rely on the W-Type if I can't find anything that is decent....looks like that may be the next step.

emo236

it's going to end up costing more to get a miss-fitting knock fit right than to buy a GTZR that fits and modifying it.

RPS13_GZ32

I know this already, especially through experience, which is why I was asking the community if anyone has run across a decent Gracer.....if nobody has, and they just don't exist, then ya, I'm going to go with the alternate plan....figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Sorry to sound like a *****, I just asked a question and am now defending why I asked it. Straight up, I like the GTZ-R, but it costs too much, wouldnt look right w/ the rest of my kit, and doesnt appear to be tall enough (leaves too much gap between the bumper and the road, as opposed to others I've seen). GTZ-R is out of the question IMO. So I turned to the Gracer since it is what I like most, but if I cant get urethane AND reasonably good condition, then the Type-W will have to suffice.

Let me broaden my question-

Does anyone know a good place to get either a urethane Type W or Gracer?

emo236

sorry to sound like a *****, but I just answered your question by giving you known solutions to your issue that you are presenting....some people....

RPS13_GZ32

..."some people".......

Thanks for the alternate solution.

This thread was a waste of time, Sorry for the thread jack.

napoleonzheking

just get something that will flex (ESPECIALLY if your car is lowered) that way if you scrape, u just have to deal with paint issues instead of broken front end issues. I know from personal XP.

RPS13_GZ32

I hear you there man......Fiberglass just isn't worth the time, money, or effort in the end.

emo236

but FRP is.

CanyonCarver

I would say that when a "knock off" ends up being a better product that the "name brand", you'd be stupid to buy the "name brand"..... but that's just my humble opinion.

emo236

The issue is that they are not a better product. I've seen too many posts of people buying knock off's and having to spend a ton extra to get it to fit.

ZLover4Life

What knock-off is better than a name brand? Just because the Gracer rip-offs are urethane, they're better? That's the most rediculous thing I've ever heard if that's what you're stating. "Better" when it comes to body parts means "better fitment," and the Gracer knock-offs do NOT fit better than the actual GReddy Gracer.

If you're speaking generally, then I agree.... if there were a product made, and someone copied and improved on the product and sold it for less, then yeah, it'd make sense to buy the cheaper and better part.

RPS13_GZ32

so has anyone on here actually bought and tried an FRP Gracer?

(I'm just curious as to the fitment and the actual durability from someone who has or had one)

CanyonCarver

Here's some trials and tribulations on the ebay Greddy urethane knock-off...... https://www.zdriver.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15289

I'm speaking in general terms...... and also specifically about this urethane knock-off. I will never buy a fiberglass body part. Fiberglass is ****, that makes any knock-off copy made out of urethane better.... but obviously it's gotta fit good. If it doesn't. whether it's brand name or knock-off, I'll send it back as a defective product.

I've seen some pretty ****-poor installs of oem fascias, so it's also obvious that the individual doing the install needs some skill. I would even speculate that alot of the bad press on aftermarket body parts is skewed by the fact that most of the installers have never installed a body part before. I won't dispute the fact that there are some crappy products out there

Just like the myth that Z's are hard to work on....... it's usually coming from people that have never worked on ANY car, let alone a Z.

RPS13_GZ32

Thanks CC, That seems to be my exact stance as well, which is why I'm searching for a urethane knock off that is in really pretty good shape fitment wise (for being a urethane knock off). If FRP is really as good as people say, I may have to reconsider going with that, but I will be REALLY REALLY dissapointed if it turns out to be just another crackable POS....I'm dead set on Urethane, no matter how well it fits (it is a lot easier to live with the hastle of making the urethane fit as opposed to repairing a huge crack in fiberglass from hitting something).

Anyone have experience with the FRP gracer, or bought a urethane from Z1?


EDIT: Ah, i'm soo confused.....I hear "don't buy the knock off". Then in that post, he says he would do it again and it wasn't that bad.....I just don't know anymore. Not to mention I emailed 2 ppl who bought knock offs on ebay, and both arrived in really crappy condition (scrapes, and bent up), and they were real dissapointed....If anyone knows the quality of Z1s urethane or the FRPs, I'd appreciate if you would share your experiences. Looks like those are the final options for the gracer idea...

napoleonzheking

just get JSPEC and be done with it.

emo236

nope...waaayyyy too classy!