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Amuse replica bodykit Install Journal
This is my experience in installing an Extreme Dimensions Amuse replica bodykit. I know this kit has taken a lot of abuse on the forum for quality etc, but I wanted to give it a chance myself and provide, you, the forum member and honest, unbiased review. The good , the bad, and the ugly will all be revealed!
Not all installations will be the same and each car is different. Keep an open mind and understand that your experience may vary depending on which brand of kit and what type of mods already exist on your car. YMMV... :tup: ...and always keep the finished car in mind... http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...psd5407c6f.jpg |
First, let's discuss the reason's I went with ED for the kit. A friend of mine is a distributor of their products and wanted me to be the test mule for them. I agreed to try the kit out as I really liked the Amuse kit and there are literally none in this area. I liked the fact the kit was available in North America and that it was very reasonably priced (~$1500 minus wing).
Shipping is a big concern as we get charged a fortune to bring anything into Canada, and that's not including any duty charges! I orderd the comeplete Amuse body kit plus the JP-R hood. Welcome to Extreme Dimensions :: Item Group :: 2009-2014 Nissan 370Z Duraflex AMS-GT Body Kit - 4 Piece Welcome to Extreme Dimensions :: Inventory Item :: 2009-2014 Nissan 370Z Duraflex JP-R Hood - 1 Piece I figured the shipping and brokerage was better as a package than to order a hood separately. Shipping and tax was just over $300, brokerage was about $150 (I brokered the package myself). I already had the Seibon NS style rear spoiler waiting to be installed so I didn't need to order a rear wing for the kit. The parts arrived in great shape. Well packaged in cardboard boxes, plastic and bubble wrap. Each piece had a stamp of authenticity on it as well. The JP-R hood was mounted on wood supports as well. Nice touch. http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...psb6fa3bdf.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps765f8eda.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...psda0cf951.jpg The parts have a black finish and are fairly flexible. I wouldn't recommend tossing them around though! lol http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6c3d6ed6.jpg The parts also had a good quality screen mesh pre-installed as well. Remove that prior to working on the raw pieces and store it away for later. I sprayed my pieces in plasti-dip too. I didn't want silver mesh.... http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...psac878c88.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps639e93be.jpg I don't have a shot of the hood by itself in the packaging etc. My bad... I installed the hood onto the factory hinges easily. The hood is light but probably still heavier than the tock aluminum hood. I noticed that the stock hinge height was too high for the JP-R hood and I would have to modify it later on. http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4d420ee1.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps90bc8ce5.jpg There is room to adjust the fit side to side etc with the hinge bolts. I let this go for now as I was just rough fitting. http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3cf17620.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps45a4db2c.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9ea71140.jpg The hood does not come with any hardware, so you must remove the old hardware from the stock hood and drill holes in the FRP to place your hardware. The good news is that the hole locations are formed into the FRP during the molding process, so it makes the job easier. http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps90d96c2d.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...pseb2335ea.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5f9be69e.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1f519c10.jpg After getting the hood positioned, I adjusted the rubber stoppers and the latch height so the hood closed properly and close to factory settings. Then I rough mounted the front bumper to get an idea of how close it was going to fit! This picture does not have the bumper screwed into place at all, just a friction fit for the moment. Again, you need to drill out all the mounting holes and snap tabs along the headlights before it will mount properly. http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps486303b5.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps00a03db2.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8c264410.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0d26a7cd.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...psd1b74329.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3a945d30.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps64068427.jpg Now the bad parts... There was a small gap along the passenger headlight that would not butt up properly. The good news is it can be fixed! Slightly heating the FRP and 'pushing' the part towards the headlight allowed it to reform in the proper position. A small dent was created in the bumper from me pushing, but that would be fixed in bodywork. http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...pscf155359.jpg Bolt in gap for scale: http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9809155c.jpg The biggest disappointment with this kit is the skirts.... They are covers rather than replacements. They are a good fit, but still leave a ridge along the body to tell everyone they are not replacements but bolt ons.... Oh well. http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...psf318c085.jpg Again, more dry fitting of the rear bumper. Overall fit of the kit out of the box was an 8/10 in my opinion. http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps95ecf39d.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...psf79b7db9.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5ec0eb23.jpg You will notice in these pics that I have already cut out the license plate bolt location and the light and trunk release button locations. This is another area that will require a lot of attention. The license area is easy enough (even though I cut it out too low and had to fix it later! lol), but the light and trunk release bar was a pain. There is no support for the original assembly that is in the factory bumper and you must build/mod your own supports. I cut out the hole for the assembly, then had to custom build a surround and support for it on the FRP bumper. Not too hard for the average skilled guy, but it was my first time molding fibreglas and it was daunting.... In the end, fibreglas is great to work with and small strips of resin soaked fibreglas wrapped around the stock piece (protected by tape) allowed me to mold the bumper to fit the assembly. I used long bolts inside the bumper to secure the asembly to the FRP support molded into the ED piece. Sorry, no pictures of that as I was covered in fibreglas! The quarter panels were very close, just a slight bulge that could be massaged out. http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6aa1c144.jpg The fit around the lights was very good. There was a small chip in the corner of the bumper near the taillight, but again something minor that could be fixed in body work. http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...psb00990f4.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7fdc6c55.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps61cbf051.jpg Here's a tip! Don't drag the panels over your paint job! This scratch was hard to get out... http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...psb951daa0.jpg Excellent fit around the exhaust too. That was a concern I didn't want to deal with. http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4b0eaf06.jpg I layed the Seibon wing on the hatch to get an idea of the final look... :tup: The factory spoiler had to be removed, and there are many threads that detail that so I won't get into it here. Suffice it to say that it is not fun... :shakes head: http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps55e8c1e0.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...psaefa30e8.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...psf5680531.jpg Then I dragged it outside to get a look at it with a few pins in place to hold it where it should be. Overall I was very happy with the general fit! http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...psfe6fde47.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5dbd554a.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4c5152b2.jpg Here you can see where I did a little rough sanding of the 'bump' on the quarter area. http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps762927f8.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps762927f8.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps575fabd5.jpg Then after a long wait for the body shop to have an opening.... in she went! http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...psdca38e10.jpg The first thing they did was cut and weld the hinges to the proper height for the hood. http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps55f79264.jpg Then they welded up all the old holes from the stock spoiler and drilled new ones for the Seibon. This process was an extra cost but I thought it was worth it. http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps743345f4.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7b91f05c.jpg Then they began touching up the corners that had small waves etc. http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...psf2c57ae3.jpg The hood needed to be sanded and blocked as well. Overall the hood had two little low spots. Nothing major. It is important to note, the black finish gelcoat has to be sanded and prepped before paint on this kit. No shortcuts! http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...psf7f32584.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...psf97bed0d.jpg And then primed... http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps68beaf0f.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3a98798b.jpg The rear bumper had the most work. Not because it was so bad, but there were more curves etc. Plus the small chip near the tailight that needed fixing. The body shop had one small accident as well and dropped the bumper on the floor, cracking it near the taillight corner too... :ugh: http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps734cfdb0.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2117e1cc.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps68f0826c.jpg Lot's of test fitting... http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1df0350c.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps41804c90.jpg http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7fcc17df.jpg |
Overall I feel I got a fairly good deal on a very good kit. Not the best, as the design of the ED kit does not include the bumper openings or the extended rear bumper design, but seems to have been well made. I'd say an 8/10 overall.
Would I do it again? I'm not sure.... Knowing what I do now, I may have purchased a higher end kit to get the features more like the original Amuse with a better 'out of the box' fit and less time in the body shop. It may have ended up the same dollar wise (more kit cost, less body shop) but you have a better kit in the end. Would I buy FRP or CF? FRP is easy to work with and allows for body work and reshaping very easily. CF is a finished product, and any body work has to be performed at a minor level by a skilled bodyworker to avoid damaging the kit. The fit has to perfect... I would only buy CF if I was local to the supplier in case it needed to be exchanged for one that fit. Inlaid CF is not an issue as it rarely affects fit. |
Great journal! What's next? New wheels or FI kit?
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Small things next. Thinking of doing the headlights this winter while she's in storage.
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Car looks great wheee! Headlights would look good. Maybe color match the door handles?
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what kind of lift is that?
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:tup: cooltoy! |
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http://www.the370z.com/attachments/e...vant-garde.jpg |
Are they yours?
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Should look good.
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Good thread I enjoyed reading it and also looking at the pictures, thanks.
Just a quick question, how much would a genuine kit cost and supplied and fitted. I am thinking the amount of labor it took to make this fit could offset the cost of just buying one that already mounts and fits perfectly? Excuse my ignorance I am unsure of the kit prices . |
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I too am unsure of the exact cost of the other kits. In Canada, we pay a premium for shipping and brokerage so it would not be a direct comparison either. I do agree that there may be a cost savings in labour for a better quality kit. Maybe another member can chime in with their Shine or AeroJacket costs for comparison?.... |
My Shine Auto bumpers didn't need any work at the shop. Painter prepped the surface, primed, painted and clear coated. Still need to color sand when I have time to take it back in. Fit was spot on. No adjusting or filler needed. Price for bumpers and paint was less than 2K. I did the install...
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Mine was $5k for bumpers, hood, skirts and bodywork/paint (two tone). That included the Seibon wing being sanded and painted and the hatch welded and filled/drilled. |
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I've had a few people ask about the bumper openings being blocked off on this kit.
http://www.the370z.com/attachments/e...rnal-front.jpg http://www.the370z.com/attachments/e...urnal-rear.jpg I think that if you really wanted the genuine look of Amuse, you could easily dremel out the portion of the front and rear bumpers. I thought about this during installation, but thought I could always do it later if I didn't like the look of them closed off. I'm happy with it for now, but may open them later. |
After a full summer of driving the car with the new kit and a long road trip through the Rocky Mountains, I can say that the kit has performed extremely well. I did pick up a few rock chips, but I am hoping to fill them, sand them and polish them out before next year!
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...d273e88246.jpg http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...31d3c12a01.jpg http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...d03daea0a8.jpg http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...8b8cde4421.jpg http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...a5a6895d82.jpg |
Thank you Mr Wheee for sharing with us the great photos today...:tup:
forum brother Clifford |
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Just got mine out today.
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Great rolling shot!
I'm learning real quick how much and fast it all adds up. I thought for sure, I'd be into it about $2k for paint and prep, but I'm about double that right now. So much work goes into fixing it to fit right. There's a lot of little details to work out. |
So we had an extreme Dimension kit next to the real thing at Zdayz this year... OMG the differences are astounding! The shape and quality of the bumpers is earth shatteringly far apart. To the OP I am in no way knocking your great work but my personal opinion after having the two side by side... I would choose the real thing all day long!!! The dimensions and shape of the ED Bumpers were out of wack and did not carry the same shape as the original. The whole front lip section is a different shape than the original and the rear bumper just looked weird how shallow it was...
With that said. OP you have done a great job with your build. I hope you can continue to enjoy your ride! |
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I'm very happy with my kit and results. It looks great and there are no real Amuse within three hours in any direction from me so comparisons are not an issue.... :tup: |
Just to add, I've told myself I will never go rep kit again. Only authentic from here on out.
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3.5 hours maybe.:icon23: (not real but identical.)
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where can i get the mesh grill for the front?
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where can i get the mesh grill for the front? or would i have to buy a whole
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It looks really good man and just so you know the higher end amuse kits all have about the same install bill...the average ive heard is 6k...ps i love the fairlady z decal very nice touch
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That looks stunning. Quite the production to get it to the finished stage. But it looks like the wait was worth it.
$6000 ... with their obvious ocd attention to detail, that's pretty good. |
Thanks for the feedback! Still loving this kit.
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know the difference :tiphat: |
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