[JuddS]

Ok, so I've joked for 2 years about Alibaba and how great it is. A lot of people talk badly about China, but I am of the belief that Chinese product can be just as good as anything made in Germany or elsewhere. I should say, I don't really like Carbon Fiber all that much and the only reason I'm doing this is to see how it turns out. I was going to give the piece to the guy rebuilding the salt water flood car, but when I googled 2014 R8 V8 carbon fiber on alibaba.com I didnt realize that his car was older, so that fell through. I guess now I will either use it on my car unless he can make it fit on his and still wants it. Or, it may never show up.

So, the reason I went with the Alibaba vendor that I went with is because they have a video and they responded quickly to my email. I also wanted to test if they were going to rip me off, so I paid them via paypal (not on the alibaba site) and I even sent the money before they gave me the PO. Its only a $132 plus shipping for the engine cover part and I guess will kind of look ridiculous when the rest is the black plastic, but this is really all about entertainment for me so I rolled the dice.

Here is how it went, I found them on Alibaba in about 5 minutes sent them a message at about 8pm chicago time (10am China time) and they responded in good english with a catalog of parts within 30 minutes. I told them I wanted the piece and then sent the money via paypal. They said it will arrive in 4 to 6 weeks but we will see. Lots of cultures view time differently than American's so I don't know what they really mean by 4 to 6 weeks. If I hear that in Latin America, it means about 6 months and I'm ok with that. If I hear that in Germany, I am shocked they didnt give me an exact date and time and if I hear that in the USA I think it will be here in 4 to 6 weeks.

It appears this thing costs $1,400 OEM, I'm sure less from R8crap and probably there are other vendors who sell it non OEM for 500 or 800 bucks or something. I still dont know my landed price as I may get a high shipping bill and I may get customs charges.

The company I am buying from is OYA CARBONCO., LIMITED and this PO:

Here is the link to the OEM one I saw: Audi R8 Engine cover. 4.2 LITER AUTO TRANS. 5.2 - 420103926J | Audi Columbus, Columbus OH


So, its Feb 16th and we will see when it arrives.

 

[drgmt]

Can you summarise in 20 words or less what the point of this is?

 

[kiryu]

It's a hit and miss on quality and price. I have bought a few carbon bits from china for my porsches, excellent fitment and superb quality and cost 1/4 the price of Renntech. I have also bought some carbon bits on ferraris that's complete crap (the carbon diffuser has crooked fins in all different angles LMAO). And then there are quality Chinese parts that's no different in price vs US or German made...I even tried to import it through a chinese company within china and the price is no different than the ones here....in short, very inconsistent. Worth the gamble only if it's cheap enough

 

[JuddS]

@drgmt Entertainment. Curious if I get ripped off. Want to prove people wrong who hate other cultures. Entertainment.

 

[JuddS]

also, this site would be better if the mods limited all my posts to 20 words.

 

[FoD]

also, this site would be better if the mods limited all my posts to 20 words.

Agreed.

 

[JuddS]

Idea. I start all posts with a 20 word summary so people don't have to read the full post.

 

[Fasteddy91]

Chinese manufacturers have come a long way. I remember buying some Chinese stuff for my mr2 around 20 years ago and it was horrible. I never thought I would do that again, especially with the R8. A forum member here posted the full carbon fiber engine bay he had purchased from JSK racing and it really looked nice. Especially for 1/4 of the cost of oem. I think I paid 2300 shipped. I was shocked how oem the parts looked. The only difference i noticed about this kit is the pattern is slightly different for the oem cf air box and oil cap cover, the pattern on the oem is |||| instead of //// for the jsk parts...not a big deal though. I have them installed now for over 4 years and they look great and no yellowing either. I bet alot of R8 owners didn't realize the oem carbon fiber engine bay parts are made in Thailand.

 

[NYG]

"Chinese product can be just as good as anything made in Germany or elsewhere"

This is one of the funniest things you've ever posted Judd.

 

[fastspek]

On this point I agree with Judd.
Many parts that are sold as oem are in fact made in China.
Here is one example that I found out myself when buying a new sterter solenoid for my Honda VTX 1800 motorcycle:
Time for a new starter solenoid: oem or...? | Honda VTX Forum (vtxoa.com)

 

[ExpertRanch]

@drgmt Entertainment. Curious if I get ripped off. Want to prove people wrong who hate other cultures. Entertainment.

I don't think because you don't trust a Chinese product source that you "hate other cultures" ... Humans make assumptions every moment of every day because we cannot possible process each situation as new and unique, you'd never make out of your bedroom in the morning each day. The Chinese manufacturers (Gov't) has earned a reputation over a long period of time. We all know some times you win and get a decent product, but I've NEVER heard of a superior product to say a German manufacturer (does this mean I'm a German lover?). Put simply, reputations are earned and this one is over a long period, no one I know "hates other cultures".

 

[NYG]

I've done hundreds of tensile tests on structural metals from different places and did research on brittle failures on steel from welds.

Chinese steel is compared to US/Japanese steel.

Just food for thought. I would never trust anything from China with critical function. Aesthetic components are probably whatever.

 

[skar829]

Judd, since this is for giggles, once you get the part, can you look for any seams and/or actually just cut a piece off? The reason I ask is that I heard most of these "carbon fiber" products that come from these 3rd party companies are carbon fiber wrapped around fiber glass. I would be impressed if the piece you're getting is actually pure carbon fiber.

 

[Animosity2k1]

Judd, are you from Columbus?

 

[V10MANUAL]

Most things we have in our devices and daily lives are made in China. Even most of our phones chips etc etc. It depends on what the product is and the quality control used in production. I would buy anything from any country if the QC was audited and excellent standards and grade.

Unfortunately I agree with the gimp on this one.

 

[bavarianstance]

I've done hundreds of tensile tests on structural metals from different places and did research on brittle failures on steel from welds.

Chinese steel is compared to US/Japanese steel.

Just food for thought. I would never trust anything from China with critical function. Aesthetic components are probably whatever.

it's called Chineesium

 

[Blu Bull]

Idea. I start all posts with a 20 word summary so people don't have to read the full post.

Maybe you could also not attack vendors? And I really hope this doesnt turn into a repeat of last time

 

[ezmaass]

Unfortunately, when you need to "see if you get ripped off" it kind of gets to the root of the problem.

The Chinese have unfortunately earned their reputation here. There's a clear lack of concern when it comes to issues such as respecting intellectual property, for starters. IP theft is essentially sanctioned. Beyond ripping off IP, there's then issues of quality... and honesty in the way products are advertised. You may be getting an equivalent to the authentic product, or perhaps you're getting a shadow of it. Oh, and how about safety? Lead is apparently not considered dangerous in China, nor are various other toxins that end up in products such as cosmetics that goes on to give unsuspecting customers cancer.

Nobody on this forum has a reason to bargain-hunt Chinese knock-offs to save a buck. I'm not normally the "activist" type, but these days I'm going out of my way to avoid sending money to China and supporting a culture of IP theft, poor quality, lack of safety, and lack of concern over human rights.

 

[Blu Bull]

I still dont know my landed price as I may get a high shipping bill


View attachment 284291 View attachment 284291

Maybe they can ship it over on spy balloon to save you money.

 

[Isidore]

<iframe src="Deer Popcorn GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY" width="480" height="361" frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="

">via GIPHY</a></p>