cymfc3s

Ive seen a few JIC made suspension components, and have been totally unimpressed with the build quality. I dont think i would bitch so much if it werent advertised as "JDM" high quality compenents. They seem like ripoff artists to me. I took a close look at a strut tower brace and the weld quality was totaly amateurish and the casting was awful. That and the nuts were already starting to corrode. Not even in the same league as the cusco components. Yah, im a stickler for quality.
Am i the only one that has seen issues with the JIC stuff??

voodooracing

I had my Cusco strut tower brace for 7 years already. It has zero rust

DriftinJim

iTrader: (24)

I think JIC switched to taiwan production recently.

something like that.

GoRacer

iTrader: (2)

I have no idea what you looked at. I've seen all the JIC stuff at Zeal Motorsports and have SF1 coil overs. JIC is supposed to get the contract from Mazdaspeed for their suspension.

BLUE TII

iTrader: (9)

???

I love quality goods and have been very impressed w/ my JIC purchases.

Spec 90 turbo back exhaust-
My spec 90 3 1/2" SS turbo back exhaust is a work of art. The welds are all very smooth.
Only things I noticed was 1) the downpipe section was polished before welding and mandrel bending so it was not as flawlessly finished as the catback section. Understandable, since this is a race only accessory that eliminates all cats and does not even include a pre-silencer.
2) the hardware included to bolt up the 4 BOLT FLANGES! was not stainless like the rest of the system. I have heard SS doesn't have the tensile strength of high grade steel, but I bought some to use anyways...
The fit was perfect! It uses all factory mounting points even though it is about 1/5th the weight. It was designed to tuck up closer to the car, so that even though it is 3 1/2" pipe it is not the lowest point on the car.
There were even thoughtfull touches like the fact the catback section includes a bolt in adapter to reduce to the stock 2.5" catylitic- and this piece is simply not used when running the full 3.5" turbo back system.

FLT-A2 coilovers-
These are the best street coilovers I have seen. 17 clicks of dampening adjustment, anodized threaded rear and coated, hard galvanized front lower mounts that allow ride height adjustment independent of spring perch height- so you don't mess w/ spring preload. Inverted front strut construction. They are fully rebuildable/revalveable and all parts are available seperately. Everything is machined, welded and coated beautifully to compliment the sound engineering! Only thing I noticed was that the front lower mounts were not marked L and R, but needed to be on the correct side for the brake line mounting tabs to line up. Thats it...

Carbon fiber front and rear strut bars-
The end plates have smooth even welds and a tastefull black textured durable finish. They included STAINLESS hardware so there will be no rust. The carbon weave is straight and clear and the rear bar was socketed into polished aluminum end pieces. There are no faults in these pieces.
The only thing I found I would do differently is that the front bar is an extruded aluminum piece bent to clear the 2nd gen top mount IC and such and then that piece is wrapped in carbon fiber. I could have used a lighter carbon straight tube like the rear bar since I have a 3rd gen intake manifold and it would be lighter and a bit more rigid.

I can't believe someone has beefs w/ JIC Magic quality- were these knock off items?
I know quality; I have Volk TE-37 rims, Greddy AF and boost playback quages, the afore mentioned JIC items and many more quality JDM goods. I love JDM quality and have been disapointed w/ almost all the American products I have bought- including the Racing Beat exhaust that is so highly acclaimed for its quality. It can't even come close to comparing to the JIC exhaust.

Does anybody else that has actually seen/used JIC goods have some negative comments about quality?

-EDIT-
Here, I added my Sig so you guys know I'm not some yahoo that thinks JIC stuff is great just cause it is better than some pacesetter crap...

ARD T2

iTrader: (22)

I haven't had any issues with my stuff. As for switching to Taiwan please confirm this before posting assumptions. I have confirmed construction to be done in Yokohama, Japan. That would warrant this as a JDM product.

There's always going to be debate going back and forth. Only time will tell. I too am surprised. I'm gonna shoot up to Bozz to take some pics and do some comparisons on the STB.

As for the coilovers, I don't see any issues. Fully anodized aluminum bodies. That's definitely a plus. The exhaust systems are gorgeous and amongst the lightest out there.

I believe cym is referring specifically to the STB. Please indicate which bar, finish, and application so I can look into it. Thanks Seth, Rishie.

cymfc3s

Im not going say without a doubt where the stuff is made, but id be surprized if it was all made in Japan.
Here are some pics of a JIC brace for a miata that my friend bought. Very detailed.

http://www.tsj-freight.com/jpg/thchen/cars/na6ce/jic/

ARD T2

iTrader: (22)

Ah, the lower arm bar. I thought you were referring to a STB. The welds on the LAB are okay. I have to agree with you there. It is however functional.

The fact of the matter is that the LAB are only $90.00 list price. That's pretty cheap for an imported product. What about the other products in their lineup.

Seth, please PM me. I am very interested in your opinions and what you have to say. Any info you can provide would be appreciated. I would like to get to the bottom of their production location. If it's bolts or nuts I don't really care about that. But if it's complete construction done elsewhere that would be good to know.

thanks, Rishie

cymfc3s

thats just the one i had pics of. The STB i havent taken detailed pics of.

DomFD3S

I posted awhile back about JIC as well. During last year's Sevenstock, in the 5Zigen booth, they have a JIC coilover on display. The bushing that comes w/ the coilover had paint overspray on it. Nitpicky? Maybe. But I was not impressed w/ the quality of the welds either.

I'm a big fan of Cusco products. And I have also been spoiled by Endless products too. But, I just was not impressed w/ JIC. Not to say that their products don't work, but I've seen better.

I do, however, place JIC products above TEIN in terms of quality.

Sorry I don't have pics, but I will definitely take some if I come across a good example of what I'm talking about.

TonyC

Hey! that's mine!

I've been in the import/export biz for over 5 years. There's no doubt where this POS came from. Same damn place I came from. That bar is "worth" $20 MSRP. $5 FOB Taiwan. It's of the same quality as this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=1870998188 baby. As far as the goods being "Made In Japan" - many products are now imported from China/SE Asia into Japan, relabeled then reshipped. I guess that's why the bar was $90; it made 2 transoceanic journeys.

I saw (along w/ Reted) the entire JIC lineup at SEMA 2 yrs ago. I shoulda listened to Reted. The stuff is CRAP; lousy polish, lousy welds with splattering EVERYWHERE, paint overspray. Inferior to Tein (the NON-MIT stuff) as well as Cusco. Nowhere NEAR the quality of Carbine/Okuyama. I was stupid enough to pay for the "JDM" brand; hopefully no one else will do the same.

Well, actually, keep on buying this crap (along w/ Freedom Design, BOMZ, FOCUZ, Arospeed, APC, Ichiban, blah blah blah). My peoples have to eat!

Manolis_D

iTrader: (2)

I'm going to step in here and mention that at SS5 The Titanium cat-back they had in the JIC booth was quite possibly the most beautifully crafted metal object i've ever seen... the entire catback weighed probably less than four pounds!!!, and the welds were absolutely PERFECT on the thing... sweetest exhaust setup i've ever seen in my entire life, and you'd be damned hard pressed to do better than that in any area except price (~1G)


anyway... just thought i'd share my opinion

1FooknTiteFD

for the price of 1G for just an exhaust you better have nothing less than perfection...however, when you pay over $1500 for suspension you would also expect the same type of quality if not better, which is lacking according to cymfc3s. It seems to me that the quality department is dependent upon the type of things in their product line

magicman

Ok, this is just retarded. First of all, the "majicman" used to be Terry of JIC. It is now me, Kevin of JIC.

Now, JIC products are made in Japan. Our welds are done by robots. For some reason, the lower arm bar welds are fatter than our other stuff. It may be because nobody sees it under the car, function over form. Our strut tower bars have amazing welds and include stainless hardware. Our exhausts have the highest quality welds I have ever seen. Our suspension is no longer painted (except for the springs). It is plated stainless steel (unlike the painted mild steel of Tein). All aluminum bits are anodized. We use the highest quality NMB Japanese pillow ball spherical bearings in our top hats. All of our aluminum strut tower bars are highly polished. All of our stainless steal exhausts are highly polished as well. I look around my office and see nothing but the highest quality stuff you can buy. Maybe you guys should come down here and check it out. We can even teach your friend to read Japanese like on the side of his box and in his instructions of the lower arm bar.
Kevin
JIC
562-803-6122
please feel free to call us with any questions.

cymfc3s

Ok, how is it "retarded" that people are expressing their opinions on a particular product? Thats what this forum is about, correct? I have NO vested interest in ripping on JIC for no good reason, im mearly expressing my dissatisfaction with their products. Ive been in this community a very long time, and people ask me for advice. A lot of people were asking me about JIC, so i did looking into to some of their stuff. And so far, i have a really bad taste in my mouth. If i recommend someone buy something, paying a premium for some that you say is the "highest quality stuff you can buy" and they get an inferior product, what then? Of course your going to defend JIC until the bitter end, thats what sales people do. Dont take it personal, im speaking my opinion and asking others to do the same.

GoRacer

iTrader: (2)

That looks like a used mild steel bar painted over silver and maybe even a cheap knockoff. Not impossible that the rebadged someone else crap, just hard to beleive and I haven't seen it.

I've never seen anything like that at Zeal Motorsports. All their products i've seen have been flawless and the suspension is an excellent deal for the money.

I don't think they would have won the new contract from Mazdaspeed for their coil overs if it was crap. ...that's the last I heard. I haven't talked to him since but I don't see why it would have fell through.

magicman

Ironic you mention that. The president of Mazda is here now.

cymfc3s: your opinon becomes invalid when you call a stamped piece of steel, cast. Voicing opinions is fine, starting a thread that does nothing but slander a product that is so highly reguarded, that is retarded. Gee, the boys at Sport Compact Car seem to like our stuff....

RETed

Doesn't Shiv write for that magazine...


-Ted

GoRacer

iTrader: (2)

Hey Magicman,

Can you ask Jon if Apexi will give him back the excell software that he used to have in Japan. I asked him about tuning our FD's before when he was tuning the 300ZX. We could really use his talent tuning the PowerFC (and he can read the Japanese software).

(I have the white RX-7 FD3S with the JIC SF1's.)

ARD T2

iTrader: (22)

Come down to the shop and take a look at a cusco and a JIC bar side by side. Take a JIC exhaust and lay it side by side an Apex i or Greddy or Tanabe. Take the coilovers and do the same.

That's actually a great idea. I will begin to collect photos side by side of these and let people compare.

I'd be more than happy to have you come down and drive the GTUs Seth. I'd be interested in hearing your opinions on how they do compare, STB, Exhaust, and the coilovers. It's not like you're that far away.

We got several other applications for you guys to try as well. The IS300 is sickening as well as the Proteges and the Supras and the WRX's. We're here. I'd much prefer that you test out the product responsibly and make the decision for yourself. Keeping in mind that the suspension is, in standard form, setup for the street/track individual. Extremes can be had on a custom order basis.

Thanks, Rishie

BLUE TII

iTrader: (9)

OK, I checked out the pictures of that lower arm bar and I see where you are comming from Seth. The spatter looked bad on a polished piece, but what really bugged me was I saw undercut on a weld- bad, bad, bad. I bet the flaws are more apparent in person.

No JIC products that I purchased looked like that, thankfully; so I didn't know where you were comming from.

cymfc3s

I dont care whether a piece is stamped poorly or casted poorly, its done poorly. And throwing out Sport Compact car wont impress me, ive met the writers. Seriously though, youve done a great job at making me quite turned off to JIC. Instead of addressing my concerns, youve insulted me. Real professional. I hope everyone that is thinking about purchasing JIC reads this post.

And Rishie, id be more than happy to take you up on your offer. Ill help you out any way i can.

ARD T2

iTrader: (22)

Much appreciated Seth.

I have had the same issues with the cleanliness of the welds on the LAB previous as well. But I would not generalize on everything. We mostly do the EK civics and such as that's usually all they can afford to purchase and it is much better than a DC bar, per say.

On the contrary, we have been very happy with the rest of the lineup.

I would appreciate your time to fill me in though.

Thanks, Rishie

That bar is Chrome plated, BTW. Just so we are all clear. It was plated over the splattering.

BLUE TII

iTrader: (9)

https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showth...5&pagenumber=1

Here is a thread w/ some of my JIC pics for people to check out. I didn't do much as far as close ups unfortunately. I am very impressed with the quality of the finish.

Here is something that did not impress me...

Quotes from JIC representative-Magicman-
"Ok, this is just retarded."
"We can even teach your friend to read Japanese like on the side of his box and in his instructions of the lower arm bar."
"cymfc3s: your opinon becomes invalid when you call a stamped piece of steel, cast. Voicing opinions is fine, starting a thread that does nothing but slander a product that is so highly reguarded, that is retarded."

You are a representing your company? I find these insulting comments to be completely unprofessional and are in response to completely valid concerns over quality. My opinion is that you could really learn about professional behavior and representing your company properly from Rishie- see how he responds-

Quotes from Rishie (ARDT2)-
"As for switching to Taiwan please confirm this before posting assumptions."

Makes his point politely.

"Please indicate which bar, finish, and application so I can look into it. "

"I am very interested in your opinions and what you have to say. Any info you can provide would be appreciated. I would like to get to the bottom of their production location."

Does not invalidate concerns of quality, but asks for specifics.

"Come down to the shop and take a look at a cusco and a JIC bar side by side. Take a JIC exhaust and lay it side by side an Apex i or Greddy or Tanabe. Take the coilovers and do the same"

Offers to defend the quality of the product w/ out insults! Hell, Rishie even offers Seth a ride in his car...

Magicman-I use Rishie as an example of profesional behavior because I have always been impressed by his professionalism and it makes a good comparison since both of you are responding to the same thing. Sorry if it seems like I'm trying to pit the two of you against each other, start something or anything dumb like that- I'm not. I am just really unimpressed by how you represent JIC Magic products; products that I really like!
Ian

voodooracing

whenever there is anything related to JIC or suspension components, there is the "sales talk" from ARDT2 and Magicman...