Yes Sir. Very unfortunate for me.
Yes, the customer service has not been a very bad experience. I will keep the community posted in case he does respond to my email I sent a few days ago now. As far as the hood is concerned. Yes, it is still at the paint shop, no work has been done on it at this time as I was waiting on a response from ICB, and weighing my options on what to do with it. But based on what I have been told about the gel coat issues around the vents (where I was going to leave exposed carbon), it looks like I will be painting the entire thing
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They have ghosted me brother. No contact at this time. If push comes to shove, I will call them on the phone. But non compliance is non compliance. I highly doubt they will pay to ship it back either. It shipped via freight. Was over $400 to ship to me. We shall see if they make contact. Rather just put that money to paint. It needs clearcoated no matter what anyway.
Perhaps, that a decent idea. Thanks.
Ironically. That is exactly why I did not order a Varis hood. I could not find one in the USA. This was the only Japanese made hood I could find in stock. I dont think I could handle paying that amount of money, waiting months and months. Then the stress of shipping via freight from Japan. This barely made it from Arizona!
If you bought it with a credit card I would threaten a charge back at the very least. I've made the mistake of buying with my debit card before and I've learned my lesson
I did. So, that is a possible path of action as well. But we shall see where the cards fall.
First Molding was indeed the OEM for the FK8 J's Racing hood, and they are still the OEM for quite a few aero pieces for various JDM brands. I have to confirm but from my understanding and the very basic research I've done, the J's Racing Phantom Dry Carbon hood is not made by First Molding. Best person to ask is Justin over at Strafe Racing or Thomas of @SBX Performance since they are both authorized dealers for J's Racing.
Thank you for the information Sir. If you have any Chinese manufacture recommendations, let us know.
I was genuinely excited to have found one remaining new First Molding hood for my FL5 with a full carbon top and FRP bottom with the rain guard and mesh included in stock and ready to ship from the USA. From my understanding, ICB is the only authorized dealer in the USA for First Molding. I found this hood at ICB Motorsports. I asked people that I sourced, that had experience with ICB and First Molding products what they thought of their products after use, and what experiences they had with ICB. Most were positive. I paid over $2900 shipped to my door for the hood. Shipping went well minor two minor mishaps that luckily did not damage the hood. I know the hood only comes in gel coat. I know that gel coat can be flawed. However, in my opinion, this authentic Japanese made hood that is produced by a company that competes against Varis, Spoon and Mugen is unacceptable for the $2900+ that I paid. Not only are there very evident defects in the gel coat, but clearly, there are many defects in the carbon material itself. Many finger impressions along areas of the hood that had to be manipulated in place. Creating a wavy pattern throughout. Please keep in mind that the defects I photographed are not on both sides. Just what you see. The two milky dots at the peak of the raised edges of the hood cannot be sanded down to correct, as that may create pin holes in the base layer. My intent with any carbon fiber hood I bought, was to have it professionally prepared and clear coated and then mounted on the car for the community to see. However, now I am stuck painting the entire hood body color. I cant even leave the vented areas carbon because of the defects in the gel coat.
To make matters worse, is that I reached out to ICB to simply ask if these imperfections were normal. Did they inspect the hood prior to shipping it to me? What my options were. Etc. I sent them the included photographs. They advised that they could not see the images clearly. They provided me a detailed explanation that it is only gel coat. However, they did not say anything about the obvious to me imperfections in the carbon fiber material beneath the gel coat that looks like ASS. Honestly, I have seen Chinese carbon fiber products purchased off Ebay that looked better than this. I have not even checked fitment on the car yet because I am trying to figure out my options. It has been over 48 hours, and they have since ghosted me.
At this time, I would highly recommend NOT to do business with ICB Motorsports and if you decide to buy any large Japanese made product that will have to ship via freight, demand the company you are buying it from to send details photos of it prior to shipment.
I know this hood is salvagable by me just having it painted body color and I know I am still saving a little weight and will get better ventilation. However, wouldn't this make you upset? I am not a JDM purist by any stretch, but that one time I literally "buy in" to the hype of Japanese made, oh so good, I get burnt.
Let me know your thoughts.
