I picked up my AC kit today and took it to the body shop... This is the first AC kit I've dealt with on any car and didn't get to test fit the pieces for fitment, but I have to say I wasn't really that impressed with the finish. The finish on the side skirts were good, and the rear bumper is ok-ish, but but there are definitely noticeable waves in parts of the front bumper so it will take a good amount of prep work. Some parts of the black gel coat on the edges of the front bumper look like they'd been sanded down a bit, etc. The shop was telling me the quality was not on par w/ Vertex kits that they've installed. Not trying to stir things up or anything, but out of curiousity, I'm wondering if I just got a bad piece or what. I guess I was expecting more from a pretty highly regarded tuner like AC.

 

mine was similar to yours too but its not bad. the fitment isnt perfect but way better than a knockoff. remember it isnt gonna fit perfect if it isnt OEM. thats just they way it goes. Im happy with mine and once its on your car im sure you will be too

 

AC kits aren't so rare anymore ey? I've seen one AC kit in person unpainted and it didn't look flawless by any means. Your's sounds a bit more rough esp. in the front but I'm sure with prep it will be fine

Don't forget to post pics of the finished product !

 

for something above $2000 maybe I should expect more??? What about finish on vertex kit?

 

Yea, I guess I was expecting it to nearly flawless for $2k. I haven't had a chance to see a new unpainted Vertex, but the shop swears they are significantly better finish than the AC.

For you guys that got your AC kits a couple group buys ago, what it pretty much same? Or i wonder if AC's QC has just been declining overall.

 

Yeah, AC kit is everywhere now but it's still the best looking kit overall imo. I wanted to go a different route and get the Big-Win front lip, AC sides, and AC evolutiion rear lip but it seems like it's hard to buy the parts seperately.

I ill definitely posts pics when it's done. Looks like my ridiculously wide set of Work VS-XX gold are gonna be able to fit too afer all. I just need to get the black parts to do a two-tone interior and an exhaust and call it a day, hehe.

 

wow. This is not the news you want to hear when you been rubbing your pennies together for about 2 years for a kit. Thanks for the heads up. Let us know about the fitment when its done please..

 

Your finish on the kit is blk from the factoru right? That color makes it super easy to spot all the imperfections. When I had the ac kit from the factory in white, you can barely notice anything at all. I've had more than 1 SC kit. (4) but they all had to be shaved down in certain areas.

Keep in mind, not everyones car is perfect unless its accident free. So they give you a little play in case you're driving a POS car. That way once installed its perfect as can be. Its not much work to get it fitted. The extra work let's you have a perfect installation.
Knock offs are a diff story.

 

are these fiberglass? i used to make molds.color of the kit can also tell you the quality of the parts

 

I told you the VS-XX would fit.

 

Once its prepped, painted, and installed you will not notice any flaws...The black finish on the kit when unpainted does not dicate the final product..

 

Is it impossible to get just an AC front? Are there any Lip Kits for the 97+ SC's?

 

Yup, it's a black kit from the factory that I bought from Carson Toyota. So they were white at some point? I guess that's one of the other reasons I was sorta scratching my head cause I could have sworn I'd seen an AC that was white when unpainted so I was wondering if AC was like skimping on the QC on these newer black coated kits. Thanks for your input, makes me feel much better about my purchase.

 

Hehe, it was REAL close... I bow down to your wheel fitment knowledge, haha

 

If the final product looks anywhere near as good as your car, I'll be very very happy, haha. I guess I was just a little concerned because I've looked at quite a few authentic/knockoff unpainted kits and the finish on the AC kit was definitely not as good as quite a few of the other authentic kits I'd seen.