350Evo 3.9 installed impression
as I have mentioned in other threads, Central20 is a Z -focused shop based in Japan that has been racing and modifying Z cars for the better part of 30 years now. Certainly longer than any aftermarket Z firm in the US. The products and expertise are second to none, having seen a few examples of various items first hand I have no way of knowing nor finding out if these are identical units to 350Evo's or not. However, I had my contact in Japan inspect these thouroughly before sending them, and we also looked them over at the shop upon arrival and were pleased with the craftsmanship that went into them - they were every bit as substantial and robust as the 350Evo ones. I wish we had a 350Evo set at the shop to compare them to, but of the sets we got for each of our own Z's, one set was installed into my car back over a year ago, and the other set Kwame ended up selling prior to install. He will be installing a Central 20 set later on this spring though
hmmm.. can this FD compare to lets say the vortech supercharger kit? does it consume the same amount of gas as FI? i think this would be a great alternative for californians since it doesnt cause the engine to emit any more smog that usual... also is a whole lot cheaper...
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Joined: Feb 2005
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From: Cincinnati OH
How so, I would gladly pay more $$ for a item from a reputable vendor or to have a better shop do the work or drive out of my way to have the car tuned by the best for peace of mind... Its your car, I dont see it as wasting $$ more as wisely investing in money that i will not get out.
The you get what you pay for does not work in this instance.
The Central20 FD is exactly the same at the 350evo, except its less than 50% cheaper. I have it installed and its great.
The Central20 FD is exactly the same at the 350evo, except its less than 50% cheaper. I have it installed and its great.
Last edited by mchapman; Jan 10, 2006 at 02:07 PM.
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From: Cincinnati OH
Originally Posted by misterite
Tell that to Enron Victems 
innovatation deserves reward, with 350evo being down the street and having a good repore with BJ and Jon it would be a great injustice to both if i decided to get a FD and not support the local shop that created it anyway. Its like a slap in the face.
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From: Cincinnati OH
Originally Posted by mchapman
I agree with that in general but even that has limits. Charging twice as much is outside that limit.
they arent charging that much because they can get away with it... 350evo had to R&D the product get a prototype from scratch tested it on race track condition in a race car, and then ordered a small quantity ie. under 500 so production wasnt nearly discounted. from what i was told the protoype was almost 5gs to produce by a reputable company who does porsche fds.
Now say you buy a premade product, reverse engineer it... and order a larger number from your japanese supplier and manufacturing process, or taiwan in most cases you can greatly reduce the cost and price you are able to sell it for.
Get this, 350evo still hasnt made $$ on the FDs from all the time and $ spent in development.
.........................
Just a small example say you spent 2 years developing you new plenum for your own car to race with, then you show it off get some interest and sell a few for a decent cost... then some guy buys it in JPN and tears it apart and remakes it cheaper and faster then resells it as a new product and you are therefore under sold & cut... is that ethical, have we really become that survival of the fittest esque that you cant support a local company that has pioneered something for our car. I dunno thats just how i feel IMHO, I have no probelms with buying even central 20s products, in fact might have bought theirs if it was a 3.7FD just to be different. But central 20 is smart the R&D is too expensive to do that if you cant wait till it comes out and redo it and make a larger profit margin. I know this is a capitalist community but damn friendship is part of it.
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Joined: Feb 2005
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From: Cincinnati OH
Originally Posted by VegasZ35TH
I am personally going with the 350evo 3.9FD myself. It's in the works as we speak. Thanks MI 35th.
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Joined: Apr 2003
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From: Greenville, NC
Originally Posted by MI 35th
they arent charging that much because they can get away with it... 350evo had to R&D the product get a prototype from scratch tested it on race track condition in a race car, and then ordered a small quantity ie. under 500 so production wasnt nearly discounted. from what i was told the protoype was almost 5gs to produce by a reputable company who does porsche fds.
Now say you buy a premade product, reverse engineer it... and order a larger number from your japanese supplier and manufacturing process, or taiwan in most cases you can greatly reduce the cost and price you are able to sell it for.
Get this, 350evo still hasnt made $$ on the FDs from all the time and $ spent in development.
.........................
Just a small example say you spent 2 years developing you new plenum for your own car to race with, then you show it off get some interest and sell a few for a decent cost... then some guy buys it in JPN and tears it apart and remakes it cheaper and faster then resells it as a new product and you are therefore under sold & cut... is that ethical, have we really become that survival of the fittest esque that you cant support a local company that has pioneered something for our car. I dunno thats just how i feel IMHO, I have no probelms with buying even central 20s products, in fact might have bought theirs if it was a 3.7FD just to be different. But central 20 is smart the R&D is too expensive to do that if you cant wait till it comes out and redo it and make a larger profit margin. I know this is a capitalist community but damn friendship is part of it.
Now say you buy a premade product, reverse engineer it... and order a larger number from your japanese supplier and manufacturing process, or taiwan in most cases you can greatly reduce the cost and price you are able to sell it for.
Get this, 350evo still hasnt made $$ on the FDs from all the time and $ spent in development.
.........................
Just a small example say you spent 2 years developing you new plenum for your own car to race with, then you show it off get some interest and sell a few for a decent cost... then some guy buys it in JPN and tears it apart and remakes it cheaper and faster then resells it as a new product and you are therefore under sold & cut... is that ethical, have we really become that survival of the fittest esque that you cant support a local company that has pioneered something for our car. I dunno thats just how i feel IMHO, I have no probelms with buying even central 20s products, in fact might have bought theirs if it was a 3.7FD just to be different. But central 20 is smart the R&D is too expensive to do that if you cant wait till it comes out and redo it and make a larger profit margin. I know this is a capitalist community but damn friendship is part of it.
Last edited by ZPirate; Jan 11, 2006 at 07:51 AM.
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Joined: Apr 2003
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From: Greenville, NC
Originally Posted by MI 35th
its not a video thing more of a feeling you just have to ride in one
The Central 20 is $499 shipped for the ring and pinion set itself
rgreene - not true at all. No matter what ring and pinion you do, you still need the install parts. Whether you get the install parts from us, from another company, or from whomever, they are still needed no matter what. We normally advise customers with 30-40k miles or more to do both install kits, but in the end it's totally up to the customer. No matter what ring and pinion brand you do though, you still need one or both install kits, as well as the shims in order to do the job. If you do a line item comparison of both ring and pinions, the 350Evo one still comes out to be alot more.
Don't get me wrong, the Evo set is certainly nice....I know first hand, as I have had it in my car for awhile. But when Central 20 announced the availability of their kit, we jumped on the opportunity to offer it, as it combined the backing of a 30 year old race organization in Japan, at a price that cannot be beat. The best of all worlds
rgreene - not true at all. No matter what ring and pinion you do, you still need the install parts. Whether you get the install parts from us, from another company, or from whomever, they are still needed no matter what. We normally advise customers with 30-40k miles or more to do both install kits, but in the end it's totally up to the customer. No matter what ring and pinion brand you do though, you still need one or both install kits, as well as the shims in order to do the job. If you do a line item comparison of both ring and pinions, the 350Evo one still comes out to be alot more.
Don't get me wrong, the Evo set is certainly nice....I know first hand, as I have had it in my car for awhile. But when Central 20 announced the availability of their kit, we jumped on the opportunity to offer it, as it combined the backing of a 30 year old race organization in Japan, at a price that cannot be beat. The best of all worlds