Is there a market

[MarkCoupe]

Hi guys

Just wanted your opinions really. As some of you know at Silverstorm we have a contract with Pro Alloy. English designed and manufactured ally parts for cars. Including oem parts for lotus and the henneseys.

But being uk made prices arent cheap, for example i could get radiators made in turkey or china, for £25 a pop, market them as silverstorm and charge £200. And theyd be ok.

Give you an exmple of Pro Alloys works and prices:

Full FMIC kit inc IC< hardpipes, brackets and silicone - £390
Radiator kit including upper hard pipe - £300
Induction pipe with take offs for breathers, recirc DVs etc - £70
4 piece 220 rail kit £200


Examples:







Obviously i knock off 10=20% but still, fairly pricey for MGR boys. VW chaps order by the bucket load but horses for courses.

So what id like to know, is do you do thinks as cheap as poss but sometimes sacrifice fit/finish and quality. Or would you be prepared to pay a moderate amount of money for excellent Brit parts?

i mean no offence to anyone by this, its purely market research.

[pengy_666]

But what's the actual difference in materials, they look shiny and so do the tommy Chang stuff. Welds are a weakness but some of them are good.

I've got a cheap fmic and I cannot fault it.

Yet I spent out on a decent rad.

[ChrisD]

It really depends but I don't mind paying a bit more for something that is going to fit correctly/last longer. I'm not really into buying stainless just because its stainless when the original part is good enough. However for example that radiator I would still be thinking about it but would probably pay £300 if it fit without modification and suited my purpose.

Incidentally I'm building a k series turbo at the moment so need a radiator & intercooler set up for that to fit correctly but I imagine 1 offs would be much more expensive.

Hope that helps
Chris

[MarkCoupe]

All very valid points.

The concept of 'an intercooler is an intercooloer is an intercooler is not correct. There are different types of cores, different thicknesses, and of course fit and finish and warraantys. Plus repairs etc.
Pengy, whats the difference in intake temps betwee your IC and the stock one? Did it come with pipe runs and mounts?

Ive tried everything from ching chang stuff to £500 radiators. And there are large difference, like the mishimoto rad i had for £180 on ebay leaked, the guy sent another that leaked, then blamed me and wouldnt replace it.

Chris - Nice to see you old boy - We do custom made items too, so if you want any pipe runs/rad.ic, give me a shout.

Keep the opinions coming.

[Crome]

as you will prob guess, id happily pay a bit extra for good quality parts. i started off buying cheap ebay stuff for the discovery but now dont bother, the parts (wheel bearing, oil seals etcc..) only lasted half a year, timkin bearings for example are two years old now and still perfect.
you never know what kind of quality u are getting with cheap stuff from china etc.. i dont want my coupe engine getting damaged cos of some crap weld or sumthing breaking off.

im all for it, just depends how many people are....?

crome

[Stevo135+]

Mark, I think for high end performance stuff or on big power/budget car's that need the extra quality of top quality parts then that's all well and good. I do think that things like Rad's and intercoolers as you say are not that important to be shiney or even lightweight as long as they are solid, work/flow well and are robust.

Just my little 50p worth of thoughts, I never did see any real point in the stainless steel coolant rails, if solid enough second hand ones could be found and then stripped and powdercoated?

Most people would pay for small high quality alloy/stainless parts like engine cover's or oil or coolant caps etc though!

[MarkCoupe]

Mark, I think for high end performance stuff or on big power/budget car's that need the extra quality of top quality parts then that's all well and good. I do think that things like Rad's and intercoolers as you say are not that important to be shiney or even lightweight as long as they are solid, work/flow well and are robust.

Just my little 50p worth of thoughts, I never did see any real point in the stainless steel coolant rails, if solid enough second hand ones could be found and then stripped and powdercoated?

Most people would pay for small high quality alloy/stainless parts like engine cover's or oil or coolant caps etc though!

RE The rails - Well 199 of them sold. Problem is getting a decent pipe that once ' stripped down' has no holes. And the other reason is for a clean bay look, The rails mixed with samcos doesnt half make a bay look ace. Though having said that, even the Racer boys that live local bought them.

[vinny19791]

Problem is with my stainless coolant rails is that they are going rusty.

Would any of this gear "if produced" be guaranteed against this.

[MarkCoupe]

Are they?? I dont know is the honest answer dude. If there are some new ones that become available then vht laquer perhaps. I suppose its like the stainless steel exhausts that go after like 2 months.

[vinny19791]

It's not the end of the world, I guess they can be polished up again every 6 months or so.

My guess is mild steel welding wire was used as opposed to stainless.

[Marty]

It's not the end of the world, I guess they can be polished up again every 6 months or so.

My guess is mild steel welding wire was used as opposed to stainless.

If it was mild steel wire they would not be shiny and defo would not polish up and looking at ones I have they been tig welded

[maestrovdpt16]

It's almost not worth asking people what they would buy, if you stop people on the street if they care about the quality of the food the eat and animal welfare they will often earnestly say yes. Then in Tesco they'll buy the cheapest chicken on the shelf without a thought of what they are doing.

If it's outstanding quality it shows, and it will outlast poor quality. A good test would be a pro alloy/radtec/chinese or gbe made radiators.

[roveboy]

My stainless pipes have also got a little rusty.

I also would be happy to pay for good quality parts. I would love to have parts that fit with no fuss and modifying

[MarkCoupe]

It's almost not worth asking people what they would buy, if you stop people on the street if they care about the quality of the food the eat and animal welfare they will often earnestly say yes. Then in Tesco they'll buy the cheapest chicken on the shelf without a thought of what they are doing.

If it's outstanding quality it shows, and it will outlast poor quality. A good test would be a pro alloy/radtec/chinese or gbe made radiators.

Spot on i think.

[Stevo135+]

Mark name your price to make and send me a high end alloy oil filler cap and that would be an instant purchase from me!

BTW I sold my shiny Silverstorm free flow downpipe to Howard over on RCOC and I think he was as happy with it as me, but he actually fitted it to his car instead of just looking at it!

[Dave 220]

I would happily pay for uprated well made parts

The longer we have these cars the more stuff they are going to need, some of the kit out there these days is junk