KAMEARI PARTS

[chrismiller5157]

Im shopping for nice quality parts (suitable to my build) for my 240z project.

Kameari seems to have some interesting parts on there web page.

RHD Japan also has parts listed to sell from Kameari, witch one is a air dam similar to the type one air dam MSA sells? (without air ducts)

I've e-mailed RHD Japan but nothing has come back.

 

Also my build is targeted toward building a road racing & autocross machine, that still can be street driven.

so suspension,cage, and frame reinforcement Is my biggest focus at this point.

Has anyone on hybridz used the Kameari suspension parts?

Seems like its no different then TTTs, &mondurn motorsports suspension products.

[chrismiller5157]

Also, couldn't help to notice that I'm not seeming Kameari parts being used on S30 builds in the US.

Am I'm just not looking on the right builds perhaps?

 

I realize that Kameari's prices arnt the cheapest by any means, but there track record ( for what it is ) is impressive, and they seem to have mastered the high powered N/A L series, & from my resurch ( witch is only a weeks worth) tells me they are drag racing there built S30s.

 

Dose Kameari have a reputation & and track record off the drag stip that I'm just not finding for some reson?

[ModernS30]

Kameari makes high quality, very expensive, parts. They are good parts, you don't see them used because the majority of S30 owners can't exactly afford them, and if they can afford them they can afford an engine swap to something more worth money like that. Personally I don't think the L6 is worth that kind of money, I would much rather do an RB swap, or SR swap, or LSx swap. Something that is going to be a better base platform with more options for aftermarket parts. You get what you pay for though, at least most of the time. zccjdm.com sells thier parts. He is a vendor on here. Take a look he has parts from them listed on the website.

 

Good luck.

[chrismiller5157]

Hmm makes since.

[Tony D]

Most S30 owners are bottomfeeders when it comes to paying for parts.

Coupled with a yen that is now 79 to a dollar, compared to around 300 to a dollar when these cars were new or less than 10 years old doesn't help either. Price goes up in $$ even though yen price remains constant.

 

Take those Yen prices, divide by 268, and you will basically have the price in 1985...

[junglist]

Its hard to justify the cost for certain Kameari items such as a R200 mustache bar which is basically a stock piece with the poly bushings for $400+ when you could get the same setup for less than $100. A thermostat for $100+ makes no sense. Some of the suspension pieces like the steering knuckles for $500 you can get from Arizona Z Car for $200 for the same quality. The control arms are $850 and you can get billet ones from Arizona for $600 or similar ones from Techno Toy for $350 just like the "pillow tension rods" which are $775 but Techno Toy sells awesome ones for $225.

 

However, Kameari makes some great motor parts which no one else makes and they are definitely worth the money when you can afford them.

 

Edit: In the end, its GREAT that there are still companies making such a breadth of performance parts for such an old car. It'd be terrible if they stopped.

Edited April 27, 2011 by junglist

[Tony D]

Its hard to justify the cost for certain Kameari items such as a R200 mustache bar which is basically a stock piece with the poly bushings for $400+ when you could get the same setup for less than $100.

 

You have a source for NEW NISSAN S30 R200 Moustache Bars? Praytel elaborate, as they are NLA in America...so I'd really like to know where this 'same setup' is going to be available for 1/4 the cost when the originals are not available... Also note that the Yen Price of 30,000 yen is a whole $111 in the golden days. It's not Kameari's Fault that the dollar has been floating (or sinking)... Welcome to the side effects of an empire on decline.

 

A thermostat for $100+ makes no sense.

7500 yen=$28... again, the strong yen sucks if you aren't the dominant economic force on the face of the planet, eh?

 

Some of the suspension pieces like the steering knuckles for $500 you can get from Arizona Z Car for $200 for the same quality. The control arms are $850 and you can get billet ones from Arizona for $600 or similar ones from Techno Toy for $350 just like the "pillow tension rods" which are $775 but Techno Toy sells awesome ones for $225.

 

Only thing I can say to that is 'Billet Arizona Z Car' components look great on a show car, but there is no way in hell I would be putting them on a car driven on the street or in competition. Billet Snaps on impact... And again, any of the pricing sucks ONLY if you are an American paying in AMERICAN DOLLARS. The rest of the world it seems is getting Japanese speed parts at a cheaper and cheaper rate. To a Japanese earning Yen, these prices have REMAINED UNCHANGED FOR ALMOST 30 YEARS! Tell me (in AMERICAN DOLLARS) which speed parts can lay claim to that? I remember NEW Dobi Spoilers for under $50. Fiberglass Doors (epoxy resins used, not polyester) for $225. The prices in America for AMERICAN MADE preformance parts have skyrocketed with inflation---while the Japanese System internally to Japan has held prices relatively constant in terms of total yen price asked...

 

However, Kameari makes some great motor parts which no one else makes and they are definitely worth the money when you can afford them.

Gene Berg once said: "If you can't afford to do it right now, how will you find the money to do it over a second time when it all comes apart?" Same situation here...

 

Edit: In the end, its GREAT that there are still companies making such a breadth of performance parts for such an old car. It'd be terrible if they stopped.

And as an addendum to my commentary: there is a REASON these parts are made in JAPAN. The support for them at the relatively constant price (even though it be high initially) tends to be a REAL BARGIAN in the long-term for the long-range thinking Japanese. The buy cheap mentality prevalent in America makes such niche markets nearly impossible to cultivate in any real way. Most producers of parts for the Datsun in America have gone away, simply because of their reliance on VOLUME and CHEAP PRICE. When the volume goes away, so the product follows. It's the wrong marketing model, but hey...it's the American Way. One little 6 month currency correction in 1988 doubled the prices of Japanese Speed Parts. You guys just never realized how good it was...

[junglist]

You have a source for NEW NISSAN S30 R200 Moustache Bars? Praytel elaborate, as they are NLA in America...so I'd really like to know where this 'same setup' is going to be available for 1/4 the cost when the originals are not available... Also note that the Yen Price of 30,000 yen is a whole $111 in the golden days. It's not Kameari's Fault that the dollar has been floating (or sinking)... Welcome to the side effects of an empire on decline.

 

 

7500 yen=$28... again, the strong yen sucks if you aren't the dominant economic force on the face of the planet, eh?

 

 

 

Only thing I can say to that is 'Billet Arizona Z Car' components look great on a show car, but there is no way in hell I would be putting them on a car driven on the street or in competition. Billet Snaps on impact... And again, any of the pricing sucks ONLY if you are an American paying in AMERICAN DOLLARS. The rest of the world it seems is getting Japanese speed parts at a cheaper and cheaper rate. To a Japanese earning Yen, these prices have REMAINED UNCHANGED FOR ALMOST 30 YEARS! Tell me (in AMERICAN DOLLARS) which speed parts can lay claim to that? I remember NEW Dobi Spoilers for under $50. Fiberglass Doors (epoxy resins used, not polyester) for $225. The prices in America for AMERICAN MADE preformance parts have skyrocketed with inflation---while the Japanese System internally to Japan has held prices relatively constant in terms of total yen price asked...

 

 

Gene Berg once said: "If you can't afford to do it right now, how will you find the money to do it over a second time when it all comes apart?" Same situation here...

 

 

And as an addendum to my commentary: there is a REASON these parts are made in JAPAN. The support for them at the relatively constant price (even though it be high initially) tends to be a REAL BARGIAN in the long-term for the long-range thinking Japanese. The buy cheap mentality prevalent in America makes such niche markets nearly impossible to cultivate in any real way. Most producers of parts for the Datsun in America have gone away, simply because of their reliance on VOLUME and CHEAP PRICE. When the volume goes away, so the product follows. It's the wrong marketing model, but hey...it's the American Way. One little 6 month currency correction in 1988 doubled the prices of Japanese Speed Parts. You guys just never realized how good it was...

 

 

Well, I'm looking at it from my perspective which is attempting to rebuild and retro-mod an entire car all at one time and due to that sometimes the pricing of certain parts makes them out of reach due to trying to build an entire car. You of course cannot buy brand new mustache bars, but you can get a used one, blast it and powdercoat it for significantly less than a new one from Kameari and functionally its the same thing.

 

I personally cannot control fluctuating currency and I have to look at things as a person currently living in the USA with no other way of buying parts than ordering them from the USA with USA dollars. I know its not Kameari's fault that prices are high because of exchange rates. However, it is not the end user's fault in the USA that due to those exchange rates some of their parts prices are somewhat unreasonable for what the part is.

 

I personally don't try to do things half-assed at first only to have to re-buy the same parts later. Sometimes it happens and sometimes I have to make do with what I can afford for a certain thing. Am I running a used $80 280ZXT turbo manifold rather than a $1300 Greddy manifold, you bet I am...however I did buy a brand new Garrett turbo and brand new Greddy BOV and brand new Tial wastegate. I've bought all of my suspension components from aftermarket companies in North America such as Modern Motorsport and Techno Toy Tuning because they are high quality, proven and reasonably priced.

 

Would I love to be able to go to Japan and buy up all of the amazing aftermarket Japanese parts that I need? Hell yes. I would do that in an instant if I could afford that.

[Tony D]

Since I got a notice on this price thread being viewed...I'll add that these "Cheap" American Parts.

 

Guess how much they sell for in Japan? Your pricing across the ocean is not "cheap" and I doubt you would even find it "reasonable"!

 

Same parts, different market, different parts pricing.

 

My Japanese friends would compare parts prices they saw in Magazines. They remembered pricing in the early 70's when they were last in the USA. To see an oil pan for a couple of hundred dollars when they remember getting them for $50 was outrageous.

 

Until I said "Tomoyose-San, that's under ¥20,000" he does a quick mental calculation (¥328x$50=¥16,400....¥89x$200=¥17,800 virtually the same price!). All he knew was dollars were a lot of yen... Considering that that same pan in Japan bought through official distribution was ¥80,000-100,000 ¥17,800 didn't seem all,that bad at all...even if there was a $200 shipping charge to run the price to ¥35,600!

[ryant67]

Since this thread has been bumped, it's also interesting to note that back in 2011 the exchange rate was $1 USD = 76 yen.  3 1/2 years later and we are now at $1 USD = 116 yen.  So basically, if you ever wanted any of those expensive and exotic Japanese S30 parts, now would be a pretty good time to buy!  

[Tony D]

It was 268/$ when I arrived in 84, it was 117/$ when I left five years later.

Though it gives a good example of what inflation does to your money there in the USofA.

The price of gasoline in Japan, despite US massively fluctuating in their pump pricing has gone from ¥100 to around ¥125 per liter... While the US equivalent went from 0.89¢ a gallon (¥63/liter) to $2.95 (¥89/liter)...

Same goes for most things... I was really shocked to see parts pricing remain relatively constant in Japan after my 20 year hiatus. Think about that for retirees...man, prices remain constant and "fixed incomes" aren't always requiring ratcheting to increase with inflation...

 

Oh, to get that 268 rate again!

Edited November 16, 2014 by Tony D

[ARiskyCvt]

Tony well put!! I used import a lot of parts from Japan, but the S30/S31 folks in the US are bottom feeders and complains about my prices. I get embarrass when a Z owner wants to talk to me about there car but when they go cheap I look the other way.

 

People will have there opinion about what they think they know about Kameari parts but they don't know sh!t except it's too rich for their blood.