What have you done to your JK this week? 2.5M Views

[North Coast Wrangler]

You serious Yom? Did you run over someone in your last life or what?

[Yom]

Haha NCW I've never had such bad luck with vehicles before as I have with my past 3 (first 3 which were all great to me were all nissan fwd econoboxes though, so this is expected). The JK would have been good.... but only if it was 10yrs old not 12 months

Windscreen dude showed me where the paint would get destroyed beforehand. Pointed out how the mexicans in the USA installed the glass at an angle and also not centered in the frame. Was a gap you could put your finger through on the drivers side but fook all on the passenger side.

He painted it up a bit but can still see where the paint was all destroyed. It isn't about to rust any time soon but just is a bit ugly if you pay attention to it.

Same bloke reckons it always happens with JK wranglers and that its lucky I have a black one as it stands out less.

either way, resale value on my JK is now firetrucked. If i were buying second hand and I looked at this one, i wouldn't be buying it haha

Windscreen was replaced under insurance. Now i guess it is time to consider if it is worth calling them and making the complaint about the damage to the paint?

[yetiboy01]

Originally Posted by greenjk

I doubt that it's the same quality at that price, but only time will tell i suppose.

One look & I think you would change your mind, I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't come out of the same factory only difference I can see is for the better, instead of having AEV on the side it has Wrangler JK

[JasperJ]

Originally Posted by yetiboy01

One look & I think you would change your mind, I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't come out of the same factory only difference I can see is for the better, instead of having AEV on the side it has Wrangler JK

They are just copies and according to AEV who ordered one themselves to have a look at, they use a crap plastic mix that breaks down under UV. The same companies were doing knock-offs of the ARB snorkels before these and ARB released a press release with cutaways of the two different snorkels. UV stabilised HDPE costs more than the plastic they use in these knock-offs.

They look the same externally because they use the original to make the their mould, that's where the similarity ends.

[yetiboy01]

Originally Posted by JasperJ

They are just copies and according to AEV who ordered one themselves to have a look at, they use a crap plastic mix that breaks down under UV. The same companies were doing knock-offs of the ARB snorkels before these and ARB released a press release with cutaways of the two different snorkels. UV stabilised HDPE costs more than the plastic they use in these knock-offs.

They look the same externally because they use the original to make the their mould, that's where the similarity ends.

Of course AEV would say they are crap I wouldnt expect anything less from them, they have a market to protect, the copies use LLDPE which is very similar to HDPE except it is slightly softer with high UV stability (used in the mining industry out in the open to cover dams of toxic chemicals etc) as for being a cheap plastic both are cheap at around $8 to $9 a kilo to produce, so the finished product moulded from both manufactures would cost no more than $40 to $45 to produce plus brackets & packaging, add $20 at the most for the brackets & packaging you have a total cost between $60 & $65 per snorkel.
I have seen the copies on a few JK's on the forum,anyone who has them any comments for or against them?

[xiphos]

iv had no probs with the plastic yet, but the paint on steel brackets was peeling with rust underneath when i bought it.
I just sanded it all back and resprayed, no worries since then.

[Wallyd]

Installed my 2nd battery and changed my shock from stiff stocks to a little more comfortable Skyjackers.
Tomorrow to take wheels of and flex axles to check brake lines and so on