Psa: do not buy from tomei usa or any of their distributors

[mav1178]

some of the Tomei info in this thread is correct, some of it is not.

just look at it this way: corporations have shareholders, some companies protected themselves by assigning 100% ownership to another legal entity/individual in Japan, while others rely on a trusted individual to set up a company here (but did not retain any shares back in Japan or other overseas country/territory)

At the end of the day, buying from Japan does not mean it is made in Japan to begin with, it just means you make the overseas transaction from JPY to USD. If you have parts built in China or Taiwan, it may be the exact same item from the exact same factory but those countries prefer to sell/export in USD, so there's no fluctuation of exchange rates and your pricing is more stable.

Things like recession make buying in USD better, as your cost/price structure is intact and less fluid. HKS left the US market in 2008 primarily because the yen made their cost skyrocket by 50%... now they're back but they got smarter. They don't have any US warehouse/distribution structure (instead shipping directly to Turn 14 or Motovicity), and they decided to make their exhausts outside of Japan (in Thailand).

Greddy does the exact same thing, except most of it is produced in Taiwan and shipped to the US directly. Their most expensive exhausts (~$2000 MSRP) are still made in Japan.

[RB25GUY]

Originally Posted by mav1178

some of the Tomei info in this thread is correct, some of it is not.


At the end of the day, buying from Japan does not mean it is made in Japan to begin with

So what i was told that tomei powered japan has most of there stuff casted in taiwan and they shipped and are machined or refined at the japanese location.

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by RB25GUY

So what i was told that tomei powered japan has most of there stuff casted in taiwan and they shipped and are machined or refined at the japanese location.

the only thing that Tomei can make in-house at their factory in Japan is camshafts and crankshafts.

even the cores need to be supplied from somewhere else... everything else they "make" is made somewhere else by some supplier.

a lot of people think these Japanese tuners are large factories that can make a lot of goods, once you work in a company with actual production or manufacturing in-house then you'll quickly realize it's impossible for them to do what they do and offer it at those price points.

anyone doing anything related to import of any product, will know that at some point you will play the exchange rate game. it's just how business flows, you end up going with cheaper suppliers or control/fix your cost from current suppliers. this whole Japan vs USA Tomei game is just more visible than what other companies have done in the past.

[R3b]

Originally Posted by mav1178

it's just how business flows, you end up going with cheaper suppliers or control/fix your cost from current suppliers. this whole Japan vs USA Tomei game is just more visible than what other companies have done in the past.

This was my whole point on my post

Originally Posted by R3b

I think we are giving way too much credit for the japan wow factor of parts when they're just as on par and smart as Americans with cutting parts, logistics and getting stuff manufactured.
OG companies from 20 years ago are modernized and far different to what they once were and monopolized in the performance market.

[feito]

Originally Posted by mav1178

the only thing that Tomei can make in-house at their factory in Japan is camshafts and crankshafts.

even the cores need to be supplied from somewhere else... everything else they "make" is made somewhere else by some supplier.

a lot of people think these Japanese tuners are large factories that can make a lot of goods, once you work in a company with actual production or manufacturing in-house then you'll quickly realize it's impossible for them to do what they do and offer it at those price points.

anyone doing anything related to import of any product, will know that at some point you will play the exchange rate game. it's just how business flows, you end up going with cheaper suppliers or control/fix your cost from current suppliers. this whole Japan vs USA Tomei game is just more visible than what other companies have done in the past.

just like brand name tools...

[brndck]

Originally Posted by feito

just like brand name tools...

Not really. It would be more like if your local snap on guy, who sells authentic snap on tools, Decided to have a separate factory start making “snap on” tools, and selling them AS authentic snap on tools, at full price.

[tricky_ab]

Originally Posted by RB25GUY

So what i was told that tomei powered japan has most of there stuff casted in taiwan and they shipped and are machined or refined at the japanese location.

Having been to their facility a few times, they do a lot in house. They even do certain Nismo cams there as well. Exhausts are done in Taiwan... after they figure out fittings in Japan, the exhausts are them sent to the manufacturer.

[RB25GUY]

Originally Posted by tricky_ab

Having been to their facility a few times, they do a lot in house. They even do certain Nismo cams there as well. Exhausts are done in Taiwan... after they figure out fittings in Japan, the exhausts are them sent to the manufacturer.

yeah i figured as much!