I don’t really need to remind you but I just can’t stand fake ass shit. Man, whenever I spot something that turns out to be fake on a car, I automatically get turned off by it and look the other way. Honestly it kinda sucks because there are alot of nice builds out there. It’s just a shame that they happen to cheap out on certain aspects of the build that take away from the car as a whole. I mean if that’s you, than do you. I can’t sit here and tell you how to build your car just like how you can’t tell me how to feel about it. The thing that bothers me the most, as many of you all know, are the people that fake the funk. These are the individuals who have say, fake ass Recaro seats with the “RECARO” stitched in place in an attempt to fool people. I’m sure you seen it at one time or another…

Look at that shit. I think I can do a better job sewing that on and I’ve never even touched a sewing machine before. It’s the “Recaro” for people with beer-goggle vision. In this case, it’s a dead giveaway. I found these on Ebay (Seller: initial eg) because I knew someone out there would be trying to sell shit like this. I just had no idea it was so poorly made…

God…at least try to line it up. Fabric is coming apart, “RECARO” is not even the right font I don’t think. Looks like it’s printed out in Arial Bold or something. The red stitching is even all jagged…

I doubt most of you that have the seats even see any track time in them but the real deal stuff has the legit safety approvals and measures. The fake ones are generally poorly constructed and may even fall apart (I’ve seen personally). So if you want to buy the fake shit, make sure you’re ready for that shit to fall apart…

*sigh*….Uhhh, now let me clear some things up about these supposedly legit “Bride” seats from Taiwan. You may have heard some kind of rumor where the original marketing company separated from Bride Japan and they became “Bride” in Taiwan. This is untrue. It’s actually just a bunch of internet bullshit rubbish that the counterfeiters started in an attempt to make you believe that their seats have any sort of legitimacy. If you have ever searched for Bride seats like on Ebay, you’ve undoubtedly run into 1-100 sets of fake Bride seats. When you look through the description, you may have also run into a line that says “BRIDE is a legal registered trademark in Taiwan“. Yes it may or may not be true that Bride was never officially copyrighted by TEE’s Japan, but under the Berne Convention, the Bride name, logo, and design, etc. is all copyrighted simply by creation. You wanna know how much a “legal registered trademark in Taiwan” is worth in the U.S. or any other country? About as much as me taking a huge shit and telling you it’s a white chocolate cupcake. “BRIDE Taiwan” or whatever you wanna call it can be “trademarked” in Taiwan because Taiwan isn’t apart of the Berne Convention. That’s why they make so much money reproducing work from others without permission. You can create something and they can reproduce it the next day and trademark it with your name and “of Taiwan” and you can’t even do anything about it! It’s only binding in their country. In any case, a copyright doesn’t really protect a brand name. It would have to be trademarked and TEE’s just never bothered with it. That’s what creates all this other loophole bullshit you see. The sellers can call it whatever they want, BRIDE Taiwan, BRIDE Marvel Fucking Universe, BRIDE Fortress of Solitude, BRIDE Mars, whatever….it doesn’t change the fact that it’s a counterfeit product and the very existence of it in any country that’s signed under the Berne Convention makes it illegal. So yes, if you in fact own a set of fake Bride seats, congratulations. Not only are you rocking some fake shit that looks REALLY fake, it’s also illegal to own. Am I the only one that thinks that it’s sad that people are putting their lives at risk using a poorly constructed seat just to have “the real thing” for half the price? You’re not really fooling anyone anyway. Anyone that has been around a geniune Bride seat produced in Japan for anytime longer than 10 minutes can probably spot a fake. Material, construction, brand placement, fabric print, etc.

So you got the fake seats with the real logos on it that look real, and then you have seats like the ones above. These are seats that aren’t really copies but are branded just to make the casual enthusiasts to believe that they might be legit. Sure the seats themselves don’t look bad at all, but they definitely aren’t Mugen seats. If you happen to own these, you do not have Mugen seats. You have some generic shit with a Mugen logo stitched to it. This kinda reminds me of a Honda I saw maybe 10 years ago or so at a show. It was like completely Tenzo R themed. Graphics on the outside, wheels, and he followed the theme so religiously that he had his Sparco seats rewrapped in the Tenzo seat material. Haha, now that is dedication. I’ve also seen fake Spoon adjustable seats, “GT-R” pretend Skyline seats, and Ralli-Art seats. You can put a logo on anything so beware of what you buy. There are alot of legit shops out there too that sell this kind of shit just to make a quick buck. They’ll even tell you that it’s real…

Those of you that follow this site closely will remember the other post I did about fake wheels and how they have companies reproducing wheels but with fake random names like “Vork” and “Ravs Engineering”. In the spirit of that, what if they did that for seats too? I created the Rotamaster EMOs and I am proud to present to you……

…the Ricardo SenoRDs. Almost like Recaros, but more ummm…latin?

Here are some “Bride” seats….

When it’s all said and done, no one can really stop you from buying what you want. If you want to buy the fake shit, go for it. Get “the real thing for half the price”, but be prepared for twice the ridicule. There are some really good copies out there but the true enthusiasts can spot them anytime. If you want to be taken seriously as a car builder, don’t cheap out on something important as seats. Don’t risk your life in some cheaply constructed garbage just for the sake of saving a couple bucks. If you save up the money and get the real thing, you’ll get the satisfaction of knowing you worked hard to get the real shit and you won’t have to look over your shoulder every minute wondering if anyone is gonna notice whether or not you have the real thing or not. Fake seats are just like fake wheels. There’s always something that just isn’t right about them and counterfeit products can always be spotted. I hear some people say “I just need something cheap for track days”….uhh..Please don’t do that. It’s pretend safety equipment, with little emphasis on “safety”. It’s not okay to have fake Takata harnesses either. Stuff like that is tested and gets FIA approval and what not to make sure they they work. Taiwanese copies aren’t tested for shit.

Buy at your own discretion people, be smart about it. You can pay half the cost for the look of the real thing, but you’re cheating yourself and losing the respect of your peers. Remember that. You’re also supporting companies that are stealing money from reputable companies by using their brand name to sell an inferior product. It’s theft of intellectual property. Louis Vuitton handbags, Nike shoes, Bape clothing…when those are copied and reproduced, it’s “counterfeit”. What makes this any different? You’re not buying a “replica”….you’re buying an illegal counterfeit product.