With all this talk of fake shit lately, everyone is starting to come out of the wood work with their encounters. The latest was the Skunk2 intake manifold mess and it was a coincidence that I actually went there the other day. Salem had set-up a meeting with them to talk about some plans to do some work on his TSX and I guess they wanted me out there to talk about some things as well. It went pretty well. We shot the shit for a little bit, talked about old school street racing days, and I even had a chance to take a look at the counterfeit Skunk2 intake manifold…

Funny story behind how they found that. One of their guys was out in Asia and was at a random speed shop out there and saw Skunk2 parts. He asked them how much they were going for and the employees there straight out told them the price for the authentic and for the knock-off copy. Things out there are different, they have fake shit floating around everywhere so a fake Skunk2 manifold ain’t shit to them. Once word got back to Skunk2, they purchased a couple copies and brought them back to investigate. The differences between the real and fake are explained in the post previous to this, so if you haven’t seen it, check that out. I gotta say, just by looking at the outside of it, it looks pretty spot on. But when it comes to engine parts, it’s the guts that matter and if you begin to look at the craftsmanship and overall guts of it, it’s most certainly an inferior product.

Those guys over there are very knowledgeable of the deep inner workings of the industry. Man, some of the stories that were told, I wish I could tell you guys. Let’s just say, a lot of this fake shit that’s floating around…hits pretty close to home. More and more of these counterfeit products are beginning to pop up because companies out here are outsourcing to other manufacturers and these manufacturers overseas don’t give a shit about branding. They’ll sell a companies design in a heartbeat and another company will be all over that shit, making copies over night. That and you got crooked ass employees who will sell out for a couple g’s and shame your name. It’s sad that the industry has come to this but people are driven by greed and the almighty dollar….

Bottom line, if you’re a true enthusiasts who buys legit parts for your ride, know your sources and who to buy from.

Anyways…

Aaron was kind enough to show us around and give us a tour of their facility. I personally have never been there so it was cool to actually see what the place was like…

Dr. Charles hard at work as always…

Then we sat in the board room and talked about plans for Salem’s TSX. Dave, the owner of Skunk2, happened to come down and talk to us for a little bit too. Definitely an interesting guy…

Also caught a glimpse of the new KraftWerks supercharger kit for the newer Civics…

After that, it was time for us to head out. I didn’t really feel like being stuck in traffic and Salem, Doug, and Gary had an hour+ drive back home. Overall it was productive. Just wanted to make sure my boy Salem was taken care of and that all his plans for his car come to fruition. He’s got big plans for that car and it’s gonna be completely different from what you guys were used to seeing Keep an eye out for that as the year progresses…