ok..maybe I'm just an ignorant mullet who doesn't understand it..but other than looks, and some minimal performance gains (ie: japanese parts not having the same emission standards) what the hell is the point of saying "well i have JDM this, and JDM that" ?....what's the big deal between say a Honda part that was made in America and a Honda part that was made in Japan?...or are you all just so obsessed with japanese cars that you'll spend extra money to make sure that every part on your car, right down to the radio antenna or something stupid like that, has to be made in Japan?

(this thread spawned from a memory of someone advertising that they had "JDM air condtioning controls" in the cars for sale section a while back)

 

some "JDM" stuff is cool like hard to get parts of one off's but most of it i don't give a crap about

 

Some of the stuff is just kind of "cool".

I was never really big into the really tiny JDM stuff (like air con controls).

However, for things like JDM headlights and taillights, well, those can really add to a vehicles appearance.

Down the line, I may take off my Scion emblems and put the JDM Toyota emblems, as well as ditching the "xA" emblem and putting on an "ist" emblem. I

 

yeah, mostly its for looks ( exterior stuff ) but the interior stuff, is a waste of money unless u take ur car to shows and enter it in JDM category. performance stuff does have good HP gains cuz they have lower emissions standards. its mostly a preference thing

 

It depends.

Lots of MkIII guys go 1JZ, and that wasnt availible in US. Some go JDM 7M-GTE because they only have around 30k miles usually. The 89+ tailights on JDM MkIIIs are also tinted much darker, and some people like that.

However, the EVO8's tailights are regular over in Japan, not the gay altezzas we get here, so by getting JDM tailights they are actually going for a USDM look

 

i think claiming you have "jdm" anything is more a way of specifying between that and the stock, domestically-produced whatever-the-fuck, than anything else.

 

This must sound like a typical ricer but alot of the JDM shit is cooler like tail lights and head lights.

 

Sometimes the japanese parts are made with different styling queues that are somewhat more appealing to some than the typical US market parts. Other times it does add to the performace of a vehicle due to different market constraints.

 

it depends on if its only a cosmetic part.
the lights might be a different shade, or look totally different. like a 92-94 sentra, where the japan ones stick out the side, and are clear housing headlights, or 90-93 integra, with one piece vs. three piece headlights., or it might be a totally different front end that never existed in the us, like 89-94 240sx/silvia, or 94-00 integra, which looks totally different.

for parts beyond that, such as engine parts. if you go with a jdm part, it might be made more performance orientated, but still be a part with factory reliability, unlike going aftermarket. sure the gains might not be as high with going with say jdm type r cams, as opposed to skunk 2, but its alot cheaper also.

now, for non factory parts, the best way to put it to a domsetic person would be, "would you buy a japanese cam for your camaro?" probably not. you would want an american part, where the cars main production and research exists. same deal, just a polar opposite. i would usually without exception buy parts from the people that have the most knowledge, and experience with the particular car im dealing with.

now for stuff like a/c controls and crap like that, it just looks different, and seperates your car from every other civic/240sx/integra on american streets, and makes it a little closer to the way the car was intended to be from the factory.