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Sat Feb 18, 2006 9:38 pm

I see alot of high performance parts offered by Latest Rage that are notabley less expensive than other brands. Does anybody have FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE (not your friends or some guy you heard about) with parts from Latest Rage? Do you recommend them?

Sat Feb 18, 2006 10:05 pm

You get what you pay for and vise versa. Yes I have used them.
Thats all I will say.

Sat Feb 18, 2006 10:22 pm

CRAP CRAP CRAPPITY CRAP CRAP...

Sat Feb 18, 2006 10:35 pm

Chico Performance Product's will be here soon made in the USA by hard working American's there will be comparison higher priced but worth every cent. Thank you

Sun Feb 19, 2006 2:40 pm

I used em when they were in San Bernardino.
Almost all the stuff is made overseas, but the
things I did get lasted. However when it cones
to alternator pulleys, get a genuine German made
one. It'll pay off in the end. I will also say most
all of everything I got was not for the internals
of the engine or trans. I bought a pressure plate
and clutch disc, some poly mounts, but the rest
was not of such critical importance.

Like mentioned you get what you pay for..

Sun Feb 19, 2006 2:50 pm

Should be called CHINA RAGE!!!!!!!

Sun Feb 19, 2006 2:56 pm

Cheap parts are made cheaply.

Sun Feb 19, 2006 3:36 pm

how are there 1.4 rockers? i'd rather pay $150 instead of $225 of $400 for some pauters unless you say id be buying them anyway :wink:

Sun Feb 19, 2006 7:48 pm

Buy them.They will last a month,unless you want rockers that last longer?

Sun Feb 19, 2006 11:04 pm

Near as I can tell, those ads saying "by Latest Rage" are misleading, because they do not make the parts or have them made, but simply are a retailer for the same china/taiwan junk that everyone else carries.

Sun Feb 19, 2006 11:09 pm

bgs wrote: I used em when they were in San Bernardino.
Almost all the stuff is made overseas, but the
things I did get lasted. However when it cones
to alternator pulleys, get a genuine German made
one. It'll pay off in the end. I will also say most
all of everything I got was not for the internals
of the engine or trans. I bought a pressure plate
and clutch disc, some poly mounts, but the rest
was not of such critical importance.

Like mentioned you get what you pay for..

is your avatar Django Reinhardt?

Mon Feb 20, 2006 4:42 am

millerje78 wrote: bgs wrote: I used em when they were in San Bernardino.
Almost all the stuff is made overseas, but the
things I did get lasted. However when it cones
to alternator pulleys, get a genuine German made
one. It'll pay off in the end. I will also say most
all of everything I got was not for the internals
of the engine or trans. I bought a pressure plate
and clutch disc, some poly mounts, but the rest
was not of such critical importance.

Like mentioned you get what you pay for..

is your avatar Django Reinhardt?

Yes it is

Mon Feb 20, 2006 7:43 am

Here is a cheep litmus test for you to try. In my opinion if it doesn’t pass this I pass on the part, but that’s just me.

Try to contact the manufacture to ask a simple question about the part.

Yep that’s it just try to call them and ask a simple question. If you can get them then its much better than if not. I have called Scatt directly and spoken to them about parts they made despite their really wanting to sell through wholesalers. And you can always get a hold of someone at CB or Gene Berg about any product they produce in-house for sale. But I tried to get a hold of Latest Rage and only ever ended up finding a number for a second floor walkup office in California that either no one answered or went to a fax machine. And that was after some research through old magazines to get their address before they stopped giving it out. So if a company wants to hide that much from their clients they don't need my money.

To make it easier on you here is at least one of the addresses and phone numbers I found when searching.

Latest Rage 821 Tavern Road Alpine, CA 91901 (619)-445-7553

Now with my luck they will answer for you on the first ring.

Mon Feb 20, 2006 12:57 pm

hey Glenn, ,while i agree that most parts that are made in china for the vw aftermarket are crap, remember that the Bugpack stroker crank i bought 15 years ago was made in china. Of course it was made by a Chinese aerospace supplier but not everything by anybody is 100% well made. The only execption in the aircooled vw world i would possibly say is Gene Berg's stuff. Don't everyone freak on me on this but every part i have gotten from them has been 1st quality.

Mon Feb 20, 2006 1:01 pm

I've had good results with the Chinese cranks sold by CB.

I have to agree that not everything from China is crap and it's very hard to get anything made in the USA these days.

BTW... Not everything sold by Gene Berg is made by them. But atleast they stand behind everything they sell.

Mon Feb 20, 2006 3:24 pm

millerje78 wrote: bgs wrote: I used em when they were in San Bernardino.
Almost all the stuff is made overseas, but the
things I did get lasted. However when it cones
to alternator pulleys, get a genuine German made
one. It'll pay off in the end. I will also say most
all of everything I got was not for the internals
of the engine or trans. I bought a pressure plate
and clutch disc, some poly mounts, but the rest
was not of such critical importance.

Like mentioned you get what you pay for..

is your avatar Django Reinhardt?
It is indeed.

Mon Feb 20, 2006 3:36 pm

martyrg wrote: I see alot of high performance parts offered by Latest Rage that are notabley less expensive than other brands. Does anybody have FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE (not your friends or some guy you heard about) with parts from Latest Rage? Do you recommend them?

Why not shop with Serrano's, Kona Fleming, etc. - someone who supports the Samba and stands behind their products. Unless Latest Rage is local to you?

Fri Feb 24, 2006 8:21 pm

RIS wrote: martyrg wrote: I see alot of high performance parts offered by Latest Rage that are notabley less expensive than other brands. Does anybody have FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE (not your friends or some guy you heard about) with parts from Latest Rage? Do you recommend them?

Why not shop with Serrano's, Kona Fleming, etc. - someone who supports the Samba and stands behind their products. Unless Latest Rage is local to you? And someone who helps out the VW community. The little shops need all the help they can get.

Fri Feb 24, 2006 9:45 pm

bugnut68 wrote: Near as I can tell, those ads saying "by Latest Rage" are misleading, because they do not make the parts or have them made, but simply are a retailer for the same china/taiwan junk that everyone else carries.

Not defending Latest Rare but here's alittle insite.

They are the manufacture in a sense, they contract to have the parts made in Taiwan/China. The owner travels overseas almost monthly.
They make parts for many of the companies you buy parts from on contract basis, it is just not general knowelage.. They also make their own line which vendors now refer to as Latest Rage.
The owner is well known in the VW circle. He was doing a Serrano's (cut rate priceing) long before anybody ever thought about doing it.
As well as a lot of LR stuff is lower in quality, he has helped keep the industry alive by giving people a chance to enjoy the VW life with out giving up every penny they have.
I am sure a lot of you here bought parts from Johnneys Speed and Chrome when you first got into VW's (I know I did) and now sware by BERG stuff.
Give LR a break, we all know that no matter what you buy, you get what you pay for.

Fri Feb 24, 2006 10:13 pm

Glenn wrote: I've had good results with the Chinese cranks sold by CB.

I have to agree that not everything from China is crap and it's very hard to get anything made in the USA these days.

BTW... Not everything sold by Gene Berg is made by them. But atleast they stand behind everything they sell.
there are quite a few cranks made in china that most dont know about(some big names are forged there then finished off in the states).We have used the chinese cranks for an 850hp big block chevy engine for our drag boat no prob spinning 8k rpm and running 8.90 at 129 on water.

Business is business you might be buying from an american company but the only thing american is the office in the usa.Sad but true.

I too have gotten some LR stuff some was absolute junk other stuff worked out great,Just built a buggy last year so i had a lot of buying to do.the only real prob i had was with the oil filter adaptor(leaked),and push rod tube protectors(had to gring to make fit).