Racing Beat US vs UK prices

[R1DSO]

Does anyone know why Racing Beat charge so much more for their RX-8 parts in the UK than the US?

I’m used to the UK getting a fairly bad deal on US products. For instance, the number of $s for Apple products is usually also the number of £s, regardless of exchange rates. However, Racing Beat seem to be really taking the p*ss...

Some example R3 parts prices from www.racingbeat.com vs www.racingbeateurope.com:

Rev8 cat back – $770, or £917

Revi intake – $380, or £423

Revi ram air duct – $155, or £257

Taking into account the current exchange rate, that’s more than 2x the price for the ram air duct. Presuming the parts are made in the US, there are import taxes, but shipping can’t be expensive for a light piece of plastic.

With mark-ups like these, no wonder someone was selling a knock off air duct re-mold on eBay, although I believe that’s no longer available .

[qwakers]

this is why i use shipping forwarding companys. you get a usa (or japanese or wherever) address to ship it to, you pay in local currency and the forwarder reships to you at a reasonable rate. for stuff like the above, you can save hundreds.

[New Duke]

Ooooooh, thorny subject. Good on you for raising it though. They are separate companies as far as I'm aware. Who knows what extra costs the Europe brand has. Unlike Apple which is basically the Borg.

I bought the Revi ram air duct new then learned my lesson and stopped there. £257 (ish... was 18 months ago) plus a large shipping cost for a battered box with a loose bit of plastic inside. Once I had it in my hands I decided not to bother with the Revi intake section.

Maybe the cat back is great, but if it's worth a grand including shipping then I have a bridge I'd like to sell you.

[warpc0il]

While not fully justifying the cost difference....

The Revi Ram Scoop is way larger and heavier than you might imagine.

RB Europe has to source and include an extra set of mounting brackets, as the crash structure of US cars is a different shape to UK/European, so the RB US brackets don't fit our cars.

I got mine as part of a OC group buy, so a much better price.

Sent from my SM-G800F using Tapatalk

[New Duke]

RB Europe has to source and include an extra set of mounting brackets, as the crash structure of US cars is a different shape to UK/European, so the RB US brackets don't fit our cars.

The packet containing the mounting brackets and screws had been placed inside the scoop prior to mine being shipped. So by the time it arrived those metal bits had punctured the packet and scratched the hell out of the smooth inner surface

[ChrisHolmes]

Excluding freight the landed price in the UK is subject to VAT and clearance charges which can be a c28% increase. It nearly always looks cheaper to buy direct from an overseas supplier but it’s not always the case. Big ticket items of course suggest the biggest savings but if you get a problem then you supplier is 1000s of miles away plus you are not covered by the UK Sale of Goods legislation.
If you do find what you see as a major disparity between an overseas suppliers price and that of their UK distributor surely the best strategy is to discuss the situation with the parties involved so all understand what you are experiencing pricing / buying their products.

[Ryan Rotary Performance]

Not to comment on the pricing above but anyone looking for a Racing Beat Exhaust may want to hold off until the RRP new Catback is available.

Its going to be Stainless Steel 316 (not 304 like every other system), 3inch much like RB and Pettit. It will follow the OEM design and be a single muffler design to help keep the noise levels lower.

At the moment for the S1 only and price point will be c£650 which will make it not only the cheapest 3inch system on the market but the only one offering the higher quality metal.

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[geofftl1000r]

Cheers Carl. Yet another thing to add to my list of things I NEED!

[ChrisHolmes]

Does it include the cat back pipe too?

[R1DSO]

Yeah, I wanted (kind of still want) the Revi intake, but can’t justify the price. Instead, I ordered K&N’s panel filter and would like to pair it with the ram air duct, but not at a 100% mark-up. I would have been much happier purchasing it at that group buy price, Dave .

I get that Racing Beat R&D their stuff on dynos (even for the minimal gains available) and that comes with costs, but the Europe pricing still feels like a rip-off, even if the odd additional parts (with complimentary shipping scratches !) are needed. I didn’t realise they were different companies, though.

[R1DSO]

Not to comment on the pricing above but anyone looking for a Racing Beat Exhaust may want to hold off until the RRP new Catback is available.

Its going to be Stainless Steel 316 (not 304 like every other system), 3inch much like RB and Pettit. It will follow the OEM design and be a single muffler design to help keep the noise levels lower.

At the moment for the S1 only and price point will be c£650 which will make it not only the cheapest 3inch system on the market but the only one offering the higher quality metal.

92734361_150986296350677_2048092413938892800_n.png
93104585_2616580311958845_5509833451764711424_n.png

I thought I read somewhere that the (admittedly, minimal) power increase from cat backs like those from Racing Beat and Pettit was in part due to exhaust flowing more freely through two separate mufflers vs the one OEM box.

Any truth in that Carl and, if so, is the aim of this new system more anti-corrosion (given the 316 SS) vs increased performance? Interested to hear where you expect this to come out on the dB range too.

[New Duke]

Racing Beat USA is the manufacturer and sole supplier in the US.

For other markets they have sole supplier agreements with other companies, who are allowed to trade under the RB banner.

RB Europe is a trading arm of Shy Auto, who also trade as Mazda Rotary Parts, which is Clive on here.
RB USA sell product to regional distribution companies, for retail sale in that market.

This is very common practice in many product areas, not just automotive, and means that the regional markets have to pay more, not just for the distribution, tax and duty costs but also because both companies have to make some profit.

[Roosterrory]

Not to comment on the pricing above but anyone looking for a Racing Beat Exhaust may want to hold off until the RRP new Catback is available.

Its going to be Stainless Steel 316 (not 304 like every other system), 3inch much like RB and Pettit. It will follow the OEM design and be a single muffler design to help keep the noise levels lower.

At the moment for the S1 only and price point will be c£650 which will make it not only the cheapest 3inch system on the market but the only one offering the higher quality metal.

92734361_150986296350677_2048092413938892800_n.png
93104585_2616580311958845_5509833451764711424_n.png

Carl I’ll be very interested to hear what this system sounds like once it’s finished. I modified my OEM back box and absolutely love the raspy sound it produces, but it’s also relatively quiet when you want it to be.

Unfortunately I’ve repaired it 4 times and must only have 12 months or so life left in it.........