Originally Posted by wolfie308

Very true, and I'd also add 'make something that nobody else does for which there is a market'

For example, those heater/AC mounting plates?

Originally Posted by Gawernator

Lolol at Nicole. Ridiculous BS. GTFO with your jaded, jealous *** and cry somewhere else

Originally Posted by Nicole

As you may know, I used to import the clear and smoked lenses for the 928, 924, and 944/951 models until the end of 2013. And the prices you "lol" about are probably the ones I used to ask.

Note that there has always been a cheaper alternative: Clearz in Canada made the same types of lenses, and so did a few others over the years.

Why did we survive for so long? And why is the manufacturer still in business (selling through a different importer since I no longer have the time to do it)?

Unfortunately, making such lenses isn't as easy as it seems. Here are just a few of the interesting challenges you'll encounter:

- You'll have to deal with bubbles, and how to avoid them. Similarly, the silicone material occasionally does stick to the resin (when it happens, it's most often in tight corners). Then you'll have to throw away the lens you just made, and make a new cast.

- You'll have to deal with the fact that the original lenses are very cloudy, which is not obvious when they are tinted. But you'll see every flaw when you redo them in clear. We developed a proprietary solution to make them clear and glossy.

- You'll have to deal with the fact that most resins turn dull and yellow when exposed to the elements for prolonged time - even when the manufacturer claims they don't. We've seen it over and over again, and kept upgrading our materials to the latest and highest grades, to ensure our lenses stay clear and glossy.

You'll have lots of fun with the side marker lenses, and even more with the housings:

- The inside of the lenses is particularly prone to have bubbles, which will create ugly patterns that can be seen from the outside of the lens.

- One competitor was not able to make these lenses straight - when I ordered some for resale (before we made our own), the majority was buckled to the point where they were completely unusable.

- The housings are extremely challenging because of their complex shapes with the holding tabs. The latter were probably the most difficult part that we ever made. We had to rework and replace many before my manufacturer figured out how to get the mold right and keep the tabs from cracking.

- You can't heat fuse the side marker lenses and housings when they are made of resin. You'll have to find a way to glue them securely, so that they don't separate when the mounting nuts are tightened, or heat and vibration rattles them. That was probably one of the other big challenges we were facing. We had to try various adhesives before we found one that was strong enough, and provided soft foam seals and specific installation instructions to avoid the issue.

So, yes, you can make lenses easily at low cost. But coming even close to the quality of the lenses I used to import will take years of experience. And making it profitable and sustainable will take more than $40 per pair in retail price.

I'm not trying to discourage you from trying; you might learn a lot of interesting things along the way. But I want to give you a realistic outlook, based on what we have been through.

Here is what happens when you don't get it right:

1. Material that wasn't supposed to get yellow (not our product)
2. Competitor's lenses (milky - you don't see any of the blue background)
3. Lenses from Germany (note the clarity)

Hope you can avoid these issues. Best of luck!

Originally Posted by ehall

Nicole, you have to remember the 40 bucks is more than 1% of the purchase price for a lot of 944 NA guys.

Originally Posted by Nicole

....

Originally Posted by Nicole

Keith: Not a business? Well does that mean we should not expect you to do this for very long...? This may be a chance to learn a few things about entrepreneurship, even if it's on a small scale.

Originally Posted by wolfie308

Bump.....

Just out of curiosity, how did you get on with trials?

Originally Posted by Butters944

Unfortunately, throughout the rest of my summer, my 944 was down numerous times and I was slaving away fixing problem after problem

This semester of school has kept me super busy with 18 credits engineering related classes.

But this project has been on my mind a lot and I plan on making more progress asap. I have a month vacation for Christmas and should have time, however I do have a laundry list of 944 maintenance I need to get done (including fuel tank replacement and maybe even a clutch change )...

Will keep this thread updated when progress occurs.

Originally Posted by Meine44

Glad I'm not the only engineering student slaving over 18 credits.

Only problem about Christmas break: no heat in the parents' garage. Cement gets cold after a while.