Ractive Crap!!
 

I would just like to warn people ahead of time, I don't know how many people were thinking about changing out their E-Brake Handle to dress up their interior of their P5, but if you are DO NOT purchase the ractive one. I only got this one because Nopi told me the V-racing one was too far back ordered to get, so I went and ordered this one. It is a complete joke. When i first got it, i cut the exisitng handle to get it off and then tried to put the new one on. Problem #1. The slot at the end of the handle where the lever is supposed to slide is too damn small. So after contacting Ractive I decide I have two choices send it back or make the slot bigger. Well i picked choice two and spent a few hours grinding the slot bigger with a metal file. Then this morning i got out there and it starts to slide on and then...Problem #2. The cap piece that fits around the button is too small, since it screws inside the other the inside diameter is smaller, so I now can't send it back cause I filed the shit out of the slot, so now I spend a hour grinding the cap with a grinding wheel on a drill. So in other words i spent almost 5 1/2 hours on a e-brake handle that was supposed to be universal.
:bsflag:

It looks good yes, but it was not worth the effort i put into it. So unless you have the desire to work your ass off for a minor change, don't waste your time or money.

actually that is the thing, i just got a new shift knob, went on perfect. New sparco pedals, went on right just minimual extra work, the amount that this was off though was crazy, i had to widen the opening a good 3-4 mm, that is alot when you are using a metal file by hand. well I know i should expect some extra work, but this was not worth it.

Well, Ractive=Toucan Industries. About the only good thing Toucan makes is Eurolite... Thanks for the warning.

You probably never drive at night, Toucan bulbs are hmmmm let's put it in polite way...shitty. Ractive intake I have needed modifications to fit without rubbing and that's model specific part.
BOYCOTT RACTIVE!

Alex

Ractive
 

I can't agree more. I bought ractive pedals.. no instructions as well as shitty finish and the clamps don't really hold the pedals on. Also bought the Ractive intake and we all know what a perfect fit that is :pantdrop:

I have since bought new Sparco pedals and am seriously considering the AEM intake.

I agree Boycott Ractive!!!

PS I also hate how everyone in Nova Scotia calls them Reactive..:withstupi

Ractive, OBX, APC, Arospeed... etc.. ALL crap lol :D

No matter how many products you get tempted to buy from them, resist the temptation! All their products suck! (from a manufacturing/quality control perspective)

I have discovered this the hard way as well, I've had all this crap from all those companies and the end result is never impressive.

Yeah i made sure that I bought one that screwed on. Greddy, it looks damn smooth, i need to take some digi pics and post. I am just so lazy, by the way what programs do y'all use to crop photos and stuff?

You know I am on that bandwagon, screw cheap aftermarket companies.

The Ractive SRI's fitment without any modification I agree is crap. But the materials they make it from is pretty good. The piping is made from a thin but durable aluminum. I did a lot of dramatic modification on mine from a SRI to a CAI setup (identical to Injen's) by customing fitting another tube that leads down into the wheelwell area. It works wonders now. :D

Ractive is a lying. I bought a reat strut bar for my 97DX. They adertise it as 88-98 Proteges and MX3. Well guess what? It does not fit any 2nd gen pros, and I am lucky enough to have a buddy with an MX3 who needs one. So wacth out for that as well.

I have the Exhaust and the Intake and had no problems installing either.
If you want to really see what a joke some aftermarket parts are go to a VW store and look for Mr Empi. or Bugpack

The Ractive Parts are not that bad for the most part but since most people on here can only bolt on parts then I see your points.
If that handle did not fit after grinding the hell out of it you should have sent it back to ractive. Otherwise you could have just ground off the arm of the ebrake.

i like the ebrake handle.. i think i'll leave it stock

I personally make it a habit of NEVER putting anything on my car that says 'Universal' Fit. That usually means that it is generally a low grade piece that is designed to be a universally shitty fit on a wide variety of cars. As far as shift knobs go, if your car came with a screw on knob and you would like to replace it, replace it with a screw on knob. As far as the Protege shift knob, get a VooDoo Knob; you can't go wrong with this piece. My Pearl Magnum Voodoo is a work of art and reasonably priced.

i have ractive front and rear strut bars, and they fit PERFECT! :p as far as quality, i've had them for almost 2 yrs now, and i haven't had ANY problems with them! :cool:

Ractive=Shit

People, do some research, and use some common sence.
I can tell by looking at an ad in a mag if a product is shit or not. Read articles in respectable mags and see what they give props to. Why the hell would you cut, file, and etc. to put a freaking brake handle on? Why would you put a Greddy knob on a Mazda if you have no Greddy performance parts?

You don't need to buy all that gay shit to have a nice/respectable car. Your gettin' it in the rear if you think your moddin' your car. Your just plain cutting your self in half.

You cannot install a Greddy shift knob unless you have Greddy performance parts installed?? Harsh rules... :rolleyes:

I did this because it was a present from someone else and instead of putting them through the trouble of returning mail order merchandise, i figured I would make it fit, yes my mistake, I will admit that. As far as the greddy shift knob, I got that because A)It looks smooth, in my opinion, B)I knew it was a screw on and would fit well C)I just didn't like the stock knob, I have a scheme for my interior and this is where I am starting D) it is not even made by greddy it is made by Trust/Grex and Greddy adopated the knob, it actually doesn't even have greddy's name on it.

Also in my opinion these are modifications, maybe not performance modifications, but they are personalization mods. Would you like me to get out a Webster's and define the term for you?? Do what you want to your car, but in my opinion and based on my budget this is what I will have to do for now, so i am sorry if what I am doing to my car is "gay" to you, but to every man his own.

The whole point of this thread was to provide others with my personal expericence so they may learn from it and obviously many agree with me, yes it may have been somewhat of a rant, but that is because i was quite aggravated when I typed it up. I guess some people take doing simple things as being a waste, but I see otherwise, If you don't want to do these things it is fine but there is no reason to call what others like "gay". Why bash someone for what they like? This is turning into too long of a post, so I will say one last thing: I was asking for no ones opinion of what I did, and wanted no one's opinion of what I did becuase then I would have posted pics so you could see what I did (I AM NOT saying that in the future I do not want others opinions, becuase there are many people's opinions on this site that I value and appreciate when it is given, mostly defintely when it is asked for), I was simply trying to be a helpful guys to others, not start a bash fest.

Would you say the same about momo, they make universal parts, there are certain things that you can't buy with a specific application, because no company is gonna wanna go out of their way to deisgn 12 different e-brake handles for 12 different makes. All i was trying to say is that Ractive (and maybe every other company I do not have experience with other ones, Hell maybe mazda is the only damn car maker that makes their e-brakes like this who knows) has a horriblly wrong fit and warn other people of this

As far as this goes, then I guess you shouldn't install a MP3 body kit on a Pro unless you have the perfromance parts of the MP3!

I think you would not find many members on this forum that would agree with this statement, including I.

I have to agree. I think that if you buy a piece of equipment that is represented as good investment then it should be just that. If a company provides a product that doesn't meet "acceptable" standards then customers should be aware.

I bought Ractive products and was not happy. As far as buying "bolt on" parts kosmicride, if it says bolt on I expect it to bolt on. I have made the same modifications as others on this site to my Ractive intake. And I replaced my pedals with Sparco pedals which I spent about 2 hours drilling and fitting them.

I don't mind putting in the time to fit parts or come up with solutions. But when someone sells me something saying it will be a good and easy fit for a specific car ie Protege 2002, and it ends up not being then I get upset.

Whew Mazdaboy your rants are contagious. that being said the problems I have had with Ractive have been aliveated by help from posts on this site.

I think the important thing is to go in with your eyes wide open. If it says "universal" then you cannot expect it to fit a specific application. If a part is for a specific application, then it should damn well fit. The third scenario is where you know before hand that modifications will have to be made regardless of claims for a specific application or not (e.g. the Ractive intake).

I am happy with the Ractive intake even though it did not fit the car it was supposedly designed for. I was not disturbed by the poor fit and useless bracket because I knew about the issues before I bought it. If I was not prepared to do the mod work I would have simply spent 3 to 4 times more money on a different brand of intake... :rolleyes:

And how do you find out that a supposed "bolt-on" part will need modification? You cruise the forums of course. ;)

Which is exactly what started this whole thread. :p