I would say it's noticeable, not a huge improvement. It stop an go traffic/daily driving I don't notice it. At the end of a 1/4 I can definitely feel the lack of flex.
The site selling them isn't really sketchy. It's a Shopify site. It's also online - you always have chargebacks as a tool. The guy has also made some BRZ lights in the past. The issues with pay now, manufacture later are definitely-- something to consider if you want to get involved with or not...
Had you had CF on there, it would have broken. Cars get scraped and banged up under there. It's just going to happen. If you want a CF lip, get a CF lip, but I would definitely not bother to fix that up.
There was a forum poll a while back, but I can't find it. Any GESI catted DP should be fine.
The facts are pretty simple. O2 sensor on each side of the cat, if the cat is doing it's job, you won't get a CEL. This means any DP using a GESI cat should be fine.
It gets wet in there. Water can already get in from the front. All electrical connections on the car are waterproof from the factory. Any air intake separate from open-cone is typically fine too and shouldn't flood/hydro-lock you.
I also don't take the car out when it rains :p.
I just ordered the Verus Hood Vent last week, and there's a shop close to us that is doing the install. Shop is owned by the same folks as IND, they'll do a good job.
Every answer you get will be biased, as is mine. MAPerformance. Right price, no CEL, fitment was perfect, GESI cat, sounds fine. idk. I can't really comment since it's the only DP I've had, and I don't care about how the car sounds, I just want to go zoom zoom down the track for a few seconds...