Nice write up bro.
Yes, I did get the Tanabe pieces, mainly because this is only my second japanese car and I want to be pseudo-JDM even if it is cheaper than the others. Plus I got all of the same products and I like dealing with one manufacturer.
Needless to say, I actually got to come home from Colombia for a few hours this past weekend to see my kids and to pay some bills. I saw the goodies in the garage and looked at everything. The one thing is that the hardware seems better than what you described of A-Spec's and the finish on the bars seem great. I didn't get a chance to mess with anything as I said, I literally had a few hours, but I suspect I may reconsider. Just for the simple fact that the brackets seem silly. The same as the A-Spec's and not your traditional "Tie to strut's together". More like connect small bolts on towers...Where they don't even touch the struts. Understandable because of the design of the struts but nonetheless, different for me at least.
I should be back in April and I will get the goodies on. I am kind of sad about the drop on the springs once I read AFTER I ordered them, but I don't plan on getting anything larger than a 16" rim so it should fill the left over gap nicely.
I will say that the aesthetics of the Tanabe trump the A-Spec. I am not a fan of the anodized redish color but it does look a little better than the bare aluminum which can get spots here and there.
Nice write up though and I hope to have my book complete in a month as well!
Take care.
kris