raverx3m

iTrader: (1)

how do I find where are the parts made and what standards are they made to?

I noticed theres tons of new OEM replacement part companies on the market down to playing dirty and naming their brand OEM...

I googled the masterPro from shucks and found that they are owned by SMP among most of the autozone brand names
CARQUEST, Cold Power, Duralast, Duralast Gold, Import Direct, Master Pro, Mileage Plus, Murray, and NAPA (NAPA Belden, NAPA Echlin, NAPA Temp Products). The company's own brands include Standard, BWD/NIEHOFF, Intermotor, OEM, LockSmart, TechSmart, and GP Sorensen for engine management and Four Seasons, Factory Air, EVERCO, ACi, Imperial, COMPRESSORWORKS, TORQFLO, and Hayden for temperature control.[11]


every time I look for oem replacement parts I see new brand names and they all claim OEM standards or better. yet most of them fail to live up to their claims...
I know there are few that are in fact quality as good as OEM but I don't know which brand names there are

oreilly claims national brand is very good if not better than oem and it damn costs more than OEM but Its kinda suspicious still

SMP is pretty much all I could find. I never searched into this brand names except for car audio brands but I know few people here dug into the automotive parts pretty deep or at least know where to search.

pogeeboy27

iTrader: (3)

My only experience with replacement parts other than OEM that are of good quality are from Oreilly. I bought a Moog lower control arm ball joint and compared it to a brand new OEM Honda one. They both came in the same plastic packaging and both had the same label "Made in Japan." I did once use a FelPro valve cover gasket kit on a Civic and within a year and a half **** started leaking oil all over the damn place. That's what I get for listening to a non-certified ASE mechanic. Other than that, it's been OEM for me.

raverx3m

iTrader: (1)

I know for a fact felpro gaskets and seals are not made to same spec as OEM or any other brands.
I measured the cam seals from 4 or 5 different brands and felpro was the worst.
but I know there are few brands that actually make to exact oem specs just too many new brands popped out recently

Caoboy

For stuff like gaskets, I just go with OEM replacements. They're cheap enough. If you search around you can find better deals from places online with no overhead.

T-belt tension bearing, for example, I find out who the supplier is, start googling serial numbers, look on hondapartsnow.com or whatever, find out the supplier of the bearing, buy it direct, and save money on it not having a Honda package.

Seals, I do the same thing as bearings..

Suspension parts...I try to upgrade if possible. Moog has been a decent company with no complaints from them on replacement parts.

Clutches...Exedy/Daiken is the OEM supplier, so I usually just go through them.

What is hard to decide on is stuff like transmission parts, it's getting harder to find replacement gears for older transmissions, and nobody is stepping up and supplying the parts. (at least that is how it was when I was looking for new gears for an older cable small shaft B series transmission)