Would you rather buy knock off parts for your car?

[suprachica79]

Originally Posted by Neutral_Eyes

Not putting a header on a 2.2CL probably would have been better "bang for the buck."

Haha, I was a kid, it was my first car that I worked hard for, and I was starting to learn about cars. The car was too fat, got bad gas mileage for a 2.2I4

[fernan2]

I love rotas! Best bang for the buck.

[rL-gT]

Real parts all the time.

My first set of rims I ever purchased were Volks and Ive never looked back.

[MiguelAE86]

Originally Posted by fernan2

I love rotas! Best bang for the buck.

But on that note, as i'll probably be a Senior Highschool/Freshman College student, so i would honestly purchase Rotas. Now about everything else (coilovers, air filters, etc.) Best bang for the buck, brand is w.e. to me on some internal parts.

[fernan2]

My WRX has rota Boost on and 3 years later they look and work like new!
Ohh and my car has 309hp/354tq to the wheels!

[Kostamojen]

Originally Posted by Random_Art

nope. I seem to remember an OBX "Quaife" differential being the best bang for your buck (as far as differentials go) in the last gen Celicas.

I have one in my Impreza. Front helical LSD. Works just fine.

I couldn't afford the "Quaife" LSD anyhow, so I wouldn't have even done the swap when the trans was being rebuilt if I didn't have the OBX option.

As for wheels... Wear and tear item, I'm not spending any more than I have to on wheels I could care less about the brand.

Megan coilovers... I had them on the car for several years and they weren't very good, but they were cheap when they first came out. At this point I'd say spend the extra $500 and get a quality product, but back then there weren't as many options so choices were limited.

Exhausts... Just got to a local shop and have what you want made, keep the money local and screw both the name brand companies AND the knockoffs.

For the rest of the bits and pieces, buy the stuff that works not the crap off ebay. A lot of the time the best bits are made not by the big name brands or the knockoffs, but by the vendors catering specifically to the forums. The best reputations always have the best products for the right price.

[chulooz]

Originally Posted by Kostamojen

I have one in my Impreza. Front helical LSD. Works just fine.

I couldn't afford the "Quaife" LSD anyhow, so I wouldn't have even done the swap when the trans was being rebuilt if I didn't have the OBX option.

As for wheels... Wear and tear item, I'm not spending any more than I have to on wheels I could care less about the brand.

Megan coilovers... I had them on the car for several years and they weren't very good, but they were cheap when they first came out. At this point I'd say spend the extra $500 and get a quality product, but back then there weren't as many options so choices were limited.

Exhausts... Just got to a local shop and have what you want made, keep the money local and screw both the name brand companies AND the knockoffs.

For the rest of the bits and pieces, buy the stuff that works not the crap off ebay. A lot of the time the best bits are made not by the big name brands or the knockoffs, but by the vendors catering specifically to the forums. The best reputations always have the best products for the right price.

C'mon, tires are one of the best upgrades you can do to get an awesome driving experience.

[ichitaka05]

Originally Posted by chulooz

C'mon, tires are one of the best upgrades you can do to get an awesome driving experience.

Ditto... but he wrote wheels and not a tires, so maybe just talking bout wheels?

[switchlanez]

Knock off performance parts tend to have cheap welds that easily break. Or pipe bends that cause things to not align when bolting on. I've noticed this on friends' cars and talking to owners a various car meets. Manufacturing processes are just not the same.

But there are some companies that have the branding but inconsistent quality e.g. Remus. Most of their apps are for Euro cars but when I bought an exhaust for my MR2 it didn't hold up well. Maybe to them, Japanese aftermarket is an afterthought.

When it comes to non-performance items (i.e. rice) like Mugen-style side visors, clear corners, or fender flares... then yeah I'll cheap out and buy off eBay. Always have had positive, money-saving experiences in that respect lol

[ichitaka05]

Originally Posted by switchlanez

Knock off performance parts tend to have cheap welds that easily break. Or pipe bends that cause things to not align when bolting on. I've noticed this on friends' cars and talking to owners a various car meets. Manufacturing processes are just not the same.

But there are some companies that have the branding but inconsistent quality e.g. Remus. Most of their apps are for Euro cars but when I bought an exhaust for my MR2 it didn't hold up well. Maybe to them, Japanese aftermarket is an afterthought.

When it comes to non-performance items (i.e. rice) like Mugen-style side visors, clear corners, or fender flares... then yeah I'll cheap out and buy off eBay. Always have had positive, money-saving experiences in that respect lol

^Almost... example. NA Impreza Borla UEL header. eBay Borla rep UEL header quality is better than original Borla UEL header. I'm hearing a ton of complaining of original Borla header cracking often vs Borla rep header have a less complains.

[Kostamojen]

Originally Posted by chulooz

C'mon, tires are one of the best upgrades you can do to get an awesome driving experience.

Originally Posted by ichitaka05

Ditto... but he wrote wheels and not a tires, so maybe just talking bout wheels?

Seriously... If I were talking about tires I would say tires.

There are no such thing as "knock off tires" anyway.

[oneday]

How are wheels a wear item?! Sure they stress, but it's not like they need to be replaced every 20/30/40K miles. That's like saying the chassis or front subframe is a wear item.

[oneday]

Originally Posted by ichitaka05

^Almost... example. NA Impreza Borla UEL header. eBay Borla rep UEL header quality is better than original Borla UEL header. I'm hearing a ton of complaining of original Borla header cracking often vs Borla rep header have a less complains.

Yes, the Borla header for Subarus had a rash of problems (it was something like a 7% defect rate for a year or two which is really not that many), and it happened to coincide with when NASIOC and other forums were exploding so everyone that had a Borla header now had a platform to vent, which made it seem like every Borla header cracked. That was five years ago. Since then Borla redesigned it and the new one is better. But, even if the updated header cracks, at least that Borla header has a lifetime (technically a 1,000,000 mile) warranty and the dealer you buy it from can swap a faulty one for a new replacement very easily. If the Ebay cracks, you are out for whatever you spent on the Ebay header plus another replacement.

[blur]

TBH, the only parts I would actually put trust into is the ones that are used in the legit competitive race cars. Everything else is potential BS.