Yes brands do matter. Think about the comparison in a sense of tires. If I go buy the cheapest tires I can buy they'll work fine to drive around for $80 a piece but I'm not going to be pulling 1.00+ on the skidpad anytime soon, nor will it be 0.9 or anything close to that. People who build cars for a purpose - buy the best brands. To this you may ask why, and I'm going to tell you...because the next step in performance means that the price goes up exponentially.

Are all intercoolers the same, no. If I street drive my car and run stock turbo and don't plan to build my car does it matter if I buy AMS, Ebay, or any other brand..probably not. Yet if you're running 30+ psi, you're going to pay the money for an AMS or BR core...why, because they've been tested on cars that run 30+ psi and they're efficient at the same time.

At the same time some brands are rediculously expensive because they can charge outrageous prices and people will buy them because it says JUN or ARC. These types of brands normally use the most expensive metals, do the most research and design and charge out the *** because it is the best you can buy, whether it will show significant gains is another thing, but a gain is a gain is a gain.

People like Curt Brown aren't running around with knock off parts on their car. They've set records because the parts they use are efficient and reliable. In most cases in order to get those things you need to spend the $$.

 

Because I was making a point of parts. X part and China X part - ChinX. I am NOT making a slur. Because you are reading it out load apprently, I see where you think its a slur. I will make it China-X.

And get a grip. I own a Focus, not a Mustang.

 

....

 

Welcome, now back ON-topic. I do not support knock-off parts. Regardless of where they are from. It still hurts the parent company that took the time and resources to design and make the part.

 

Exactly what he said. It boils down to support and quality control.

A perfect instance happened to my friend last week. He blew an ebay evo clutch that he spent 500 + 550 install on. It lasted 450 miles. The company told him to get bent. Now he has to spend another 500 + 550 for install and a good clutch. He should have listened to me in the beginning.

Another thing to keep in mind. A lot of these companies completely copy (make a mold from, use exact measurements, etc) a product that a high quality company made, and sell them for 1/4 the price. People jump on this because it looks just like a high quality part, thus taking money out of the originators wallet. Original companies put a LOT of money into R&D. Losing sales to the copy-cat companies ruins these companies, and eventually puts them out of business.

Think about that last paragraph for a bit, because some very high quality brands are thinking of leaving the evo scene because of this.

 

Beat me to it! Seriously grammar police need to entertain themselves elsewhere, very annoying.

No name manifolds are most certainly not worth the money, I tend to buy name brand products but I am not brand loyal per se. I usually buy parts I can get a deal on and I suggest you do the same. Plus they look better when listing them in your sig

 

ahah im using Internet Explorer. Wont let me on firefox here at work. My sentence structures are at great risk without the over looking eyes of my great firefox haha

thanks for the fix. At least the OP did not take it personal

But back on topic, I do agree with the aspect of customer support, I had an AMS fuel system, and it sure was nice to talk to an AMS tech over the phone when I found myself sitting there without the instructions.

Thicker metals, harder bolts, tighter welds, company logos, and company to consumer interaction makes it worth the price of admission when it comes to making a purchasing decision....

But watch out for double standards. Nothing worse then when a company copies directly another part and sells it as a XXX made part. Thats a no no in my book. But its done more than you think. So where do you draw the line, a China company making cheap duplicates of something we need, or a U.S based company making expensive duplicates of what we need. You make the choice.

 

wasn't there a guy on here that made a eBay evo, got everything non-brand name and made around ~ 10-20 whp less then all brand name? The only difference is the customer service, but even at that I've spoken to some vendors and shops and they can be real A**holes too.
From personal experience everything thats not brand name works the way it should other than movable parts, ex, turbos. Although me and my friend had 2 turbos fail on us one after another from a very well known shop, but like what someone else said earlier, a pipe is a pipe a rad or an fmic is also the same. the machines that make them don't change, and im sure that all those machines are not 100% made in USA either.

 

Front mounts are not the same. They have different fin designs. Most eBay cores use a straight through internal fin design, this will result in less pressure drop, but will not be as efficient compared staggered and offset internal fin pack. The straight through fin design is also prone to heat soaking.

The external fin pack is also very important, certain cores will block air flow to the radiator and others will allow airflow to the radiator and oil cooler. You then have exposed surface area vs end tank design. The list can go on and on.

The material maybe very similar, but most eBay designs are far from correct for our vehicles. A lot of R&D goes into our intercoolers, they may look similar, but looks and performance are far from the same.

You will also notice the eBay companies do not pressure check the intercoolers, they coat the intercoolers with silver paint/epoxy to prevent leakage. You be the judge if that's good or not.

Thanks!

Michael

 

well said!

 

oh god not another one of these... someone plz lock this thread and ban op.

 

y would u wanna bann me? it just have a question? I talking trash just wondering what really the differance is..

 

There's an old saying when it comes to high performance cars, that I ABSOLUTELY believe to be true.

Cheap, Fast or Reliable. You only get 2