Reputable companies vs. knock offs (informational thread)

[BackinBlackSS/RS]

Originally Posted by HumanWiki

It's garbage like this double-standard I've been seeing in this thread and others that reminds me why I stopped modding cars to begin with about 5 years ago and why I sold my GTO and went without a car for 2 years. I'm getting that way again.. It's just simply not worth the arrogance and headache to own one and be around people with it.

They can easily be avoided. Enjoy your car, do what YOU want to do and don't worry what anyone else says or does. In the end what someone else says or does means nothing to me and my enjoyment of my car.

[emlo3]

Great info, thanks for the heads up

[SSE 4 2SS]

Consumer to supplier, manufacturer etc... "I do not walk in your shoes, so I wont pretend to understand your daily challenges... but realize I face some also..."

Manufacturer to consumer..."I do not walk in your shoes, so I wont pretend to understand your daily challenges... but realize I face some also..."

It works both ways...

Until people accept this... threads and debates will go on forever, and never solve or resolve anything...The "I'll buy what I want and can afford" is falling on deaf ears... and the.. "thats the cost to build them" is also..

Both have faults and valid points. While I enjoy a good debate with a possible end... this one has none in sight... There are no fence riders learning anything that will make their minds up... It's a bunch of angry somewhat stubborn and opinionated people arguing the same point-counter-point, over and over and over again... All have their reasons and points, but none will convince the others...

Lighten up... You can't control other peoples actions, you can only control your reaction to it...

Headers, exhaust pipes, etc... when you weed out the crap it's a couple of tubes bent and welded together... If the rest of the car was priced in the same fashion with respect to degree of intracacy, few, if any, of us could afford it... Think about the data entry that goes into machining the block, the heads, the gears and other transmission components... All of them take considerably more effort than a simple set of 304 stainless tubes... oh, tubes with flanges on each end... Three or four or ten sets are hand built depending on the ability of the craftsmen, and when a design is decided on, thats what is entered into the puter for mass manufacturing... There are no super big secrets... it's bent metal... But... when we buy foreign knockoffs at super discounts, or rather more realistic pricing... then that money does forever leave our coffers... The choice is yours...

[MG]

The benefit of buying domestic products is quite clear. Just wish they weren't so damn expensive.

[CamaroCowboy]

Ok yes Canada is north America however Canada is not the US. US workers and US unions are not working at that plant. And that makes chevy as bad as anyone else because they in fact are outsourcing their product because it's cheaper to make up there.

Originally Posted by Mindz

So when did Canada defect from North AMERICA?

Last I checked it's still an AMERICAN product.

AMERICA doesn't mean the USA.




Buying Chinese doesn't necessarily mean you're buying knock offs, but I have yet to see any company besides B.F.E run the X pipe that ARH makes. Everyone company has a different X pipe and H pipe setup, but it's hard to mistake ARH's since the X pipe goes almost all the way back to the rear diff.

Kooks, LG, borla, all have different designs, yet this BFE kit runs the exact same looking x pipe that ARH has been advertising since they introduced their product a while back. Someone please point me in the direction of another companies X pipe that mimics someone else? I honestly don't think it exists as of yet.

OBX doesn't even have the camaro on their website, you would think that since they make such a quality product, they would like to advertise it. Can you find their headers/exhaust anywhere besides ebay?







In sumary:

Canada IS American.

I don't mind people that want to buy products that look like knocks offs, I do mind the close minded bickering because someone makes uneducated comments.

Someone find me 2 companies besides ARH and BFE that use the same looking X-pipes please. I'd love to know.

This thread isn't just about headers so this post isn't off topic.

[CamaroCowboy]

Originally Posted by BackinBlackSS/RS

They can easily be avoided. Enjoy your car, do what YOU want to do and don't worry what anyone else says or does. In the end what someone else says or does means nothing to me and my enjoyment of my car.

Bravo. I agree 100%. As my signature says

My car is exactly that, no one has to like it but me.

[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by rally yellow ss rs

You said, "China artificially altering the value of their currency", thats funny...America is in the lead of adding zero's to their national currency

I definitely don't understand that statement....I assume its some sort of sarcastic remark...but I'm not getting it....

China is artificially devaluing their currency which makes their labor incredibly competitive...no, almost unbeatable...to companies in countries like the US...which sucks jobs right out the back door. So don't blame the American companies for overcharging as an excuse for not buying domestic product is the point I was trying to make.

Originally Posted by axis

But ALL these "buy American ONLY" people already do that, don't they? NONE of them shop at Walmart or ANY discount chain store. They ONLY buy the best and ONLY buy American. Doing anything other than that is totally wrong and doesn't help build a better America.

I've never shopped at walmart (I am disusted with many of their business practices), I always check to see where something's made, and for large purchases, I check to see where the company is based as well: Like my Dunlop Signature tires. There was a set of Bridgestones for about $5 a tire cheaper, but they were comparable tires, and the Dunlop was made here vs Japan.

Originally Posted by axis

The bottom line is, it's YOUR MONEY. Buy what you want. Research ANY part you buy and know the risks/benefits going in. If you're happy with your purchase, that's ALL that should matter.

The problem with this theory (and I agree, btw) is that nobody ever considers the risk but to their wallet. Which is a little sad.

I said I agree with the above, and I do. I understand that many things are quite simply...no longer made here. Or if they are, they may be piss-poor quality to be cost competitive (not a very common theme anymore). So where there is no American choice -- I'm not going to bitch. Where there IS...I WILL. Everyone has different preferences when purchasing something. Some people pay closer attention to color, others to shape or versatility. Most everyone prefers a low price...I guess I put more of a value on where something is made, and who makes it than the average American.

I'm not one of those preacher-types, so I won't tell you what you "can and cannot" buy. But I do recognize how few people really care about where their things are made anymore. How many complain about offshoring, but then they'll go out and buy a toyota the next day. That...to me...is incredibly depressing. For such an advanced and smart country...there are just some issues where we've got our heads so far up our a$$es....

Originally Posted by CamaroCowboy

Ok yes Canada is north America however Canada is not the US. US workers and US unions are not working at that plant. And that makes chevy as bad as anyone else because they in fact are outsourcing their product because it's cheaper to make up there.

No it's not. It's very similar in cost, actually. But it's on the same land mass as their North American Market, and so it's fair game for choice in production plant. ("They build where they sell" I think was a key point in the new GM's future outlook). That....and I'm sure they wanted to place the Camaro in one of NA's preeminent assembly plants due to its high profile nature -- which would Oshawa.

I contend that building in Canada is equivalent, but not equal to building in America. And MUCH better than building in China, or India, etc.

[Entaille]

it has to do with the bolt ons people purchase and how their decisions effect things. it's relevant and it puts the debating into a single thread.

[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by jpizzle007

this thread needs to vanish. or move to another area, this has nothing to do with bolt ons, this is economics.

Originally Posted by Entaille

it has to do with the bolt ons people purchase and how their decisions effect things. it's relevant and it puts the debating into a single thread.

Yes, but he's right. This is all off-topic.

I get caught up in this stuff too easily, I apologize .....

Let's try and bring this thread back on course, everyone.

[xxlbeerz]

Originally Posted by jpizzle007

this thread needs to vanish. or move to another area, this has nothing to do with bolt ons, this is economics.

I disagree.
Ban this talk from the normal discussion threads, make this a sticky, and let all vendor/user threadcrapping go in one place!

[Prochargedchevyi]

Originally Posted by xxlbeerz

I disagree.
Ban this talk from the normal discussion threads, make this a sticky, and let all vendor/user threadcrapping go in one place!

[Milk 1027]

Originally Posted by xxlbeerz

I disagree.
Ban this talk from the normal discussion threads, make this a sticky, and let all vendor/user threadcrapping go in one place!

That's the whole point

[MarylandSpeed]

I think this thread is way more entertaining than the normal "What intake makes the most power?" or "Will axlebacks void my warranty?" stuff that is in this section.

[Milk 1027]

Originally Posted by MarylandSpeed

I think this thread is way more entertaining than the normal "What intake makes the most power?" or "Will axlebacks void my warranty?" stuff that is in this section.

Depends on your point of view.