Aftermarket and OEM shocks valved the same?
Discussion
I'd assume they're different unless the supplier tells you they're identical. There are endless ways to design damper valving and it's unlikely that the aftermarket supplier happened to exactly match the OEM damper characteristics unless they specifically set out to do that. More likely it's just kinda similar in terms of length/travel and general stiffness and hopefully close enough that it won't alter the car handling too much.
Edited by GreenV8S on Saturday 28th January 18:57
Having different type dampers or significantly different age/condition dampers side to side is a bad idea, so if you have this it would be sensible to sort that out. It would be pretty extraordinary to replace just one damper unless it was relatively new and being replaced with a like unit.
Running significantly different age/condition front versus rear is also a bad idea although not as bad as mixing side to side.
Running significantly different age/condition front versus rear is also a bad idea although not as bad as mixing side to side.
In short, no.
As an example or two:
For a Mk3 Mondeo:
-Ford offer about 6 or 7 types depending on the engine, the spec of the car and the wheel size.
-ECP for the Sachs items? 2. One for the "normal" cars (so if you have a 1.8 manual all the way to a 3.0 V6 Auto) the dampers will be the same. The other? The ST dampers, but they are almost the same price as what Ford charge...
BMW M3 E46:
-BMW do them for the Cabrio and Coupe individually.
-Most aftermarket ones supply one damper for both.
As an example or two:
For a Mk3 Mondeo:
-Ford offer about 6 or 7 types depending on the engine, the spec of the car and the wheel size.
-ECP for the Sachs items? 2. One for the "normal" cars (so if you have a 1.8 manual all the way to a 3.0 V6 Auto) the dampers will be the same. The other? The ST dampers, but they are almost the same price as what Ford charge...
BMW M3 E46:
-BMW do them for the Cabrio and Coupe individually.
-Most aftermarket ones supply one damper for both.
I'd be cautious about buying parts from ECP, they sell a lot of cheap, poor quality and often refurbished parts. I have had to change parts 3 - 4 times when buying from them. Needless to say I don't use them any more.
Not fun changing an engine mount or a wheel bearing multiple times, especially when it's for a customer. They aren't even that cheap, most places will price match if you ask.
Not fun changing an engine mount or a wheel bearing multiple times, especially when it's for a customer. They aren't even that cheap, most places will price match if you ask.
Joef said:
I'd be cautious about buying parts from ECP, they sell a lot of cheap, poor quality and often refurbished parts. I have had to change parts 3 - 4 times when buying from them. Needless to say I don't use them any more.
Not fun changing an engine mount or a wheel bearing multiple times, especially when it's for a customer. They aren't even that cheap, most places will price match if you ask.
The issue is ECP play a clever game:Not fun changing an engine mount or a wheel bearing multiple times, especially when it's for a customer. They aren't even that cheap, most places will price match if you ask.
1) They know people are fixated on price ; even if it fails they'll buy it again ; some people hate going to the dealer out of principle
2) They have the support or have bought a sector of some brands ; tied into point 1 they know people like something with an OE tag against it.
3) They're very convenient. Parts within a couple of days? They'll get it.
I won't get suspension parts or even some service items from ECP but I do get some bits ; Nowhere could match them for Castrol 10W60. Some got close (Opie Oils), but not quite the same or as quick.
SebringMan said:
Joef said:
I'd be cautious about buying parts from ECP, they sell a lot of cheap, poor quality and often refurbished parts. I have had to change parts 3 - 4 times when buying from them. Needless to say I don't use them any more.
Not fun changing an engine mount or a wheel bearing multiple times, especially when it's for a customer. They aren't even that cheap, most places will price match if you ask.
The issue is ECP play a clever game:Not fun changing an engine mount or a wheel bearing multiple times, especially when it's for a customer. They aren't even that cheap, most places will price match if you ask.
1) They know people are fixated on price ; even if it fails they'll buy it again ; some people hate going to the dealer out of principle
2) They have the support or have bought a sector of some brands ; tied into point 1 they know people like something with an OE tag against it.
3) They're very convenient. Parts within a couple of days? They'll get it.
I won't get suspension parts or even some service items from ECP but I do get some bits ; Nowhere could match them for Castrol 10W60. Some got close (Opie Oils), but not quite the same or as quick.
PositronicRay said:
But surely say a Lemforder arm from ECP is the same as a Lemforder arm from SKS, Mister Auto, local factors, et al?
Not always.Lemforder do things in different qualities ; even their manufacturing methods cannot produce a perfect bush every time.
My old man used to work in the "vision" industry, i.e quality control which was quite insightful.
Here's a few examples anyway:
-I've had a Lemforder arm fail on an Alfa 147 within 2 years. An Alfa bloke was not surprised.
-OTOH genuine Ford drop links have done me 120k on one car (I changed them!).
-Dayco on the Pug XU engines do not give the same belt to GSF as they do to Peugeot. The Peugeot one is a little thicker and wider.
In some cases you do get the same part as you would from the dealer but it's hard knowing where to get it from.
Personally if you care about your car's ride and handling I'd only ever go for OEM or a quality aftermarket item (accepting that the tune will be different to the OEM obviously). They are very fussy things and I'd expect products from different manufacturers to perform differently even if the spec is nominally the same.
Plus i've done R&H tuning on cheap stuff before and the variability and speed at which they can degrade is amazing, even things that you would never expect to cause a problem.
On one vehicle of far eastern origin I once had to replace damper tubes every few hundred miles of tuning as they would start to behave strangely on the vehicle and produce odd curves on the damper dyno.
Plus i've done R&H tuning on cheap stuff before and the variability and speed at which they can degrade is amazing, even things that you would never expect to cause a problem.
On one vehicle of far eastern origin I once had to replace damper tubes every few hundred miles of tuning as they would start to behave strangely on the vehicle and produce odd curves on the damper dyno.
Joef said:
I'd be cautious about buying parts from ECP, they sell a lot of cheap, poor quality and often refurbished parts. I have had to change parts 3 - 4 times when buying from them. Needless to say I don't use them any more.
Not fun changing an engine mount or a wheel bearing multiple times, especially when it's for a customer. They aren't even that cheap, most places will price match if you ask.
Amen to that. A lot of genuine parts I'm finding lately are the same or even cheaper than the copies Not fun changing an engine mount or a wheel bearing multiple times, especially when it's for a customer. They aren't even that cheap, most places will price match if you ask.
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