Genuine Sensors vs Chinese Sensors
Discussion
Is there really a big difference between a genuine Bosch MAF (Airflow Meter £300), and a Chinese Copy (around £50) ??
I would always replace the Lambda (02) sensor with genuine Bosch, but has anybody proven the Chinese Sensors to be crap?
Maybe I should buy Chinese (mine isn't damaged) and log MAF values with each..
I would always replace the Lambda (02) sensor with genuine Bosch, but has anybody proven the Chinese Sensors to be crap?
Maybe I should buy Chinese (mine isn't damaged) and log MAF values with each..
Obviously can't state that *all* non-OEM copy parts are cack, but certainly on a lot of the forums I'm familiar with there have been plenty of tales of non-OEM camshaft sensors etc failing after a few months or just not working properly in the first place. I'm sure there are many of them out there working perfectly too.
IMO which one you go for depends on how hard they are to get to (i.e. how much time you're going to have to spend swapping the thing out) and if you just want to keep the car running without spending much or if it's going to be with you for a while and you're interested in longevity.
IMO which one you go for depends on how hard they are to get to (i.e. how much time you're going to have to spend swapping the thing out) and if you just want to keep the car running without spending much or if it's going to be with you for a while and you're interested in longevity.
NicholasLawrence said:
It is more a 'solution' for customers who can't afford genuine.
)
Give them the choice is the basic answer to that.)
As a test fit one to a car that does high miles and see how it goes...
The issue isn't exactly clear cut:
Do you know exactly where all your parts are coming from originally?
There is more than one factory producing sensors in China, there are good and bad ones and as an end user you will never know, only the buyers from China know that...
As I understand it, the big issue with lambda sensors seems to be that most OEM parts have heaters built in to burn off carbon deposits (hence three wires rather than two). Cheap copies often don't so they work for a bit then get clogged up, especially if you run your car cold a lot.
This obviously wont be an issue with MAF sensors, but there may be other problems. I just take it as a risk versus reward thing. If the pattern part can't damage anything by failing and is much cheaper and/or very easy to fit, I'll often try it and if it fails I'll replace it with a proper part.
This obviously wont be an issue with MAF sensors, but there may be other problems. I just take it as a risk versus reward thing. If the pattern part can't damage anything by failing and is much cheaper and/or very easy to fit, I'll often try it and if it fails I'll replace it with a proper part.
To take it a step further, I've seen plenty of comments on forums that OE manufactured MAFs (Bosch in this example) sold through certain motor factors have a much higher failure rate than the OEM (Audi) unit from the dealers - I honestly can't get my head around this but have come across quite a few supposedly first hand accounts of this problem.
grumbas said:
To take it a step further, I've seen plenty of comments on forums that OE manufactured MAFs (Bosch in this example) sold through certain motor factors have a much higher failure rate than the OEM (Audi) unit from the dealers - I honestly can't get my head around this but have come across quite a few supposedly first hand accounts of this problem.
Four possibilities I suppose.1) They aren't real Bosch sensors.
2) They've been sitting on a shelf for five years, and something in the sensor degrades with time.
3) Bosch quality control their parts, and sell the higher quality ones to manufacturers, lower quality ones to factors (very unlikely).
4) It's a placebo type effect and people have more tendency to moan on the internet if they buy a part from Halfords and it fails than from their favourite manufacturer.
I think 4 is by far the most likely explanation. However, there are lots of people selling Bosch branded sensors on ebay which aren't Bosch parts.
kambites said:
grumbas said:
To take it a step further, I've seen plenty of comments on forums that OE manufactured MAFs (Bosch in this example) sold through certain motor factors have a much higher failure rate than the OEM (Audi) unit from the dealers - I honestly can't get my head around this but have come across quite a few supposedly first hand accounts of this problem.
Four possibilities I suppose.1) They aren't real Bosch sensors.
2) They've been sitting on a shelf for five years, and something in the sensor degrades with time.
3) Bosch quality control their parts, and sell the higher quality ones to manufacturers, lower quality ones to factors (very unlikely).
4) It's a placebo type effect and people have more tendency to moan on the internet if they buy a part from Halfords and it fails than from their favourite manufacturer.
I think 4 is by far the most likely explanation. However, there are lots of people selling Bosch branded sensors on ebay which aren't Bosch parts.
Which would suggest option 3 on your list, as unlikely as it may be - perhaps the OEM tolerance is tighter than the part manufacturer deems acceptable?
As I say, I can't get my head around it but a lot of the reports I've seen seem credible.
NicholasLawrence said:
I think with most people the 'power' is in their head. So if they buy £30 MAF it doesn't 'feel' as good but the £300 (wow! car feels loads better!!)
Just like EGR delete.. (all in the mind)
although, I know EGR is an issue on 1.7cdti/1.9cdti. But that wasn't my point
As previously stated on here.Just like EGR delete.. (all in the mind)
although, I know EGR is an issue on 1.7cdti/1.9cdti. But that wasn't my point
If you had years of experience, as I have, of the controls on manufacturing processes at OEM's like Bosch, and seem the massive differences at pattern part suppliers, you wouldn't need to guess. You would soon realize why pattern parts are never as good.
I made the decision recently to only buy OEM sensors when I repair a vehicle... When it goes wrong, it always comes back to me, and the customer then starts saying he wants it under warranty, then you have all that to deal with, and additional labour costs...
I have had it quite a few times now, recently with a Lambda sensor that lasted 3 months, then gave problems again...
I looked at a Fiesta recently and said there was a Lambda fault on that... I told the guy how much it was and he said he could get it cheaper from Ebay... I told him to get it then, but find someone else to fit it. He did... and was then moaning the light came on again a month later! he then replaced other parts... only to find it was a faulty Lambda he had fitted!
Buy cheap, buy twice...
I have had it quite a few times now, recently with a Lambda sensor that lasted 3 months, then gave problems again...
I looked at a Fiesta recently and said there was a Lambda fault on that... I told the guy how much it was and he said he could get it cheaper from Ebay... I told him to get it then, but find someone else to fit it. He did... and was then moaning the light came on again a month later! he then replaced other parts... only to find it was a faulty Lambda he had fitted!
Buy cheap, buy twice...
On the mgrover forums I used to frequent, cheap unbranded Chinese MAFs were an endless source of bother. They either didn't work out of the box, worked badly (i.e. out of calibration from the start) or worked ok for a short length of time and then gave up the ghost.
Pierbug MAFs seemed to be more reliable then Bosch ones as well.
Pierbug MAFs seemed to be more reliable then Bosch ones as well.
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