Simple Ebay parts, would you put it on your car?

moonburn

New Member
Dec 26, 2010
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I put an eBay brand 3" turbo-back exhaust on my car... no issues here.

Pretty much have to agree with the other folks here. If a failure won't cause too much damage, go for it. Just don't get ebay brake lines or anything!
 

Poodles

I play with fire
Jul 22, 2006
16,757
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Fort Worth, TX
I'm going to disagree with the BOV and wastegate. I've known a lot of people that run the knockoff HKS wastegate, they just use real HKS parts in it. I myself have a knock off BOV that I disassembled and inspected. Little fine tuning and it's fine (plus the real one isn't made anymore).
 

supranz

New Member
May 23, 2010
55
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Christchurch
gottadiesel;1665032 said:
It is not about whether it is on Ebay or not, it is about whether the seller is reputable and is the seller's product of intelligent engineering, quality materials, quality craftsmanship and is it backed up with a warranty from either the seller or the manufacture in which the seller is representing...

I agree with you completely and it is an unfortunate stereotype we give to parts on ebay. Unfortunately stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason, as most people assume the criteria you described above when in fact it does not, so some of the blame does have to go on the buyer of such things (assuming they fail/break)
 

gottadiesel

Flyin Low
Feb 16, 2009
459
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Vancouver, Washington
moonburn;1665117 said:
I put an eBay brand 3" turbo-back exhaust on my car... no issues here.

Pretty much have to agree with the other folks here. If a failure won't cause too much damage, go for it. Just don't get ebay brake lines or anything!

HHmm Did not know Ebay manufactured parts... For some reason I thought they were just an avenue for people to list items that they had for sale, in either an auction format or a simple for sale format... Weird and all this time they were also a manufacture of cheap sh*t that they get unwary purchasers to buy so they can rip them off... :rolleyes::: facepalm ::
 

destrux

Active Member
May 19, 2010
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I had both an ebay type-s style BOV and an ebay MBC. The true made in china and taiwan stuff is crap.

The BOV looks like a direct greddy copy, but it's wrong internally, and caused major surge. The diaphragm is cheap rubber that lasted a month. I did fix it, however, and it works great now and hasn't had a problem in over 4 years of use since then. I had to machine some of the valve internals so the valve could open more than 1/8" and I made a new diaphragm out of a HBNR one from an old EGR valve.

The MBC worked fine for about 4 months till the chrome plating on the ball started chipping (and going into the engine I assume) and the spring rusted. Then the boost was erratic and it stuck once and overboosted. The chipped ball messed up the seat so I threw the whole thing away.

I also once bought a downpipe elbow for my DSM on there from ssautochrome and it was JUNK. The flanges were wavy and needed to be machined flat if you wanted a leak free seal. I gave it away to a friend who is using it to hold down the lid on his cat's litter box. It does work well for that.

There is budget stuff on ebay that works well though. Just cause it's on ebay and it's not expensive doesn't mean it's made in china knockoff junk.

Examples...
I bought an MBC for my supra on ebay for like $20 that seems like it's excellent quality. It's machined anodized aluminum with a borosilicate ball (looks like some sort of glass) and SS spring. Looks like excellent quality, but I won't know how it works till the car's done. The company name on it is circuit se7en, they call it their "boost block". Looks like a small start-up company. They have some cool options on it though, like the option to use quick disconnects or poly tubing push connectors instead of hose barbs. I got mine with plain hose barbs, which are a bit on the short side, they don't give the hose alot to grip onto, but I think they'll work ok.

I also bought an intercooler and DIY intercooler pipe kit on there that was nice quality, fully welded core. It was made in china stuff, but the only problem I had was the threads in the IC mounting holes were messed up. It wasn't a knockoff style IC either (usually patterned after the greddy style IC), it was a unique and well though out design. The intercooler brand was "JDM sport", and the pipe kit was CX racing.

I'd even take a chance on an off brand turbo on a budget build... but I'd definitely disassemble it, clean it and check the balance on it before I'd use it.
 

moonburn

New Member
Dec 26, 2010
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gottadiesel;1665251 said:
HHmm Did not know Ebay manufactured parts... For some reason I thought they were just an avenue for people to list items that they had for sale, in either an auction format or a simple for sale format... Weird and all this time they were also a manufacture of cheap sh*t that they get unwary purchasers to buy so they can rip them off... :rolleyes::: facepalm ::

:withstupi Your sarcasm is both witty and original. Please continue to contribute in this helpful and enlightening manner.

Just face it man, some people are not willing to spend $$$ on parts that can be acquired more cheaply even if it means sacrificing performance.
 

arizzle

Lov'in the boost.
Nov 1, 2006
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burnaby, BC
ebay might be some options if you dont want to get custom parts done. like manifolds, intercooler , downpipes , but as for like mbc and other moving parts i wouldnt. i would just go oem
 

gottadiesel

Flyin Low
Feb 16, 2009
459
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Vancouver, Washington
arizzle;1665971 said:
ebay might be some options if you dont want to get custom parts done. like manifolds, intercooler , downpipes , but as for like mbc and other moving parts i wouldnt. i would just go oem

FYI - Seller's also list OEM parts on Ebay... Denso, Bosch, Toyota, AEM, HKS, Greddy, Godspeed and on and on...
 

toyotavince

gear slammer
Jan 20, 2011
25
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socal
i used to have a fake greddy type s bov on my turbo t pickup. it was loud for about a month, then it stopped working. i took it apart to see what was wrong with it. when i opened it up the diaphram had a big tear i it. i now have a real greedy type s on there and its been working good for a year now.
 
Oct 11, 2005
3,816
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Thousand Oaks, CA
If you want to see why Chinese goods are stocked in Walmart, you need only look in the mirror. When you chose that $6 laundry basket instead of the $12 one, because they were identical in quality, you made a decision that affected the entire world economy. Walt's kids had nothing to with it. If Walmart had continued to sell more expensive stuff from US manufacturers while just one of their competitors (Target, Kmart, etc) decided to sell identical quality stuff from China at 1/2 price Walmart would be out of business, and I doubt Walt would be happy about that either. Consumer demand and consumer focus on low cost is why we have $27 billion in imports from China by Walmart. Walmart's decision was business driven, and was made for survival of their business in the face of consumers who will always buy the cheaper product when the quality is the same.

Chinese stuff is not crap, unless you think that things like the Iphone, Dell Laptops, Sony PS3s, etc. (all made in China) are crap.

I know a local casting company that gave up competing with China. They were making a complex casting that the Chinese competition was selling for 13 cents more than the cost of the raw materials. The quality was excellent, they could not compete. Turns out the Chinese company was a Ma&Pa outfit that was happy to have zero profit, because the Chinese government was subsidizing their living expenses and it didn't really matter if they made a profit, they just wanted the work.
 

gottadiesel

Flyin Low
Feb 16, 2009
459
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Vancouver, Washington
3p141592654;1666934 said:
If you want to see why Chinese goods are stocked in Walmart, you need only look in the mirror. When you chose that $6 laundry basket instead of the $12 one, because they were identical in quality, you made a decision that affected the entire world economy. Walt's kids had nothing to with it. If Walmart had continued to sell more expensive stuff from US manufacturers while just one of their competitors (Target, Kmart, etc) decided to sell identical quality stuff from China at 1/2 price Walmart would be out of business, and I doubt Walt would be happy about that either. Consumer demand and consumer focus on low cost is why we have $27 billion in imports from China by Walmart. Walmart's decision was business driven, and was made for survival of their business in the face of consumers who will always buy the cheaper product when the quality is the same.

Yes I agree with you, that it is the consumer that drives the market, my only point is that I think Walt would have seen the business go under before he stocked the shelves full of china made items, as his whole focus was American made items. I am in no way blaming Walmart, it is for sure the customers that buy from there that keep them in business. And again I agree, as I was making the same point that there is cheap crap from all over the world and there is quality items from about everywhere... just know what you are buying, if you don't then do your research and weigh out the risk of buying something cheaper...

I am all about full life cycle costs, not just up front cost... so my time is worth something, how many cheap things do I want to install before buying something of quality... and like already pointed out on this thread, what else are you putting at risk by putting something cheap in that might fall apart.

Good and common example is air filters... the cheaply made ones (often found on Ebay) can fall apart and get sucked into the turbo... but also from Ebay I bought an AEM Dryflow, new for $40, cheaper than any other site... So why would I pay more to not buy it on Ebay???
 

IJ.

Grumpy Old Man
Mar 30, 2005
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I come from a land down under
1st Gen Chinese made parts are usually junk for one reason or another be it metalurgy or tolerences...

2nd to 3rd Gen stuff is most times functional and good value as they actually listen and make running changes to correct issues if the designer/customer having the parts produced brings it to their attention.

The argument that "China made" is killing local industry is a fallacy, most Western developed countries have simply priced themselves out of the market as even the guy that sweeps the floor is an overpaid union represented primadonna...

NO ONE wants to do grunt work.

Most "Trade Schools" have closed their doors as there's no one to teach as everyone wants an IT/Clean job.

My biggest concern is in 10>20 years when there is no manufacturing base in the Western world there's nothing to stop China jacking the prices.
 

gottadiesel

Flyin Low
Feb 16, 2009
459
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0
Vancouver, Washington
IJ.;1666980 said:
The argument that "China made" is killing local industry is a fallacy, most Western developed countries have simply priced themselves out of the market as even the guy that sweeps the floor is an overpaid union represented primadonna...

NO ONE wants to do grunt work.

Most "Trade Schools" have closed their doors as there's no one to teach as everyone wants an IT/Clean job.

My biggest concern is in 10>20 years when there is no manufacturing base in the Western world there's nothing to stop China jacking the prices.

Amen to that! There seems to be a high rate of unemployed college educated lazy people... You can spend 4 years in an apprenticeship program in numerous fields and have an income of 50k a year, yet the average 4 year degree gets you started at 30k hhmm, plus you made an income for the four years in one route and paid your way in the other...

You are right, China has simply taken advantage of the position that we have put ourselves in... can't blame them... though even more of a concern is that the US Navy seems to now be focusing on learning all there is to know about the Chinese Navy... hhmm wonder why... China will be a Super power that someday the rest of the world will have to reckon with...

The US would have serious issues if we actually sent all illegals home... who would do all that hard work of harvesting fruit and veggies... sure don't see the young folks that used to have those jobs doing it...

Yeah the unions may once have served a good purpose, but in today's world it has simply done as you have described... how about being paid by your merits, that is what keeps you motivated to do better right? When hiring people in my past management positions, the order of importance to what they brought to the table was - attitude, work ethic, ability to learn our business, then skills...

Sorry OP - I drug this out far enough from topic :), I think you probably received a range of opinions though to help evaluate your future purchasing of parts for your car...
 

Poodles

I play with fire
Jul 22, 2006
16,757
0
0
42
Fort Worth, TX
IJ.;1666980 said:
1st Gen Chinese made parts are usually junk for one reason or another be it metalurgy or tolerences...

2nd to 3rd Gen stuff is most times functional and good value as they actually listen and make running changes to correct issues if the designer/customer having the parts produced brings it to their attention.

The argument that "China made" is killing local industry is a fallacy, most Western developed countries have simply priced themselves out of the market as even the guy that sweeps the floor is an overpaid union represented primadonna...

NO ONE wants to do grunt work.

Most "Trade Schools" have closed their doors as there's no one to teach as everyone wants an IT/Clean job.

My biggest concern is in 10>20 years when there is no manufacturing base in the Western world there's nothing to stop China jacking the prices.

Also keep in mind the Chinese government doesn't have open trading with the rest of the world. They can export all they want, but imports are controlled heavily.
 

destrux

Active Member
May 19, 2010
1,183
10
38
PA
There are like 15 different kinds of ebay bov's.

The greddy style ones are usually the worst, they last a month, if they work in the first place.

I forgot to add something in my first post about them.... mine was full of metal shavings when I got it. I'm sure that's good for the motor.