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[Barry]

I was rudly awaken today....some chap tried to palm a turbo off on me claiming its a Turbonetics unit...
I know these things...I could see there was something up...Its a brilliant copy of Garrett and Turbonetics stuff....

Then I asked to look at the Eagle and Pauter rods he had....These things are CHINESE ripoffs!!!!

Ill take pics tomorrow and post...

Anyone else seen these things??

[Greg Gordon]

Hi Barry,
This doesn't shock me. The Chinese are copying everything we make here. I get e mails everyday from China offering to sell me copies of something or to make copies of things for me. I never do it.

It seems that in China R&D means recieve and duplicate!

[DaveH]

We get emails all the time too. They 'find' www dot mnadesign dot com and zero in on trying to copy what we do: "can you send please technical drawings of product for to see if we would be to purchase?" Although, the language can be more unintelligible than that. Written by the same guy that types the instructions on the back of the chopsticks package.

Thing is though, the Chinese are doing more than just copying. When it comes to tool, die and mold making, they're very good. They are graduating armies of toolmakers and engineers every year. I read not so long ago that there are almost 20,000 tool & die shops in the entire country. That's frightening. Oh - they do some good work too.

20 years ago Taiwan was a by-word for cheap, poor quality Western knock-offs. Now its where your Trek carbon fiber bicycle frame is made.

[Mezevenf]

The Chinese are starting to copy hi-end audio equipment too, and doing it rather well...

If they can copy a ribbon tweeter and sell them for 1/4 of the price, I forsee them managing to copy car parts just as well.

Who wants to take the plunge and try the chinese stuff?

PS: I know there is still a lot of shit out there, I'm just saying that they could be pumping out good quality goods sooner rather than later.

[Barry]

B,Some of thetop dog guys here are running with the Chinese rods in thiere motors...500hp Mazda 16 2.0l turbo`s...Opel turbo`s..Golf Turbos...
Ill take a pic of a failed rod bolt today...you look at the strenght of this rod...
Its amazing..
Im fitting a set to a 2.0l 16v Lancia Intergrale motor a.t.m.Did not know they were ripoffs when I bought them last week,thats how good they look...

[Mats]

They are sold here too, the rods, usually they hold up very well but I have heard a lot of stories about the tolerances for big end bearings being "loose"... So sure, the metal holds up but the measurements can be very bad so check roundness, straightness (of the hole) and if the holes are parallell before you mount them.

[Barry]

Sorry,no pics taday..never got round to them..

[zambon]

You guys might laugh at me for asking, but when I was in auto zone today, I was looking at an air filter that looked very nice. It was the cotton gauze type, and it had an open tip, unlike the k&n filters.

I would like to know if this can possibly be a quality product. It has a horrible name that I am embarrassed to report: Power Adder.
The price is also too good to be true: $8, if memory serves.

So what is wrong with this picture?

[Greg Gordon]

Eight bucks! That's cheap. These bottom of the line filters are not as bad as thier price would have you think. They will not flow as well as the more expensive filters, but they are not horrible. I buy them off evil bay every now and then just to check up on them.

The filter I use in my kits is a lot better, but it's $75! Perhaps to show a good comparison I should take one from my scratch and dent section, cut it in half along with a cheaper one to show the difference.

[SydneyJules]

Guys out here are using this cheap Chinese stuff for "performance" work.

Ive heard of one WRX and an S15 Silvia going bang with Chinese rods.

My BMW mates tested a $500 I/C with generic end tanks on an E30 2.8 turbo of theirs, and it split running 12psi... inlet temps where 30o C higher until that point, and they couldnt load it up without it pinging. And yes, the RWHP was nothing on the original I/C. They said the pressure drop across the core was huge, too.

The owner, who has the bucks, brought it along to have a look, and they all thought, "why not?", and did it for comparison.

On went the original, custom $1500 I/C, again, and the owner was thankful for having spent the $$ in the first place.

[matt]

Hong Kong Balconies are cheap and nasty too ..8 or 9th floor!