Drawback to cheap parts?

suprabad

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Jul 12, 2005
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mkiiSupraMan18 said:
This is just something I have been using to MY advantage....... going to Advance/Autozone isn't too bad of an idea.... hell, everything you get has a lifetime warranty.....

Sure they aren't the best... Calipers... Rotors, ..... clutches...... brake pads..... ........

Like I said, the quality isn't going to be as good...

I know it isn't the same.....

Look at your own words (I cut out all the rationalizing). You're buying low, low quality parts.

There is a reason these parts have a lifetime warranty...it's cause they're poorly made with the cheapest shit materials available. Don't you wonder why they're parts last about about a tenth as long as OEM?

Also, what about the performance of these parts? Common sense tells you it's not gonna be good.

C'mon Supraman what is the point of having a high performance car and then loading it down with substandard low performance parts? It totally undermines the original quality of the car and in some cases is downright dangerous.

I don't want to have to count on a $20.00 set of brake pads to hall my ass to a stop from 150+ miles per hour! Do You?

No disrespect intended, just trying to get you thinking. You'll live longer.
 

mkiiSupraMan18

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Apr 1, 2005
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lol.... I can't think of anytime my Supra will EVER be going 150 mph, I'm just saying that for people such as myself who don't have this luxury of going to Toyota to buy everything and then having them put it on for.... I dunno, some ridiculous amount of money, when I could just go to advance and get the same thing for less than half of what toyota would charge, take it home, and to me, it'll do the exact same thing as OEM. I'll agree the quality isn't going to be nearly as good, but if you drive sensible anyway you don't need a set of brake pads to stop you from 150 mph, same with the clutches, as long as you're not riding the clutch pedal and are a halfway good driver the clutches work fine. Sure if you're planning on racing it all the time these clutches would be a waste of money, but I just figure for someone who is gonna drive their car rather than race it, I don't see a thing wrong with Autozone specials.

Basically, I guess it just depends on how you plan on driving it. I mean honestly, just farting around town like I plan on, getting a (and I don't know any #'s on this) $400 clutch set is just stupid, esp when I can get one for less than $200 just to drive around. That's $200 I could use to pay insurance, the cable bill, couple gallons of gas OR use it to upgrade to a clutch that's not gonna help me out and, like stated before, is gonna make me have to go to either Advance or Toyota to get a slave/Master cyl so I can get the clutch to engage...... Thats another $100 or so from advance, god knows how much from Toyota (I'd say $250-300, but like before, I don't have any numbers)

This would make a good OT thread, instead of wasting time/space in this poor guys thread..... look for it in OT
 

suprabad

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mkiiSupraMan18 said:
...going to ...Toyota to buy everything... for.... some ridiculous amount of money, when I could just go to advance and get the same thing for less than half...

I'll agree the quality isn't going to be nearly as good,

This would make a good OT thread, instead of wasting time/space in this poor guys thread..... look for it in OT


I know it's tempting and I have done the autozone thing too but on stuff like brakes, clutches, rotors, master cyl's etc, I always end up doing the labor again to replace the auto zone part way earlier then I should because they wear out so quickly.

Brakes aren't inconsequential items. You may not be going 150mph but you have to depend on them under all kind of circumstances as does everyone who rides with you, and autozone brakes and rotors are the worst I've ever seen...shit! Mega brake dust. They squeek! The rotors warp the first time you get them the least bit warm and the performance level is terrble compared to oem or good aftermarket stuff, truly horrible poor quality crap.

This would make a good thread. I'm sure alot of people agree with you. I have no doubts that my opinion on this represents the minority.
 

shaeff

Kurt is FTMFW x2!!!!
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Mar 30, 2005
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swaq said:
Maybe I should have created a new topic since I just got more replies to my original question and not my new one. Thanks, but I need to know what fan clutches will work with a non-turbo Supra, particularly if the Tundra V6/V8 fan clutch will work. Thanks.

hey man, i believe Jeff Watson @ champion toyota would know this. (i'm pretty sure they're the same, but i'm not positive, so dont take my word on that)

call Jeff @ 1-800-327-2087. ask for Jeff Watson. he'll hook you up:)

-shaeff
 

tubbie

Yes, powerful Jedi....
Apr 4, 2005
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Have you guys ever seen all the parts that advance and autozone sells that are remanufactured from denso, aisin, etc... All these are the original manufacturers for Toyota. Even buying parts from Toyota, half the time you get reman parts anyway, cause no one makes new parts for certain items anymore. SO why pay $250 for a caliper when you can pay $150 for the same caliper from advance?

Saying "I buy toyota parts because they are more reliable and you never know when you will need it." is just bogus thinking. You can say " why buy a toyota brake caliper when you can go buy a brembo big brake caliper for 3 times as muich, you never know when you will need it....." Isn't that the same thing?

Just food for thought..... :bigthumb:
 
L

lanky189

Guest
suprabad said:
At AutoZone it's all made in China.


This is simply not true... gather your facts truthfully if you wish to debate a topic like this.

During my time of employment at autozone I too had problems with the quality of the brake pads, (made in mexico btw) the rotors weren't always of the greatest quality either. Its simply a manner of the manufacterer they deal with being lower in price and higher in volume.

The brakes offered at Advance (and Autozone) are tiered in pricing and performance. If you buy the cheap 18 dollar pads..expect them to be shit. Go for the Bendix pads (40 bucks) and expect higher quality. The morse ceramics are wonderful and most of my friends use and love them...

As i said in the thread in off topic. I see first hand the quality of the parts I sell everyday, and certain products that i need for my supra will only come from toyota, others I trust off the shelve of my store.
 

gixxer750

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Mar 30, 2005
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good job lanky. I am running the morse ceramic pads on my supra, and they work great. Bendix is the OEM manufacture for a lot of carmakers, so the stuff has to be good. We have almost 0 returns on bendix stuff. I am also running a clutch disk from advance. (BTW, look up clutches for your supra, they now have "staged" racing clutches...haha).

Whats funny is, the slave cylinder I ordered for my car during my rebuilt from advance was painted light blue....and had AISAN written on it. Whats even funnier is that this was a NEW slave cylinder not a reman....

Want me to let you guys in on a secret? That secret is Beck/Arnley. Advance carries that brand for almost all import cars. It costs more than the regular "House Brand" parts, but less than dealer parts. The secret is that this company manufactures nothing. They buy parts from the companies that manufacture the parts for the OEM companies, and then resale them to parts stores under thier name. It is THE SAME as buying a part from the dealer? Don't belive me? Go order something from toyota.

Go order the same part from advance, tell them you want the beck arnley brand. Get the part when it comes in the NEXT DAY from advance and compare it with the higher priced one from toyota. Let me know how that turns out. You can always return it to advance and get a refund.

Some of you people are quite hard headed it seems. You want everything from toyota. Are the NGK or DENSO spark plugs from a parts store any different from the ones you would pay three times as much for from toyota? NO. As a matter of fact, the toyota dealer(if they do not have them in stock) probably calls up the commerical number to thier parts store of choice, and has them deliver the spark plugs to the dealership.

Yes, I do work for advance auto parts, as does lanky. We are both managers there. I also have worked at autozone, so I know how thier stuff is too. (autozone does not offer beck/arnley branded items though). You would not belive some of the stuff that goes on with dealers. I recently had the local ford dealership call in and wanted a radiator hose for something. Well, then a guy calls in and wants the same hose. An hour later one of my friends(that owns a shop) calls in for the same hose. Turns out the guy at the ford dealership was going to charge this guy $84.99 for the hose, and $150 for the install on it. Total price of the hose? $15.98 So basically the ford dealership was going to mark it up $69.01 and then charge $150 for a half hour of labor on it. So the guy would have paid $234.99 for a "Geniune Ford" part and the install on it, when he could have paid $26 for the hose and gallon of antifreeze and installed it himself.

You don't think a toyota dealer has ever been guilty of that? If so, you are sadly sadly mistaken. The toyota dealership in my town has a commercial charge account with us......
 

gixxer750

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Mar 30, 2005
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so.... here's some good advice. Buy the top grade stuff from the parts store when you can. For other items, like head gaskets, head bolts, shifter bushings...speed cables...etc, that you can't find at the parts store, get them from toyota.

I bought all my belts and hoses from advance. Dayco makes good stuff. But I guess toyota rubber is better than aftermarket?


OK, I'm done now.
 

suprabad

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SUPRABAD said:
At AutoZone it's all made in China



LANKY189 said:
This is simply not true... gather your facts truthfully if you wish to debate a topic like this

... problems with the quality of the brake pads, (made in mexico btw)
the rotors weren't the greatest quality either

... manufacterer they deal with being lower in price and higher in volume.

...If you buy the cheap 18 dollar pads..expect them to be shit.

...certain products that i need for my supra will only come from toyota

You might want to read what you wrote ( I cut out all the bullshit and left the heart of it for you) before you say I "haven't gathered all my facts".

I can tell you what I have gathered, enough crappy f'd up low quality parts from autozone via China to convince me not to buy your crap.

As far as the high quality parts you claim to sell, yeah, I'm aware of them. Unfortunately from what I can tell they only appear on your computer screen and every time I've asked about them they are not in stock.

Also, because of your "lifetime warranty" (which is a joke because autozone knows that despite this policy a very very low percentage of the product will be returned regardless of how shitty it performs) people mistakenly think that your garbage is of at least decent quality (refer to your thread) and by your own statements it's crap!

Do your home work or get slicker before you try to bullshit me. I aint buying!
 
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Fuzz420

Are U Here 2 take My Baby
I coundnt help read this thread. For the thread starter its up to you on where u buy the fans.I say if autozone or ne of the local parts stores have it, and if its cheaper thats where im going.Ive spent money with toyota and autozone.I just recently put in a new low milage jdm so alot of the parts where dealer only. Originally when i bought the car last year i put in autozone master cylinder,clutch slave and life time warranty brake pads(front and rear).The price for the pads where 44 dollars a set for fronts and like 38 for rears.A year goes buy no master cylinder and slave problems(also life time warranties). I will admit i didnt buy the "bottom" of the line but i didnt buy expensive "stealer" price.

Ive had no problems with the parts and im really impressed with the pads that i bought.Ive put lots of miles on the car cause i do alot of highway drving and Im just now needing to replace the pads again.Yes the pads are dusty but i dont care im on sawblades and it just gives me something to do when im bored.For the record i have made almost complete stops from 85-90mph on the highway, and damnit they work.

btw: all the parts i have bought from autozone say mexico.
 

gixxer750

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You bought performance friction pads from autozone. They stop well, but make a good bit of dust. Still good pads that last a while. I prefer my morse ceramics better(but thats me). You do not have a lifetime warranty on your clutch master and slave cylinder. I can promise you that it is only one year. Nobody offers a lifetime warranty on those parts.

Suprabad

You say the parts are not in stock? If you go to toyota and say you need a clutch slave cylinder for your supra....they are going to have it? Hell no they aren't. The only have basic items in stock usually. Advance can get that stuff NEXT DAY. You can't wait one day? come on. Bullshit. Unless you are at toyota's door when they open before they make thier order, you are not getting them next day.

You might want to get your facts straight.
 

drunk_medic

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Apr 1, 2005
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Some parts are not HORRIBLY priced from the dealer. Labor is what will kill you. I paid about $450 for a TRD sport clutch, and paid more in labor for install. Man, I wish I knew back then how to work on my car like I do now.
 

JonoTurbo

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Mar 30, 2005
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I have a fan clutch from autozone on my car. Quality looks good and works just fine. I've had it for a few months now. It may actually work too well, because it seems to put the fan on full alot more than i'm used to. However, it's more likely that the thicker radiator I put in there caused that since the clutch is much closer to the heat now.

As for buying parts for our cars from parts chains, I am very much for it, I have never had a problem with any part I've bought for my car from autozone or advance auto. I've bought alot of stuff from them too, down to even a steering rack. The sad thing is the lack of demand for our parts is causing them to cease their manufacture of them. I can no longer buy several parts that I was able to buy just two years ago for supras. I only hope that we aren't soon stuck with toyota as our only stock part vendor, because it's only a matter of time before they begin running out of things as well.
 

Fuzz420

Are U Here 2 take My Baby
gixxer750 said:
You bought performance friction pads from autozone. They stop well, but make a good bit of dust. Still good pads that last a while. I prefer my morse ceramics better(but thats me). You do not have a lifetime warranty on your clutch master and slave cylinder. I can promise you that it is only one year. Nobody offers a lifetime warranty on those parts.


Yes you are correct, its my mistake its only a 1 year on the m/s and slave.
 

bryanintexas

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Apr 4, 2005
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you can remove your stock fan clutch, separate it, and buy 2 bottles of coupling silicone from the dealer, fill it back up, and ta-da...you`re set for no more than about $20. toyota part# 08816-03001.
 

swaq

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bryanintexas said:
you can remove your stock fan clutch, separate it, and buy 2 bottles of coupling silicone from the dealer, fill it back up, and ta-da...you`re set for no more than about $20. toyota part# 08816-03001.

Um, how would that help? Currently the fan clutch is stuck in the always on state, not off. So the fan just gets really loud and is putting undue stress on the fan belts, etc.

I have ordered a fan clutch off eBay [edit] (for about $20 including s/h) [/edit] from a Supra Turbo, hopefully it will fit in the NA.