Jay, here's some info/opinion to chew on:Most peple know that there altrenative part suppliers for their quattros, and some recodnise that car munufacturs use external companies for their components and that thease are also available from alternative places such as German and Swedish. But how do we know what parts are the ones also used by Audi? Can you rely on the guy behind the counter who says that there are? German & Swedish say that they supply parts that Audi use can we rely on that statement or are they cheap knock-offs ?
Boge oil shocks are standard on almost ALL Audi's and VW's. Boge and Sachs are now the same company, so ANY Boge or Sachs shock will be IDENTICAL to your stock shock/strut cart., and any other (gas) Boge or Sachs strut or shock will be BETTER than OE. Avoid all american brands of shocks & struts like the plague, including KYB. Koni and Bilstein race shocks/struts are a whole different ball game-- impeccable quality, but vastly altered ride character. Same goes for Tokiko. I've no experience with Spax shocks & struts. Sachs clutches and release bearings are stock and should never be substituted except for race purposes-- always get the whole 'kit'.
Almost every electrical/fuel/ignition part on your car is manufactured by either Hella, Bosch, SWF, or a couple of other obscure German firms. There are acutally some Italian parts in Audis like Fiamm horns. I've had no trouble with any of these brands. ALWAYS insist on Bosch alternators and starters, fuel, and ignition system parts, (with the exception of the Hitachi made ignition coil on some turbos). Chew on this: I have NEVER had trouble with a Bosch remanufactured alternator or starter, or Bosch fuel system or ignition part. I have had trouble with MOST off brand reman starters (very early demise.) Half of the dead fuel pumps I come across are non-Bosch. I've seen car's w/ NEW cap's, rotors, wires and plugs that STILL run like shit-- I've put in genuing Bosch igntion system parts and presto-- no problem. Avoid black plastic bosch distributor caps-- they are "universal" and won't work well. (Black rubber coated ground shields are okay, just avoid the black bakelite caps... really only an issue w/ 4 cylinder cars.) Always match the Bosch numbers on your replacement caps and rotors.
ATE and Girling (Swedish) brake parts are OE, and FINE quality. (I've also seen Lucas calipers on VW Golf/Jetta III's-- avoid them if possible, since the pistons don't retract enough to allow installation of standard pads.) Accept ATE, Girling, or Brembo (Italian) rotors, but no others. (For a few dollars savings, Canadian rotors are not worth it.) I wouldn't trust any eastern European made rotor to be properly balanced. (I've actually seen Ukranian rotors!) Avoid un-branded brake rotors and drums like the plague. I've had good luck with new LPR (Italian) wheel cylinders, but try to stick with ATE or Girling, and definately avoid any remanufactured brake parts not remanufactured by ATE or Girling. Some brands rebox Girling and ATE parts (EIS)-- look inside!
You can do better than OE brake pads & shoes (manufacturer=?, but who needs the dust!?)-- I've had good luck with Autospecialty "Superlux" and Jurid pads, and very bad luck with most American, Australian, Canadian brands. You UK Audi fanatics can probably get good deals on Ferodo and Mintex pads-- the best??? (Metallic performance, LESS rotor wear than organic, no noise.) Much room for debate here.
I have come across inferior quality Italian made door handles (anyone ever had an Alfa GTV6???) but at 1/4 the price of a handle from the dealer, I'm not complaining. Hella handles are OE. Since the OE design of 4000/5000/VW door handles is so stupid (pot metal cast lever,) I cut the off brands some slack here-- definately worth saving money on an Italian handle.
Most american brands of front end/steering linkage parts just rebox German parts-- look inside. I've had no trouble with any German or Italian tie rods/ends.
Gemo cables are OE. Insist on German Cables.
Lemforder and Conti-Tech belts are OE quality-- at least as good as the "Autobahn" brand belts from the dealer.
Behr thermostats are OE, but now most new ones are Behr-Thompson, and are actually made in CHINA. Yes, OE from China. Don't be afraid of them-- I've had very good luck. I've actually bought a couple of bona-fide OE radiator fans made in China and had no trouble with them either. Look for the Audi part number right on the part.
FAG bearings are OE and debatably the best. SKF bearings are world class. IRB bearings (Spain) are acceptable quality, but won't last nearly as long. Chinese bearings are to be avoided like the plague.
I've actually bought VERY good quality 2 hole exhaust hangars made in China. Rubber doo-dads like this are a mixed bag. Stick with the green colored injector seals if you can get them (actually made by Bosch, and supplied with new injectors.)
Hell, I could ramble for days on this subject. If there is an Audi/VW part number actually on the part in question, trust it. If not, try to stick with German parts, but don't write off Italian, Brazilian and Spanish parts. Avoid Chinese and Eastern European parts that require fine machine work to manufacture, but don't write off such parts where "what you see is what you get."
Someday, I'll put together a list of OE manufacturers... way to busy now.
Eric.
Wouldn't it be a good ideas if there was a data base where listers can find out where they can get identical quality parts as Audis for a lot less price. I deos n't need to be every part ever manufactured but just limited to parts that need replacing the most often & parts that usally go wrong with most quattros.
This would help most listers in the UK keep there cars on the road longer.
Enough said,
Regards jay