Original vs. Reproduction Parts

[jaudette3]

It might be interesting to get an idea of how this group places their priorities on original vs. reproduction parts. My bias is pretty obvious, having restored original parts, either for myself or others, for about 20 years. I've told you the story before (I often repeat stories now as I enjoy my advanced age) of the 1960 356B S90 Roadster that I restored with the maniacal guideline of using no reproduction parts, except for replacement parts, including fasteners (!). That's probably a bit of madness, but I pretty much accomplished it, although it took eight years. That was a while back though, early oughts, and it was a lot easier then.

I've eased up quite a bit and now sell many good quality reproduction parts at the AC Shop. I guess I've become more practical but well made reproductions can be a life saver at times.

How do you feel about original vs. good quality reproduction parts? Click on the poll and let us know.

I also posted this at the Early 911S Registry. I will be interesting to see how the results compare between the two cohorts.

Thanks,
John

[Cloggie]

There are some real improvements to original Porsche engineering, such as the Elephant Racing stuff as well as the Griffith's AC stuff (Wirblesturm fan is amazing), but failing that, I tend to try to buy the factory original as they fit better, are made of the right material and Porsche stands behind them.

Some stuff is just stupidly priced, such as the little plastic washers under the window trim are like $4 each and you need 14....so I just made them.

But, given everything...I prefer Porsche original.

D.

[tsuter]

I go with the best performing part for the price.....unless there is a readily visible difference in appearance that makes the part look cheap non factory.
Example: windshield wipers.... Rain-X performs better at 1/3rd the cost.....

[FA-18C]

In the middle on this. Porsche doesn't make all of their own parts, so often where I can cypher out their source (like Prekom for suspension items), and the quality appears 1 for 1, and there is a price advantage, why not? OEM suppliers make some great parts, and even the dealership items have some fitment issues as their suppliers have changed over 35 years. I do use the dealership for original parts more than I thought, and always include them in my price comparisons - surprising how on some hardware they are competitive.

[jaudette3]

I'm with you Chris. We choose some products as "Best-in-Class". That's primarily based on quality and performance, without paying much attention to price. However, there are times when a product may not match the BiC product but is still solid but at a much low lower price. We're using Platinum and Gold to designate those levels.

We have published a short AC White Paper describing how we measure value.

Cheers,
John

[famoroso]

Originally Posted by tsuter

I go with the best performing part for the price.....unless there is a readily visible difference in appearance that makes the part look cheap non factory.
Example: windshield wipers.... Rain-X performs better at 1/3rd the cost.....

Part numbers?

[fanaudical]

I just have one mid-year Targa to maintain. I use whatever is best quality vs price and am not afraid of aftermarket or OEM supplier parts.

[rokemester]

If I have a choice between using a cleaned up original part vs. a brand new part I definitely lean back to original.