[Porsche-O-Phile]

Assume everything is made in China now. Very likely it is, probably under sweatshop / slave labor conditions. That's what people want and that's the cost of getting things cheaply.

That said, do you understand the difference between "OEM", "OE" and "aftermarket"? If you don't, do some research. I believe Wayne D. (Pelican's owner / CEO) posted an excellent summary of this on here a while back - it's probably floating around in the archives somewhere if you'd like to search for it (or maybe someone can link to it...). My not-so-expert summary of his write-up is:

"OEM" - Original Equipment Manufacturer - a parts manufacturer who builds one or more parts used as "original equipment" for a particular vehicle manufacturer. In other words they meet the car manufacturer's spec for one or more parts on that car. Whether or not the particular part you're considering
(brake pads and rotors in this case) is one of those the OEM company actually is producing as "original equipment" for that car (good enough to be called "genuine Porsche parts" and be sold through the automaker's distribution network and packaged in their boxes) is typically an unknown without doing some more investigating (also keep in mind an automaker might use more than one company as "OE" suppliers for particular parts - if you can find this out it'll give you options and choices). Let's say you find an "OEM" brake rotor. Does that mean the rotor meets the car manufacturer's spec for brake rotors as original equipment? Well, maybe. If the "OEM" company really only makes the batteries or door handles as "original equipment" per the car manufacturer's specs and everything else is built to... ? Whatever other spec they feel like using then no. If they happen to be an "OE" supplier of brake rotors and just turn them out em masse all meeting or exceeding the automaker's spec - some ending up in "Mazda" boxes and some ending up in their own boxes then yes - and you can take advantage of that.

In this sense, I find "OEM" to be a potentially easily-misrepresented designation and you should do a little more digging or buy OE only (see below) to avoid getting something unexpected. Remember this: "OEM" does NOT mean a particular part meets the automaker's spec for that particular part!

"OE" - "Original Equipment" - parts that are provided by the car manufacturer built to their specs. These are the expensive ones mentioned above that you get at the dealership that say "Porsche" or "Mercedes" or "Mazda" or whatever on the box. If you buy them online from a non-manufacturer distributor it's possible they're counterfeit or are really aftermarket parts some unscrupulous scheister stuck into an "OE" box so be careful. There are lots of phony parts floating around out there.

"Aftermarket" - parts intended to work on a particular car built by someone, somewhere, to some spec, maybe, on a good day. They might fit, they might not. They might be fabulous and far exceed the car manufacturer's original sljrequirements and they might disintegrate after three miles of use. You just don't know. They also might invalidate your warranty so check first and do your homework. Some aftermarket products are great, some are total junk. Caveat emptor.

Bottom line is if you want a "sure thing", go to the dealer and pay the "rape me" price for OE. If you don't want to do that, do some more homework and see who actually makes THOSE parts as Original Equipment and then try to find an "OEM" version made by that company for that car (should in theory be identical to what's in the box from the dealership just it will say "Bosch" (or whoever) on it instead rather than "Porsche". Or you can opt to go aftermarket and find something that will work for your application with good reviews, testimonials, believable write-ups, with a good warranty by a reasonably reputable company.

So do more homework basically. Or pay big bucks at the dealer. Or expect to get crap. Up to you.