BBK - How good are those Alternative Branded vs Fakes ?

SDF

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Hi all,

i noticed recently there are alot of fake Brembo, AP Racing "made in taiwan" or "china" being sold as new or some disguise as reconditioned for RM 2,500 to 2,900
Or... are OEM branded kits, like Nashin, FORCE, GAB, VTTR, D2 Sport, WORKS, ZeroOne, and etc ?

Anyone got experiences to share ?

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lsm1991

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there are pictures that have circulated showing what can happen. why one would risk these brakes i have no idea...

as far as i know, the replicas are outright replicas not oem branded. I mean its clear, the design replicates the originals almost exactly... whats questionable is the materials/processes use to make em.... look at replica rims, after ths many years the replicas while imo are decent enough, are still not as strong and light as the originals. if it was that easy to make a 1-1 copy with the same strength/weight, rims would already be there

side note, my friends who do trash their cars have recomended retrofitting oem brakes if ur on a budget (oem as in halfcuts from lexus/aristo/bb1) rather than risking these. i do know that some guys who own showcars do use these replicas with no issues but they have admitted that their cars are basically never pushed, its there mostly for the bling.
 

ixeo

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Half cut over fakes or even OEM from small or unknown brands.

Simple fact, car companies cannot afford to have brakes failing on their cars due to recalls, and hefty fines, so they will ensure QC is done thoroughly. If you want to upgrade brakes, just get a set from a bigger sibling from your manufacturer, like R8 brakes for Audi.
 

Tom

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I think everybody's experience and application differ so it'll be difficult to get a consistent answer. For example if he or she has one of these fake brembos but doesn't drive hard or use the brakes enough to surpass the limits of what would seem to be a weaker product, it'll never break. On the other hand if he or she tend to brake wrongly, riding the brakes for extended periods, on the road, down the hill or the track, even the best brakes will fade and if they are on sub-par product it's easier to fail.

I have the K-Sport mini 8-Pot BBK for some years now, they've been good, problem free so far. But never been tracked before so I can't say how great they are.

one would be better off with the reconditioned real BBK or Taiwanese big brand BBK than any dodgy below market price items

There are local shops that provide retrofitting services for the reconditioned BBKs that they sell. Basically used units from the AMG, Porsche etc that are refurbished and then matched with generic, probably taiwanese big floating disc even 400mm ones. Even carbon ceramic brake discs and matching pads are available if you wish
 
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SDF

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well i personally find it amusing lately there's alot of fake BBK, which from far...does look really good and for a steal of RM 2,500 to 2,900... disguised as "reconditioned" ... i only worry for fellow members who do use them in terms of safety.

Brakes are the most critical in our daily rides, given more dangerous is our weather where occasional rain or light flooding might actually warp the disc rotor and or make the brake pads inefficient...hence you loose braking power immediately and endangering yourself and others.

Although on the other side of the fence would be the guys who make these pass off Brembo or AP's.. would say, we use the same factory that makes the Aftermarket brands of "D2 racing" or "Stop Tech" or "Works" and etc... who knows man !

Just wanted to hear fellow members personal experience here... no right or wrong
 

Tom

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though on the other side of the fence would be the guys who make these pass off Brembo or AP's.. would say, we use the same factory that makes the Aftermarket brands of "D2 racing" or "Stop Tech" or "Works" and etc... who knows man !
True and if you think about it, they are basically assembled from cut or casted metal parts and seals so it's easy for unknowing buyers to think they are same thing just without the brand

Anyone looking at replacing their brakes really should do more research before attempting, although it's not common to have aftermarket calipers failing, without research, one might end up with a bad product, installed by a worse technician in an exhaust shop.

These are still the safest aftermarket bbk to date:

94198210.0029C85.jpg
 
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SDF

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:driver::rofl: ..cost effective BBK cover.. RM 8 per pc can get liao
 

Izso

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Although on the other side of the fence would be the guys who make these pass off Brembo or AP's.. would say, we use the same factory that makes the Aftermarket brands of "D2 racing" or "Stop Tech" or "Works" and etc... who knows man !
A lot of brands are manufactured in China these days due to costing. Even all the big brands are there but it doesn't mean all are equal. Sure the factory makes for all the big brands but it doesn't mean their brand is the same as the big brands. The main difference is in the QC. But these days even the QC is being done on the China side but these big brands train their Chinese counterparts to do the QC so I'd say it's better than the brand that supposedly is made from the same factory.

And like Tom said the biggest thing is whether you are capable of fully utilizing the item to its absolute max enough to break it.

SSCUS is a Malaysian brand but their seats are pretty decent. Seng Soon Cushions is their full name. Are they worse than the equivalent Recaro or Bride? Not really but the minor details like material quality or ergonomics research etc that makes the difference in cost.

BCRacing suspension is huge in the scene now. Originated from Taiwan and full name is Bor Chuan Racing - they make pretty decent suspension kits too. Are they worse than the equivalent KW or Ohlins? Hard to say. But if you're going hardcore I doubt you'd look at BC anymore because the features they offer wouldn't be enough to quench your requirements.

What I'm saying is in the end you get what you pay for. Stick to brands that have a presence so you can refer back to them when there is a problem and avoid those imitations that claim to be Brembos or something but seem too good to be true.
 

SDF

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good point Izso.. so yea.. am still wondering if anyone's seen or tested how the Fake Brembo's or AP's work
 

vr2turbo

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Made in China again depends whether they were made for by a China factory or by their own factory in China. I have used a set of Goodyear first Asymmetric which was from Goodyear own factory in China. Initially I was also not sure how good this tyres will be, but after testing, they were even better than my previous F1 directional from Germany. This is probably they have their own QC......
 

Izso

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good point Izso.. so yea.. am still wondering if anyone's seen or tested how the Fake Brembo's or AP's work
Like I said bro, you're better off going for "named" calipers like Nashin, Ktuned, etc than fake self-proclaimed Brembos. Heck if you can get ori halfcut it's also better. At least with the name there you can go back to them if anything happens.
 
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Mitevo7

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Don't mess with brakes, tyres and suspensions with fake brands. If you need a quality BBK, there're so many original BBK at the junkyard for you to pick, just that you need to custom make the bracket the mount it to you car knuckle. Myself already sourced 2 BBKs from the scarp yard, one set is Silvia S15 Sumitomo 4 Pot customed in my Lancer, the other one is BMW E46 M3 caliper in my E46ci. There are not too expensive but the safety and quality it offers, gives you peace of mind.
 

TitanRev

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good point Izso.. so yea.. am still wondering if anyone's seen or tested how the Fake Brembo's or AP's work
If you put side by side with an original one it's easy to tell when you open up the guts usually the piston area and the oil seal area. The finishing works, stamping and marking you can find them all on the original to be very details and clear, wall finishing and oil seal finishing on genuine brembo are very smooth while replica one are rough and have sharp edges on the oil seal area.

Replicas they usually spend most of the attention to where our naked eyes can see, and the unseen they don't pay much QC or attention to it. It's the same with replica wheels. Copy the rim face like original but turn the wheel back and see, you will find all the worms.

There's a demand for these fake Brembo and this drive the supplies up. Most of these users are just looking to have the look of a BBK and not actually utilising it to it fullest or fit them because the car "needs it" is more of a "I want it, so my car can look good"
 

DNGFashion

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when one uses BBK, the choices of brake pad are generally limited. Is that true?
a more famous BBK brand will guarantee better brake pad availability and choices?
 

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