impaled

which brand has a better reputation?

from summit, i have in my cart, prothane a arm bushings, (all the following is moog) center link, inner tie rods, outer tierods, ball joints, and an idler arm for $445 plus the $11 shipping charge.

from advanced, i can get all trw for $278 plus the $31 a arm bushings from summit with a total of $309 plus $11 to ship the a arm bushings...

i am more concerned about quality than the $136 difference, b ut i wouldnt mind saving the money if the quality was the same or similar.

which option should i take???

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Couldn't say about "reputation". I don't put much stock in that anyway. That's just monkey-spank.

I pay attention, mostly, to THE PARTS themselves.

Considering that both of those brand names are the property of Federal-Mogul, and the parts that come out of the box could be made either by them or by a number of other manufacturers (Dana, for example), I wouldn't say there's much difference.

Last time I needed a center link, I went to AutoZone, and they pulled a whatever brand one off the shelf; I opened the box, it was a Dana. Had the Dana logo forged right into it.

I went to Advance, and looked at a TRW one. Absolutely identical in every way, right down to the Dana logo.

Then I went down the road to NAPA. They have 2 product lines; their "budget" one, with like a 90-day warranty or some such, and their "premium" one, wiht a LLT. Near a doubling in the price. I had them pull both of them off the shefl, and I looked in both boxes. Guess what I saw.... yup, you called it, both were THE IDENTICAL SAME Dana part as both of the "discount" stores.

For the sway bar and CA bushings, I'd go with the Prothane. For BJs, tie rod ends, and such as that, either brand will be fine.

xplane

from what i have found is the difference is in the bushing material. cheapies use plastic and moog/napa premium/etc use metal.

that said i bought the cheapest crap ones from oreilly auto and they are still as stiff as when i bought them 10,000 miles ago, they have seen 2 winters and LOTS of farm roads so i dont think it makes much diffrence unless you race your car. the better ones may last more miles but if your on a budget the cheap ones will do fine.

855speed

I rebuilt mine using TRW. Reason? If I need a warranty replacement I can tool over to Advance and throw it across the counter and get another one.With Summit you either mail it or drive 50+ miles (a least for me)
Advance has never given me a problem with warranty for the few times I used them. Plus, cheaper means more $ goes to other stuff.