The informative Original Equipment Suppliers Aftermarket Association (OESAA) stand at this year’s Mechanex Sandown show proved a real talking point amongst attendees, as visitors seized upon the opportunity to thoroughly examine ‘like for like’ parts for themselves to really understand the OE difference.

The busy stand, staffed by representatives from a wide range of OESAA member companies, featured comparable components from OE and non-OE suppliers to highlight the dramatic differences in quality that can exist between the two, as well as the detrimental impact that fitting sub-standard parts can potentially have on a garage’s reputation.

Colin Mortiboys, Sales Manager at GKN explained the many differences between an OE approved GKN CV joint (originally fitted by Volkswagen) and a non-OE offering presented as an alternative. He commented “Our joint actually goes to a 53 degree angle, whereas the competitor’s version only goes to 45 degrees, so if you used the non-OE alternative you wouldn’t get such a good turning circle.”

Colin also pointed out the GKN’s CV joint featured a boot made from thermoplastic elastomer, designed to cope with high grease temperatures of up to around 150°C. The competitor component’s boot is made from a rubber compound, which can only tolerate grease temperatures of around 60°. He said, “When you place the two items next to each other, they’re not even the same length – and yet they’re presented as ‘like for like’!”

The OESAA stand had many other similar comparison examples from the members of the association, and left visitors in no doubt as to the benefits associated with fitting high quality OE parts. Jeff Earl, Marketing Manager at Schaeffler said, “The main benefit of events such as this is that it gives visitors the chance to really get ‘inside’ the parts and see that the technology involved can be completely different. You simply cannot beat the trust and reassurance that comes with fitting quality parts from quality suppliers.”