# oem vs aftermarket



## AnteDarvo (Feb 17, 2015)

I'm sure this has come up before. I did a search and didn't find much though. (i'm new to this site) I just had a discussion with someone about oem vs aftermarket parts for our power equipment. I told him for certain things like snow-blower belts and oil filters (larger equip) I definitely like to use oem parts.
Personally, I think the engineers of our Ariens or our better built power equipment put alot of thought into these critical parts and these would be the best to use. Obviously, the person I was talking to said he gets parts where he can get them the cheapest. I'm not against using aftermarket parts at all. I just feel better about some of the more critical parts though. would anyone like to weigh in on this subject.


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## 94EG8 (Feb 13, 2014)

Aftermarket belts are fine, as long as they're proper outdoor power equipment belts from say Rotary or Vickers Marketing made specifically for that application. A Gates or Dayco belt just isn't going to cut it here. Air filters are generally fine as well. In some cases the aftermarket stuff works better than OEM (certain Briggs & Stratton lawn mower engines had issues with OEM carb diaphragms causing problems)


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## Normex (Feb 21, 2014)

AnteDarvo said:


> I told him for certain things like snow-blower belts and oil filters (larger equip) I definitely like to use oem parts.
> Personally, I think the engineers of our Ariens or our better built power equipment put alot of thought into these critical parts and these would be the best to use.I'm not against using aftermarket parts at all. I just feel better about some of the more critical parts though. would anyone like to weigh in on this subject.


 You definitively are on the right track regarding OEM parts especially for critical parts. The only part I would differ is with spark plugs as I like the NGK better. So Good Luck.


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## enigma-2 (Feb 11, 2014)

I would include oil filters as a critical part. Definitely have differences between the quality of filters. I've also found OEM blades to outlast aftermarket.


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## Pathfinder13 (Feb 28, 2014)

I would lean heavily towards OEM for oil filters because some aftermarket filters exclude the anti-drainback valve that is needed if a filter is mounted horizontally or partly inverted. That valve insures the engine gets oil faster upon starting.


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## 43128 (Feb 14, 2014)

i use cogged belts all the time from the autoparts store, usually dayco. never had any issues with them on my personal blowers or my customers machines. sometimes i use ngks instead of the champions that are supposed to be there. sometimes aftermarket stuff is better then oem, such as head gaskets, or the toro ccr paddles and as an added bonus cost less


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## Pathfinder13 (Feb 28, 2014)

43128 said:


> i use cogged belts all the time from the autoparts store, usually dayco. never had any issues with them on my personal blowers or my customers machines. sometimes i use ngks instead of the champions that are supposed to be there. sometimes aftermarket stuff is better then oem, such as head gaskets, or the toro ccr paddles and as an added bonus cost less


When you use NGK, I think it's safe to say that you are using the best available.


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## AnteDarvo (Feb 17, 2015)

thanks for your replies. I've always done the same for high performance muscle cars. the factory engineers knew what they were doing on allot of these cars and their related parts.
that's why i assume the engineers at a reputable company like ariens have done the same thing. i treat my power equipment like i treat my cars.
tony


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