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Just passing on a recent experience; a damned black squirrel chewed through my left front ABS sensor wire (it's become the only animal I swerve to try to hit), so I went on Amazon and bought a 'well-rated' chinese replacement sensor. It was shipped directly from China so took 3 weeks to arrive, but it was $17 as opposed to $35 on RM European and it was cold outside so I could wait. Got the part, and a couple months passed before the weather got warm enough for me to want to work outside on it. Went to install it, and it wouldn't go all the way into the plug in the wheel housing, sticking out by about 10mm and wasn't making the electrical connection. Thought maybe it was the tine spacing, bent things around a tiny bit, no good. Old plug still went in all the way flush. Compared the tines, and the original tines were narrower and sharper pointed than the aftermarket, but not by a ton (pics below). Finally gave up and ordered the OEM part (Ate brand, division of Continental) from RM for $42 including shipping. Part fit perfectly, went all the way in flush. Lesson learned. Chinese aftermarket parts often are based on scans/pictures of the OE part, not based on actual specs, or at least don't meet them. OE seems more expensive but usually is cost effective.
Pics:
Comparing OEM part by Ate to much cheaper aftermarket from China. They look pretty much the same... It's hard to see, but the tines on the aftermarket plug (bottom) are slightly thicker than either the original part (middle) or the OEM replacement (top).
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
