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MOTORINDIA
l
September 2012
109
of millions depend upon braking
efficiency.
Constant quest for higher speed,
modern trends in vehicle design,
high torque engines and grow-
ing traffic hazards should make
manufacturers worth their salt to
remain aware of quality and reli-
ability. Safety items like brakes
are selected after many months of
destructive testing on computerized
rigs and dynamometers, equivalent
of thousands of miles of gruelling
work. Brake temperatures can rise
to 300-350 degree C when braking
down a hill. Inferior materials break
down resulting in abnormal fade,
high wear and inability to provide
the required braking power. There
are no short cuts to quality!
Price tag
That spurious materials in the
guise of “genuine” brands are
flooding the market is a serious
matter – the unscrupulous working
hand-in-glove with dubious deal-
ers behind a mask of respectability.
The unwitting user falls a prey to
the attractive price tag without real-
izing the consequences. The dealer
is willing to make a quick buck
with scant regard to safety. Imag-
ine taking chances with inferior or
spurious materials, pure and simple
suicide!
Initially easy to disguise reduc-
tion in quality that this entails as
the outward appearance is much
the same. Eventually cheap parts
can be exposed only by cutting and
analyzing them that their cosmetic
worth is revealed. They fall apart
extremely quickly and often barely
cope with the situation for which
they were intended.
So, pulling in one direction in the
market is extreme price conscious-
ness and pulling in the other direc-
tion is the need to maintain quality
and high level of service that should
go with it. The discerning customer
should know the fact from fiction!
Deadly risk
Nobody gets too concerned about
counterfeiting T-shirts and blue
jeans with brand logos. But safety-
related automotive parts are no
laughing matter!
What is counterfeiting? Basically,
it is a broad term that covers any
form of deception designed to trick
end users into believing the parts
they purchased are produced by an
OEM or a reputable and reliable
after-market manufacturer. The
aftermarket