 Regardless of if you have...  Regardless of if you have a Subaru, Nissan or Mazda, avoid these cheap one-size-fits-all radiator caps. The thin aluminum construction and brittle rubber seal will not stand up to harsh driving conditions. |
 The infamous DC Sports short...  The infamous DC Sports short shift lever and its fake brother. DC uses billet aluminum and sealed bearings with a machined spacer to prevent over-tightening in its construction. The copy is roughcast and uses low-grade needle bearings instead. |
 |
Safety
It may sound ridiculous to you at first, but picking the wrong parts could damage your car severely, or worse, kill you. Downpipes and sewer tubing exhausts for turbocharged cars, often sold as "no tuning required," can raise boost levels to dangerous highs. Too good to be true, $450 new T3/T4 turbocharger kits will often fall apart or overboost, scattering a running engine with miscellaneous metal bits. A fake GReddy Type-RS blow-off valve we picked up turned out to have one of the worst diaphragm seals we've ever seen, with rubber so thin, we're sure it'd rip apart after pulling through just two gears. The dangers of fake parts are so real in fact, during one run through the desolate desert of California, Technical Editor Ryan McKay's fake K&N-style air filter collapsed under boost, allowing tiny rock shards to destroy the compressor wheel of his turbocharger.
Worse still is the potential for personal injury. Shoddy bumpers and front-mount intercoolers will often require the removal of the front bumper beam, leading to the very real possibility of your engine finding its way on to your lap during an accident. Fake Sparco steering wheels and safety harnesses only provide the illusion of safety. There are zero instructions included relating the proper mounting position and angles for a harness, and even if there were, the material and webbing in the fake harnesses would not stand up to the strict crash standards of the real Sparco unit.
Warranty Service
Quality manufacturing will mean a quality product, and if a company stands behind its offerings, they will provide the warranty to prove it. It's their guarantee to you that the part will function as promised, and will continue to do so far after the purchase date. Counterfeit parts are not designed to last very long, and if they break, you're shit out of luck.
One of the worst cases we found, exact copies of TEIN S-Tech lowering springs recently began to circulate on the market. The packaging, instructions, springs, spring isolators and warranty papers were all duplicated exactly. TEIN's contact info was even listed in the fake manual as the place to call if you had any problems. You could have installed these, had problems with an uneven ride height and then ended up calling TEIN with your problems. The only catch there is, TEIN won't help you out. Why should they, you were the one that didn't want to pony up for the real thing. The best way to keep your parts safe is to purchase genuine products from authorized dealers, and then register your warranty card immediately.
Looks
If you've gotten this far and you still don't care about the potential safety and fitment issues of using fake parts, keep this in mind--they look cheaper than that bronze Folex on your wrist. Rough castings, unfinished edges, unbranded logos, cheap chrome-dipped exteriors, the list goes on and on. Fake parts are designed to be cost-effective and cheap, and their looks will reflect that. You may rather have a seizure before you'll pay for an ARC titanium spark plug cover, but that ARC piece will look a hell of a lot better than the rough cut sheet metal piece you picked up at the corner speed shop.
Your ride is your baby, a source of pride for what you've done to it, don't mess it up with some of the cheapest accessories on Earth. That is, unless you like rain gutter rear wings and plywood body kits. If that's the case, by all means, knock yourself out. Literally. With a big, rusty hammer.