What bearing is built better? Made in China VS Made in Germany.

When it comes to just about everything that you can get your hands on, there is most likely a Chinese substitute that is made to imitate the original product while knocking some dollars of the price tag to keep some others hard earned singles in your bank account. While the Chinese have become highly skilled at reproducing the look of the original, there is often a huge fall-off in actual performance or reliability. We’ve seen it in everything from wheels to seats and, as you’ll see in this video, even items as small as ball bearings.

In some cases, the Chinese knockoff brand might seem pretty appealing. We think that selection comes down to picking your battles and doing research on what others have experienced with the imitation before you go out and take a risk on buying it. As with most things, though, generally speaking you get what you pay for and when you cut corners to save a few bucks, you’re risking that peace of mind that comes with knowing you have the best products money can buy.

In this video, we check out a simple demonstration that puts German ball bearings up against Chinese knockoff ball bearings, complete with an awkward voiceover to go to ensure you get the full informercial affect. As you can see here, the German product performs far beyond what the Chinese product is capable of and then some!

Check out the video below that shows you the drastic difference between the real product and the cheap reproduction version. Think about this when it comes to turbochargers, for instance, which rely on bearings to ensure the impeller spools up freely and quickly. Not only would these cheaper bearings mean the boost would come in more slowly, but the added friction would mean a sharp increase in temperature, which is already soaring inside the turbo due to the exhaust. Would you risk the bearings failing, which could send pieces of your turbo into the engine and cause major damage, all to save a few bucks on bearings? Think about it, guys…