Motorcraft makes their own COPs, and I know MSD does also, and for the price I'd have to believe Granetelli does also. Accel and the "el-cheapos" are all made in China, and we all know too well what kind of quality comes from there!

 

Its kind of like saying all spark plugs are made the same, all fuel filters are made the same, all oil filters are made the same, etc. All b.s. and you're a fool if you believe so.

 

I find it hard to believe that specialty companies like Granetelli could sell enough COPs to justify the costs in machinery, R&D, and labor of making them from scratch. Maybe I'm wrong.

I've been in enough factories to know that a lot of generic products are made on the same lines as the premium stuff. This is especially true with food. IE-Kroger corn flakes are made on the same line of premium corn flakes. The difference is the box.

Now IDK how true this is in the auto parts world. Some parts are better than others, there is no question there. I just think that it would be more profitable to get "white box" items, slap a sticker on them, and sell them for premium prices.

I've heard that the Global ones on Ebay are supposedly "white box" Borg Warner parts. IDK but will soon find out how good they are. If anything I will buy them and let everyone here know how it goes. If they suck, then I'll be out less than $100. No big deal.

Also just because something is made in China doesn't mean it's bad. It's how it is speced. Raw materials don't recognize political bounderies.

I would also like to know who actually makes Motorcraft COPs. I know that they outsource a lot if not most of thier production. For example, MC oils are made by Conoco Phillips.

Mike

 

Thanks for the feedback, I have Motorcraft coils in my 97 with 59,000 miles on them and had one fail already - though admittedly, the #5 coil that failed had a plug hole half filled with coolant for I don't know how long. (I just bought the truck with 58,000 miles on it). I hope the rest of them last the 200K that you talking about.

I definitely agree that cheaper doesn't mean better and I wondered if the coils I bought were made in China - it has been my experience that the quality is certainly questionable on products from there. One thing I did read from other posts on this site is that an expensive coil did not necessarily mean better quality either - regarding performance, mileage or life. I would pay more for a lifetime warranty.

Your comments were the first I've seen about these cheap coils on ebay and I did a forum search for COP with mixed results. The auto parts had two options, $60 or $75-80 for a coil, which were not Motorcraft. I cringe when I think I have to pay $800 for a set of Motorcraft coils. (someone said $100 a coil?)

Anyways, I'll let you know when one of these coils fail.

Troy

 

Raw materials do know mechanical boundaries though. If you were a welder as I am you'd definitely know! My tight-*** boss got ahold of some flat steel and tubing from china and that crap popped and spattered everywhere when you try to weld it. Likewise with steel from Mexico. I've cut into ball bearings that you could still make out the shape of in some of the plate from there.

 

I am an welder. Grade X materials are grade X materials, doesn't matter where it is. You get what you spec.

I'm willing to bet that 1 or 2, maybe 3 places make all the COPs and they are just rebadged for the customer.

Anyway I ordered the Global COPs and I'll let everyone know how it goes.

Mike

 

In my opinion I think the boot/spring is half the problem with cops. I'd buy the Accel pretty yellow cops ($200 for a set of 8) if mine start to fail. I'd also replace the black boot/spring with the pretty blue hi-temp boots/stainless springs ($69 for a set of 8) and I'd replace the plugs with NGK Laser Iridium ($80 for 8). Since my 2002 F150 5.4 so far at 70K miles runs fine (I had to replace the #5 cop 2 yrs ago) I plan on just replacing the plugs/boots soon.