Are there also “fake” auto parts? How much do you know about eleven types of auto parts that are rampant in fakes?

That’s right, there are “fake” auto parts! ! ! And it’s so common that even my father, who has been a driver for more than 20 years, has been tricked many times. No, a few days ago I bought a wheel hub and was cheated again. I was so angry. Money is not a big deal, but such an important component has serious safety hazards. These profiteers really make any money. Today, I asked a friend to go with his best friend, a veteran car repairman for more than ten years, to popularize eleven types of auto parts that are rife with fakes. It was really eye-opening, and I want to share it with everyone. I hope you won’t be fooled again!

1. Wheel hub

To check the authenticity of the wheels, you should not only look at the appearance and ID card, but also the body and weight! Craftsmanship and cost are the two major factors that reveal fake wheel hubs. Due to the irregular craftsmanship of the fake wheel hubs themselves, coupled with cost-saving reasons, there will be a certain difference in weight from the real wheel hubs. The face and figure are inconsistent, looks strange, and is more dangerous to use.

2. Brake pads

There are three ways to identify the authenticity of brake pads, important safety parts of cars. First, look at the thickness. The thickness of a new brake pad is generally about 1.5cm. It will gradually become thinner with constant friction during use. 2: Listen to the sound. If there is a sound of "iron rubbing against iron" while lightly braking (it may also be caused by the running-in of the brake pads during initial installation), the brake pads must be replaced immediately. Three: Feel the strength. If the brakes feel very difficult, it may be that the brake pads have basically lost their friction. At this time, they must be replaced, otherwise it will cause a serious accident.

3. Air filter element

Auto parts air filters are used to remove particulate impurities in the air, but fake air filters not only have no filtering effect, but also add harmful substances to the air in the car.

Identification method: mainly look at the seams between the filter and the frame. Vacuum filters generally have plastic covers to close the edges, while fake air filters are directly fixed with glue.

4. Glass of water

The so-called glass water is the common name for auto parts windshield washer fluid. It is a consumable item used in automobiles. High-quality car windshield water is mainly composed of water, alcohol, ethylene glycol, corrosion inhibitors and various surfactants.

You can judge its authenticity by whether it is clean or not. Friends in the north can pay attention to whether there is ice in winter, or they can tell the authenticity by smelling the smell and looking at the color.

5. Antifreeze

The full name of antifreeze for auto parts should be called antifreeze coolant, which means coolant with antifreeze function. Antifreeze can prevent the coolant from freezing and cracking the radiator and freezing the engine cylinder block or head during cold winter parking. Many people think that antifreeze is only used in winter, but we need to correct this misunderstanding. In fact, antifreeze is not only used in winter, it must be used all year round.

Antifreeze generally has a color. The darker the color, the stronger the antifreeze ability. As a result, some unscrupulous shop owners add some pigments to the inferior antifreeze they sell. Fake antifreeze produced in family workshops has a pungent smell that can cause dizziness, tears, and other reactions when people smell it, and nearly half of it can evaporate in a day. When consumers change antifreeze for their cars, they must check the factory name, factory address, phone number, production date, etc. on the packaging. Regular products have complete markings and clear writing, while fake and inferior products have blurred writing that is easy to erase.

6. Car film

When it comes to car film for auto parts, the brand's authentic film feels thick, smooth, tough, and not easy to wrinkle; and regardless of the color, the see-through performance is good, making it possible to see very well on rainy days. Sprinkle some water on the film, and if it looks foggy when looking out, it is most likely a counterfeit product; in addition, the residual solvent in the adhesive layer of inferior film has a high content of benzene and has an odor.

7. Engine oil

How to identify the authenticity of motor oil in auto parts? The first is the color. At normal temperature, the color of genuine engine oil is much darker than that of fake engine oil. The second is the smell, which is also an important way. If you smell the smell of the engine oil through your nose, you will find that the genuine engine oil has almost no sensitive smell and is similar to a light fragrance, while the fake engine oil has an obvious pungent gasoline smell. The third point is to take a little engine oil into a paper cup, then place it in a refrigerator at about -15°C and freeze it for 48 hours. Genuine engine oil will show good low-temperature fluidity with no obvious change in transparency and color, while fake engine oil will be slightly viscous and appear turbid.

8. Wipers

Since the wiper blades of auto parts are used frequently, they are considered consumables. Therefore, there are more and more counterfeit products. So when choosing, car owners can check whether there are cracks on the surface of the wiper blades and whether they have no elasticity, which means it is an inferior product.

You can also touch the surface of the rubber wiper with your hands. If there is no elasticity or even cracks, it must be a poor quality product.

9. Tires

Parallel tires have thin sidewalls and soft particles. In order to cope with complex road surfaces, domestic tires have added a two-layer carcass. There is a covering layer between the tread rubber and the carcass to prevent water vapor erosion, and more silicon elements are added to make the structure more optimized. Most parallel-imported tires do not have these configurations. It can be seen that the service life of parallel-imported tires will be greatly reduced when running on domestic roads. According to industry insiders, currently parallel-imported tires are mainly concentrated in high-end brands such as Michelin, Continental, Bridgestone, Goodyear, and Pirelli. The above-mentioned brands account for more than 90% of the parallel-imported market; the proportion of parallel-imported tires with larger sizes or unusual sizes is even greater. In addition, the safety of tires is very important. You should always pay attention to the tire pressure, especially if you often drive on the highway, you should also carry a portable air pump with you to avoid accidents.

10. Oil filter element

The filter element of auto parts is also one of the parts that are easily counterfeited. The sealing ring of the fake filter element is too small, which can lead to oil leakage. At the same time, the internal workmanship and rust of the fake filter element will cause damage to the engine. After being soaked in engine oil, it will easily fall off and lose its filtering effect.

11. Spark plug

The spark plugs of fake auto parts have poor insulation material, even have pores, and their anti-conducting performance is relatively weak. There is generally no resistor installed inside the fake spark plug, so it is susceptible to interference from external radio waves. Due to non-standard production conditions, the electrode gaps of shoddy spark plugs are generally not uniform enough, the materials used for insulators are not good enough, and the thermal conductivity is poor. After the speed exceeds 130km/h, the electrode temperature has reached 1100°C, approaching the electrode fusing point.

In addition to the 11 types of car accessories introduced above, which are the hardest hit areas for fakes, the quality of other peripheral accessories is also uneven, such as household high-pressure water guns. Because the cost of washing cars outside is not low, many people will buy household high-pressure water guns, which are convenient and practical. I always recommend friends to buy from this store. The products are good and reasonably priced:

From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, automobile designers devoted their main energy to the development and innovation of automobile mechanical engineering. In the first half of the 20th century, after all the basic structures of automobiles had been invented, automobile designers began to improve the external shape of automobiles, and successively introduced concepts such as aerodynamics, fluid mechanics, ergonomics, and industrial styling design (industrial aesthetics), striving to make automobiles that could meet the different needs of people of all ages, classes, and even cultural backgrounds in appearance, so that automobiles would become the best expression of the true combination of science and art, and reach a perfect state.