To start off this isnt for my car and I should probably be posting this in one of those VW forums but to tell you the truth im too damn lazy and I cant stand VW people (no offense).

Well My friend picked up a MK2 golf automatic turd. So far we converted it to a manual transmision and swapped in a 2.0 8v from 96' Jetta. He doesnt make much sense along with most VW people. So the other night he orders an EIP Turbo kit and some cheesy intercooler and BOV kit off ebay. We just got the piping and BOV in the mail today and its pretty crappy. All banged up and dented. But my real question is about the BOV. Its suppose to be a Greddy BOV but its obviously a rip off. But even though it is not a real Greddy should it still work? Just wondering if anyone has any experience with Ebay BOV's.

I would apreciate any help.

Thanks

 

What brand is it? Post some pics... or at least link us to the ebay page.

 

I knew I was forgetting something... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...BSAA%3AUS%3A11

 

That is soooooo cheap for all that you get in that kit... makes me wonder

I looked at a few that have the inlet/outlet on the same side. I decided on this one as the size is about right for my stock turbo.

eBay Intercooler

 

Looks good, should be plenty for the stock turbo. And I think inlet/outlet on the same side will make things easier, It would have been a lot easier when I did mine.

 

I ran accross a thread on Hybridz.org (ya, I cheated on Zdriver) that was talking about that design of intercooler. They said it flows better and had all kinds of good things to say about it. That sounds good to me... I wanted that style mainly for my installation. I'm only running 2.25" pipe so there should be no problem having everything going around the radiator on one side. Small pipe, short tubes = less pressure drop and faster spooling

 

Have you seen these parts in person? If so, do they look very diff than the parts in the ebay pics? Hey... if the IC is aluminum, really has fins, and holds pressure, go for it! And as long as the BOV moves & has a vacuum port, it should work too.

 

That seems like a too-good-to-be true price for a BOV and FMIC... I've seen justa BOV go for that much, and FMIC's for quite a bit more... Maby its just a good deal? If so, I want in on this Should be a decent starting point for the RB20

 

ya.. I paid more then that for just my BOV

 

you cant tell anything just by looking at the outside of an intercooler. You need to look at rows and fin design. Thats plain ebay junk, and theres a chance you will lose power with it. I paid $750 for my side mount intercooler on my 1.8T alone. Why would someone invest in the turbo kit and then skimp out on one of the most important parts?

 

That can't be a real GReddy BOV. Not for that price unless the thing is used or stolen. No one in there right mind would sell a new one for that price.

You DO have to watch out for cheap knock offs. It's not as simple as "if it works, then it works" Chances are cheaper production methods, lower quality materials, and a lack of quality control and R&D are the key contributors to it's low price. With all those possible causes you have a lot of problems to watch out for. If cheap materials are used or the unit is poorly assembled then it could fail prematurely. There's also a chance that the unit was never inspected/tested and that it may not work the way it's supposed to. It could release to early, too late, or not at all. Cheap diaprhams can rupture. Loose tolerances cause rapid wear and poor operation.

Your friend would be wise to replace that BOV with either a real unit, or verify that he has a "hot" genuine GReddy peice

Not all knock offs are bad. But the ones that deviate that far from the price of the originals are not to be messed with.

A lot of these knockoffs come from the 'rejected' bin at the original company. It doesnt take much for an employee to ****** up the used garbage and resale it as genuine. Thats usually how a part can be had that cheap and still be identical to the original. Proper counterfits usually cost close to the price of the originals.

 

The age-old addage reigns supreme here:

You get what you pay for.

eBay junk is expected to break, rot, explode, or simply not function. My knockoff N1 muffler does alright though.