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Counterfeit Parts
It has been happening for years: offshore suppliers promising LuK quality at discount prices. Although they are successful in building parts that look identical to LuK's original equipment
components, the performance and durability of these parts aren't even close.
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Counterfeit parts are "reverse engineered". In other words, a competitor disassembles a LuK clutch or disc, produces replicas of the component parts and builds duplicates of the complete
assembly. Reverse engineering may work fine if you are producing toys for kid's meals, but it does not work in the manufacturing of engineered products like clutches and discs.
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After just 160,000 cycles, the knock-off
part failed, due to stress fractures in
the retainer plate.
We tested the knock-off Series Damper Disc and compared the results to OE standards, which LuK products exceed. An initial inspection revealed that virtually every dimensional characteristic
was out of specification. The disc was subjected to LuK's standard torsion durability test, which simulates damper function under load, engaging and disengaging the disc just as it would
operate in a vehicle. The counterfeit damper part failed at 160,000 cycles, achieving only about 16% of the durability of the LuK disc, which is designed to exceed one million cycles.
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| Close-up of Counterfeit Part A: Stress fractures in the critical area near the spring window indicate substandard material quality. |
Close-up of Counterfeit Part B: If the durability of a counterfeit part is 16% of LuK's, shouldn't the counterfeit price be 84% lower than LuK's? |
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How to Spot Counterfeits
The knock-off discs we tested were nearly identical in appearance to the patented LuK Series Damper Disc, except that they did NOT include laser engraved or stamped LuK insignias. But,
considering that counterfeiters have no regard for U.S. patent law, it's not as easy as looking for the LuK name on the parts, because counterfeit parts bearing the LuK name have been found
in North America. Furthermore, not all LuK products are laser engraved or stamped with the LuK insignia.
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Clutch System
The only reliable way to identify LuK parts in all cases is by the packaging. If your clutch set arrives in something other than one of the two boxes shown in this picture, there is no
guarantee of what you are installing. Absolutely insist that your clutch components arrive in one of the two branded boxes shown here.
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If someone sold you on LuK quality, but the parts you receive did not arrive in a LuK box, we want to know about it. Click here to send us an e-mail with the details.
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