Any Difference in Aftermarket Carbs?

[hotajax]

OK, you go on ebay. A zillion Chinese made carbs, right? Some with extra fuel lines, spark plugs, air filters,etc. Are there some brands that are worth the diff or are they all just "Chinese" ( for lack of a better term )?

 

[r7000]

i think they are all just



i've had good luck with any of them fwiw

 

[a. palmer jr.]

I usually try to get the Zama version if possible. The Chinese are good at cloning them since some of the OEM Zamas are made there..

 

[cus_deluxe]

just replaced a oem c1q on a 200t with “huayei” or some chit. runs perfect. one of those things, sometimes they work, sometimes they dont. and when they do, they may not perform as well as oem. just depends on what the goal is.

 

[Stem]

used quite a number of "brands" with good luck. but after a few times of creating headaches for myself, now I always take them apart & check needle arm height, throttle blade gap etc.

 

[MSaw]

A lot of Stihl products are Chinese. Sorry, made in China. I ordered a carb for some Stihl chainsaw or other from Ali and what I got was oem Zama for about £15. For Honda GX engines, I don't even bother working on the carbs. £10 max on a Chinese carb and away they go.

 

[lehman live edge slab]

A lot of Stihl products are Chinese. Sorry, made in China. I ordered a carb for some Stihl chainsaw or other from Ali and what I got was oem Zama for about £15. For Honda GX engines, I don't even bother working on the carbs. £10 max on a Chinese carb and away they go.

Oem zama is fine, non oem clone carbs have been hit an miss mostly miss. And the “lot of” varies. Yes the carbs are made by zama and Stihl owns them. They do have some select parts made by Stihl in China and even some smalls from outside vendors but Stihl makes a large percentage of their own parts in a plant it owns and oversees all over the world. So just because it’s made in china doesn’t mean they’re all the same just like made here or any other country depends more on the company vs country

 

[stretch5881]

Some very well known brands have used cheap labor to make their parts. Made to the manufacturers specs, of course.

 

[lehman live edge slab]

Some very well known brands have used cheap labor to make their parts. Made to the manufacturers specs, of course.

I understand this part about using outside sources to build stuff to your specs but I highly doubt zama or walbro are hiring their carbs out. Wouldn’t be much point since that’s mainly what they do.

 

[stretch5881]

I understand this part about using outside sources to build stuff to your specs but I highly doubt zama or walbro are hiring their carbs out. Wouldn’t be much point since that’s mainly what they do.

True, that is what they do. Zama was a Japanese company that started when labor in Japan was cheap, then moved to China where labor was cheap. Even Honda has some of their parts made in China. I'm not saying that their parts aren't quality parts, just that they use cheap labor to stay competitive. https://www.zamacorp.com/aaa-ab232.html#History

 

[lehman live edge slab]

True, that is what they do. Zama was a Japanese company that started when labor in Japan was cheap, then moved to China where labor was cheap. Even Honda has some of their parts made in China. I'm not saying that their parts aren't quality parts, just that they use cheap labor to stay competitive. https://www.zamacorp.com/aaa-ab232.html#History

Yep they still have control over the quality, zama is all owned by Stihl now minus zama usa that was spun off because Germany didn’t want Stihl to be accused of forming a monopoly. I believe the little ohc 5 hp Hondas like on my push mower has a ton of Chinese and or Taiwan parts

 

[Al Smith]

Other than cheap carbs for a cheap pole saw I've never used an AM carb .One exception an AM for a Briggs 8 HP on a splitter ,work fine .

 

[Al Smith]

Saying the above for rebuild kits it's usually AM .I just ordered and received kits for Walbro Wa,Ws and Bing 48 kits .Three kits for each at about 4 bucks each .Some prefer OEM but I don't care as long as they work .So far they all have .

 

[lehman live edge slab]

Saying the above for rebuild kits it's usually AM .I just ordered and received kits for Walbro Wa,Ws and Bing 48 kits .Three kits for each at about 4 bucks each .Some prefer OEM but I don't care as long as they work .So far they all have .

I’ve never had an issue with the aftermarket Oregon packaged kits and have used tons of them

 

[misterhandyman]

The nice thing about it is the price. Even if it doesn't work you are out a fraction of the price. I have used a few on saws, mowers, generators, and quads. I have yet to come across one that didn't work and is a complete pile of crap

 

[Stump Shot]

One thing I find issue with is on the cheaper made carbs the inlet needle lever springs can be anything from a ball point pen up to a ton truck. Sometimes the devil is in the details and spring rate is important for the proper inlet of fuel to the carburetor. An OEM spring can be installed to bring the carb into spec as for the most part the casting and drilling processes seem okay and easy enough to replicate properly.
This goes for an aftermarket repair kit as well, do not change the spring if one is present in an aftermarket kit, keep the old spring, if damage is found or suspected replace with an OEM spring from the carburetor maker.
While this cannot be a blanket rule for every AM carb made, the 50/50 rule still applies to the odds of winning or losing. When you've lost an engine due to a high-speed lean out on a long run from a too stiff of spring, it will stick in your craw for a while.

 

[lehman live edge slab]

One thing I find issue with is on the cheaper made carbs the inlet needle lever springs can be anything from a ball point pen up to a ton truck. Sometimes the devil is in the details and spring rate is important for the proper inlet of fuel to the carburetor. An OEM spring can be installed to bring the carb into spec as for the most part the casting and drilling processes seem okay and easy enough to replicate properly.
This goes for an aftermarket repair kit as well, do not change the spring if one is present in an aftermarket kit, keep the old spring, if damage is found or suspected replace with an OEM spring from the carburetor maker.
While this cannot be a blanket rule for every AM carb made, the 50/50 rule still applies to the odds of winning or losing. When you've lost an engine due to a high-speed lean out on a long run from a too stiff of spring, it will stick in your craw for a while.

I’ve had issues with the jets galling on the couple I’ve used. Got couple adjustments and then they wouldn’t turn