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"Treadsaver" brand front-end parts?

montanaman

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Western Montana
Hey ... has anybody used the "Treadsaver" brand of Ball Joints, Tie rod ends, etc.? http://www.partsamerica.com has them at great prices. I looked them up on the Internet, and the only thing I could find is that they are made by TRW for export to the Mexican market. It's quite possible they are the same product, just repackaged for a cheaper clientel.

Anybody have any experience with this line?
 
Montanaman

TRW is an awesome line of joints. TRW is who makes the premium line of NAPA chassis parts. German made and much different internally from competitors. Working here at NAPA i see them first hand everyday.

Gene
 
Thanks ... yeah, I've heard great things about TRW. But this "Treadsaver" economy line of theirs, I don't know anything about it. I guess if it's TRW, it can't be bad, huh?
 
im an asst manager at advance honestly the treadsaver will get the job done for the everyday car but if this is going on your rig TRW is the only way to go.
 
Justpunchit said:
im an asst manager at advance honestly the treadsaver will get the job done for the everyday car but if this is going on your rig TRW is the only way to go.
I agree with spending more for quality, but why are the TRWs $59.99 each and the ones from Quadratec $44.99 for a side. I believe Quadratec's are Omix Ada'a, too.
 
Justpunchit said:
im an asst manager at advance honestly the treadsaver will get the job done for the everyday car but if this is going on your rig TRW is the only way to go.
Do you get customers complaining about the Treadsaver brand?

Thanks.
 
Do you know how Oil Filters are made? Theres like 3 factories in the whole country, every brand just buys time at that factory and have the factory produce the filter at their specs, and many don't change the specs at all. Thats why so many oil filters are exactly the same, despite the brand, just a different color and label on the can.

I don't know, but I'm sure its very possible a big company like TRW doesn't manufacture every part in house. Like oil filters, they may be buying time at another factory and getting a load of cheap parts for a different line to fill a totally different market segment. TRW may be trying to make a little extra money filling another market segment, with a little purchasing and re-selling.

The fact that this line if for export to Mexico and that TRW doesn't put their name on it, makes me suspicious that it is not as high quality as a TRW branded part. In todays fluid business environment, big corporations that explore every nook and cranny for a little extra money and global market place, its totally different than years ago, where a company had a factory and they built and sold the same thing without changes. I would not be surprised if TRW bought cheap Chinese knock-offs and resold them under a different brand.

TRW knows there names sells, the only reason they wouldn't put their name on something would be because they don't want their name associated with that product.

I could be wrong, TRW may be repackaging their exact same product for this line going to mexico, and price it so that it will sell, and they hide their name because if everyone found out, they couldn't sell their name brand product at a higher profit margin.
 
Rick: Thanks for your thoughtful reply. You hit the nail on the head. I think it's more likely they are reselling a cheap product, rather than rebranding their own product, but it's impossible to know for sure. Turns out that Moog, TRW, and Treadsaver are all part of Federal-Mogul corporation. Here is what their website says (translated from spanish):

*Begin Quote*

Federal-Mogul sends to the Mexican market a new alternative in suspension and direction of an accessible price with the quality and security that customers have come to expect from our products. We offer of this form a complete coverage of American, Asian cars (Tread Saver Nissan) and European (Tread Saver VW).

In the name it takes his preoccupation, Tread Saver takes care of which the joints are made to support the severe punishment of your car's suspension, providing maneuverability and a better response of the steering wheel. This factor is of extreme importance when the cost of the rims is taken into account. Too much play in the joints is the main factor that contributes to the premature wearing down of the rims.

*End Quote*

Ultimately, we really can't know what these joints are. I think what would be really good would be to have some destructive testing data, or at least some customer feedback. I'm going to try to find a telephone number of someone over there that can tell me for sure what the difference is between these brands.
 
Ok ... I just got off the phone with a tech guy at Federal-Mogul, the parent company to TRW, Moog, and Treadsaver. Here is what he told me:

- TRW is OEM-quality replacement parts.

- Moog is a step above TRW. I told him TRW is often more expensive, but he said Moog is better.

- Treadsaver is an outsourced product that could be manufactured in China, India, Maylasia, anywhere. He said there's no telling what you get with Treadsaver.

So ... I think I'll go with Moog. High quality.
 
Good Info, thanks Montanaman.

Yea, I had always heard good things about TRW, but of the kind of "You can rely on those parts" "They are quality and last".

Moog, I've always heard things along the line of "They are the best", "Those are more rugged and last longer than OEM".

Looks like my instincts were right on the treadsaver brand.

Good to know the inside story.

Doesn't Federal-Mogal also own FRAM Filters? IMHO, Fram should rank behind their Treadsaver Brand.
 
Rick Anderson said:
Doesn't Federal-Mogal also own FRAM Filters? IMHO, Fram should rank behind their Treadsaver Brand.
On their website, they show Anco, Warner, Champion, TRW, Moog, Precision, you name it ... But I didn't see anything about Fram.

Fram filters are complete shite.

It's also a shame ... back in the '70s, Fram was considered some of the best.
 
Rick Anderson said:
Doesn't Federal-Mogal also own FRAM Filters? IMHO, Fram should rank behind their Treadsaver Brand.

It's so hard to keep track of who owns what anymore. Fram was bought by Bendix, which in turn was bought by Allied Signal, and now, as far as I can tell, Honeywell owns them.
 
Bendix bought FRAM in 1967; AlliedSignal (Allied Corporation) bought Bendix in 1987. Allied also owns the Autolite and Prestone brands/companies.
 
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