The Moog stuff is still better than deeza or mevotech. Moog's grease-able sway bar links are still better than factory, (with the plastic cup insert).
I think I have a set of 28mm Energy rear bushing I haven't installed yet. They were obscure but still available a few years back. If I can find them... I'll post the part #. Prothane might have something though.
99% of Proforged parts are made in Taiwan,,, according to a rep that posted on another chat forum.
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Moog vs Proforged - Chevelle Tech
Proforged
Tech Team
Zack
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Colorado
Posts: 61
Re: Moog vs Proforged
There are a few countries that produce the majority of steering parts these days: India, Turkey, China, and Taiwan. Some are still produced in the US and Canada, but mostly they come from overseas or are marked as "Assembled in USA."
For the most part, the quality coming out of India, Turkey, and China ranges from pretty low to downright scary - there are a lot of quality
control issues, the fit and finish is not so great, and the durability is pretty poor.
The quality coming out of Taiwan is excellent...a big part of the reason is that it is a democratic country and a military ally of the US, so our government has pumped a fair amount of money and technology there over the years.
99% of our parts are made in Taiwan and every product that goes out the
door is labeled with the exact country of origin. We spend a lot of time and money ensuring that our products are built to our specifications.
I personally take issue with "Assembled in the USA" because I can't tell where the components are being sourced from. For a Moog ball joint that is labeled "Assembled in the USA," are the ball stud and
housing made in China or Taiwan? There is a HUGE difference in quality between the two.
A ball joint that is made and assembled in Taiwan - in my opinion - is much better than a ball joint made in China or India and assembled in the US.
Sorry to say that we just couldn't be in business if we had to make parts like
ball joints in the US. For small production runs, the cost is 5x as much domestically. That would make a $20 ball joint cost $100.
Hope this clears things up.
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Personally... I say "you get what you pay for". Want a cheap price,,, you'll get a cheap part. It all depends on whether you like driving your vehicle... or working on it.
I'll agree with 112 LS for the most part on using Motorcraft or actual Ford parts,,, but sometimes the aftermarket does come up with a longer lasting design. The Moog sway bar links are grease-able for longevity. The factory parts were made non grease-able so they were "low maintenance".
That... and because the yuppies that bought these types of vehicles,,, didn't want to see a bunch of black grease collecting dirt under the car, or work on them themselves.
