Exhaust parts from EMPI

scruffy · Post by **scruffy** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 9:44 pm

That just about says it all, every part I've gotten marked "Empi" has been very poor quality and has lasted less than 6 months.

Post by **Sluggo** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 11:24 am

scruffy wrote:That just about says it all, every part I've gotten marked "Empi" has been very poor quality and has lasted less than 6 months.

First thing I bought for my Bus was an Empi dual tipped muffler. Piece of crap. Started rusting at the seams within a few months (even though I stripped and repainted it). Made the heads heat up too much and made a decent idle close to impossible. I haven't bought a single Empi product since. Except some spark plug wire holders that I didn't know were Empi till I received them. They were crap too.

NWbuspilot · Post by **NWbuspilot** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 7:02 pm

I was talking with the guy at the local VW specialty shop about this the other day. He said that Empi started moving all of their production facilities to China so that they could keep their costs more competitive and have a higher profit margin.

Post by **Sluggo** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 11:02 am

NWbuspilot wrote:I was talking with the guy at the local VW specialty shop about this the other day. He said that Empi started moving all of their production facilities to China so that they could keep their costs more competitive and have a higher profit margin.

They did this in the 80's. But for some reason they are still a huge seller.

LiveonJG · Post by **LiveonJG** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 2:53 pm

Sluggo wrote:But for some reason they are still a huge seller.

Name recognition? Beats me. Seems you can't make it through just about any air-cooled shop without wading through a sea of EMPI crap. They do have an extensive line of products, and years and years ago they produced quality parts. I amazes me they remain as popular as they are.

-John

bretski · Post by **bretski** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 3:01 pm

LiveonJG wrote:
Name recognition?

Ding Ding Ding!!!! I think we have a weener!

(It always cracks me up to see people sporting EMPI t-shirts at VW shows)

Post by **Sluggo** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 4:50 pm

bretski wrote:(It always cracks me up to see people sporting EMPI t-shirts at VW shows)

Or the logos on their plate frames and badges. It's like advertising that you built your car with crap parts that will burn out in a few months. I love it when you see the Beetle sale ads where the seller brags that they used Empi parts.

Westy78 · Post by **Westy78** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 5:20 pm

Just add EMPI to the long list of manufacturers that have sold out to the cheap labor of economically depressed countries. Even Bosch isn't what they use to be. A guy I work with said he just had a Bosch coil go out on him on his '65 21 window after only two years. Finding a good set of Bosch points is a crap shoot also from what I understand (don't know personally, I use a Pertronix).

I think a new sticker should be made up:

EMPI, Chinese for crap.

scruffy · Post by **scruffy** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 5:30 pm

Here's a thought....Forward the thread to Empi

LiveonJG · Post by **LiveonJG** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 9:09 pm

scruffy wrote:Here's a thought....Forward the thread to Empi

Like they'd give a rat's. If they cared at all about the quality of their products, they'd produce quality products. Apparently they do not.

-John

DjEep · Post by **DjEep** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 10:46 pm

Westy78 wrote: I think a new sticker should be made up:

EMPI, Chinese for crap.

This reminds me of the cheap dead-blow hammer at the bowling alley where I worked for two weeks. Had a Sticker that read:

WARNING: made in china
Always wear eye protection.

Itinerant Air-Cooled

Itinerant Air-Cooled

Exhaust parts from EMPI

Exhaust parts from EMPI

Re: Exhaust parts from EMPI

Should forward the thread to Empi

Re: Should forward the thread to Empi