Chinese carbs

[cdm]

A buddy of mine in Orlando just put together a T4 1700 for his rail. He decided to 'risk' it and go with Chines Weber knockoffs. He got a set of 44's for about $280 from Alibaba. His thinking is they are cheap enough to throw away if they are junk.

So far he has had them on the rail for about three months. He says if he didn't know he would not be able to tell the difference between these and original Webers performance-wise. They tuned easily with Weber jets using Weber procedure directions. Since this guy has been doing tT4 for decades I trust his opinion.

The HPMX is a Chines knockoff and gets very good reviews from what I can find. They appear to be about $600/set.

All the chatter about the Chinese stuff that I can find on the various forums is 5 years old or older. There also appear to be a whole bunch of people who go negative the second they hear 'China' no matter what. However they are selling a ton of these units here and in Europe and one would think there would noticeable negative press if there were reason.

So, considering the HPMX good reviews and this direct experience my question is, is it possible the Chinese have learned to make stuff with some quality in the past few years?

Any experience here? Tks.

[Jadewombat]

Assuming the "quality" has come up some, the worst part is the linkages. Sleeved cables are the way to go.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

From what I remember the first ones had issues but I understand they have fixed most of that. If you are going to buy used be warned.

[Piledriver]

Lets just say that the Chinese are perfectly capable of producing good quality hardware, and actually do so sometimes. (Most parts are made there, even for major OEMS, but QC is an actual thing in that case)

There was a recent thread here where a fellow bought some of the new Weber knockoffs off ebay hoping for the best.

That did not end well, (other than getting refunded) but even if you just use them as ITBs for an EFI setup they sorta make financial sense. (Honda VFR TBs being even cheaper and excellent fit)

Do consider buying or fabricating a split cable pull linkage, done even half-assed with bicycle control cables it works better than most retail ACVW linkages on the market.

A Synclink is hard to beat if you have the funds, and is a work of art as well.

[cdm]

I went ahead and got a set of knock off 44's. They just came and at first blush look decent. I started unscrewing bits and everything looks clean and tight. The linkage shafts appear to be installed through bushings and there is no slop. I will proceed with positive attitude... and one finger on the refund button.

I hear everybody regarding the linkage. I am just finishing up the tin work on a Cali conversion so linkage is next. Think I can come up with a workable cable type. That hex bar thing has always looked like an after thought to me.

I will update this thread after I get things running in the hope it will contribute to saving someone a few bucks; whatever that may mean, and expand the experience pool.

[Marktt]

In an attempt to freshen up the post (Chinese carbs) a reference to linkage (the Synclink system) i can share:

Replacing two worn out 44 idf's i gambled and purch the lowest of the low chinese copies from Cip1 (tax free) @$120 and change each. They were boxed well and looked fantastic, on both i only used the lower main portion as my fuel intakes on the top had the fuel inlet removed, tapped and AN fittings, mix and match worked just fine. Idle jets were unmarked, same with mains, replaced all with marked Weber originals. No problems. As for linkage, i recently bought redlines top end, alignment hassles, caved in and bought the Synclink system, 3 bills, all components AAA, works like a jewel.

Synclink1.jpg

Synclink2.jpg