OEM Specs for the Aftermarket?

[komelika]

How does the aftermarket acquire vehicle spec info for their parts, such as lift kits, bumpers, and such? Do they buy the info directly from the Manufacturers or is it open sourced? I've always been curious about that.

[BDKW1]

Most of it is reverse engineered. Why a lot of aftermarket parts are sub-standard.

[fabr]

The chinese do a LOT of that.I prefer to call it counterfeiting...............

[komelika]

True, but when you can order any lift kit for damn near any truck they must have a database with the proper dimensions for each model and year range. Right?

[dsrace]

that's what they reverse engineer then send with + / - ....1/2" slop in the bolt mounting holes so you can get it to fit lol

[fabr]

Some good ,some bad. Kom,in todays world all it takes is a photo and something for scale to get whatever info to copy most anything.Computers are a wonderful thing.

[komelika]

Some good ,some bad. Kom,in todays world all it takes is a photo and something for scale to get whatever info to copy most anything.Computers are a wonderful thing.

That is a good point. Probably a few open source applications out there too.

[BDKW1]

True, but when you can order any lift kit for damn near any truck they must have a database with the proper dimensions for each model and year range. Right?

Most of the larger suspension company's belong to SEMA. Through SEMA you can get CAD files for current models.

If it's a GM product, you can go to the upfitter site and request certain CAD file of current vehicles. No, they will not send you the whole damn car. I have gotten the frame and front suspension for a Colorado from them. Be aware though, the files include everything, nuts, bolts, brackets....... They are very large and if you don't have a very fast computer with plenty of RAM, it will not be happy.

[komelika]

Thanks. I don't need them, but it would be cool if there was info readily available.