dailydriver

I am looking at NEW starters (NOT remans), and have narrowed it down to two;
the Summit branded, made in USA LS1 f body model, with a 90 day warranty, $125.00 shipped to my door, and the Remy brand with a limited lifetime warranty, at Rock Auto, ~$129.00 shipped to the door (does ANYONE know for SURE IF this one is made here, or is it China/Mexico for sure???).

Any experiences with either of these starters (or U.S. made Summit parts at all) as far as reliability/performance/longevity is concerned?

I believe our OEM/factory starters were the Delphi/Remy, hopefully U.S.made deals.

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

A starter is a part you should always buy local.

LIFETIME warranty man........who cares if they fail every year. Drive to the local parts store and get a new one, pop it on in 15 minutes.

PepBoys, Advance, Bennett........LIFETIME warranty.

.

peterock98

iTrader: (25)

Go with an oem starter a new acdelco.I brought mine from the dealer 4 years ago and no problems.

xenergyx

iTrader: (3)

Go with the starter that they put in the small GM trucks for the ls1s.....the housing is larger this will prevent a possible crack from occuring if it comes loose ......unfortunatley this is what happened to mine starter mount cracked completely off and had to get a 400$ starter bridge and new starter .......severe PITA to put in aswell

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

This would be one of my two options as well. The other would be something from Powermaster. Those are my same two choices when it comes to alternators as well.

dailydriver

I believe the Remy/Delphi one I just ordered from Rock Auto (with a lifetime warranty) IS the actual one you get in an AC Delco box.

Sadly, after speaking to the Remy techs, I found out that almost none of the OEM replacement aftermarket starters (save for the Powermaster OEM size/spec deals, and possibly that 3 month warrantied Summit Racing OEM one) are still made here.
Hopefully, the more reputable companies keep a hawk's eye watch on their quality control at the Mexican/offshore built facilities, and re-test them once they get to their distribution centers.

Of course, if you want to pay a king's (or Koch Brothers') ransom, you could buy the proudly U.S. made MSD, Tilton, Powermaster, etc. high performance models with enough torque to run the car on, let alone crank and start a 18.5 compression big block/mountain motor.

SteveWs6

iTrader: (1)

+1 this makes by far the most logical sense.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

I don't have a personal opinion, but is it really that critical when the part is going in to an import car that wasn't even made in the USA?

dailydriver

Even IF one has a Tea Party-like disregard for trade policies/markets/U.S. jobs/outsourcing/off-shoring/etc., the parts coming out of ANY of the eastern asian countries (save for Japan, and maybe Korea) tend to be PURE **** as far as build quality/longevity/reliability is concerned.
HENCE, my seeking out U.S. made parts where ever possible, even for a higher cost. (Unlike others on here I DO NOT WANT to be dropping starters every year, and I do not even have long tubes like all of the rest of you, which make the job 10x harder for YOU).

No offense, but you sound like all of the import fanboyzz who ALWAYS bring up our cars being screwed together in the Northland ANY time trade/country of origin arguments come up.

It makes me want to buy a Pony, or a y body, just so no one can use that lame "f body is an import" BS.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

I actually use the "my car is Canadian" point for the import fanboyzz to mess with them. When I tell them I drive an import, they get really confused and just walk away from the conversation. I've found its the fastest way to get them and their lawn mower cars to go away.

Are Canadian, Mexican, or Brazilian parts OK? Most of my bad experiences have been with parts re-manufactured or cloned out of China or Mexico. (I don't think I've used a Brazilian component on a car, yet.)

When I needed a new PS pump, I shipped it to a rebuilder (so I know where it was worked on) and have never regretted that decision. I've also had a hell of a time with rotating electrical equipment (alternators, mostly) and save up my cores so I can have spares rebuilt under my own direction. (I recently installed a "made in the USA" alternator and the bearings crapped out on me in less than one year of use. I was really not happy to have to install a new one and was even less happy that I didn't have a warranty on it.)

It's so hard to know where a component is really "made." If a starter assembly is "made in the USA," that doesn't necessarily mean that the wiring or solenoid was made in the same country?

For a starter, (if I had the time) I'd probably look to have a local company rebuild my original unit. I'm curious to know if anyone knows a good company to rebuild alternators or starters.