Unbiased comparisons/tests for todays vintage car parts & products ?

[TTR]

Probably a silly inquiry, but does anyone here know of a reliable (=unbiased) entity conducting, recording & reporting these types of (apples-to-apples) tests for vintage car aftermarket/reproduction components, parts, etc, either in online or print media ?
Kind of like Consumer Report and alike have done with variety of products for decades.

 

Endorsements by "celebrities" or scantly clad female models on magazine, etc ads paid by product manufacturers/suppliers, while obviously very effective for mass marketing, don't really qualify or mean much, if anything.

 

Just curious.

Edited January 11, 2021 by TTR (see edit history)

[TTR]

Thanks, but “word-of-mouth” or online forum chatter, etc seem to be mostly just opinions based on very limited, if any actual, experience of comparisons, usually just by amateurs indicating they bought/have brand X and like it (or not), which really doesn’t mean it’s better (or worse) than brand Y on same or similar applications or even any good (or bad) at all.

Besides, in vast majority of cases, amateurs/hobbyists seem to base their purchase decisions merely on price, i.e. cheapness of the product.

 

Or just because I have tires by brand “A” in my classic car doesn’t mean they’re best or better choice than brand “B”.

 

And obviously the “industry” wouldn’t favor or want such tests to be conducted/published, especially by independent.

 

Edited January 11, 2021 by TTR (see edit history)

[padgett]

Have done a lot of "beta testing" for corporations but mostly electronics and computers. Cars are my hobby but not a livelihood. Are some products I'll buy and others won't (only ACDelco in tank fuel pumps). Besides Orlando is not the best place for such. Someone in LaLaLand is probably better.

[ia-k]

I think a big issue would be if you try to compare a part (i.e metal patch panel) from "Ed's Edsel Supply", "Edsels-R-Us", and "A1 Edsel Parts" is that they probably get the part from the same manufacturer. They would put their own part number and name on it but would be the same supplier for all 3. I would think word of mouth or posts in the specific car forum/Facebook page would give the best feedback with actual experience, not my cousin Bill's B-I-L said they were junk.

Edited January 11, 2021 by ia-k (see edit history)

[padgett]

I often use forensic analysis to determine who makes some of the stuff. Is an incredible amount of "badge engineering" going on particularly in electronics. Can usually find out the source and is often to the far west of us.

[AL1630]

I like the youtube channel 'Project Farm', he tests all sorts of stuff not just car related, but he has run tests of oil, additives and the like. Not specifically antique car related but many of the things he does are related to cars. He's open to viewer suggestions, maybe he would be willing to try out some antique-related products at some point.

[JACK M]

18 hours ago, ia-k said:

I think a big issue would be if you try to compare a part (i.e metal patch panel) from "Ed's Edsel Supply", "Edsels-R-Us", and "A1 Edsel Parts" is that they probably get the part from the same manufacturer. They would put their own part number and name on it but would be the same supplier for all 3. I would think word of mouth or posts in the specific car forum/Facebook page would give the best feedback with actual experience, not my cousin Bill's B-I-L said they were junk.

 

Then at least a dozen Edsel owners that bought and tried. And invited the reviewer over to help.