They presented the results of sled tests and vehicle crash tests at a variety of speeds that compared the energy absorbing capabilities of the aftermarket parts with OE parts. Once again, the aftermarket parts did not compare favorably to the OE parts.
The aftermarket parts tested were not certified by the Certified Automotive Parts Association or by NSF International. Both of those groups made presentations covering their certification standards at CIC before Ford’s presentation.
The sled test evaluates how a component will react under dynamic crash conditions, according to Paul Massie, Ford Customer Service Division powertrain & collision product marketing manager. The test is used to develop and evaluate part designs before they are put into a higher level system. Massie and Roger Chen, crash development engineer; Dave Bauch, sensor technical specialist; and Steve Nantau, Ford Customer Service Division project strategy manager conducted the tests and presented the results.
A 2007 Mustang with an aftermarket bumper beam, absorber and isolator was tested against the same vehicle with Ford OE parts, and the aftermarket parts did not absorb energy as effectively as the OE bumper. The company presented videos, photos and graphs to document the tests. Repair costs were higher on the vehicle fitted with aftermarket parts than on the vehicle fitted with the OE parts.
In the five-mile-per-hour crash, the Mustang with the OE bumper beam sustained $1,224.38 in damage compared to $2982.03 in damage to the same car with aftermarket parts, Ford said.
In the eight-mile-per-hour crash, the vehicle with the OE bumper beam sustained 3,440.68 in damage. At the same speed, the vehicle with the aftermarket bumper beam sustained from $3815.92 to $5,393.92 in damage. The larger repair was if both front airbags deployed in the vehicle with aftermarket parts.
“Airbag deployment will engage at a lower speed with aftermarket parts than with OEM parts,” says Bauch. That’s because the crash energy absorbed by the aftermarket bumper beam is less than the crash energy absorbed by the OE bumper beam, he said.
At the July 2010 CIC meeting, Ford presented computer aided engineering models to compare OE and aftermarket Mustang bumper beams and F-150 series radiator core supports. Their exhaustive testing concluded that the select aftermarket parts did not compare in like, kind and quality to the OEM parts because of raw material differences, varied material and weight thicknesses, dimensional and structural integrity differences and differences in the manufacturing processes to make the part.
The parts they tested were not equivalent to OE parts and did not return damaged vehicles to their pre-accident condition, the company said. Ford also said it would conduct comparative crash testing with the OE and aftermarket parts and present its findings, which it did Nov. 3 at CIC.
Massie said Ford would continue to work with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, industry trade associations, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, elected officials and government and regulatory agencies to seek oversight of aftermarket parts and their impact on the safety of the driving public.
