Disclaimer: Febi Bilstein IS NOT Bilstein

[arjun90]

People tend to think that Febi Bilstein is the same as Bilstein, the company that makes struts and other suspension components. They're not the same.

Febi Bilstein markets their products as Made in Germany. They are an aftermarket company with no desire for complete transparency. See picture below. Any online European parts store that sells Febi Bilstein should seriously consider removing Febi products from their catalog. The first thing out of the box is the strong stench of rubber and when compared to Genuine Audi parts, its hard to determine if the Febi products even meet the minimum OEM specification

I'm about to replace the rear struts and want to replace the rear strut mount as well. Febi was $30 each compared to Genuine Audi $103 each

[rah253]

Good to know, little details that we don't pay attention too sometimes...

[Mad Cow]

I'm not seeing the scandal here, it's an aftermarket parts brand that sells parts that cost less than half of OEM price, did you really expect the same part? If you want OEM quality you get OEM parts, if you want to save a bunch of money for something that is almost as good for all intents and purposes buy febi. But if you want something made in Germany for whatever reason then stay away from OEM, because those are mostly Lemfoerder which are made in China now. Such is the auto parts industry these days, everything from the big trusted brands is commoditized and outsourced to a third party, the only real difference is the quality control standards and if they're actually enforced. Though I will admit febi seems to actually be one of the better players here in my experience, at least they're not made by the same manufacturer as all the generic no name parts and sold as a premium brand *coughcoughMOOGcough*

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[JoshDub]

Sounds like there is some confusion between OEM and OE. OEM stands for original equipment manufacturer while OE is original equipment. You'll find OE parts in Audi branded boxes and will often have Audi's logo stamped on the part. OEM are the companies that are contracted to produce products for the auto manufacturers. These are companies such as Bosch, Hitachi, Seimens, etc. They will often produce the same products for retail as they do for the OE contract but at a lower price point. They are also capable of producing parts at different quality levels for different pricing tiers.

Febi is an OEM.

[arjun90]

My concern is that Febi states their parts are made in Germany and its statement is deceiving to the consumer. I 101% agree that many OE companies are outsourcing production especially Lemforder’s partial move to China. I also never expected to receive a part Made in India. I received a Febi top rubber seat plate for my driver side strut assembly and found it to be heavier than the genuine Audi part. I had to return and buy the genuine part directly from Audi. Yesterday, I received two strut mounts for my rear suspension (Febi brand: each $30). The original genuine Audi Part is $100 each. My 034 Motorsport front strut mounts were $30 each and are made by the OE supplier as per 034 Motorsport. I thought I could something around the same price for the rear strut mount.


From Febi's Website,

At Ferdinand Bilstein, all important parts for the professional repair of all current brands and models are available – whether for cars, trucks, buses, trailers or vans (LCVs).

In doing so, we rely exclusively on products in OE matching quality. This is not only guaranteed by our comprehensive quality management, but also by our own production competence.

Because we are not just a supplier. We produce spare parts "Made in Germany" in our own production area.

https://www.febi.com/en/brand/about-febi/

Febi is not an OEM, they're strictly an aftermarket supplier

[JorisRS6]

Ive used febi bushings and cant say anything about it. The pricing is fair and quality is good too. Pretty sure they are an OEM.
And even if theyre not i dont see ur point. Its a third of the price the OE audi part. Made in germany where quality standards are usually high. Definitely not much lower quality then other manufacturers.


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[arjun90]

Those bushings may have been in Germany, but their strut mounts, control arms, strut components, and much more are made in China and India. There's not much feedback on their quality except for the negative feedback I come across when I dig through this forum. Auto part suppliers like ECS Tuning sell them and its hard to comment or even get appropriate feedback as these parts are priced to sell. I understand we get what we pay for, but there seems to a premium when paying for a particular brand (i.e. comparing Apple to TCL for example). Am I suppose to believe that Febi meets or exceeds OEM specifications? I think a lot of people are confusing Febi as a company mass producing in Germany when its actually not. Also, Febi is not the same as Bilstein. Febi Bilstein and Bilstein are completely two different companies.

Ive used febi bushings and cant say anything about it. The pricing is fair and quality is good too. Pretty sure they are an OEM.
And even if theyre not i dont see ur point. Its a third of the price the OE audi part. Made in germany where quality standards are usually high. Definitely not much lower quality then other manufacturers.


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[Dirtyb5]

Ive used febi bushings and cant say anything about it. The pricing is fair and quality is good too. Pretty sure they are an OEM.
And even if theyre not i dont see ur point. Its a third of the price the OE audi part. Made in germany where quality standards are usually high. Definitely not much lower quality then other manufacturers.


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This right here. I’ve used them on a million things and haven’t had a quality issue. Price is good, parts are decent. My febi front control arms on my old B5 s4 had about 90k miles on them and were still tight and noise free when I sold it. They’re fine replacement parts.

[JorisRS6]

Those bushings may have been in Germany, but their strut mounts, control arms, strut components, and much more are made in China and India. There's not much feedback on their quality except for the negative feedback I come across when I dig through this forum. Auto part suppliers like ECS Tuning sell them and its hard to comment or even get appropriate feedback as these parts are priced to sell. I understand we get what we pay for, but there seems to a premium when paying for a particular brand (i.e. comparing Apple to TCL for example). Am I suppose to believe that Febi meets or exceeds OEM specifications? I think a lot of people are confusing Febi as a company mass producing in Germany when its actually not. Also, Febi is not the same as Bilstein. Febi Bilstein and Bilstein are completely two different companies.

I never said you need to believe that they meet or exceed oem spec. However i personally believe that they arent very far behind. The bushings i put in my rs6 will probably outlast most other parts. Some of the bushings that came out were still the original ones. 17 yrs old. Maybe the aftermarket materials are on par with the premium stuff from 17 yrs ago. I dont know but im not always paying the extra dollar for OEM when its simple parts or not proven to be better. I mostly use OEM parts but just not always.
Anyways. Good to clarify that bilstein and febi bilstein arent the same and that febi isnt always good.


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[arjun90]

Thanks for the feedback guys, for a strut mount on the rear of my C5, do you think the Febi Strut Mount should be fine?

[Mad Cow]

That's interesting that they're entirely separate companies, I assumed they were subsidiaries under the same company. My experience with febi Bilstein parts is they don't seem to be the same as the other cheap aftermarket parts, they're definitely not OEM but I was never under that impression. What that tells me though, is they're more likely to be designed in-house, which means they're more likely to be more hands-on with their suppliers. The other, much easier alternative is to just take whatever their suppliers are currently pumping out and sell that through their distribution channels so they don't have to worry about R&D or anything like that. I would trust an Indian strut mount just the same as I would trust a German one as long as I trust the brand, these are simple parts and can be made anywhere as long as QC standards are strong and enforced.

If I remember correctly 034 states they're made by an OEM supplier, not necessarily the same supplier that made the mounts originally. It could also be that none of their mounts are OE in any car, but they're OEM for something else unrelated. You'll see that a lot too, very common tactic.

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[arjun90]

Thanks Mad Cow, you made a good point there. Two genuine rear Audi strut mounts would cost in excess of $220. The two Febi mounts came out to be $70. They don't feel bad particularly, and since the rear doesn't take the most brunt from harsh roads, I think it won't be a problem using them.

That's interesting that they're entirely separate companies, I assumed they were subsidiaries under the same company. My experience with febi Bilstein parts is they don't seem to be the same as the other cheap aftermarket parts, they're definitely not OEM but I was never under that impression. What that tells me though, is they're more likely to be designed in-house, which means they're more likely to be more hands-on with their suppliers. The other, much easier alternative is to just take whatever their suppliers are currently pumping out and sell that through their distribution channels so they don't have to worry about R&D or anything like that. I would trust an Indian strut mount just the same as I would trust a German one as long as I trust the brand, these are simple parts and can be made anywhere as long as QC standards are strong and enforced.

If I remember correctly 034 states they're made by an OEM supplier, not necessarily the same supplier that made the mounts originally. It could also be that none of their mounts are OE in any car, but they're OEM for something else unrelated. You'll see that a lot too, very common tactic.

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[Scotty@Advanced]

Nothing on their webpages states that all parts are made in Germany. I bet the genuine Audi parts aren't even made in Germany.

[arjun90]

The genuine Audi parts are made all over the world including China. However I’ve yet to see a genuine Audi part Made in India