O2 sensors Economy vs Premium brand

Joined
Sep 13, 2003
Messages
5,987
Location
Waterloo, ON
I have always bought Bosch or NTK, but now wondering if the economy brands such at API ot Ultra power are just as good.

Anyone have experiences with the economy O2s
 
Last edited:
I usually buy Denso sensors, which are often NTK sensors in a Denso box.

What is the price difference? If it's only a few dollars, you might as well just buy the name brand.
 
No cheap ones (economy) are absolutely junk based on what I know and have experienced and been told. Get OEM or whoever makes the OEM part for your car. I had to replace one in our Toyota my dad wanted to get the cheapest one I told him no get the Denso he did and he was able to understand why I said don’t go aftermarket then. It’s still going good today.
 
Put a cheezy ebay o2 sensor in a 2002 prizm. Hated it. Threw a code for "thermostat too cold", wild goose chase on it, but looking at the live data it came and went.
 
Depends on which car make we are talking about.

For me dealing with Toyota, I always use Denso.
For GMs, I always use ACDelco.
etc.

Economy is just that, economy means cheaply made not up to spec or does not pass the spec.
 
I have always bought Bosch or NTK, but now wondering if the economy brands such at API ot Ultra power are just as good.

Anyone have experiences with the economy O2
Yes I have in the past used an economy O2 sensor, and they are absolute junk. They may work fine in the beginning but they soon begin to fail. My personal rule is that critical engine or emissions sensors are only replaced with exact oem parts. O2 sensors live in one of the harshest environments that a vehicle has, they live in a extremely hot and corrovive enviorment and need to be excepionally precise, accurate, and robust.OE sensors are expensive and O2 sensors are a perfect example of "you get what you pay for". Most o2 sensors use zincromium which is an expensive material, a bargin o2 sensor has to cut expeses somewhere, they usually use lower quality material that may do the job, but not for long. Given that the o2 sensor manages air/fuel ratio and cat temps Im unwilling to use a cheaply made sensor that can damage some very expensive components. I'd rather spen $150 buckson a oe sensor than $75 bucks on an economy sensor that destroys my $1000 catalytic converter or that leans out my mixture so much that I hole a piston.
 
Removed a cheap generic one that a shop put on once. Only lasted about a year. Had no name brand on it. When compared to the Denso sensor that I put in, the Denso one had thicker wrench flats too. I only use Bosch and Denso and have never had an issue with either one, even a Bosch that I put ~190K miles on. It's not like the Bosch or Denso O2 sensors are expensive if mail ordered. Quite frankly, I don't understand why anyone buys the cheaper ones.
 
The old saying goes, you get what you pay for.
Sometings yes, and sometines no. Anyone who has ever worked in a marketing Dept will tell you many high end produts are sold on perception. I have found off brand products 100% indentical to name brands in some cases but at half the price.

Back to the o2s, my research shows there are only 4 companies that make all o2 sensors. Bosch, NGK, AC Delco and Denso. Now there may be some compaies in China, I don't know. But this tells me even the economy sesnors are made by one of these 4 companies
 
I remember many years ago they tested Sensors (can't remember which ones) between BMW & GM.
BMW had 7 of them at $ 5 each, GM had 3 at $ 0.25. Would anyone guess which ones performed better? ;)
In sensors one really gets what one pays for.
 
Just remember just because a certain company makes it doesn’t mean it will be quality. Especially if they make it for certain standards for another company which could be significantly lower than the standards of the company making it.
 
I bought a Bosch replacement pre cat O2 for my Hyundai Accent, $50 at Advance Auto. It lasted about 50k miles. Put the old OE back in that got changed at 100k miles and drove it another 25k miles. Just recently ordered a new OE O2 ($75) and installed it. With O2s if you are keeping the car go OE only. Fix and sell get the cheap.
 
Put a cheezy ebay o2 sensor in a 2002 prizm. Hated it. Threw a code for "thermostat too cold", wild goose chase on it, but looking at the live data it came and went.
We bought a few whitebox air fuel sensors lately. Every single one has worked perfect. Functionality was verified thru extensive data logging on Ecutek tuned vehicles. As far as how long they will last, your guess is as good as mine.
 
I used an Ultra Power 02 sensor once just for fun - it is still working on that car 2 years later lol. But I usually use Denso, NTK or other known brand name. The only one that ever gave me issue was Bosch- for some reason they just didn't work on a few cars...enough that I stopped buying them.
 
I hate Bosch O2s with a passion. Depending on application and availability I've used ACDelco, Denso, or NTK.
 
There's some parts that need to be OE, IMO. That would be spark plugs, thermostats, and O2 sensors. Most anything else I'll buy aftermarket.

Like Chris' Jeep, mine also threw codes and ran like crap on other O2 sensors, mine were Delphi. Had to put NTK (OE) on it for it to be happy.
 
Back
Top