Aftermarket coils

Is there a down side to using aftermarket coils in a B&S engine??
They cost way less, but do you give anything up in performance or longevity?

If they are china made you give up a lot. They might work fine for a little while in the beginning but degrade sooner and faster than a factory briggs. I've found over the years racing karts with predator motors and LO206 briggs motors that the Chinese parts aren't even close to the quality and tolerance of briggs. My 206 is on it's second year and runs as good as the day I bought it and it's never been in to just oil changes. The predator bought and built at the same time has gone through 5 coils in two seasons not to mention 2 carbs 18 sets of valve springs 4 rocker arms and 2 sets of push rods.

Talking about "Chinese coils" is a touch racist as if everything made in China is garbage and they do not have the ability to make anything properly.
FWIW last year China had more successful satelite launches than the USA and they now have the 2nd largest number of them in orbit.
You see what American companies ask for & buy CHEAP, CHEAPER & CHEAPER STILL . and they we want it 10% less than last year.

Nothing wrong with Chinese coils made by a reputable company with good quality control.
Problem is working out who sells good & who sells cheap.

Then there is what happens to the ones that Briggs, Kohler, Honda reject as being below standard.
In the USA they go to scrap metal merchants after being broken beyond being able to be fitted.
In China they go to salvage merchants who on sell to trading companies who on sell to USA evilbay / Amazon / craigs list vendors.
You buy a 10 coil that does not work, you blame yourself for being cheap then go to the mower shop & buy another x 300,000,000 people who will do the same.

How do you tell a good product ?
It will be branded at best or just have a serial number on it at worst.

As a home user, I would encourage you to buy from a reputable aftermarket supplier , Oregon, Prime Line, Rotary , Stens etc etc where the coil has a guarantee.

I don't see a problem in using them, you can buy top end and still have bad ones...!

bertsmobile1 said:

Talking about "Chinese coils" is a touch racist as if everything made in China is garbage and they do not have the ability to make anything properly.
FWIW last year China had more successful satelite launches than the USA and they now have the 2nd largest number of them in orbit.
You see what American companies ask for & buy CHEAP, CHEAPER & CHEAPER STILL . and they we want it 10% less than last year.

Nothing wrong with Chinese coils made by a reputable company with good quality control.
Problem is working out who sells good & who sells cheap.

Then there is what happens to the ones that Briggs, Kohler, Honda reject as being below standard.
In the USA they go to scrap metal merchants after being broken beyond being able to be fitted.
In China they go to salvage merchants who on sell to trading companies who on sell to USA evilbay / Amazon / craigs list vendors.
You buy a 10 coil that does not work, you blame yourself for being cheap then go to the mower shop & buy another x 300,000,000 people who will do the same.

How do you tell a good product ?
It will be branded at best or just have a serial number on it at worst.

As a home user, I would encourage you to buy from a reputable aftermarket supplier , Oregon, Prime Line, Rotary , Stens etc etc where the coil has a guarantee.

Click to expand...

Seriously dude Racist??????? Why does it have to be a race thing with you liberals all of the time???? Go to any kart track and ask any racer/mechanic and you will get facts. I've been running chonda motors for years (Chinese Honda clone to you) and the fact remains the motor as a whole is inferior to Honda (Japanese to you) which they 1:1 copied and LO206 briggs. Facts not race related next time you want to state your opinion just put it out there instead of being insulting in your opening line. If you suffer from white guilt or any other conjured up liberal syndrome keep that crap to yourself no one cares.

Geez....I did not intent to start a political war here......
Stens and Oregon coils were nearly the B&S price. That oughta say somethin'........
I purchased 2 B&S new take offs at a decent price, just because........

Fact is that B&S coils and CDI Units are very reliable. Everything is subject to occasional failure of course. In over 65 years working with small engines I have never bought a new coil for a B&S engine. In the rare occasion I find one which is actually bad, I go to the salvage shelf and put on a used one. I suggest you do the same - checking a small shop, large ones do not want to fool with used stuff. Many coils and spark plugs get replaced, blamed, because that is the first thing thought of

Walt Conner

Txbiker said:

Seriously dude Racist??????? Why does it have to be a race thing with you liberals all of the time???? Go to any kart track and ask any racer/mechanic and you will get facts. I've been running chonda motors for years (Chinese Honda clone to you) and the fact remains the motor as a whole is inferior to Honda (Japanese to you) which they 1:1 copied and LO206 briggs. Facts not race related next time you want to state your opinion just put it out there instead of being insulting in your opening line. If you suffer from white guilt or any other conjured up liberal syndrome keep that crap to yourself no one cares.

Click to expand...

Actually I am a touch on the left of center if you were to put me any where.
I buy coils from a factory in China all the time without problems. They are branded by the OEM because they make a quality product that they warrant .
There is more than 1 factory in China
So asking "what are Chinese coils like " is just as stupid as asking "what are American made cars like "
Or What are American mowers like
The inference is that they are all the same ( because roo all hook same to me ) because they are not like us.
As for the Chonda engines I see you & your mates are happy enough to buy & use them.
Sort of like people complaining about all the crime then buying cheap stolen goods from a car boot out the back of a bar.
Briggs have 2 factories in China, Honda have 8 factories in China, Stihl have 3 factories in China , Kohler have just opened their 2nd factory in China, Husqvarna have 2 factories in China.
All of these factories buy in things like coils from other factories in China and they do not seem to have problems.
Toro now fit Loncin motors to most of their smaller mowers to make the price cheap enough for cheapskate Americans to buy them.
And Loncin motors are , funny enough made in China.

The fact is the CHONDA motors are inferiour to genuine Honda motors deliberately because they cost 1/4 the price of a real Honda which you are too cheap to buy.
Quality cost money , if people will not pay for quality then they get junk if junk is all they are willing to pay for.
Then some patriotic flag waving business man will happily import them at $ 50 a unit sell then to you at $ 200 a unit and laugh all the way to the bank.

I do not suffer "white guilt" in any way shape or form.
I import top shelf high quality parts form China & India which I use to repair equipment for people too cheap to fit genuine parts.
Not a single part I have imported has ever given me the slightest bit of trouble because I shop for quality , not the absolute cheapest possible price anywhere in the world.
Being trained in engineering sciences I know that you only ever get what you pay for and precision costs money, quality control costs money.

Tinkerer200 said:

Fact is that B&S coils and CDI Units are very reliable. Everything is subject to occasional failure of course. In over 65 years working with small engines I have never bought a new coil for a B&S engine. In the rare occasion I find one which is actually bad, I go to the salvage shelf and put on a used one. I suggest you do the same - checking a small shop, large ones do not want to fool with used stuff. Many coils and spark plugs get replaced, blamed, because that is the first thing thought of

Walt Conner

Click to expand...

Too true Walt .
Nearly every coil that I have needed to replace was because of owner neglect or ignorance.
Can not believe how many have owners filcked a battery across them to see if they are working and then there are the rednecks who just have to bypass all safety switches and end up sending starting voltage down the kill wire.
The Mower racers do seen to go through a few, don't bother diagnosing them cause they just ring to see if I have one that will fit because they are in the next heat & they have no spark so it MUST be the coil.
I keep a lot of coils in stock where as all the local mower shops do not carry any.
Briggs won't allow me to have a trade account so I have made the effort to find quality makers in China , not the cheapest so I can make the greatest profit.
Last year I shifted around 40 or so and of that only about 4 or 5 went into customers mowers the rest went into racers or karts.

Can a coil be intermittent?
I cleaned off the magnet and inductance ears of the coil and it is working again.
Should I trust it?
The mower had occasionally dropped a cylinder but it always came back on line quickly til this episode.

I used to have a mower that would not restart when it was hot. I had thought that to be a coil problem.