[orionredwing]

Manufacturing in China can be just as good as anywhere else in the world. Because of the large variance in skilled labor, and process controls between manufacturers, you can find very good and very poorly made products.

Back in the 80s and 90s, there was a big knowledge gap, and China did not have the modern process controls that they have today.

In the end, it's up to each vendor to qualify their source and perform proper QC. If that's done, the argument of China vs Made in the U.S.A. is irrelevant.

I come from 10+ yrs of experience in Operations / Mfg Eng Mgmt, and the last few years have been spent transitioning products from Silicon Valley to low-cost regions.

(I personally bought AR's downpipes, but am getting into the VK FMIC group buy, so am not pro-specific vendor. I just want a quality product, which both vendors deliver.)