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Topic: The Truth About Motorcraft Products..... (Read 3335 times) previous topic - next topic

The Truth About Motorcraft Products.....

-with all of the talk the last two days over who makes what product and which is the one to use, etc, etc.....I decided I would at least quell the rumors/hearsay over the Ford/Motocraft parts makers.  I personally called Mr. Doug Kraus, Motorcraft Product Marketing Mgr, for Ford Motor Co. , North America and asked him to tell me whom was the maker of Motorcraft plugs and to expand upon the design & engineering aspect of it and would he please put it in E-mail form so I could quote his actual response for everyone, so they would not think i  was just making it up.  so thanks to Mr. Kraus for his time and his response in answer to my questions:

"Henry,

Our suppliers produce and test our parts to Ford Motor Company vehicle
specifications.  Our spark plugs are manufactured to our engine &
engineering specs.  Honeywell is our supplier of spark plugs, they
produce Autolite and many others' spark plugs.  Honeywell is not
permitted to use Ford engineering specifications to produce Autolite or
any other company's spark plug line.

Using another example with one of the products I oversee, Johnson
Controls (JCI) is our supplier of Motorcraft batteries.  JCI also
produces the Sears Die Hard, Interstate, Delco, and many other batteries
for others.  Our batteries are superior to others in many ways, while
being produced by the same company... JCI.  The reason for our
exceptional OE quality is because they are manufactured to our vehicle
specifications.

Doug Kraus
Product Marketing Manager
Batteries / Filters / Plugs / Wipers"

I do believe this is as i had stated, that in no way does Ford let ANYONE use their specs for their products.  it just isnt going to happen.  he went on to talk about other things and issues as well, but i only used what i needed to show everyone.  but hopefully it will answer many questions that have been asked......;)
-'87 turbo coupe with only 740 ORIGINAL miles.... :dunce:
-'86 turbo coupe, 5sp. Cali Car.......:cool:

The Truth About Motorcraft Products.....

Reply #1
Well,there you go.I really won't believe him until he sends me a filter,battery,some injectors,and a few other items so I can install them,road test them,and see for myself.Tell him to get with me on this issue and I'll see what i can do to work it all out for some real world testing and a report on the results.
'88 Sport--T-5,MGW shifter,Trick Flow R intake,Ed Curtis cam,Trick Flow heads,Scorpion rockers,75mm Accufab t-body,3G,mini starter,Taurus fan,BBK long tube headers,O/R H-Pipe, Flowamaster Super 44's, deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, Mass Air and 24's,8.8 with 3.73's,140 mph speedo,Mach 1 chin spoiler,SN-95 springs,CHE control arms,aluminum drive shaft and a lot more..

The Truth About Motorcraft Products.....

Reply #2
"exceptional OE quality is because they are manufactured to our vehicle specifications. "
I like that part,Maybe they should listen to real people that use and buy the product.
Old Grey Cat to this.88 Cat, 5.0 HO, CW mounts, mass air, CI custom cam, afr165's, Tmoss worked cobra intake, BBK shorty's,off road h pipe, magnaflow ex. T-5,spec stage 2 clutch, 8.8 373 TC trac loc, che ajustables with bullits on the rear. 11" brakes up front. +

The Truth About Motorcraft Products.....

Reply #3
-this is thread is not about performance.  this is to answer the question of who makes them and engineering specs.  if you prefer another fine.  this is to quelch the "they are the same" myth.  if you use another brand, u think its going to bother me???    as stated ive been in this business over 15 yrs, our motorcraft warranty i would bet, is lower than that of part store items.  IMO.....
-'87 turbo coupe with only 740 ORIGINAL miles.... :dunce:
-'86 turbo coupe, 5sp. Cali Car.......:cool:

The Truth About Motorcraft Products.....

Reply #4
Can I change my mind again? :p

The Truth About Motorcraft Products.....

Reply #5
motorcraft ignition components, and oil filters for life, y0!!!
gumby - beauty may fade, but stupid is forever!

The Truth About Motorcraft Products.....

Reply #6
Quote from: gumby;188126
motorcraft ignition components, and oil filters for life, y0!!!

Ever since I've been a member of this forum, I've been using Motorcraft oil filters on ALL my Fords, my dad even does now.

Can't get Motorcraft air filters however, (from walmart)
I guess I should start getting them from Carquest... :hick:
'84 Mustang
'98 Explorer 5.0
'03 Focus, dropped a valve seat. yay. freakin' split port engines...
'06 Explorer EB 4.6

 

The Truth About Motorcraft Products.....

Reply #7
That is nice information to know, thanks for getting him to do that. I do wonder why he didn't mention the oil and air filters. I've used Motorcraft oil filters ever since I read that independent filter study online. I also use the plugs and wires. :D
Matt
1984 Thunderbird - 89 302 HO, GT40 heads w/ Trick Flow springs, E303 cam, Edelbrock Performer 289 intake and 600 cfm 4bbl, Mustang headers, Jegs o/r H pipe, Dynomax lers, Mustang AOD and shifter, Mustang 8.8 w/ 3.73s, 3G alternator, Mustang front and rear sway bars, KYB 87-88 Turbo Coupe shocks and struts, and 11" front brakes.

1988 Mustang GT - GT40 heads, Explorer intake, 70mm throttle body, 70mm MAF, Crane 1.7 rrs, E303 cam, Kirban Kwik shifter w/ Pro 5.0 deluxe handle, aluminum clutch quadrant and firewall adjuster, o/r h pipe, Dynomax lers, 3G alternator, aluminum radiator, and 3.27 gears.
 
1986 Cougar 5.0, 1989 Mark VII LSC 5 speed, 1980 Mercury Zephyr 4 door (sold)

The Truth About Motorcraft Products.....

Reply #8
Hello

  When I worked for Exide battery a few years ago they had the contract for Ford oem batterys and for Dodge also.  I wounder when they switched over to JCI for ford.

igiveup
86 ELAN t-bird all mustang parts (Sold)  I love this site.
85 bronco 2. Dura sparked (soon TBI) too many parts
1988 5.0 lx Stang (93 gt cobra mass air)
85 Honda 250sx trike
06 F150 tow rig. all kinds of goodies.(This is why I sold the Bird)
igiveup was the only name I could get. lol

The Truth About Motorcraft Products.....

Reply #9
My co-worker has a 1996 Ranger pick-up with the original battery.  The other day he came in and said the battery finally gave out.  Turned out the battery cable was bad and the battery was still good.  The battery out lasted the cables.

Go Motorcraft!

TED

The Truth About Motorcraft Products.....

Reply #10
that sounds like a huge load of shiznit. They are made to our vehicle specs. WTF. If that is so true why is that other companies make plugs that fit FORD cars, why is it that a non FORD/MOTORCRAFT battery fits into a FORD. Because these other manufactures have those same specs. The makers of the other brands just might not have as good quality control as the companies that makes Ford parts. Also if the parts are made to the Vehicle specs why is it that one part can fit more than one car. Because the parts are made to the specs for that part not for the vehicle.
84 Turbo coupe 2.3T Modded with 88 upper and lower intake, 88 injectors, E6 manifold, T3-4 AR.60 turbo, 31X12X3 FMIC, Homemade MBC , Greddy knock off BPV.
4 eyes see better than 2! 
Da Bird!

FreeBird

The Truth About Motorcraft Products.....

Reply #11
Because something fits doesn't mean it's made to the same spec. A battery might fit but have a completely different internal construction. A spark plug might have the same heat range and thread pitch but still have other differences. A spark plug wire might be the proper length and have the proper ends on it, but it might be made of inferior (or better) materials. A brake pad might fit in the caliper but be made from different materials (same as ball joints, rotors, alternators, etc).

Just like computer parts. A no-name printer cartridge might fit your Canon printer, but it's made differently (you can tell when you open 'em up to refill 'em)
2015 Mustang GT Premium - 5.0, 6-speed, Guard Green - too much awesome for one car

1988 5.0 Thunderbird :birdsmily: SOLD SEPT 11 2010: TC front clip/hood ♣ Body & paint completed Oct 2007 ♣ 3.55 TC rear end and front brakes ♣ TC interior ♣ CHE rear control arms (adjustable lowers) ♣ 2001 Bullitt springs ♣ Energy suspension poly busings ♣ Kenne Brown subframe connectors ♣ CWE engine mounts ♣ Thundercat sequential turn signals ♣ Explorer overhead console (temp/compass display) ♣ 2.25" off-road dual exhaust ♣ T-5 transmission swap completed Jan 2009 ♣

The Truth About Motorcraft Products.....

Reply #12
While not really related, a couple of weeks ago, I bought a new battery for my truck. The place I bought the battery from is a local hardware/farm supply store..some of you in the midwest might have heard of it: Orscheln Farm and Home?

Anyway, their battery book listed 2 different batteries for the truck, and my car. (88 Chevy K1500, and '94 Caprice Classic)
However, at Walmart, it listed the same battery for both...

Just goes to show skunks of a different stripe both stink..errr, I mean..every manufacturer is different.

Why else would a water pump from O'rielly's fail after 1500 miles, when the one that replaced that failed one has since racked up 15 THOUSAND miles?

"all parts are NOT created equal."
'84 Mustang
'98 Explorer 5.0
'03 Focus, dropped a valve seat. yay. freakin' split port engines...
'06 Explorer EB 4.6

The Truth About Motorcraft Products.....

Reply #13
Eh, I just buy Purolator oil filters for my car.

Same thing as a Motorcraft except cheaper.  The motorcraft has a purolator "pure one" filter in a regular casing, which isn't necessarily a good thing (more restrictive to flow due to the high number of pleats)

Garrett H.
'94 F250 XLT- 4x4, 5 speed, 7.3 IDI Turbo Diesel, 4" intake, 4" exhaust, 5" turnout stacks, manual hubs, etc.
'87 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe
Engine, wheels, tires, etc!
Exhaust sound clip
Another clip

The Truth About Motorcraft Products.....

Reply #14
I guess you missed this part in my post!

Quote from: ipsd;188150
Also if the parts are made to the Vehicle specs why is it that one part can fit more than one car. Because the parts are made to the specs for that part not for the vehicle.
84 Turbo coupe 2.3T Modded with 88 upper and lower intake, 88 injectors, E6 manifold, T3-4 AR.60 turbo, 31X12X3 FMIC, Homemade MBC , Greddy knock off BPV.
4 eyes see better than 2! 
Da Bird!

FreeBird