Who Makes ACDelco Tools (And Are They Any Good?)
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Though ACDelco may be much better known for its car maintenance shops or spark plugs found at popular retailers like AutoZone, the company also sells tools. Found at ACDelco retail stores, Amazon, and local hardware stores, ACDelco is an American brand that has existed for over 100 years.
Established by General Motors (GM) founder William C. Durant in 1916, the United Motors Corporation (UMC) eventually acquired the Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company (or DELCO) in 1918. Years later, in 1974, General Motors Corporation acquired UMC and brought ACDelco — which was known as Delco at the time — under the umbrella of General Motors.
Originally known for their AC spark plug innovations used in American aircraft of the '30s and '40s, AC Spark Plug and DELCO combined to form the ACDelco we know today. Since then, the company has primarily been known for being a service center and source of reliable replacement car parts. While the brand itself was started by some of the first big players in the American automobile industry, the tool brand as it is known today has somewhat complicated manufacturing origins.
ACDelco licensed the tool brand to Mobiletron Electronics
In 2009, Mobiletron, a Taiwanese company, licensed the name ACDelco Auto & Equipment Tools under the name Durofix USA. Though Durofix USA is relatively young, Mobiletron Electronics was founded in 1982 and is a multi-national corporation that's traded on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Its power tool division was formed three years after its founding in 1985.
Mobiletron operates a number of locations worldwide but has two main manufacturing plants. The first plant, the Mobiletron Headquarters, is based in Taichung, Taiwan, and has exported automotive parts to over 100 countries since 1982. A subsidiary factory located in Ningbo, China, was established in 1995 and consists of two plants.
Though Mobiletron does distribute ACDelco tools through Durofix — which has a headquarters in Rancho Cucamonga, California — it appears to be a distribution hub rather than a manufacturing factory. Furthermore, Durofix sources its power tools from a company named Regitar, which is also owned by Mobiletron and likely sources its manufacturing from the aforementioned Taiwanese and Chinese factories.
Are ACDelco tools any good?
Like most tool brands, the quality of ACDelco tools will largely come down to what tool you plan on buying and for what purpose. The ACDelco G12, A20, and P20 Series offer a variety of power tools, including ratchet wrenches, impact drivers, power drills, and digital torque wrenches. Generally speaking, ACDelco is known for making quality torque wrenches. For example, the ARM601-3 3/8-inch Digital Torque Wrench has a 4.5-star rating and costs $139.99 on Amazon. Alternatively, the ARM601-4 1/2 inch Heavy Duty Digital Torque Wrench costs $107.99 and has a 4.4-star Amazon rating.
Both wrenches are manufactured in Taiwan and have been praised for their accuracy and quality. They each have a buzzer to help notify the user when they're in the right torque range, as well as an LED light. Of the negative reviews, which are the minority, users complained that the screen eventually stopped working.
ACDelco is the more affordable option compared to other digital torque wrenches, like Craftsman Digital Torque Wrench, SAE 1/2-inch, which normally sells for $223.17 on Amazon. That said, the Craftsman 1/2-inch (also manufactured in Taiwan) has 50 ft-lbs to 250 ft-lbs of torque, compared to ACDelco's 1/2-inch Heavy Duty Digital Torque Wrench that only has 14.8 to 147.5 ft-lbs, making the Craftsman version better for more commercial or heavy use. The Craftsman version also has a slightly higher Amazon rating at 4.7 stars, though there are fewer reviews in total.
ACDelco power tools are an affordable option
ACDelco also makes drills and drivers, like the ACDelco G12 Series 12V Cordless Impact Driver that sells for $49.95 on Amazon with a battery. The 12V smaller cordless tools are highly rated, but they don't truly stack up to the competition in terms of torque at only 984-inch pounds. This is compared to drivers like the Ryobi ONE+ 18V Impact Driver at $45 on Amazon, which has 1,800-inch pounds of torque — though it is just the bare tool without a battery.
That said, in terms of impact drivers, at least, ACDelco's A20 and P20 20-volt wireless tools are promising if you can actually find them. For example, the A20 Series 20V Max Li-ion Brushless, more powerful driver is only available on the Durofix website and comes with a battery and carrying case for $79.99. Though the ACDelco P20 Series 20V can be found on Amazon for $243.63, it's on the pricier side and has 4.2 stars from just 54 total ratings.
Overall, ACDelco has a decent power tool line but has a hard time competing with the best power tool manufacturers constantly innovating on their cordless battery lines like DeWalt, Makita, Craftsman, and Ryobi. Combine this with a fairly sub-par limited 1-year warranty (many other tool brands have longer ones), and it makes ACDelco tools a less attractive option in some cases. Though they are great at making digital torque wrenches and car parts, their catalog of power tools is less impressive overall.