Are Aftermarket Rubber Tracks as Good as OEM?

Machine manufacturers build machines. They do not, for the most part, manufacture rubber tracks. They buy them in from a small number of specialist rubber track manufacturers, put them in dealer packaging, and sell them on at a dealer margin.

There are only a handful of companies in the world that actually press rubber tracks. Bridgestone is one of the largest, supplying tracks to major machine brands including Kubota, Yanmar, Takeuchi and Case. Camso (now part of Michelin) is another, with factory-fit partnerships across JCB, CNH, Kubota and others. ITR is a third: a specialist manufacturer supplying the aftermarket across Europe and beyond.

In practice, that means the “OEM” track on your machine and a quality aftermarket track are frequently made in the same factories, to the same specifications. Operators discover this the hard way. One owner on a heavy equipment forum went to buy OEM Bobcat tracks and found they were made by Bridgestone, and could only be bought, at a premium, through the Bobcat dealer. The track was a Bridgestone. The badge was Bobcat. The markup was real.

So when a dealer quotes you double for an “original” track, it’s worth asking: original to whom? In many cases you’re paying a machine-brand margin on a track the machine brand didn’t manufacture.

This isn’t an argument that OEM is always a waste of money. It buys three genuine things:

• A manufacturer’s warranty, handled through the dealer network. If the track fails early, the claim route is straightforward.
• Guaranteed fitment. The dealer will not sell you the wrong track for your machine.
• Simplicity. One phone call, no measuring, no cross-referencing.

For an owner who values a single point of contact and doesn’t want to think about it, that has real worth. The mistake is assuming those three things are the only way to get a quality track, or that the dealer badge guarantees a better product. It doesn’t.

The danger with aftermarket isn’t the category, it’s the bottom of it. There is a real difference between a quality aftermarket track and the cheapest one you can find, and it’s worth understanding before you buy on price alone.

Operators who bought purely on price regularly report tracks wearing out in less than half the hours they got from the original set. That’s not a saving. A track at 60% of the price that lasts 40% as long is the most expensive track you can buy, once you count the downtime and the second replacement.

The difference lies in things you can’t see in a photo:

• The steel cord. Quality tracks use continuous steel cables running the full loop of the track. Cheaper tracks use overlapped or shorter cords, which is where stretching, cracking and detracking start.
• The rubber compound. More natural rubber and less filler means better resistance to cracking and chunking. Cheap tracks pack in filler to hit a price.
• The link and lug geometry. A track built to genuinely match your machine’s undercarriage runs quieter, wears more evenly and is far less likely to throw a track.

The lesson isn’t “avoid aftermarket.” It’s to avoid buying tracks on price alone, from anyone. A quality aftermarket track from a named manufacturer is a completely different product from an unbranded bargain, even if the two look identical on a website.

If you’re going aftermarket, and for most UK owners it’s the sensible choice, these five checks separate a smart purchase from a gamble:

1. Ask who actually makes the track. A supplier who can name the manufacturer (ITR, Bridgestone, Camso) is selling you a known product. A supplier who can’t, or who sources from “several factories” depending on the day, is selling you a lottery.
2. Check the cord construction. Continuous steel cable is what you want. If the listing doesn’t say, ask.
3. Confirm the warranty in writing, and check how long it runs. Quality aftermarket tracks carry real warranties, and the length tells you how confident the manufacturer is.
4. Verify fitment by more than the size number. Two tracks can share the same width, pitch and link count and still not fit, because drive-lug geometry differs between makes. A good supplier confirms your machine make and model, not just the numbers.
5. Buy from someone who’ll answer the phone. When a track’s down and the machine’s off the road, you want a specialist on the end of a line, not a checkout.

Aftermarket rubber tracks can absolutely match OEM, because they frequently are OEM: made in the same factories, minus the machine-brand markup. What matters is not the OEM-versus-aftermarket label. It’s the quality of the track underneath it, meaning the steel cord, the rubber compound, the fitment, and the supplier standing behind it.

Buy on the badge and you may overpay for a track someone else manufactured. Buy on price alone and you may replace it twice. Buy on the manufacturer and the specialist behind it, and you get the OEM-quality track without the OEM invoice.

At MST Parts Group we’re the UK home of the ITR rubber track: one named manufacturer, continuous steel cable construction, 200+ sizes in stock from 180mm to 800mm, fitting over 2,000 machines, with next-day delivery on stocked sizes. If you’re not sure of your size, call us and we’ll confirm the right track for your machine make and model before you order. Fifty years of getting the right part, first time.

Related reading: Our top tips for effective rubber track maintenance covers how to get the longest possible life out of the track you buy.

Are aftermarket rubber tracks as good as OEM? Quality aftermarket tracks can match OEM performance, because OEM tracks are usually made by the same small group of specialist manufacturers, machine brands rarely make their own. What matters is the manufacturer and construction of the track, not the badge. Check for continuous steel cable, a named manufacturer, and a written warranty.

Who actually makes rubber tracks? Only a handful of companies press rubber tracks worldwide, including Bridgestone, Camso and ITR. Machine manufacturers typically buy tracks from these specialists and sell them on as OEM parts under their own branding.

Why are OEM rubber tracks so much more expensive? The OEM price reflects a dealer margin, a manufacturer’s warranty handled through the dealer, and guaranteed fitment, not necessarily a better track. In many cases the OEM track is made by the same manufacturer as a quality aftermarket equivalent.

How can I tell a good aftermarket track from a cheap one? Look at what you can’t see in a photo: continuous steel cable rather than overlapped cord, a higher natural-rubber compound with less filler, and link geometry matched to your machine. A supplier who names the manufacturer and offers a written warranty is selling a known product.

Will an aftermarket track fit my machine? It will if it’s correctly specified. Matching the size (width × pitch × link count) is necessary but not always enough, because drive-lug geometry can differ between makes. Always confirm fitment by machine make and model, not size alone.