I've mentioned it here that it seems very transparent with German, not at all with Japanese, and mostly so with American, as far as original vs. aftermarket or OEM. Also that I notice it seems that Japanese use the term OEM, where German and American use OE, to signify what came with the car. OEM in the German and American worlds means original equipment manufacturer, i.e. say a Bosch green spark plug, that is the same as the BMW blue plug, since Bosch made it. Can't really get the same info for the LS430, as with the BMW and GM.

What I've found interesting is that I've experimented with GM and AC Delco, to see what's the difference between OE, and OEM. And to my surprise, unlike BMW where a BMW part is blue, and Bosch green, sometimes a GM OE part is the same AC Delco, but with an additional GM label, part number, and hologram to indicate being genuine. But it's the same part with an additional sticker.

What made me think of this today? Planning to do a wife's left strut. Why only 1? Cuz the extended warranty only did the right side, and now the left is leaking lol

I went around and around trying to decide whether to use genuine GM, or F it and go KYB aftermarket with lifetime warranty. GM is way more expensive, just google a strut mount (like I've said American made can exceed German prices all day long, but sometimes not, depends).

In the end this was a deciding factor, GM parts are different if car is AWD. Aftermarket is all the same. To me, that's distinct and a deciding factor. Even checked the KYB catalog online...

So we're gonna have some fun compressing springs. Why not. life is game to be enjoyed!