is factory products that much better than aftermarket

[tritonman5.4]

lately on the forum i've seen quite a few post on aftermarket products vs factory products such as CAI and exhaust stuff like that.i myself have a k&n intake kit and a exhaust on my truck.i was wondering are aftermarket companies really making false claims.like me,im not able to get to a dyno and see for myself and i know some others arent able to do so as well.so the only thing i have to off of is my trucks performance,but mentally if you change something the mind is set to believe that a change has been made so what are you guies views on the whole thing.

 

[KWT2000]

the oems have what i like to call bean counters and dont always use the best product because of the cost. the aftermarkets do all the R&D to get the best products they can. now im not sayin theres no snake oil out there but do your research and ask questions you will be ok. to answer your question IMO aftermarket is better 95% of the time

 

[Spoon-Man]

Also your not adding horsepower your freeing up horsepower that is already there. So when they say "ADDS 20HP" it realy means freeing up upto 20hp.