best "plain" rotor manufacturer

[mikeinaustin]

which brand do you guys prefer: centric, brembo, other (specify) ?

in this particular case, the vehicle will be a toyota tundra pickup truck, but i believe the question should applicable to most non-racing conditions.

again, plain rotor, not slotted or drilled (or both).

 

[2oldtommy]

Brembo-- No question about it, they get my vote for best std. rotors. Tommy, on the north coast

 

[wirelessF]

Agreed, Brembo.

I have Brembo slotted rotors on my Tundra and I love it. It does eat up pads though.

 

[mechtech2]

I never recommend slotted or drilled rotors.
More initial cost, noise, pad wear, water/dirt retention crevices, and prone to warping and cracking, etc.. [And very tough to remachine.]

I like plain faced vented rotors.
Cheap rotors from China and very good pads are my preference.
Name brand rotors don't guarantee anything anymore.
I just bought rotors for my Z @ $22 apiece.
They weighed a pound more than the expensive ones. I like that in a brake rotor.

 

[bdcardinal]

when i had my mustang i always got Brembo, or Ford OEM, i had the 13" Cobra R 4 pot front brakes on it so the Brembos and Ford OE were identical.

on my mom's GRand Marquis i have used both Brembo and Motorcraft with good results.

My Volvo i have only used Volvo OEM as they are somewhat difficult to find aftermarket.

 

[The Critic]

Centric Premium
Raybestos Advanced Technology.

The early Tundras has a TSB regarding pedal pulsation issues. The fix involved upgrading the calipers, rotors and pads I believe. You might want to upgrade your system.

 

[01rangerxl]

Are Brembos going to be more resistant to warping than cheap ones?

I put some Auto Zone rotors on my old Ranger at 70K miles. They were warped in about 15K miles. I don't want to deal with that again. My current Ranger uses all the same brake parts in the front as my old one.

I was thinking about Brembos for this one, but at $68 each (plain face, vented), I want to be sure they are worth it. Bendix is about $45 each. Motorcraft is over $100 each.

 

[The Critic]

I doubt it. I think most premium rotors are going to be about the same.

Brembo doesn't even have the painted hats on their rotors. I prefer rotors with painted hats, that's why I've been using the Raybestos Advanced Technology and Centric Premium rotors lately.

 

[mikeinaustin]

wouldn't "trueness" of the rotor count more than weight? or you could buy the heaviest rotor and then cut them using an on-wheel lathe. comments?

 

[Corvette Owner]

NAPA makes some good plain rotors. Lots of people use them for track cars.

If you want a good, low cost fancy rotor, try:

http://brakeperformance.com/site/index.php?ad=direct

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: mikeinaustin
wouldn't "trueness" of the rotor count more than weight? or you could buy the heaviest rotor and then cut them using an on-wheel lathe. comments?

Most rotors should be fine as far as trueness goes. You usually don't need to cut the rotors using an on-the-vehicle lathe unless you have a serious runout problem. If you use sandpaper and clean the hub flange until it's shiny (free of all debris), that should solve most problems. If not, rotate the rotor (change the mounting position) until you find the position with the least runout. Worse case, you can use a runout correction shim.

 

[KA426]

I've had decent luck with Napa rotors also especially if they are the good quality ones made in the U.S.A.

 

[parimento1]

I got the Brembo blanks for mine both front and rear. The front ones warped, the rears are still good after about 70k miles. I replaced the front ones with OEM Toyota and havent had a problem with them since, thru about 5 pad changes. I have had terrible experiences with the cheap Aimco rotors warping BADLY almost right out of the box.

 

[mstrjon32]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
They weighed a pound more than the expensive ones. I like that in a brake rotor.


You realize that more rotating weight is a bad thing, robbing performance and economy, right? And weight couldn't be any less of an indicator of quality or structural integrity?

 

[rg200amp]

Originally Posted By: mstrjon32
Originally Posted By: mechtech2
They weighed a pound more than the expensive ones. I like that in a brake rotor.


You realize that more rotating weight is a bad thing, robbing performance and economy, right? And weight couldn't be any less of an indicator of quality or structural integrity?



+1 Less weight is ideal.

 

[mikeinaustin]

fyi i have not had the best experience with brembo either on my truck.

 

[mechtech2]

Many ultra cheap Chinese rotors are guaranteed for a year or more.
Out of true problems will be replaced for free.

I wish buying expensive rotors guaranteed a better rotor, but it is chancy.

 

[nthach]

I'm using Bradi(Brembo's value brand) on my car. I'm happy with them.

 

[ffracer]

I've used many different rotors on my Ford Ranger (I drive it like a sports car on backroads, plus race cars!) and the best so far, have been Brembos. Much better bite and almost no fade. Cheap too: $60 from Tire Rack.

Not bad: USA made rotors from CarQuest ~$50. Not sure if they have them anymore. They do the job in non-performance uses.

Worst: Chinese rotors from Advance or Autozone. Short life, quick warp, lots of fade. One wasn't even machined right, so the bearing cap wouldn't fit. $35. The cheap price isn't worth it alone on poor performance, but the longevity makes it a pain to change rotors yearly.

 

[Thingfish]

DBA ...

The ( not plain ) rotors on my Subaru,