best "plain" rotor manufacturer

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Well, about the only thing we can conclude from this thread is that rotor quality is hit or miss and different people have widely different experiences with the same rotor. Brembo came up here as a high quality rotor, yet a few here have said they have had negative results.

Another poster stated "Worst: Chinese rotors from Advance or Autozone. Short life, quick warp, lots of fade."

Yet, search the Auto X (Cross) forums and there seems to be a cult following of AZ Duralast rotor users. For instance, at this site:

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1265221

"I've been running Autozone front rotors; part # 34203 for the last four trackdays. OEM and Brembo blanks stress crack after about that many days of hard running, so I figured I'd give these a shot."

Years ago, my daughter had 3 sets of OEM rotors replaced under warranty on her Grand AM for warping. After warranty, I installed AZ Golds and the problem never came back.

Go figure.
 
Napa white box are low line raybestos rotors. Those china rotors have worked very well for me.

If you really want to have some comfort in your purchase why not go to a shop that has a "metrix/worlpac" account. You can get some japanese made MOUNTAIN brand rotors. I hear very good things about the japanese rotor.

I bought some Napa white box and some Enrobal rotors and returned them because they were light and thin straight out of the box. Oddly I ordered anothe set of Enrobals and they had more material in between the vented rotor. How many mechanics do you know that are as critical? Stuff are hit and miss these days. The guy was a cheapy so I didn't use the slightly more expensive Mountain brand.
 
Is braking not about turning forward motion to heat? Would not a rotor with more mass act like a larger heat sink, keeping the pads cooler.. Affecting fade?
 
I put Wagoner rotors and Thermoquiet Ceramic pads on wife's Maxima - very smooth and much more stop with less petal pressure. Me Like.
 
Originally Posted By: doitmyself
Well, about the only thing we can conclude from this thread is that rotor quality is hit or miss and different people have widely different experiences with the same rotor. Brembo came up here as a high quality rotor, yet a few here have said they have had negative results.

Another poster stated "Worst: Chinese rotors from Advance or Autozone. Short life, quick warp, lots of fade."

Yet, search the Auto X (Cross) forums and there seems to be a cult following of AZ Duralast rotor users. For instance, at this site:

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1265221

"I've been running Autozone front rotors; part # 34203 for the last four trackdays. OEM and Brembo blanks stress crack after about that many days of hard running, so I figured I'd give these a shot."

Go figure.



Maybe because you are comparing AZ cheap rotors for a Ranger to (relative to OEM really cheap) WRX Duralast rotor? Different applications. A lot of AZ parts are garbage. Some are not. My guess is the application has more to do with the lifespan - i.e. Ranger rotors can be lousy and nobody will complain - WRX rotors have to work in performance apps.
 
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?


The point of a rotor is not to "release" or shed heat, it is, in fact, to serve as a heat sink for which energy can be transferred.

More heat capacity means better performance. Without changing to some ultra-exotic high heat capacity, low density material, one must have weight.

More mass=more heat absorbed with less temperature rise=better performance.
 
I've never had an issue with duralast rotors on any application varying from a 6000lb work van to my little subaru legacy. As my understanding, "warping" a street rotor is fairly tough to do. Uneven pad build up isn't.

I would have used duralast plain face rotors on my Roadmaster. However, I hate rusty rotors. Zinc coating doesn't hold up. I went with Powerslot (just slotted) rotors. They use a milspec coating, which at one time stated it was Cadmium. Whatever it is, besides the rotor face, my rotors Look brand new after 3yrs, one of which I drove the car through the winter. I'm using Hawk HPS pads, and the car stops great. The only downfall is the brake setup on the car is tiny, and only meant for one-two good stops before fade takes over..

To me duralast rotors come with a 2yr warranty. I'm unaware of Brembo's warranty (I would assume they have at least a yr), and at an additional cost for a Daily Driver, or some what spirited driving, I see no reason not to use a duralast rotor.
 
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Originally Posted By: asiancivicmaniac
So the store branded rotors are pretty decent? (i.e. Advanced Auto, Autozone, Pepboys, NAPA, etc)

You get what you pay for.
 
I have had great results with Raybestos Advanced Technology rotors & pads. Very high quality and guaranteed true right out of the box.
 
I have Raybestos "Premium Advance rotors", but Raybestos is now a US company in name only. These rotors are made in China, and have no name stamped on the part. So they might be the exact same rotor that comes in the NAPA box.
Regarding "warped" rotors: On GM 1999-2004 cars, a "warped" rotor has 0.003" or greater lateral runout. GM used an aggressive semi-metallic pad which cuts into the rotor. (OEM GM is PBR from Australia)
Warping is not because the parts are "cheap". It is the combination of aggressive pad, design of the pad, hard braking, with rotor that is too "soft". Softer rotor has less iron so it stays shiny. Harder rotor has more iron, but forms the surface rust.
 
Originally Posted By: PT1
I have had great results with Raybestos Advanced Technology rotors & pads. Very high quality and guaranteed true right out of the box.


I used these on my Jeep. So far I've been happy with them. Sad to see that the rotors were made in China, but at least the pads were from Canada.

I will say that the pads weren't a perfect fit, and I had to file the metal backing plate down to get them to fit on the caliper. Yes, they were the correct part number.
 
you guys really think that there are that many companies tooling up and making a rotor for every application on the road today? to say yes would be foolish. All companies source parts and box them. even the best (and that is debatable) rotor company in the world would have to source the oddball rotors. you couldn't make money any other way. So many of the brands Napa, Az, Adv, OE are the same.
 
Yep, at least some of them. The ones for late model GM F-bodies used to be made in Canada, but they moved production to Mexico. I know this because I had to wait for a year or so to get mine.

My main criteria was they couldn't be made in China. As Forest Gump would say, China production is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get.
 
I like brembos, they are very heat-tolerant and warp-resistant. have a front set of them on my volvo. only thing weird is one of them has this machined wear indicator 'divet' in it. i have seen them on other brembos, too, the only thing bad about it is you can hear it 'click' as the wheel turns when applying the brakes. no effect on stopability, though.
 
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