Go cheap or expensive for rotors?

[Bluestream]

Originally Posted By: pbm
I have found little difference in the cheaper rotors and have always gone that route without issue..


Agreed, I bought cheap rotors and pads 4 years and 35K miles ago, and they are still goods. Pads are only 50% worn

 

[sciphi]

I have AutoZone's most expensive pad on there right now. Excellent braking performance from those and the current Ebay drilled/slotted rotors, made with cheap China blanks.

Looking at rotors today, there was no difference between any except the NAPA Ultra-Premium. Those had a coat of paint on the hat and on the leading edges of the fins. All were likely made in China.

 

[Stu_Rock]

Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
Originally Posted By: Stu_Rock
Is there really a difference between, say, Wagner and Guardian or Aimco? (If so, maybe I'll feel like less of a chump for ordering Wagners for my last brake job).
Are all Wagner products made in China..... or just their rotors ?
It's different for every part number.

 

[CBR.worm]

I get good pads and rotors. I have never had good luck with cheap rotors, I have never had great luck with expensive ones either. I am sure it varies by car, brake size and driving style.

I have had cheap rotors warp or pulse in less than 2k. Good ones last me about 20k.

I agree with the more aggressive pads.

 

[ArrestMeRedZ]

I've got a '02 F-body, a model that was famous for warping rotors. Mine warped well before 10k miles. I replaced them with Brembo blanks (not drilled or slotted) that were made in Mexico (previously made in Canada). I had them cryo treated. After 18k miles, no problems.
Went with AZ Duralast Gold pads, and haven't had a problem with the Camaro. The same pads wear out in 1/3 the time the OEMs do on our 2500HD pickups.
I would highly recommend the Brembo blanks for anyone with problems warping disks. I'm not sure I can recommend the Duralast pads.

 

[mva]

My vote is for cheap rotors and good pads.

I did this on my Toyota Sienna a couple of years ago and i am very happy. No warping at all.

When I asked if the more expensive rotors were worth the extra money, the manager at the parts store said he had sold hundreds of the cheap rotors and none had ever come back.

 

[wrcsixeight]

I have cheap rotors. They do not pulse but my brakes are anemic. I believe this to be because I had fairly new pads when my rotors needed to be replaced, and I just put the slightly used pads on the new rotors.

I was unaware that the outermost layer of a new pad is meant to basically prime the rotor for use with that pad, and most pads require certain bedding in procedures like a succession of 60mph to 5 mph hard stops.

In my ignorance I thought 'how could a Pad not "bed in" to the rotor?' And did not realize using old pads on a new rotor would lead to weak brakes.

Lots of good reading over at Centric, which also says rotors are not usually warped but have developed uneven pad deposits on the rotor.
http://www.centricparts.com/files/Centric White Paper B1-Warped Brake Disc.pdf

I only have 6 k miles on my rotors and plenty of life left on my pads. They are not grooved, but I'm thinking of having them turned and breaking them in with a better/ more aggressive pad to help mitigate my current anemic brakes.

The new Master Cylinder and flexible brake lines firmed up the pedal, but I have little faith in them if a panic stop is in my near future.

 

[Stu_Rock]

Originally Posted By: ArrestMeRedZ
I've got a '02 F-body, a model that was famous for warping rotors. Mine warped well before 10k miles.

This surprises me, considering how huge the pads are on F-body brakes. Is it known why F-bodies are "famous for warping rotors"?

I just swapped F-body calipers onto my Park Avenue, which has stock pads that are half the size. The heat buildup on those did lead to warpage.

Originally Posted By: ArrestMeRedZ
I replaced them with Brembo blanks (not drilled or slotted) that were made in Mexico (previously made in Canada).

Brembo...interesting. I didn't think to check on their country of origin. After I received my Chinese Wagners, I checked Raybestos, Até, Centric, and the cheapies (F-bodies and C-bodies use the same rotors).

 

[mechtech2]

I like cheap rotors compared to cutting old ones.
There is no guaranty that high priced ones are better, anymore.
And really high priced ones have holes or slots that you don't need.

I have heard good reports about consistent quality for a good price from CENTRIC rotors.

Concerning brake pads, get the best you can afford.

 

[SZR48207]

I can personally attest to the brake design on F series trucks being quite bad. The rotors are quite undersized for the application and the rotors warp quickly.

 

[MarkM66]

Originally Posted By: Stu_Rock
I also have been wondering about how different the cheap rotors are from the name brands.

If this car takes the 12 inch rotors GM used on C,E,F,G,H,K,V,W body cars, I can say that all brands are from China now. I don't know the status of the 11 inch size also used on those cars.

Is there really a difference between, say, Wagner and Guardian or Aimco? (If so, maybe I'll feel like less of a chump for ordering Wagners for my last brake job).


The more expensive rotors are made in a better part of China.

 

[onion]

I generally buy cheap rotors, then save the old OEM rotors to have them turned next time- if they're thick enough.

Never had any problem with cheap rotors warping, but they do seem to wear down more than the OEM rotors. Not a big issue though... on most cars they're a throw-away item these days.

As for brake pads, all I've ever used are cheap ones. They come in two varieties in my experience:

1. Soft: good braking performance, LOTS of dust, wear out quickly (including cheap pads from Autozone and Advance).

2. Hard: mediocre braking performance, not much dust, last FOREVER, wear out the rotors about as quickly as the pads (Napa Silver).

I may try some better quality pads next time. I've worn out cheap Autozone pads in 25k miles. But the Napa Silver's I had on my old Corsica were still at half thickness after 50k miles... the rotors looked like [censored], but didn't seem to be warped or anything. The Autozone pads definitely stopped better.

 

[Donald]

I just got some Centric rotors for my Cherokee from RockAuto. Good rotors at a great price. I went with ceramic pads also.

 

[CBR.worm]

As I recall, my friends with F-bodies were cracking rotors as well. The one I drove were warped beyond anything I had ever felt.

 

[ArrestMeRedZ]

Originally Posted By: Stu_Rock
Originally Posted By: ArrestMeRedZ
I've got a '02 F-body, a model that was famous for warping rotors. Mine warped well before 10k miles.

This surprises me, considering how huge the pads are on F-body brakes. Is it known why F-bodies are "famous for warping rotors"?

I just swapped F-body calipers onto my Park Avenue, which has stock pads that are half the size. The heat buildup on those did lead to warpage.

Originally Posted By: ArrestMeRedZ
I replaced them with Brembo blanks (not drilled or slotted) that were made in Mexico (previously made in Canada).

Brembo...interesting. I didn't think to check on their country of origin. After I received my Chinese Wagners, I checked Raybestos, Até, Centric, and the cheapies (F-bodies and C-bodies use the same rotors).


I'm not sure about the LT-1 Camaros (pre '98), but the problem was common on LS-1 Camaros and Firebirds. I know my wife's '98 V-6 never had a problem. The LS-1/Z-28 message boards were rife with reports of warped rotors. I was expecting the problem, and I wasn't dissapointed.

After a lot of research, I concluded the Brembo blanks seemed to have the least problems. Slotted or drilled rotors were universally regarded as very bad replacements. I knew about the country of origin as I needed the replacements badly (the front shook like a washing machine with a bowling ball in it on spin cycle), and I had to wait as Brembo moved it's production to Mexico. That was a few years ago. For all I know, they could be made in China now.

GM put out a TSB on the problem. Their "solution" was to turn the rotors, after checking run out. Everybody I knew that had that done had warped rotors again within a very short time. I didn't even bother to try for a warranty replacement.

 

[SteveSRT8]

sad to say, but most people don't have warped rotors.

And it's not always a rotor problem, it's almost always a PAD problem. Also aggravated by a driver issue. If you love to do hard stops and then sit with the brakes clamped down you may experience this forever.

 

[Stu_Rock]

Originally Posted By: ArrestMeRedZ
I'm not sure about the LT-1 Camaros (pre '98), but the problem was common on LS-1 Camaros and Firebirds. I know my wife's '98 V-6 never had a problem.

That's interesting. The V6 and V8 cars have the same brakes--if problem shows up more on the V8 models, it probably has to do with the extra weight of the engine (less likely) or the driver's right foot (more likely).

It is the 1998-2002 F-bodies that share brake dimensions with my Park Avenue, so I might face this issue.

 

[SLCraig]

I have had cheap, and recently made in Canada rotors.

My opinion is now rotors are the last thing I'd skimp on.

The made in Canada rotors are still true (on both my cars) after several months whereas the cheap rotors would begin warping pretty quickly.

Both my Saturn and my Maxima stop like you are braking on a glass disc. It is quite nice instead of dealing with pulsation. The made in Canada rotors are from Napa.

 

[ArrestMeRedZ]

Originally Posted By: Stu_Rock
Originally Posted By: ArrestMeRedZ
I'm not sure about the LT-1 Camaros (pre '98), but the problem was common on LS-1 Camaros and Firebirds. I know my wife's '98 V-6 never had a problem.

That's interesting. The V6 and V8 cars have the same brakes--if problem shows up more on the V8 models, it probably has to do with the extra weight of the engine (less likely) or the driver's right foot (more likely).

It is the 1998-2002 F-bodies that share brake dimensions with my Park Avenue, so I might face this issue.


I would suspect it's the driver's right foot, except I'm an old, slow guy and I've had the problem. It showed up on my car before I'd even ever been to the drag strip. And the problem isn't anything but a warped rotor caused by heat, and/or poor material/construction of the OEM rotor. It's not brake material on the rotor, not incorrect mounting on the hub, not caused by torque on the lug nuts, etc.

 

[sciphi]

I do ride my brakes and stop with them warm. Living in a hilly area with lots of large hills having stop signs at the bottom forces one to do that. 3-4 times today alone.

I'm looking at EBC slotted rotors because some are made in Britain. The NAPA rotors I looked at were all made in China. Obviously this is on the very expensive end of rotors.