Motorcraft vs. Ford Genuine Rotors

[Falcon_LS]

I'm going to be literally overhauling my entire brake system after summer, and have slowly started gathering the parts. However, I need to do something about my front brakes this week.

I've got regular Friction Master MKD748 pads up front that have just under 25% left, so the fronts need attention right now. I got a set of Raybestos Professional Grade semi-metallics on eBay for $28 shipped to Kuwait, which isn't a bad deal at all - Motorcraft's BR26A costs $32 versus their Super Duty pads at $41.

The front rotors are grooved, and there's no point in resurfacing them because they're almost at minimum thickness. Considering this is a safety issue, I'm going to be replacing the rotors with the pads. I have 3 choices:

- Motorcraft BRR64 at $41 each
- Geniune Ford F8VZ-1125-AA at $60 each
- No name Chinese rotors at $18 each

I'm not keen on the Chinese rotors, so that leaves me with the Motorcraft value and Genuine Ford rotors. Can anyone tell me the difference between the two? Thanks!

 

[Roadkingnc]

The motorcraft are chinese rotors
That said I have installed many of them with no problem, they actually have more material in them and weigh more.

 

[Roadkingnc]

he oem rotors usually have an anti rust coating on the hub area also, not sure but I think the oems are cast in canada. Last set of oem pads I put on an explorer were made in china

 

[Falcon_LS]

Thanks for the info! If the OE rotors are Canadian, I'll gladly pay the extra $38 for those.

 

[Texan4Life]

I have heard good stuff about raybestos pro grade and and even more about their advance tech. I ordered a front pair of Pro rotors and semi-matallic pads for our neon.

Yeah I would go for rotors if they we made anywhere but china... anyone know where raybestos makes there AT rotors?

 

[Falcon_LS]

I would be delighted if I had more aftermarket options, but unfortunately, if an aftermarket product is priced the same or higher than an OE (ACDelco, Motorcraft and Mopar included), nobody will buy them. So most of the aftermarket stuff available are entry level, economy products.

This is why I've started buying stuff online, and privately importing them myself. But the weight and size of what I'm buying plays a major role in whether or not I get it online or locally. With rotors weighing so much, it would cost more than 15 times their price to ship.

From what I've read, Raybestos makes most of their stuff in China.

 

[Loobed]

Originally Posted By: Roadkingnc
he oem rotors usually have an anti rust coating on the hub area also, not sure but I think the oems are cast in canada. Last set of oem pads I put on an explorer were made in china


General Motors has their rotors made in Canada: AC Delco rotors are made their. They are most likely made at the same place as the Ford rotors.

 

[MysticGold04]

Just puttin it out there, I used AC Delco Advantage rotors on my Focus.. no complaints yet... they were made in China, as most rotors are.

 

[stephen9666]

A note to everyone-

AC Delco and Motorcraft parts are generally NOT THE SAME as genuine parts. For example, the "Ford" branded brakepads from the dealer will not be the same as the Motorcraft brake pads.

Same with rotors. The AC Delco and Motorcraft rotors are most likely not the same as the OE rotors. I would say that both AC Delco and Motorcraft will probably all be made in China, like those member MysticGold04 bought.

Edit- I just did a little googling. If you search "motorcraft rotors China" you'll find quite a few posts with people saying they're now made in China.

 

[mechtech2]

Is there a way to find the weight of each rotor?
With no other info, I'd get the heavier ones.
I have a set of cheap Chinese rotors on my ZX2 that weigh a full POUND more than some expensive ones.

 

[Y_K]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
With no other info, I'd get the heavier ones.

+1000

Simple Physics supports this. Mass is an important variable in heat-mass transfer, especially in your locale. Of course, provided Simple Metallurgy is of good quality too.

 

[nthach]

FWIW, I've installed ACDelco Advantage pads and rotors on an old Lumina and the owners said they worked good even though the rotors were made in China. I believe the pads were made in Canada, probably from the same Affinia/Honeywell factory that supplies Raybestos or Bendix. I'm using Monroe Ceramics pads and Raybestos PG Plus rotors on my personal car, and they seem to work as well as OEM.

 

[stephen9666]

Originally Posted By: nthach
I'm using Monroe Ceramics pads and Raybestos PG Plus rotors on my personal car, and they seem to work as well as OEM.


Off Topic-
Do you happen to remember the country of origin of the Monroe pads?

I emailed a bunch of companies before my last brake job with specific part numbers asking where the parts were made. Monroe was the only company that wouldn't tell me where the pads were made. They gave me some B-S line like "we're an international company with many factories..."

Needless to say, I didn't buy the Monroe pads.

 

[artificialist]

Originally Posted By: stephen9666
Originally Posted By: nthach
I'm using Monroe Ceramics pads and Raybestos PG Plus rotors on my personal car, and they seem to work as well as OEM.


Off Topic-
Do you happen to remember the country of origin of the Monroe pads?

I emailed a bunch of companies before my last brake job with specific part numbers asking where the parts were made. Monroe was the only company that wouldn't tell me where the pads were made. They gave me some B-S line like "we're an international company with many factories..."

Needless to say, I didn't buy the Monroe pads.

The last time I installed some "Centric" brand brake pads, they wouldn't list where they were made, either. They would just say that their HQ was in City of Industry, California.

 

[stephen9666]

Originally Posted By: artificialist

The last time I installed some "Centric" brand brake pads, they wouldn't list where they were made, either. They would just say that their HQ was in City of Industry, California.


I emailed Centric and they were very up front with me. They told me their rotors are cast in China and machined in the US, if memory serves. It was about a year ago.

 

[Falcon_LS]

Thanks for all the input!

Unfortunately, no all went to plan. The Genuine Ford rotors were hard to find, and only one was available at the dealer. I bought that, and placed an order for a second rotor, which should arrive in 5-6 weeks time. Unfortunately, the Genuine rotors are not a popular item and the one I've purchased was in stock since 2006. The OE pads are not as fast moving as the Motorcrafts either.

In the mean time, I looked at the Motorcraft rotors and some no name Chinese rotors. Both products came in the same white box, only the Motorcraft one had a Motorcraft sticker on it. Both weighed about the same, and I thought I had nothing to lose. I got 2 Chinese rotors for the mean time, to go with the Raybestos semi-metallic pads. The rears don't wear out easily, but when they do, I'll have some Akebono ceramics all round. I'll also have 2 spare OE rotors in the garage for a later date.

Decided to be a bit productive today, and got some high temperature paint:

These were taken after removing the masking tape, so they have not been cleaned. Will be doing that some time during the week. Now those areas shouldn't look brown and rusty.

Will paint the calipers the same bronze/gold as well. Thinking of getting a set from the yard, painting and rebuilding them and saving myself some time with a spare set for later.

 

[antiqueshell]

The amusing thing (not really) about these companies being evasive about the country of origin for their products makes you think even they don't have much confidence in their products.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I've had decent luck with the cheap rotors.

I had to put new rotors and pads on my Cherokee in the fall. I didn't replace the caliper. The calipers were the original and I didn't replace them.

Over the course of the next 1,000 miles, the front calipers were hanging so bad that I was constantly smoking up from and heated the rotors up to the point that the entire vehicle was shaking.

Once I replaced the calipers no problems. In fact, the jeep stops very smooth.

The OE rotors on my 2011 Focus are very shakey at 19k miles. I have even tried to do the few hard stops to work off any surface deposits ... the are just so tiny that they are going to warp.

 

[artificialist]

Originally Posted By: stephen9666
Originally Posted By: artificialist

The last time I installed some "Centric" brand brake pads, they wouldn't list where they were made, either. They would just say that their HQ was in City of Industry, California.


I emailed Centric and they were very up front with me. They told me their rotors are cast in China and machined in the US, if memory serves. It was about a year ago.


I'm sorry, I meant to say the centric pads didn't say where they were manufactured on the box they came in.