Motorcraft "High Level Service Design" Rotors

[Falcon_LS]

Does anyone happen to know anything about Motorcraft's new "High Level Service Design" brake rotors?

Roughly 12,000 miles ago, I put on a set of EBC Ultimax2 pads all round with Motorcraft "OE" BRRF-219 (Ford F8VZ-1125-AA) rotors on the front. The last set I bought was made in the USA and lasted well over 106,000 miles, this set was made in China. Didn't feel as solid or heavy as the U.S. made ones, but I had to put them on.

Long story short, pads are over 50%, but rotor thickness currently measures a little over 26 mm (1.02"), they were 28 mm (1.1") new and have to be replaced. Not happy and it appears I am not the only one - friend of mine put these rotors on his '02 Town Car with Motorcraft BR-26A pads, and at ~18,000 km (11,250 miles), the dealer told him he needs pads and rotors up front. Saw it, and it looked bad - I thought maybe my EBC pads were aggressive, but he had Motorcraft pads. Perhaps these "OE" rotors are just reboxed "white box" with a Motorcraft price premium.

I have a big brake upgrade coming soon, and was hoping these would last longer, but I need to replace them right now for safety concerns.

 

[147_Grain]

Your pads perform at a high level at the expense of wearing out the rotors more quickly.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Why not use EBC rotors?

 

[Falcon_LS]

Originally Posted by 147_Grain
Your pads perform at a high level at the expense of wearing out the rotors more quickly.


That's one theory, although I was surprised to see the same thing with the Motorcraft pads.

Originally Posted by slacktide_bitog
Why not use EBC rotors?

If they were available for this application, I would, but they're not. I have their dimpled/slotted rotors on my GMC, and they are fantastic. Their plain Jane rotors on my Explorer are also high end, just a shame they don't make them for the Grand Marquis.

 

[The Critic]

Many brake pads have been reformulated to meet the upcoming copper-free requirements. This occurred in the last two years. The brake pads you used this time may have been a different formula than in the past. Do you recall seeing a fully shaded leaf like this one on your package of brake pads?

 

[Falcon_LS]

Originally Posted by The Critic
Many brake pads have been reformulated to meet the upcoming copper-free requirements. This occurred in the last two years. The brake pads you used this time may have been a different formula than in the past. Do you recall seeing a fully shaded leaf like this one on your package of brake pads?



Nope, no leaf on the packaging. Maybe the new set will have them, will check when they arrive.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Once again rotors get blamed when pads are probably the culprit.

 

[Falcon_LS]

Not quite sure I'm following the logic here...

If the pads are to blame, how does that explain the same situation with both EBC Ultimax2 UD748 and the Motorcraft BR-26A pads? I've been using the same pads for years, including the previous Ultimax formulation, with the factory Brazilian-made OE rotors and the service grade, U.S. made rotors and never ran into issues with the rotors wearing so thin in just 12,000 miles.

That being said, the milk's already spilled. Back to the original question - how does "High Level Service Design" differ from Motorcraft's other offerings?

 

[Trav]

They may be high carbon content or cryogenically treated, I have no idea but those are the most common upgrades.

 

[ssamaroo01]

High Level Service Design is supposed to be the cheaper option. Basically it's intended for the consumer might want to use a cheaper alternative to the OE parts on an aging car.

I haven't tried the High Level Service Design before but I have used Motorcraft rotors and pads before on my cars and they last for long periods of time. Not sure what to make about your experiences.

 

[ET16]

Originally Posted by The Critic
Many brake pads have been reformulated to meet the upcoming copper-free requirements. This occurred in the last two years. The brake pads you used this time may have been a different formula than in the past. Do you recall seeing a fully shaded leaf like this one on your package of brake pads?



Why is copper bad?

 

[Audios]

I think you know the answer..China China China. Probably cost cutting, lower carbon content, and thinner/lighter rotors. Look for a Zimmerman, or higher quality replacement and run the test again with the same pads next time, see if you see any results.

 

[Donald]

These days with a given brand changing who makes their product or where they are made its hard to compare a product you bought a year or two ago to the same product you bought today.

But most brands have an image to keep up and may change who or where an item is made but the overall quality of the product stays the same. (I said most, not all).

 

[xxch4osxx]

Originally Posted by ET16
Originally Posted by The Critic
Many brake pads have been reformulated to meet the upcoming copper-free requirements. This occurred in the last two years. The brake pads you used this time may have been a different formula than in the past. Do you recall seeing a fully shaded leaf like this one on your package of brake pads?



Why is copper bad?


That's what I was wondering. Why get rid of the copper?

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted by xxch4osxx


That's what I was wondering. Why get rid of the copper?

Toxic to aquatic life - CA and WA were the first to restrict Cu. Especially when you're dealing with conserving the coho/steelhead salmon population when you're in the rural parts of northern California and the PNW. The form of copper in those brake pads are in a powdered or salt form.

 

[bdcardinal]

We haven't sold any of those, but the propaganda says it is a "high carbon casting" so ya. They are aimed at people who don't want to pay for the OEM part, but don't want to buy from Autozone kinda thing.

 

[atikovi]

Originally Posted by Falcon_LS
Not quite sure I'm following the logic here...

If the pads are to blame, how does that explain the same situation with both EBC Ultimax2 UD748 and the Motorcraft BR-26A pads? I've been using the same pads for years, including the previous Ultimax formulation, with the factory Brazilian-made OE rotors and the service grade, U.S. made rotors and never ran into issues with the rotors wearing so thin in just 12,000 miles.


How are the calipers and brake hoses? Just a little binding or deterioration can accelerate wear on the rotors.

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted by bdcardinal
We haven't sold any of those, but the propaganda says it is a "high carbon casting" so ya. They are aimed at people who don't want to pay for the OEM part, but don't want to buy from Autozone kinda thing.


I figured that's what it had to be but I don't understand that, most of the other companies offer high carbon rotors as a premium product and Ford is offering them as a low budget item? Any idea what the COO is?

 

[cronk]

In my experience, the chinese rotors from the dealership are no better than the chinese rotors from the parts stores. The service grade, or professional grade dealer rotors are just made by an aftermarket supplier and labeled for ford or gm.
If you go with the better grade rotor from Auto Value or Napa, it would be equal or better to whst you gitm at a cheaper price.
The EBC Ultimax are not hard on the rotors.

 

[Falcon_LS]

Originally Posted by atikovi
How are the calipers and brake hoses? Just a little binding or deterioration can accelerate wear on the rotors.


I rebuilt the calipers 3 years/106,000 miles ago, not that there were any issues with them, but I thought I'd do so due to age. At the time, I replaced all the brake hoses as well with OEM and had the U.S. made rotors with EBC Ultimax pads on. There were no issues until this point.

I have an OCD when it comes to wheels, and as part of my weekly wash, I pull off the wheels to clean the inside wheel wells. Under normal driving conditions, the Ultimax pads do not produce as much brake dust as the OE pads, but if you are heavy enough on the brakes, they certainly will. If there was any binding, the excess brake dust would totally drive me insane.


Originally Posted by Trav
Any idea what the COO is?


My contact told me COO is China.


Originally Posted by cronk
In my experience, the chinese rotors from the dealership are no better than the chinese rotors from the parts stores. The service grade, or professional grade dealer rotors are just made by an aftermarket supplier and labeled for ford or gm.


Definitely what it looks like, only you're paying a premium for the Ford or GM label on it.