NAPA Ultra Premium vs Raybestos Element3/RPT

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I happen to have 2 sets of rotors I'm about to put on, NAPA Ultra Premium for the Toyota Corolla, and Raybestos 980032FZN from RockAuto for the back of the Honda Pilot. The Raybestos was ordered as an "Element3" rotor, but the packaging is devoid of such an "Element3" reference. The box title says Raybestos RPT on the box front.

The Napa UP notes that it is 100% Polymer coated, which is somewhat informative. The Raybestos box notes a "full Grey Fusion(tm) 4.0 coating" which is not so informative.

Both have a bar code stick with words "Made in China" and "Engineered in U.S.A." on them, only differing in the use of a hyphen on the NAPA UP.

The Raybestos box side is somewhat informative on the subject of pad material transfer. I will start another thread on that topic shortly.

The rotors appear to have the same kind of finish.

boxfront_075807415.jpg


rotorfront_075844897.jpg


rotorback_075824764.jpg


clog_10x7_080023771.jpg


crack_10x7_080030425.jpg


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I have seen kind of light gray coating across the entire rotor. But this means that the pad itself needs to wear off the coating where the pad touches. Does this coating transfer to the pad or just fall off as dust?

This is opposed to the rotors where the coating is not in the actual areas of the rotor where the pad will touch.
 
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Originally Posted by Dyusik
A couple of 80-0's and everything is taken care of.

I would avoid a brake break-in procedure involving a full stop, due to the possibility of pad imprinting.
 
I just called Raybestos tech support and spoke to Jeff, who was very helpful. The lack of "Element3" on the box was bothering me. It seems RockAuto got a little ahead of the game in their product labeling.

He said... the Element3 for my application/most applications is not available yet, and no part number exists for it yet. So currently, from their old 3 level lineup, there are only 2 levels.

The Entry level rotor is the R line, and is not coated. Part numbers end in "R" only.

The RPT is the new middle line, and replaces the Professional Grade. RPT's part numbers end in "FZN". Both are/were coated, but the RPT has lower runout specs (less than .002"), better coating, and is a heavier rotor with thicker surface plates, at least compared to the competition.

The previous Top Level rotor was the Advanced Technology with a black coating. Jeff said the RPT has a superior Zinc-Polymer coating. Once the new Element3 rotor comes out, it will also have the same Zinc-Polymer coating. No part number naming convention is available for the upcoming Element3 rotors yet.

He also said just mount it up and let the pads wear the coating off.

Since I have the best rotor that Raybestos makes for my application (Honda Pilot rear), and it has a superior coating to their previous top line rotor, I'm not going to beat up RockAuto about their product listing problems. Just be aware that Element3 rotors may not yet be available for your application.
 
As I've installed the RPTs as posted here I can attest to the fact that the rotor surface coating comes of with no issues. That as also shown and stated in their RPT promotional youtube titled "Coated Rotor Discussion"

And now frequently discussed on other similar coated rotor threads here, it's thought by some the RPT and Napa equivalent are the same. That even though the latter state a tighter runout spec. While others certainly welcome thier opinion, I happen to agree. Along a similar line, another thing noted by a member here, is the part numbers for RPT and Napa are very similar. One thing certain, Napa equivalent is significantly more expensive than RPTs obtained from RA.

Fwiw, still satisfied with the performance of my choice and what I paid.
 
Don't blame RockAuto, blame Raybestos. Their marketing folks have converted everything that was "RPT" to "Element 3". Show me a reference to "RPT" on their website (without Googling into their site and finding unlinked references).

I bought "Raybestos 980333FZN" (rear) from Amazon in early January. I can check the boxes when I get home to see if they refer to RPT or Element 3. I bought the front rotors from RockAuto before that, mid-November, and those boxes do refer to RPT. Anyway, Raybestos is using the same part numbers whether they're RPT or Element 3 according to their own website:

Quote
Disc Brake Rotor (Front)
Fitment Notes: without Brembo Brakes
Per Car Quantity: 2
Part Number: 980307FZN
Sub-Brands:Element3
Grade:Best

Disc Brake Rotor (Rear)
Fitment Notes: without Brembo Brakes
Per Car Quantity: 2
Part Number: 980333FZN
Sub-Brands:Element3
Grade:Best
 
Originally Posted by Sayjac
And now frequently discussed on other similar coated rotor threads here, it's thought by some the RPT and Napa equivalent are the same. That even though the latter state a tighter runout spec. While others certainly welcome thier opinion, I happen to agree. Along a similar line, another thing noted by a member here, is the part numbers for RPT and Napa are very similar. One thing certain, Napa equivalent is significantly more expensive than RPTs obtained from RA.

I'm 99.9% certain they're the same rotor, just private-labeled for NAPA, AC Delco, and so on. As for the tighter run-out specs, that's interesting but easily explained: NAPA has quality requirements that the "base" Raybestos rotors meet with the exception of the run-out value. When a spec calls for maximum 0.002" run-out, that doesn't mean they aren't machining rotors with 0.003", 0.004", 0.006, and tighter values and they certainly are. It just means that rotors that are 0.0019 and lower are scrapped.
 
Originally Posted by hallstevenson
Don't blame RockAuto, blame Raybestos. Their marketing folks have converted everything that was "RPT" to "Element 3". Show me a reference to "RPT" on their website (without Googling into their site and finding unlinked references).

Hmm good point. According to Jeff at Raybestos, the website and Element3 rollout are a work in progress.
 
Originally Posted by hallstevenson
Originally Posted by Sayjac
And now frequently discussed on other similar coated rotor threads here, it's thought by some the RPT and Napa equivalent are the same. That even though the latter state a tighter runout spec. While others certainly welcome thier opinion, I happen to agree. Along a similar line, another thing noted by a member here, is the part numbers for RPT and Napa are very similar. One thing certain, Napa equivalent is significantly more expensive than RPTs obtained from RA.

I'm 99.9% certain they're the same rotor, just private-labeled for NAPA, AC Delco, and so on. As for the tighter run-out specs, that's interesting but easily explained: NAPA has quality requirements that the "base" Raybestos rotors meet with the exception of the run-out value. When a spec calls for maximum 0.002" run-out, that doesn't mean they aren't machining rotors with 0.003", 0.004", 0.006, and tighter values and they certainly are. It just means that rotors that are 0.0019 and lower are scrapped.

According to my conversation with Jeff at Raybestos, the RPT runout spec is .002" not .004". I realize that conflicts with RockAuto and the RPT page on their website, which is not yet internally linked to the man pages' menu at any discernible point.
 
Originally Posted by hallstevenson
As for the tighter run-out specs, that's interesting but easily explained: NAPA has quality requirements that the "base" Raybestos rotors meet with the exception of the run-out value. When a spec calls for maximum 0.002" run-out, that doesn't mean they aren't machining rotors with 0.003", 0.004", 0.006, and tighter values and they certainly are. It just means that rotors that are 0.0019 and lower are scrapped.


Am I missing something here?? The .0019 is better than 0.003 to 0.006. Why would they scrap them?
 
Originally Posted by doitmyself
Originally Posted by hallstevenson
As for the tighter run-out specs, that's interesting but easily explained: NAPA has quality requirements that the "base" Raybestos rotors meet with the exception of the run-out value. When a spec calls for maximum 0.002" run-out, that doesn't mean they aren't machining rotors with 0.003", 0.004", 0.006, and tighter values and they certainly are. It just means that rotors that are 0.0019 and lower are scrapped.


Am I missing something here?? The .0019 is better than 0.003 to 0.006. Why would they scrap them?


I think he got it backwards by mistake.
 
Quote
….According to my conversation with Jeff at Raybestos, the RPT runout spec is .002" not .004".....
If that's true, yet another data point which would indicate the RPTs and Napa UP are the same. And hall is correct, it's Raybestos that's converted all the site info for RPT over to the E3 name (with RPT still on box). RA just following their lead.
 
Originally Posted by Sayjac
Quote
….According to my conversation with Jeff at Raybestos, the RPT runout spec is .002" not .004".....
If that's true, yet another data point which would indicate the RPTs and Napa UP are the same. And hall is correct, it's Raybestos that's converted all the site info for RPT over to the E3 name (with RPT still on box). RA just following their lead.


This is the answer I was looking for on my thread. Based on this info, the NAPA ones are clearly not worth the price at double the cost of Raybestos if they are the same rotors rebranded.

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/5046525/best-coated-rotors#Post5046525
 
Originally Posted by littlehulkster
Now the question I have is if these are Raybestos top of the line rotors, who makes the NAPA Adaptive One line, which sits higher up on NAPA's hierarchy than these.

I don't see that product positioning. Actually I don't see AdaptiveOne rotors at all, at least not for my vehicles. There are AdaptiveOne pad/rotor kits, but they are AO pads paired with Premium or Ultra Premium rotors.

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NBK8330ADK2
https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NBK8330ADK2C

As for pads for my Corolla and Camry, the AdaptiveOnes are priced lower than their Ultra Premium pads, so the product positioning seems to indicate it's not their top of the line. However the local parts counter staff heavily recommends the AO's over the Ultra Premium pads.
 
Originally Posted by HangFire
Originally Posted by littlehulkster
Now the question I have is if these are Raybestos top of the line rotors, who makes the NAPA Adaptive One line, which sits higher up on NAPA's hierarchy than these.

I don't see that product positioning. Actually I don't see AdaptiveOne rotors at all, at least not for my vehicles. There are AdaptiveOne pad/rotor kits, but they are AO pads paired with Premium or Ultra Premium rotors.

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NBK8330ADK2
https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NBK8330ADK2C

As for pads for my Corolla and Camry, the AdaptiveOnes are priced lower than their Ultra Premium pads, so the product positioning seems to indicate it's not their top of the line. However the local parts counter staff heavily recommends the AO's over the Ultra Premium pads.


I'm guessing the NAPA Ultra Premium rotors are the same as Raybestos Element3. I highly doubt the factory in China has two different coatings to spray on.
 
Look up the part numbers for the NAPA part and compare it to the Raybestos part. If Raybestos makes it, I think you'll find the numbers are the same base number.
 
It's all a great mystery. For my application (Patriot), the Element 3 shows the gray fusion coating and the specialty version looks like the old Advanced Technology rotor with black painted hat/vanes.
780459FZN
[Linked Image]

VS
780459.
[Linked Image]

NAPA # = UP 880459CR or UP 880459 ...what's the CR difference?
A very recent inquiry to RockAuto to verify if their stock was RPT or Element 3 was replied with "Those are listed as having a proprietary Gray Fusion coating."
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I'm buying EBC coated plain rotors next week.
 
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