Are All Rotors the Same?

[JoeDirt41]

Took my 2015 F150 in for inspection today and it passed but the front brakes are super low. I’ve never had to put front brakes on this truck. I’m very happy with the original equipment Motorcraft brake pads and I’m going to go with those again, but OEM rotors are expensive. I like to get coated rotors as I live in the rust belt and don’t like looking at rusty rotors through my wheels. The rears don’t need done, but I’m contemplating doing them as well just to have new brakes on all 4 corners.

The options standing out to me for rotors are Powerstop Geomet, Dynamic Friction Geospec, Bosch Quietcast, and Raybestos Element3.

At the end of the day, they are all just a piece of cast iron and from what I understand, pretty much all rotors are made in China. Is one any better than any other? Do I just go with what is cheapest?

 

[xspeedy]

I find them to be a commodity item. Just look for good reviews and protected are nice to avoid rust on the non-friction areas. I think Centric is another brand out there that people like.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

The most important thing is the coating. Powerstop and Bosch use real Geomet 360, while the others use a knockoff that may or may not be as good.

Some aftermarket rotors will have threaded holes to remove a stuck rotor, and some don't. The OE rotors have the holes. In your case, I'd get the Bosch Quietcast rotors, since they have the threaded holes and are cheaper than Powerstop (Bosch is usually priced higher).

The bolt size for the threaded holes is M8-1.25 (this goes for all rotors and drums, OEM or aftermarket)

 

[benjamming]

EBC rotors aren't made in China. Some Ford OEM rotors are & some aren't.

I don't understand the complaint about Ford rotors being expensive & yet considering replacing rear brakes when they don't need it. You won't gain anything objectively by replacing them when they don't need it. Note I'm not promoting Ford rotors but rather making an observation.

 

[gman2304]

If your OEM rotors are in spec, other than cosmetic why not just have them turned? In over 50 years of driving I’ve never had to replace a rotor. My 05 Chevy truck went almost 20 years and over 200,000 miles on the factory installed rear pads.

 

[JoeDirt41]

EBC rotors aren't made in China. Some Ford OEM rotors are & some aren't.

I don't understand the complaint about Ford rotors being expensive & yet considering replacing rear brakes when they don't need it. You won't gain anything objectively by replacing them when they don't need it. Note I'm not promoting Ford rotors but rather making an observation.

If you don’t understand, that’s okay. I’m just trying to figure out if any one rotor is better than any other.

If your OEM rotors are in spec, other than cosmetic why not just have them turned? In over 50 years of driving I’ve never had to replace a rotor. My 05 Chevy truck went almost 20 years and over 200,000 miles on the factory installed rear pads.

I could go into detail why I don’t turn rotors but I’ll probably make people upset and I don’t want it to turn into a whole thing…

 

[User_19876]

There are plenty of good rotors out there that will serve you well. The Powerstops I purchased a few months ago were pretty cheap on RA, and they look and function well. The coating was very well done.

 

[Gyro Gearloose]

I've used Bosch Quietcast as my go to rotors for several years. Other than staying rust free, I cant tell any difference from OEM. Ditto for the Bosch pads I've tried.

 

[researcher]

I've been very happy with the Bosch Quietcast coated rotors. And I've continued to use them for many years now..The other nice thing is when measuring the run-out they have always been way under the spec, very important to me. These rotors usually rust up around 3-4 years here in Michigan.

 

[DCDG]

Took my 2015 F150 in for inspection today and it passed but the front brakes are super low. I’ve never had to put front brakes on this truck. I’m very happy with the original equipment Motorcraft brake pads and I’m going to go with those again, but OEM rotors are expensive. I like to get coated rotors as I live in the rust belt and don’t like looking at rusty rotors through my wheels. The rears don’t need done, but I’m contemplating doing them as well just to have new brakes on all 4 corners.

The options standing out to me for rotors are Powerstop Geomet, Dynamic Friction Geospec, Bosch Quietcast, and Raybestos Element3.

At the end of the day, they are all just a piece of cast iron and from what I understand, pretty much all rotors are made in China. Is one any better than any other? Do I just go with what is cheapest?
View attachment 334209

On rotors go with the Durago semi coated painted hat and edges.. For pads Bosch Quietcast or Power stop Z17 if you want to save a few bucks Bosch Blue pads. Either combination is a great daily brake package that almost any decent Indy shop would offer a customer. If you're towing regularly step up to high carbon rotors and semi metallic pads.

 

[DCDG]

Turning rotors is a waste for the itty bitty cost savings upfront you could have just put the money into a new set of rotors. Especially on fronts this is what 60-80% of brake load by turning them you're losing mass, thermal capacity and overall changing the rotors structural strength. Shops that offer this service know they'll be getting a comeback for a complete brake job sooner over the later. I don't like throwing good money to bad.

The dealer put a set of tires on for me a few years back called me to push a rear brake service cut rotors and value line pads $395+ tax.. Following weekend had Bosch blue pads and O'Reilly Semi painted rotors installed all in for $100.

 

[shortyb]

If you're looking to upgrade, all of those rotors you listed are going to be pretty much the same metallurgically and structurally. Sounds like you want a cosmetic difference too, and among those listed, the Powerstop and Bosch are going to be best with their Geomet coatings. Always had folks report great satifaction with Powerstops on cars that I've fitted them to. Boschs were not as consistent in the past, but have stepped up their QC lately, especially with the coating. Me personally, from what you listed, paired with Motorcraft pads, the Powerstops would be my choice. Would be easy to increase braking performance from there if you wanted/needed to with a simple pad swap.

 

[repairman54]

E3 and Powerstop coated have done me just fine over the years on multiple vehicles. I'm in the salt zone.

 

[DCDG]

Took my 2015 F150 in for inspection today and it passed but the front brakes are super low. I’ve never had to put front brakes on this truck. I’m very happy with the original equipment Motorcraft brake pads and I’m going to go with those again, but OEM rotors are expensive. I like to get coated rotors as I live in the rust belt and don’t like looking at rusty rotors through my wheels. The rears don’t need done, but I’m contemplating doing them as well just to have new brakes on all 4 corners.

The options standing out to me for rotors are Powerstop Geomet, Dynamic Friction Geospec, Bosch Quietcast, and Raybestos Element3.

At the end of the day, they are all just a piece of cast iron and from what I understand, pretty much all rotors are made in China. Is one any better than any other? Do I just go with what is cheapest?
View attachment 334209

I would make sure since you mentioned you're happy with the OE pads that aftermarket Motorcraft pads are indeed manufactured by the same OE supplier which I believe is Akebono. The pads could be boxed Motorcraft and there could be another supplier for non OE aftermarket pads - I want to say they're re-boxed Wagners made by Federal-Mogul. You do enough internet surfing this information is easily found. MOTORCRAFT BRF1899 are Wagner made pads. If you're looking to retain that OEM brake feel go with AKEBONO ACT1414 otherwise my personal experience Bosch Quietcast or Powerstops Z17 would be a better pad vs the BRF1899

 

[tblt44]

Do you need rotors ?
If you live in the rust belt maybe.
If you do the breaks on time and rotor thickness is good and there not warped a pad swap often is all you need

 

[AKhan87]

I have tried all part store branded rotors (except Napa), Raybestos High Carbon rotors I found on rockauto, Durago, and many other aftermarket brands, and my favorite after market rotor was the Raybestos High Carbon rotors.

But nothing comes close to OEM Toyota rotors, and Advics (box is labeled Aisin/Advics) rotors (exact same thing as Toyota rotors and no it doesn't make a higher quality rotor if you bought them directly from Toyota).

I have turned 20+ OEM Lexus/Toyota rotors, and most of them after 80-100k miles are almost new in thickness after being turned (I have only paid $10-15 to have my rotors turned you just have to shop around).

• Rotor Thickness
  • New = 28.0 mm
  • Discard = 25.0 mm
  • turned rotor after 80-100k miles = ~27.7 to 27.6 mm
    • After putting on 15-20k miles after turning the rotor, the car still brakes flawlessly and has an amazing bite, and unlike the average joe, I put my brakes to the test, mountain driving and plenty of spirited driving (safely of course)
    • What most people miss out on is doing a brake job properly, cleaning and prep is VERY important, when a vehicle is "new" to me, It takes me 3 hour just to clean and prep for front & rear brake job.
      • Lubricating key contact points and keeping grease off of pads and rotors during installation.

Note: I have not tried Brembo, and other Euro brands of rotors and have always heard good things but could never justify the cost for my application.

 

[ka9mnx]

If your OEM rotors are in spec, other than cosmetic why not just have them turned? In over 50 years of driving I’ve never had to replace a rotor. My 05 Chevy truck went almost 20 years and over 200,000 miles on the factory installed rear pads.

In my 50+ years of driving I've never bought new rotors, until recently. Just had the drums and rotors turned at a local machine shop. Also, many times I get away with a pad slap. Two years ago I had to buy new front rotors because one was scored out of spec.

 

[DCDG]

Note: I have not tried Brembo, and other Euro brands of rotors and have always heard good things but could never justify the cost for my application.

Brembo rotors may be good but stay away from their premium/ prime line of ceramic pads they squeal on faint pedal pressure and click going forward to reverse. Definitely not my brake work being the issue, I would put the best of the worlds finest cardiothoracic surgeons to shame with my brake work. I am meticulous over brakes. One thing for brakes to come with a sachet of lubricant but to come with brake quiet you know they must make a racket.

 

[JoeDirt41]

Turning rotors is a waste for the itty bitty cost savings upfront you could have just put the money into a new set of rotors. Especially on fronts this is what 60-80% of brake load by turning them you're losing mass, thermal capacity and overall changing the rotors structural strength.

Totally agree, this is just one of several reasons I don’t cut rotors.

If you're looking to upgrade, all of those rotors you listed are going to be pretty much the same metallurgically and structurally. Sounds like you want a cosmetic difference too, and among those listed, the Powerstop and Bosch are going to be best with their Geomet coatings. Always had folks report great satifaction with Powerstops on cars that I've fitted them to. Boschs were not as consistent in the past, but have stepped up their QC lately, especially with the coating. Me personally, from what you listed, paired with Motorcraft pads, the Powerstops would be my choice. Would be easy to increase braking performance from there if you wanted/needed to with a simple pad swap.

I appreciate the cosmetic difference since rotors rust almost instantly here and the heavy salt and snow in the winter can make them really crusty in a short period of time. It might not make a major of any difference in performance, but rotors get really scaly and look terrible. Probably gonna go with the Powerstops or the E3s.

I would make sure since you mentioned you're happy with the OE pads that aftermarket Motorcraft pads are indeed manufactured by the same OE supplier which I believe is Akebono. The pads could be boxed Motorcraft and there could be another supplier for non OE aftermarket pads - I want to say they're re-boxed Wagners made by Federal-Mogul. You do enough internet surfing this information is easily found. MOTORCRAFT BRF1899 are Wagner made pads. If you're looking to retain that OEM brake feel go with AKEBONO ACT1414 otherwise my personal experience Bosch Quietcast or Powerstops Z17 would be a better pad vs the BRF1899

Ford has several lines of brake pads, the have the OE pads, which are BRF or BRRF- prefix, the retail pads which are BR or BRR, the aftermarket spec, which are NBR and NBRR, and then the HD semi-metallics which are BRSD.

I believe the ones I want are the BRF pads.

 

[RaymondP]

With the exception of cars I have tracked, I will always have the original rotors turned and have always been pleased with the outcome. Different story for cars I tracked until I discovered the benefits of cryo-treated rotors. Process hardens the rotors without impacting braking performance. Once installed these were the final rotors purchased for tracked vehicles. If you can find them for your vehicle a worthwhile investment.