Are All Rotors the Same?

JoeDirt41 said:
Totally agree, this is just one of several reasons I don’t cut rotors.

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.

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.
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BRF says manufactured for Ford's strict specifications but doesn't mention being supplied by Akebono. Says BRF matches the factory OEM compound I am on the fence if they're Akebono.. I am leaning towards Bendix or Federal-Mogul.

The Federal-Mogul corporation (specifically through its Wagner division) is the manufacturer more historically and frequently linked to the production of the Motorcraft BRF line.

While Ford uses multiple "Tier 1" suppliers, the breakdown of how these two brands relate to Ford's braking products is as follows:

Federal-Mogul (Wagner)
  • Primary Supplier for BRF: Many Motorcraft BRF series part numbers (like BRF-4) are directly cross-referenced to Federal-Mogul/Wagner part numbers in technical specifications.
  • Manufacturing: Federal-Mogul produces a wide range of Ford's replacement friction materials, often branded as "Wagner" in the aftermarket but "Motorcraft" when sold through Ford dealerships.

Bendix
  • Separate Brand and Ownership: In North America, the Bendix trademark for automotive brakes is currently owned by MAT Holdings, not Federal-Mogul.
  • Past Connection: Federal-Mogul did acquire the Honeywell Bendix friction business in 2003, which creates some of the naming confusion today, but that was primarily for European operations.
  • Role for Ford: While Bendix is a major OEM supplier globally, it is less commonly cited as the specific manufacturer for the BRF (standard replacement) line compared to Wagner.

Other Key Manufacturers
It is important to note that Ford also heavily utilizes Akebono for its modern ceramic OEM pads. Akebono is a major technology partner for Ford and manufactures many of the pads that come on Ford vehicles straight from the assembly line
 
DCDG said:
BRF says manufactured for Ford's strict specifications but doesn't mention being supplied by Akebono. Says BRF matches the factory OEM compound I am on the fence if they're Akebono.. I am leaning towards Bendix or Federal-Mogul.

The Federal-Mogul corporation (specifically through its Wagner division) is the manufacturer more historically and frequently linked to the production of the Motorcraft BRF line.

While Ford uses multiple "Tier 1" suppliers, the breakdown of how these two brands relate to Ford's braking products is as follows:

Federal-Mogul (Wagner)
  • Primary Supplier for BRF: Many Motorcraft BRF series part numbers (like BRF-4) are directly cross-referenced to Federal-Mogul/Wagner part numbers in technical specifications.
  • Manufacturing: Federal-Mogul produces a wide range of Ford's replacement friction materials, often branded as "Wagner" in the aftermarket but "Motorcraft" when sold through Ford dealerships.

Bendix
  • Separate Brand and Ownership: In North America, the Bendix trademark for automotive brakes is currently owned by MAT Holdings, not Federal-Mogul.
  • Past Connection: Federal-Mogul did acquire the Honeywell Bendix friction business in 2003, which creates some of the naming confusion today, but that was primarily for European operations.
  • Role for Ford: While Bendix is a major OEM supplier globally, it is less commonly cited as the specific manufacturer for the BRF (standard replacement) line compared to Wagner.

Other Key Manufacturers
It is important to note that Ford also heavily utilizes Akebono for its modern ceramic OEM pads. Akebono is a major technology partner for Ford and manufactures many of the pads that come on Ford vehicles straight from the assembly line
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Oh boy. Ford and brakes.
 
After an experience replacing rotors on my Ranger, make sure the rotors you require aren't anything special. You might want to get the Motorcraft and Ford factory part numbers for your rotors just in case.

Replacement aftermarket rotors kept warping fairly quickly on my 2011, which is a SuperCab with the V-6, auto, and tow package. Of course, replacement meant repacking and installing new bearings, which got tiresome. When I finally went to a dealer parts department to try to get OEM rotors in hopes of avoiding more warpage, the VIN referenced a special heavy-duty rotor instead of the standard Ranger item because of the way the truck was equipped. Ford had discontinued that one in its system, but I found aftermarket units that crossed to the Motorcraft part number the dealer gave me. No more warpage so far after two years.

Also note that turning the rotors to reuse them might not be possible anyway. Today's semi-metallic brake pads typically wear the rotors enough on many vehicles that turning them even once will leave them too thin for the minimum required thickness cast or stamped into them.
 
i buy the absolute cheapest rotors i can find, spray paint the hat inside and out, then down in the fins. works great and saves a good bit.
 
DCDG said:
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.
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Probably in most use cases, especially because the average place doesn't want to turn rotors anymore and therefore charge a lot.

In my use case, it is SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper to get my OEM Toyota/Lexus rotors turned (I make this decision by checking the thickness before getting it turned, obviously if it is badly gouged, I will most likely not waste my time with it but I have personally never had a "gouged" rotor after doing brakes the way I have done them.
 
Chris142 said:
Most Zimmerman rotors are made in germany
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All I use for Euros that I own and install for others. Has one of the highest carbon contents of the aftermarket replacements and the most complete coating (inside hat, complete vane case, etc.). If they have an application for a domestic Ford, I wouldn't look at anything else. Don't know if they do though.
 
shortyb said:
All I use for Euros that I own and install for others. Has one of the highest carbon contents of the aftermarket replacements and the most complete coating (inside hat, complete vane case, etc.). If they have an application for a domestic Ford, I wouldn't look at anything else. Don't know if they do though.
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is it true with higher carbon rotors they don't always place nice with ceramic pads, being they have a higher heat capacity and cooling that it is harder to get the ceramic cohesive friction to bed with the rotors? Does it just take the bedding process longer to bed-in the pads & rotors?
 
DCDG said:
is it true with higher carbon rotors they don't always place nice with ceramic pads, being they have a higher heat capacity and cooling that it is harder to get the ceramic cohesive friction to bed with the rotors? Does it just take the bedding process longer to bed-in the pads & rotors?
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You can still get them hot enough with ceramic pads for an acceptable pad material transfer. Probably will take more stops to do it though.
 
IndyFan said:
How long does that coating last?
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That’s yet to be determined. So far, about eighty-three days.

I picked up the Powerstops for two reasons. One, they were comparatively cheap on RA. Two, because I could get flat rotors at their highest performance tier. Every other marque I considered only advertised slotted/drilled as their highest tier.
 
RaymondP said:
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.
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I kinda mentioned it before but I’m not gonna go too deep into why I don’t turn rotors. People are super opinionated about it and I don’t want it turning into a giant side discussion where a bunch of people wind up arguing. I agree it can be done and if the rotors are in good enough shape it can be worthwhile, but generally speaking, for me, I prefer to just replace them.
 
DCDG said:
LoL not to your statement but that these companies advertise slotted and drilled rotors to be their higher tier.
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Same here. My 3500 is not a performance vehicle. I’m picturing me driving down the fire road to our property. Nothing like the sound of drilled/slotted rotors packed with pugmill slurry as the pads try to do their job.
 
Reggaemon said:
I think all rotors are made in India or Pakistan....I've seen the utube videos.
Molten metal and sandals....I don't know how they do it.
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I have used PowerStop's Autospecialty, O'Reilly's, Bendix and some others they all had came from China. Now brake pads I have used like Centric C-tek line had come from India. What rotors you buying from India?
 
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