I posted about this in the humor section for a different reason, but the Centric 121 C-TEK economy rotors are Centric's equivalent to the infamous "whitebox" economy rotors that are sold by many parts stores.
Normally I do not use whitebox economy rotors, however, this brake job was for a lease return and the driver wanted to minimize their costs. The driver did not mind the rusty appearance from unpainted rotors.
This was the first set of economy rotors that I had used in over two years. After properly cleaning the hub flanges, washing the rotors and installing them with conical washers, I measured the lateral runout values and found the following:
L/F = .001"
R/F = .0015" (after indexing, first try yielded .0025")
L/R = .0005"
R/R = .002"
This particular vehicle (2016 Outback 3.6R) allows a max of .002" so all of the values were within spec. From my past experience, economy rotors typically have .003"-.004" of runout and this was simply too much for most modern vehicles. Resurfacing rotors on a bench lathe usually results in .004"-.007" of runout.
Either I got lucky, or I guess economy rotors have gotten a lot better in the last few years. I was a bit blown away. If economy rotors are consistently this good and the driver is on a budget (can't afford or does not want to pay for premium rotors), then economy rotors have truly become a viable low-cost alternative to resurfacing your old brake rotors. The finish felt reasonably smooth as well, and the pads bedded in fairly quickly. I paired these rotors with Akebono ProACT pads on the front axle and Centric 105 PosiQuiet Ceramic pads on the rear axle.
Also, nthach came by and watched me do this brake job. He's cool.
Normally I do not use whitebox economy rotors, however, this brake job was for a lease return and the driver wanted to minimize their costs. The driver did not mind the rusty appearance from unpainted rotors.
This was the first set of economy rotors that I had used in over two years. After properly cleaning the hub flanges, washing the rotors and installing them with conical washers, I measured the lateral runout values and found the following:
L/F = .001"
R/F = .0015" (after indexing, first try yielded .0025")
L/R = .0005"
R/R = .002"
This particular vehicle (2016 Outback 3.6R) allows a max of .002" so all of the values were within spec. From my past experience, economy rotors typically have .003"-.004" of runout and this was simply too much for most modern vehicles. Resurfacing rotors on a bench lathe usually results in .004"-.007" of runout.
Either I got lucky, or I guess economy rotors have gotten a lot better in the last few years. I was a bit blown away. If economy rotors are consistently this good and the driver is on a budget (can't afford or does not want to pay for premium rotors), then economy rotors have truly become a viable low-cost alternative to resurfacing your old brake rotors. The finish felt reasonably smooth as well, and the pads bedded in fairly quickly. I paired these rotors with Akebono ProACT pads on the front axle and Centric 105 PosiQuiet Ceramic pads on the rear axle.
Also, nthach came by and watched me do this brake job. He's cool.