Difference in name brand/higher end rotors?

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Sep 9, 2020
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Scottsdale, AZ
So today I was Ordering some new pads for my truck and pulled up rotors. I think my factory rotors on the front are perfectly fine at 55,000 miles but for ****s and gigs wanted to see what rock auto is charging. Obviously huge selection and I found rotors from $14 all the way up to $90 for my application. This is a normal 1/4 ton pickup truck with normal vented rotors. Historically on other cars I’ve always used autozone, Napa, etc branded stuff and not noticed any difference. But is there a noticeable difference for a non rust belter between something like a Raybestos R-Line and a Element 3 for example? Truck is used for light and sparing hauling and mostly gentle round town stuff, long hwy drives.
 
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I don't know but I suspect iron purity and carbon content of the iron and machining qualify, most notably runout tolerances. Higher end rotors will also have coatings to resist rust/oxidation.
 
So today I was Ordering some new pads for my truck and pulled up rotors. I think my factory rotors on the front are perfectly fine at 55,000 miles but for ****s and gigs wanted to see what rock auto is charging. Obviously huge selection and I found rotors from $14 all the way up to $90 for my application. This is a normal 1/4 ton pickup truck with normal vented rotors. Historically on other cars I’ve always used autozone, Napa, etc branded stuff and not noticed any difference. But is there a noticeable difference for a non rust belter between something like a Raybestos R-Line and a Element 3 for example? Truck is used for light and sparing hauling and mostly gentle round town stuff, long hwy drives.
I really did notice a difference with Wagner E-Coat rotors when compared to parts stores house brands. If they offer them for my older rides when replacement time comes I will use Wagner E-Coat rotors again.
 
When you feel the need to replace the rotors, what you do is take them to O'reillys and have them turned for $15 each. Then you have OE quality steel there w/o having to think about stuff like that.

Then when you have 150k or so on the truck you can think about new rotors...
 
I always replace rotors when I do a pad change; in doing so, I've used rotors all over the price spectrum.

I've not noticed any difference in quality or performance between the el cheapo rotors and the premium brands. All seem to work as good as the next when it comes to actual braking.

Where I do notice a difference is in corrosion protection. That's one area where I believe you get what you pay for. You can buy cheap coated rotors, and you get a cheap coating that doesn't last as long as the more premium offerings. There's always exceptions to the rule, but generally this is how it's worked out for me.
 
Rotor hardness can vary. Europeans tend to use softer rotors which brake with a different feel and performance, and when rotors or pads are changed away from oem, the feel/performance and longevity all change. I’ve not encountered as much of a difference with domestic and Japanese makes. Element 3 pads, which I’m quite liking, do seem harder on rotors. I wonder if raybestos rotors are matched or optimized in some way for them. They are chewing on my f150 oem rotors a bit. I’ve quite liked raybestos AT rotors in the past.
 
I just installed two Raybestos rotors from RockAuto on my '95 Miata's front end. They were <$13 each and work great (no balance problem, no shuddering). Rust protection is not a big deal in the high desert.
 
Well I unexpectedly Paid $1200 yesterday to register our cars (thanks AZ!) so based on the fact that my rotors are barely worn and are perfectly true with not a sign of a groove, and the shipping cost from rock auto. It looks like a pad slap for me.
 
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Well I unexpectedly Paid $1200 yesterday to register our cars (thanks AZ!) so based on the fact that my rotors are barely worn and are perfectly true with not a sign of a groove, and the shipping cost from rock auto. It looks like a pad slap for me.

Many of us cannot provide a great opinion on a pad slap since we are from rust belt and we never find rotors that are in great shape when it's time to replace the pads. And half the time it's 1 out of the 4 pads on an axle that is really worn because of rust around pin or pad ears.

Why so much to register?
 
The Raybestos are good I can’t really tell much difference in the different models but they are amazing pads as are the Wagner and all other brand. For auto parts store brake pads I have had best luck with AutoZone and Napa and Advance Auto. O’Reilly is just ehh.
 
Well I unexpectedly Paid $1200 yesterday to register our cars (thanks AZ!) so based on the fact that my rotors are barely worn and are perfectly true with not a sign of a groove, and the shipping cost from rock auto. It looks like a pad slap for me.

Given you live in AZ, that's what I would do.

Where I live, the environmental conditions are what trash rotors on daily drivers more than anything. More expensive coated rotors in my experience just look prettier for longer. Other than that they wear, rust and have potential for issues just like the $20 white box no name rotors.
 
I can’t really tell a difference in feel between all the Chineseium out there. But with that said, the machining on a set of Centric 121 or Akebono rotors is nicer than the ones on white box rotors. I have white box rotors on a friend’s Explorer that seem to be holding up fine. It’s the visual cues you need to look for - plate thickness/vanes and how well the machining looks.

OTOH, I’ve been impressed with OEM supplier rotors - the set of Advics I installed on my parent’s car were beautiful. Made in the USA at a Aisin facility in Indiana or Ohio. A set of Mexican Brembos also looked nice.
 
This is a big issue in the BMW community, also. It seems that reputable manufacturers are moving some of their production to an eastern Asian country. The quality drops. Most of us in the bimmer community buy rotors from the dealer or Zimmerman rotors. The latter are still made in Germany.
 


I found this video, obviously biased based on who it is from but sheds some light on the difference between OEM standards and aftermarket. Turns out the whole thing was a wash, the factory pads were maybe half worn. I ended up swapping in the Element 3s anyways because I know if I keep them stored in the garage for a few more years those boxes will go missing.
 
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