Famous Brand - Gamble on Rotors

[RamFan]

Rotors are an area where I’ll save a few dollars and not buy top of the line. My criteria are reputable brand/product line and coated. In essence, buy a Brembo rotor? No. Buy Raybestos? Yes. Buy Raybestos R-Line? No. You get the idea.

Well, Rock Auto wholesale parts recently intrigued me. For the Mazda they had Durago coated rear rotors for $12 and “Famous Brand” front rotors for $9. For roughly $45, I gambled.

Parts arrived today and the Durago are actually Pro Stop. No complaints. The “Famous Brand” ended up being UQuality (never heard of them), and surprisingly they are coated. Unfortunately one of the rotors came a bit damaged, so I suppose the gamble didn’t fully pay off, though running them will be the true deciding factor.

 

[nwjones18]

I think you did just fine. That damage shouldn't bother anything. I've been staring at some warehouse deal rotors for my 07 Mazda as well, but haven't pulled the trigger.

 

[DCDG]

I have time but am not one to pass up a purchase when the prices are reasonable. I don't see you having an issue running the rotor with those imperfections.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

That damage isn't really much of a problem, though they should be covered under warranty if you wish to send them back and not install them.

Pro Stop is Pep Boys house brand. I came across UQuality when shopping for drums on my car, as they are the only ones besides Powerstop to offer fully coated drums.

The biggest problem with the rotors you got is that they're not coated on the inside, but since you're in Texas, they should still come off at the end of life with no problem, as your rotors have that M8 threaded hole to insert a bolt if they do get stuck on.

Obviously if you were up north, it would be more important to stick to the gray section of fully coated rotors, but for you, what you got should be ok.

 

[RedSpider]

I usually buy the absolute cheapest coated rotors I can find and have never had an issue with any of them. I think these are fine.

 

[JavierH19]

Many people change rotors every pad change just because and if I was that person i'd buy the cheapest rock auto whatevers. But I like to spend more on the better high carbon rotors which last 3 pad slaps. Rust isn't an issue for me but if it was i'd probably get the cheapest coated rotors and change every time.

 

[charbaby]

I’ve been using DURAGO rotors for better than 10 years and I think that they’re a great value with very good quality. DURAGO also has Black coated rotors that are coated on the inside as well.

 

[TCL]

You might want to get them off the kitchen counter before the wife gets home.

 

[The Critic]

You can measure the lateral runout of the rotors and see how well they were actually machined.

 

[D60]

I've used a bunch of the ProStop stuff. I haven't seen a problem yet, although on many of them I can't speak to longevity.

 

[wlk]

I wouldn't be concerned about the damage, probably wouldn't even notice if not pointed out. I've purchased the famous brands before and all of mine were Carquest parts. Glad the deal worked out for you.

 

[Selmorides]

Couple weeks ago I bought a single Auto Specialties rotor for a 71 Chevelle, AR8200, from Amazon for $21. It fits 69-mid 70’s, many GM mid-size. I could only get one. Auto Specialties is PowerStop but not drilled & slotted. The box was beat up and broke open, the UPS driver asked me to inspect it, the rotor was fine. I was more concerned if I was getting the right part as the photo in the listing was wrong, but it was right. I got the match from Rock for $68 with tax and shipping. I got a deal.

 

[RamFan]

I’m a bit sad, with Raybestos no longer, I decided to pick up front and rear sets of what is likely to be my last run of Element3 pads and knock out a brake change. At under $100, you just can’t beat it.

 

[Dborch41]

On a related note, the RockAuto "Famous Brand" option can be a helluva deal sometimes. To find out what the actual "brand" is, just Google the part number in the description followed by the nomenclature. As previously noted, Carquest is a common result. AAP is closing a lot of their under-performing stores and RockAuto is acting as a clearing house for a bunch of their excess inventory.

I was looking for a pair of outer tie rod ends for my Frontier, they had a Famous Brand listing for only $18 each. The same part on AAP's website was was over $40. I've had decent luck with Carquest parts so I considered it a no-brainer. They showed up still factory-sealed in Carquest boxes, can't go wrong for less than half the price even with shipping.