Yes this.yes it's all part of First Brands bankruptcy already posted on this forum.. heres the link
I mean it's past even the second shoe dropping at this point.
Yes this.yes it's all part of First Brands bankruptcy already posted on this forum.. heres the link
I used to happily recommend Raybestos Elements and used them on many cars for some years but then the quality went very bad in a very short time, now they are plain junk parts.Centric was my goto pad/rotor combo years ago. Raybestos Element or whatever were good pads until they weren't.
What's a poor boy to do?
I dunno, one could argue the market is saturated. We have (had?) a lot of choices.Oh man! What a tragedy. Would buy the Centric-Cryo treated rotors for use on track day cars. Cryo treating increases their life by 3 to 4 times if tracking. Once set would last me the lifetime of the vehicle. Also read cryo-treated rotors are used on emergency vehicles for the same reason.
Every day I wake up there are fewer and fewer options in whatever I am looking for, including vehicles. Understand consolidation makes economic sense, but when there is no longer an option that fits the bill, that is a sad day. Maybe market forces will eventually kick in and fulfill a latent demand, but it will take time. And you will probably pay premium prices. This trend does NOT bode well.
I'm really surprised nobody came in and bought up Stoptech brakes. They were well made and a great option for scca drivers.https://www.motor1.com/news/787179/stoptech-ceasing-operations/
Just ran across this, not surprising but still sucks. I always loved Centric premium rotors.
My dad always says "this creates an opportunity ". Unfortunately starting a brake rotor/caliper company from scratch wouldn't be cheap.Oh man! What a tragedy. Would buy the Centric-Cryo treated rotors for use on track day cars. Cryo treating increases their life by 3 to 4 times if tracking. Once set would last me the lifetime of the vehicle. Also read cryo-treated rotors are used on emergency vehicles for the same reason.
Every day I wake up there are fewer and fewer options in whatever I am looking for, including vehicles. Understand consolidation makes economic sense, but when there is no longer an option that fits the bill, that is a sad day. Maybe market forces will eventually kick in and fulfill a latent demand, but it will take time. And you will probably pay premium prices. This trend does NOT bode well.
StopTech was originally about big brake kits, and supplemented those with pads and OE type slotted/drilled rotors. The BBK business isn't really that profitable....they needed the other stuff to make any money. Keep in mind, back in the late '90s when StopTech began, very few vehicles came with big brakes at the factory level. Now, we have Brembo calipers and 14"+ rotors on **** near everything. The BBK market is dwindling for street driven cars. Everyone and their mom is selling slotted/drilled rotors. Outside of the very low volume race market, I don't think there's much value in StopTech at this point.I'm really surprised nobody came in and bought up Stoptech brakes. They were well made and a great option for scca drivers.
If only they produced the same amount of dust as a boat anchor!On almost everything I own or work on is European so Zimmerman rotors and ATE pads are the go to, on the only non Euro car the Subaru I put OE Made in USA rotors and OE Akebono pads on it, they stop well but definitely not the boat anchors like the ATE.
Speaking of Reese, connecting the dots on why my Resse trailer hitch order on Amazon from 7 DEC 2025 still hasn't shipped.I dunno, one could argue the market is saturated. We have (had?) a lot of choices.
Admittedly, this one seems shocking because these were BIG names. Several will go the way of Craftsman, Skil, Rockwell, Fowler etc and be resurrected in name only. Most of First Brands was already Chinese junk so they'll return as......Chinese junk.
Personally if I were etrailer I'd be a little worried. There already weren't that many offerings of hitches, tongue jacks and brake controllers. Reese, DrawTite, Hopkins, Tekonsha and Bulldog is a huge hit to a relatively narrow market. Etrailer also private labels some hitches which are either Reese or DrawTite (I don't remember? ) so I wonder if they can maintain that relationship
TSC was blowing out all their Reese stuff ~8? months ago -- maybe even before that? They brought in what appears to be a house brand and I thought it was just about profit margins but most likely they knew what was up....Speaking of Reese, connecting the dots on why my Resse trailer hitch order on Amazon from 7 DEC 2025 still hasn't shipped.
Starting to wonder if this is a sign on what lays ahead for certain vertical parts and that these parts may not be so available.
Here is a screenshot of my Reese order I am still waiting to ship from Amazon. Reese is the direct vendor (not a third party):
View attachment 324170
It's a centipede.I mean it's past even the second shoe dropping at this point.