Has anyone used the plain Zimmermann brand rotors?

[stephen9666]

I did some searching and only found a couple threads on Bitog that mentioned Zimmermann rotors. Many of the posts on other sites I've seen are about their drilled/slotted rotors, which aren't what I'd be buying.

Does anyone have first-hand experience with Zimmerman plain replacement rotors?

I just noticed my girlfriend's Beetle is about due for a rear brake job. I'd like to avoid the Chinese rotors sold by most brands. I've been doing a little digging and it looks like Zimmermann rotors may be a good choice. They're pretty affordable at about $55 shipped for a pair of rear rotors.

For anyone who isn't familiar, Zimmermann is a German aftermarket brake company that still makes rotors in Germany.
http://www.otto-zimmermann.de/en/

Zimmerman sells drilled/slotted rotors, but I'm not interested in those. I would be getting the plain rotors with the zinc coating. Here's just one site that's selling them:
http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/1J0615601PKT4/ES20/

 

[edwardh1]

there are too many rotor brands- hard to tell which are good.
one mechanic I use uses NAPA chinese , other mechanic uses japanese made.
would be interest to see someone test them somehow, including their weight

 

[Astro14]

I've had good luck with plain Brembos on Euro cars. Plain Zimmermans have a good rep in Volvo forums and are sold by aftermarket vendors for Volvos. Have you looked on FCPEuro to see what they're charging?

If they're reasonably priced, I would use the plain Zimmerman.

 

[threeputtpar]

They are very popular on the Audi allroad forums, since they hold up better than the OE ones in the less than stellar braking system on that heavy of a car. The coating is good for stopping the rusting of the unswept areas, too.

 

[Bladecutter]

I installed Zimmermann's on my '98 Boxster front and rear, and then proceeded to use them on the street and track for several years. They never warped or faded, even after repeated road course abuse, and 30k + miles.

I can't think of a better aftermarket brand for German cars in the brake department.

BC.

 

[SteveSRT8]

^^^The only problem with the above comment is that both "Warp" and fade are pad issues and rarely affected by rotor choices...

 

[stephen9666]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
^^^The only problem with the above comment is that both "Warp" and fade are pad issues and rarely affected by rotor choices...


Well, thickness variations caused by hub runout, debris between the hub and rotor or other things can also cause pedal pulsations.

But, I understand what you're getting at.

 

[ChiTDI]

Yeah, I used them and had the same performance as the straight plain Brembos they replaced.
Used them on a Jetta and they fit well going on and never caused an issue.
Balo was the hot brand at the time, but I haven't u$ed them yet.

 

[Bladecutter]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
^^^The only problem with the above comment is that both "Warp" and fade are pad issues and rarely affected by rotor choices...


You are correct, but the fact that I had really really high brake temps, and yet no uneven pad deposits onto the rotors leads me to believe that the quality of the metal used in the rotors is consistent across the whole rotor. I never had to re-bed pads during a track day on the Boxster as I had to on other cars, using the same brand of pads.

Fade is contributed by improper venting of the heat built up in the rotor, and is directly involved in fade and warping. A bad aftermarket rotor design with improper venting, or poor quality metal will hold more heat, as you know.

So, my comments, in my opinion, hold value.

BC.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: Bladecutter
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
^^^The only problem with the above comment is that both "Warp" and fade are pad issues and rarely affected by rotor choices...


You are correct, but the fact that I had really really high brake temps, and yet no uneven pad deposits onto the rotors leads me to believe that the quality of the metal used in the rotors is consistent across the whole rotor. I never had to re-bed pads during a track day on the Boxster as I had to on other cars, using the same brand of pads.

Fade is contributed by improper venting of the heat built up in the rotor, and is directly involved in fade and warping. A bad aftermarket rotor design with improper venting, or poor quality metal will hold more heat, as you know.

So, my comments, in my opinion, hold value.

BC.


NP

As you noted, there were specific conditions you feel represented the rotors quality. That is your opinion and I respect it.

BUT, the rotors surface finish and/or metallurgy is not likely to affect so called "warping" as we rarely sit at the track with our pads clamped down on a hot rotor like we all do at a stop light.

My car has seen many a track day at HPDE's all over the country, and despite a huge set of lovely 4 piston Brembos it is still a large sedan and as such VERY hard on the brakes. I have never had any issues either, despite trying several pad formulas in the early days of ownership.

 

[tommygunn]

Do the rotor hats have any good anti-rust coating?

The Centric Premium is the best rotor since the hat has a black coating on it to prevent rust. Which means you'll actually be able to take the wheels off later.

A lot of times the rotor freezes to the wheel and it takes hours to remove, due to rust.

 

[stephen9666]

Originally Posted By: tommygunn
Do the rotor hats have any good anti-rust coating?

The Centric Premium is the best rotor since the hat has a black coating on it to prevent rust. Which means you'll actually be able to take the wheels off later.


If you follow the links in the first post you'll see they use a. zinc coating. That's why they appear dull grey.

Now, I don't know how the zinct compares in duarability to rotors with a painted hat and vanes like the centrics you mention or Raybestod Advance Tech.

 

[artificialist]

I installed them on a Jaguar XJ6 because they were the only ones the service writer could find. The car never had any problems.

I guess they are okay.

 

[dailydriver]

I wish they made these 'Bobby Dylan' rotors for domestics, now that Brembo no longer makes their blanks anywhere but Sinoland (or maybe Brazil??).

 

[stephen9666]

Originally Posted By: dailydriver
I wish they made these 'Bobby Dylan' rotors for domestics, now that Brembo no longer makes their blanks anywhere but Sinoland (or maybe Brazil??).

I don't know if Brembo makes rotors in Brazil, maybe they do. I know many Brembo rotors are now Chinese, as you noted.

It could also be that Brembo sources those from Fremax, a big Brazilian rotor manufacturer. Beck/Arnley sources some of their rotors from Fremax.

http://www.fremax.com.br/site/en/

 

[ChrisW]

Originally Posted By: tommygunn
...

A lot of times the rotor freezes to the wheel and it takes hours to remove, due to rust....


In my experience at work, an assembly is difficult to remove mainly due to rust buildup between the hub and the wheel's center-bore and not necessarily rust on the rotor's hat. We wire-brush the hubs/rotors' hat using a brass wire cup and 3M roloc the backside of the wheel; removing the rust from the hub allows easier/better placement of the wheel [assuming that the wheels are factory and center-bore match the hub size, I haven't really found hubs rings for aftermarket wheels to be an issue unless they're not composite rings], and removing rust from the rotor's hat/wheel reduces the chance that loose rust would affect torque values and the clamping ability of the lug nuts/bolts down the road.

 

[ChrisW]

Originally Posted By: stephen9666
Originally Posted By: tommygunn
Do the rotor hats have any good anti-rust coating?

The Centric Premium is the best rotor since the hat has a black coating on it to prevent rust. Which means you'll actually be able to take the wheels off later.


If you follow the links in the first post you'll see they use a. zinc coating. That's why they appear dull grey.

Now, I don't know how the zinct compares in duarability to rotors with a painted hat and vanes like the centrics you mention or Raybestod Advance Tech.


I believe GM is now using a nitrogen vapor-style deposit technology [they bake the rotors at a certain temp in a highly nitrogen-enriched enclave] which is supposed to be far superior to either the zinc or painted/enameled technologies of current rotors on the market. I think they should license this out to other companies so it can be available to the aftermarket.

Edit: found a link to an article about it. GM's FNC treatment for brake rotors Apparently it also serves to make the metal more durable on the rotor in addition to curbing surface oxidation/corrosion/rust.

 

[stephen9666]

That's a pretty interesting article.

I did note this bit of sillyness:
Quote:
“We expect FNC will double rotor life from the current 40,000 miles, to 80,000 miles, before it needs to be ‘turned’ [machined to regain factory-spec lateral runout and surface finish],” Webster said.


They're claiming the current GM rotors can only go 40k miles before needing to be turned?

I've never had a rotor that needed to be turned at 40k miles. The rotors on my Sonata were retired at 60k because of rust in the vanes, not because they needed to be turned.

My girlfriend's beetle still has the factory rotors on the rear at 115k miles. In fact, I think it still has the factory pads, so I don't think they've ever been turned in that time.

 

[KenO]

Zimmerman/ATE/Balo/Brembo are all OEM on the euro cars. Use them with confidence.

 

[Audios]

I use them almost exclusively in my shop. They are consistently the best aftermarket ones out there. Never had any issues at all, one set of Zimmerman cross drilled rotors we had sitting around went through 2 floods and still have no rust on them, almost 8 months after the last flood, and 20 months since the first.