urbex Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 Anyone have any suggestions or recomendations for brake rotors? They're getting pretty nasty, and they're actually starting to flake apart. I think it's time for new ones. Should I just get AC Delco? I know the Delco for the HHR are terrible, but I've never had issues on the Lumina so should I stick with that or is there another brand I should look into? And pads, I'm thinking I might go with ceramic but I'm not sure yet...just thought maybe for less brake dust... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psych0matt Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 autozone specials Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urbex Posted June 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 What do they have Duralast probably? I had been thinking maybe R1 Concepts... I know a lot of people with HHRs that love them, and really they're about the same price, but you have to pay shipping. I'll probably just end up getting them at Auto Zone though, because of convenience.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white4d96 Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 I've said it before, I'll say it again: Rockauto, the cheapest rotors they got, and some nice ceramic pads. Can't beat brakes that are like hitting brick walls for $60 an axle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mra32 Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 dont you have hubcaps? brake dust should be no big deal. The brakes in the lumina grabbed better than my legacy does and i had like $10 rotors that were Raybestos from Rockauto and got some Hawk HPS pads from ebay for like $50 each set. They were kinda dusty but I had x-laces with a polished lip and it wasnt too bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 I've said it before, I'll say it again: Rockauto, the cheapest rotors they got, and some nice ceramic pads. Can't beat brakes that are like hitting brick walls for $60 an axle. That only takes you so far. When you start warping rotors every 25-45k miles, it gets very old very fast. As an example, the powerstop rotors I had on my regal went 110k miles before I replaced them due to rust and had no warping. Stock rotors on the Bonneville were all toast by 45k. If I replace crap with crap, it won't last long. I personally use napa ultra premium rotors. If I wasn't concerned about the rust, I'd use their premium rotors. More heavy duty than chinese cheap rotors and from what I've heard, manufactured with a better metal. Sent from my HTC Awesome using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white4d96 Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 I've got close to 15k hard driving on my front rotors with no warpage. My rears warped slightly after 40k but that's because of my brake fire I had (shoulda replaced them, but just sanded them down and sanded the pads because I was broke ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psych0matt Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 I don't know about everyone else, but I seem to average 10k a year (that's probably rounding way up). So in theory, we're worrying about doing a half hour-45 minute brake job every three years or so? I'm not arguing with the logic otherwise, but every few years hardly seems annoying to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schurkey Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 (edited) When you start warping rotors every 25-45k miles, it gets very old very fast. I could warp the front rotors on my Lumina Euro 3.4 with ONE hard stop from highway speed. I tried everything--sanding the hub and back side of the rotor (no high spots from rust), torquing the lug nuts, etc. I had the problem with OEM rotors, Non-composite rotors--wasn't fixed until I bought the premium rotors from NAPA; but they don't sell that kind any more. I had so much trouble that I now own a brake lathe so I can cut rotors at home. I personally use napa ultra premium rotors. If I wasn't concerned about the rust, I'd use their premium rotors. More heavy duty than chinese cheap rotors and from what I've heard, manufactured with a better metal. Take another look at those rotors, ALL the NAPA stuff is fukkin' Communist Chinese now, including what they're selling as "Ultra Premium". Might as well buy the cheapest junk rotors you can find, because there ARE NO GOOD ROTORS any more--they're ALL Chinese. At least, I could not find non-Chinese rotors in a fairly extensive local and on-line search about five months ago. The ceramic pads I bought from NAPA didn't dust, but they didn't stop all that good, either. This was some years ago, and on a 1/2 ton 4X4 truck. YMMV. Edited June 22, 2011 by Schurkey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urbex Posted June 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 (edited) dont you have hubcaps? brake dust should be no big deal. The brakes in the lumina grabbed better than my legacy does and i had like $10 rotors that were Raybestos from Rockauto and got some Hawk HPS pads from ebay for like $50 each set. They were kinda dusty but I had x-laces with a polished lip and it wasnt too bad. You'd think the hubcaps would catch all the dust, right? I don't know. Maybe it's because the car is white and it shows up more, or maybe it just has shitty pads. But it gets a hell of a lot dustier than the HHR which has an open style 5 spoke wheel... I was just looking on the Auto Zone website and they want about $50 EACH for a Duralast, or like $20 I think for Valuecraft, but isn't Valuecraft shit? I keep looking at these R1s... they want $35 each and pads are $25 per axle set. But I have to keep telling myself this isn't no damn race car, it's just a DD that gets driven like a Grandpa car...:lol: How about PBR rotors? Are they ok? I found a place I can get them for $35 each, with free shipping... Edited June 22, 2011 by urbex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertISaar Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 yes, valucraft are total crap... that being said, i have valucrap pads on the front of the GP, along with rotors that are slightly warped, excessively crusty and have some nasty grooves cut into them from PO grinding down to the backing plate. still stops 10X better and with a lot more pedal feel than with what was on there. for a total investment of $13 and a few minutes of knocking off rust with a claw hammer, i can't complain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 I dont wanna be an asshole or offend anyone, but why do you guys cheap out on brakes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertISaar Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 for me, 2 reasons: GP will not last much longer due to be a box of rotten metal, and because i'm a very cheap bastard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 I mean last time I did brakes on the Cutlass ( many years ago ) I spend almost $300 on slotted rotors ( which were made in the USA, with virgin steel, not that recycled japanese tin can garbage ) and top of the line semi-metallic pads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertISaar Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 if it's a vehicle you're planning on keeping on the road for a while, then yes, expensive brakes can be completely justified. but if i know a vehicle isn't going to be on the road for another 10,000 miles at most, i'm going with the cheapest route i can outside of junkyard rotors/pads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mra32 Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 I mean last time I did brakes on the Cutlass ( many years ago ) I spend almost $300 on slotted rotors ( which were made in the USA, with virgin steel, not that recycled japanese tin can garbage ) and top of the line semi-metallic pads. Please, using your wallet as a yardstick for efficacy of car parts is foolish. Who makes steel rotors for W-bodies, btw? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 Sometimes you get what you pay for... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrl390 Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 I have Napa premium rotors on my car. I have less than 15,000 miles on them and all 4 corners are warped and the fronts squeal. I ran all 4 rotors on the lathe and they re-warped the first time I drove the car. They are terrible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 I have Napa premium rotors on my car. I have less than 15,000 miles on them and all 4 corners are warped and the fronts squeal. I ran all 4 rotors on the lathe and they re-warped the first time I drove the car. They are terrible. I don't think I've ever seen someone burn through 4 rotors in 15k miles no matter how cheap the rotor. That's just plain strange. Seriously sounds like you have other problems or you're using really shitty pads. Sent from my HTC Awesome using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mra32 Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 Sometimes you get what you pay for... I'm just going to thank you for supporting the US manufacturing sector and leave it at that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White93z34 Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 I'm also running the Raybestos rotors that rockauto sells, I love em so far, in fact I bought 2 sets. Granted I have only put 10,000 on them in 2 years now, they stop OK with the duralast gold pads I had leftover from my old z34, Can't wait till those wear down and I can replace them with the Hawk HPS I have in my basement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alec_b Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 Keep in mind that LESS miles won't necessarily make the rotors last longer, they NEED to be used to stay true and clean. Just had to re-do a year-old brake job on an S10 because he'd only put 700 miles on it since we did it last. there were large rust spots where the pads had been sitting stationary on the rotors for long periods of time. That being said, when I did the brakes on the regal I ordered drilled rotors with whatever pads they came with from ebay and they were just fine. Ask anyone, I'm not easy on my car and I never had an issue with fade or squealing with those. The rotors were nice too, I actually got a set of our in-house rotors from parts plus just to compare and the ebay rotors were thicker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carkhz316 Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 I'm glad I'm not the only one who seems to have a issue with warped rotors. I put "premium" pads and rotors from Carquest on the Monte a few years back. Less than a year/ 10K miles later, the rotors were warped badly. Everything was torqued properly, including wheels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy K Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 possible causes of front rotors warping? rear brakes being inoperable. over tightening of lugnuts mounting rotors on dirty hub that have rust scale on them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertISaar Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 i'd like to think the ~3400 lb curb weight, HEAVY front-weight bias and relatively small rotors contribute to this issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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