Im sure this has been covered before but i searched and not a lot came up. I get a discount at honda because my dad works there, but the parts guy said he thinks that the rotors only come with a yr warranty. The duralast ones are $80 and the oem honda ones are $85(with my dads cost).

Is there any differences besides duralast has 2 yr warranty and oem as 1 yr? One better than the other?

 

you cant go wrong with oem

id rather go with oem than some autozone or pepboys ishh..

 

i use napa with no probs.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jtfc3s &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">you cant go wrong with oem

id rather go with oem than some autozone or pepboys ishh..</TD></TR></TABLE>

i was thinking the same with the oem, but its 5 bucks more and less warranty, i can just go into autozone in 2 years or so and just replace them for free. atleast thats they way i look at it! id be using hawk hps pads too

 

ive tracked my car with both brembo and chinese blanks along with carbotech xp-10s. i dont see a difference between either. i prefer the $40/pair no name brand because its cheaper and i like to change the rotors whenever i change the brake pads.

 

oem FTW!

 

I think im just going to go with the duralast. 2 yr warranty is pretty good. that way i can replace my rotors every 2 years!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Frstyl838 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

i was thinking the same with the oem, but its 5 bucks more and less warranty, i can just go into autozone in 2 years or so and just replace them for free. atleast thats they way i look at it! id be using hawk hps pads too
</TD></TR></TABLE>

rotors are commonly replaced

 

Just a note from my experiences with new rotors. Don't ever buy the zinc plated ones, even the Brembo ones I got needed 500 miles of average driving till the zinc wore off, even with EBC pads that have the "bedding material" (sandpaper) on them when new. They still have traces of the plating on the rotors and they sound like someone scraping a chalk board with their finger nails.

 

if they are about the same price i'd go with oem any day over autozone brands.

 

Topic title should read:

Crap rotors vs. good rotors

For daily driving OEM from Honda rotors will last longer and resist warping more so, or be less likely to be warped right out of the box brand new (like two pairs of Brembo "OE" rotors I've purchased) but if you're driving hard and tracking the car, or using more racey compound pads that are harsh on rotors buy the cheapest rotors possible and just be prepared to change them out frequently.

 

I bought the rotors from pep boys (about $25/pair) and placed them on my car last year. I installed new Hawk HP+ pads on my car and tracked the car the next week and an autox. The brakes squeak just a little bit under slow speeds, but they bite hard. I also daily my car. The rotors are still good even after 10-12K miles. Brakes are in excellent condition. For the price so far they are great. My OE rotors were still good even after ~60K miles. I still have them too.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by B18C5-EH2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Topic title should read:

Crap rotors vs. good rotors.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Not exactly. Many of the ITR folks who track their cars heavily are perfectly satisfied with the AutoZone Duralast rotors, and I have not read a single complaint about them or their longevity when used in a street or track setting.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Padawan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Not exactly. Many of the ITR folks who track their cars heavily are perfectly satisfied with the AutoZone Duralast rotors, and I have not read a single complaint about them or their longevity when used in a street or track setting. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Well when you've worked on these cars in the same shop for 8 years you see a lot of different parts, and IMO OE Honda/Acura rotors straight from the dealership do last the longest before warping, and don't warp as soon after resurfacing them (on the car of course) like other aftermarket brands do.

I'm speaking strictly from a daily driven stand point. I'm also referencing not just Civics and Integras, but Accords, Legends, Vigors, Preludes, Odysseys, etc. etc.

If it is a car that is being driven hard, especially in a road race setting, then buying the cheapest rotors with the longest warranty is a good idea because you're going to rape any rotors - OE or crap ones - when abusing them.

BTW I know the ITR guys love some cheapo rotors - I remember back in the day how funny the topic were that guys used to post with completely cooked AutoZone rotors in the ITR forum. That's exactly why I said get the cheapest ones the first time if you plan on tracking or driving hard.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by B18C5-EH2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Well when you've worked on these cars in the same shop for 8 years you see a lot of different parts, and IMO OE Honda/Acura rotors straight from the dealership do last the longest before warping, and don't warp as soon after resurfacing them (on the car of course) like other aftermarket brands do.</TD></TR></TABLE>

It's rather rare to see a rotor actually "warp", and in most cases what has happened is that the pads have left deposits on the rotors unevenly, thus causing high/low spots and pulsation in the pedal. I'm curious as to why certain rotors would exhibit this effect more frequently than others, all things being equal.

Your point about inexpensive rotors for tracking is certainly a good one, and while you can't go wrong with OEM for daily use, I doubt that anyone here would experience issues going with the DuraLasts. If they did, AutoZone would replace them under warranty anyway. Inexpensive and a good warranty is a nice combination of features.

 

i look at it this way, if honda recommends turning BRAND NEW oem rotors, think about how bad chinese duralast rotors are.

 

by the way, ive seen parallelism in 2 days of driving with non oem rotors.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Padawan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">It's rather rare to see a rotor actually "warp", and in most cases what has happened is that the pads have left deposits on the rotors unevenly, thus causing high/low spots and pulsation in the pedal. I'm curious as to why certain rotors would exhibit this effect more frequently than others, all things being equal. </TD></TR></TABLE>

We use an on-car brake lathe to turn rotors, and while they're being turned you can literally see the warpage as the bit doesn't hit all of the rotor on the first pass(es) due to the rotor being warped. I'm not sure brake pad deposits run that deep. It also wouldn't explain having brand new rotors fresh out of the box vibrate like hell on the initial test drive when the brake pads have had zero chance of leaving deposits.

I mean cheapo rotors made with crappy iron/steel/whatever just aren't made with the same quality, and sometimes that can also mean being unbalanced/warped fresh out of the box. It also means thy're less likely to stand up to the heat and resist warping.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Your point about inexpensive rotors for tracking is certainly a good one, and while you can't go wrong with OEM for daily use, I doubt that anyone here would experience issues going with the DuraLasts. If they did, AutoZone would replace them under warranty anyway. Inexpensive and a good warranty is a nice combination of features. </TD></TR></TABLE>

The warranty is only cool if you don't mind swapping rotors more frequently. I mean I work at a shop so for me it's literally a 20 minute process, but some people don't have the time, tools, place to work, or mabe even know-how to swap rotors.

Of course I suggest OEM Honda rotors, but being a cheap *** myself when it comes to rotors I've opted for Brembos the past few occasions and got royally screwed and ended up having to turn them, brand new out of the box, due to being warped.

I won't even get into how crappy slotted/drilled rotors can be. If I didn't have slotteds on the back of my 92 Civic still I'd never have replaced the fronts again with slotteds when my first set of slotteds warped. One day I'll probably swap all four out for solid rotors again.

EDIT:

It's also important to note that the proper wheel stud/lug torque is being applied with a torque wrench set to 80ftlbs. or a torqur limiting stick on an sair gun is being employed as well, so the "warpage" isn't due to improper lug torque.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Frstyl838 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I think im just going to go with the duralast. 2 yr warranty is pretty good. that way i can replace my rotors every 2 years! </TD></TR></TABLE>

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Frstyl838 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I think im just going to go with the duralast. 2 yr warranty is pretty good. that way i can replace my rotors every 2 years! </TD></TR></TABLE>
If you are just replacing the rotors just for the sake of having new rotors, what do you tell them [the people at Autozone] is the reason why you need new rotors?

 

if the warrantys there the rotors get swapped. as long as you are not replacing them every week, nothing will be said.

to the op , i cant tell if youve been misinformed or not. when you buy rotors from autozone and get them swapped throughout the 2 years. the warranty doesn't renew when you do the swap. it will still go out 2 years after the original purchase.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by x0! &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if the warrantys there the rotors get swapped. as long as you are not replacing them every week, nothing will be said.

to the op , i cant tell if youve been misinformed or not. when you buy rotors from autozone and get them swapped throughout the 2 years. the warranty doesn't renew when you do the swap. it will still go out 2 years after the original purchase.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Thanks for all the information guys, really appreciate it. With all this being said and the quote above, i think i might go with the oem ones. i mean the 2 yr warranty is pretty good, but the fact that it only goes from the orig purchase, might as well just go with oem quality and specs and hope for the best. i only use my car for dd, but i guess i brake pretty hard sometimes or else i wouldnt have this problem. plus i've only owned my car for 1 yr and the previous 2 owners must have used the brakes pretty rough. the car only has 54,XXX orig miles on it. When i drove it this morning it squeeks pretty good as if the pads were rubbing against the rotors. i do have quite a bit of meat left on the pads. so im pretty sure they are warped. and my steering shakes pretty good when i brake hard.

So for the whole setup.. OEM rotors with Hawk HPS pads... or ?! I like driving aggressively most of the time if that helps!


Modified by Frstyl838 at 11:11 AM 6/21/2008

 

hawks

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Frstyl838 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
So for the whole setup.. OEM rotors with Hawk HPS pads... or ?! I like driving aggressively most of the time if that helps!
Modified by Frstyl838 at 11:11 AM 6/21/2008</TD></TR></TABLE>
Just know that Hawks do have a tendacy to sqeak at lower speeds, but it is because the compund is tougher than OEM, which means that it'll probably last longer. Mine bite really good for DD, but do sqeak when coming to a stop. I have read that the newer brake compounds from Honda do not last as long (Popular Mechanics). Maybe B18C5-EH2 can comment on that if he has seen this as well.