...where are you purchasing them from?

I had been having great results from NAPA Premium rotors, but their quality over the past year has dropped off dramatically. I used to be able to get 10 track days out of one set and now I am cracking them within 3 track days! As I continued going through the last two sets, I had noticed the machining and overall quality of the rotor was diminishing even though the price kept climbing.

Cracking = catostrophic failure and that is what has me concerned. This time around, they cracked while the car was cooling down. The real kicker is, I was only on the track for a couple of session because I was bedding in new pads. There was a great post recently about the quality of rotors coming from China and I have to say that this really appears to be an issue. I have also tried Brembo blanks which "hot spotted" after about two sessions on the track.

I have been using the same setup for three years now, Hawk Blues with NSX calipers and Legend GS rotors (28mm thick!) on a 1998 Prelude. I would not say that I am overly hard on the brakes and have been driving on the track for 10+ years. I am getting 10-12 track days out of the Hawk pads. Plus, I am very good about taking a long cool down.

While shopping around, I found ATE slotted at the Tire Rack for $44 each - not bad at all! So, where are you buying your cheap parts store rotors and how are they holding up?

Thank you,
Brian.

 

I used the cheap bottom of the line Centric rotors.

I'd suggest a new pad, as Blues are notoriously hard on rotors.

 

I have yet to have a problem (5+ years racing) with Raceshopper's signature series rotors.

 

Have you tried the ATE's yet?

 

I've used stock rotors, Powerslot rotors, Duralast (Autozone) rotors, and two-piece Stoptech rotors. They all lasted about the same number of track miles, except the two-piece rotors lasted significantly longer than the different kinds of one-piece rotors. Lately I've been mostly sticking with the Duralast rotors from Autozone.

 

I get the rotors from my nearest parts shop at Completes Plus here in Lawndale, CA. I've used the cheapest chinese $12 rotors on the track. I kept an eye on them and probably swapped them out before they became a problem. I've now stepped up to Brembo blanks (h4 rules legal), which are about double the price, and they still get a little torn up by the hawk ht-10's. Have you tried cryo treatment to see if it might help? good luck.

 

my parts store rotors (autozone, pepboys, whatever) lasted a full season of racing, a bunch of autocross and a bunch of street miles. gonna run 'em again this year too.

 

I've used both cheap one from the local parts store but now I stick with Brembos. Also, I stop running hawks blues because they would kill rotors. Now I run Carbotechs.

 

That's pretty close to the Cryostop's from Tire Rack. They dont list them for every application, but if you look for other models that use the same rotor, you might find them.

I picked up some cryostops for my rear rotors ($36 each) and they are just centrics that they balance, cryogenically treat, and anti-rust coat (on the non-contact parts). So far so good.

I'm still using Autozone up front.

 

Oreilleys. I work for a dealership so ITR rotors come out to be $30/pair

 

Ive always run Duralast or Valuecraft rotors from Autozone.

 

Hi Brian, long time no see.

I found that for Autozone rotors, it's a hit or miss regarding the quality. Sometimes I got a set that lasted me 4-5 weekends, but then sometimes the set only lasted 2-3 weekends.

It's very possible that those generic rotors, although having the same brand name, are manufactured by different suppliers.

 

So when you guys change your rotors and pads for a race weekend, how do you guys break them in? Or do you not worry about a break in period?

 

I used to try and "bed" the new pads, not so much any more.....no time......

 

Thank you everybody for your replies.

217 - I ordered the Ate's and will be using them at an event at Grattan Raceway Monday and then again in two weeks at Road America. I will keep you posted. Bedding in is simple, but different pads will require different procedures. Most simply want you to build up heat progressively and then let completely cool down. I was instructing, so I knew track time would be limited anyway.

Ken - Yeah, I have used OEM, Power Slot, Brembo blanks, Autozone and Napa Rotors. The Napa rotors had been performing as well as the OEM and Power Slot rotors until this past year. Unfortunately, Power Slot doesn't make a rotor for the 94-95 Legend GS.

Lo-buck - Please change your rotors! Metal fatigues and the more times they heat and cool, the more likely they are to fail!

Wai - How's it going?!! That is exactly what I am talking about. I had been getting a full season out of my rotors and Hawk Blues and now I only get 2-3 track days out of the rotors. I am sure 99% of these rotors come from the same factory overseas.


Again, thank you for all of the replies and I will let you know how the Ate's do!
Brian.

 

Do you guys have your rotors turned often? Or do you not bother?

 

Yes, what you say is true, but I wouldn't change them, just because they have been used. Not yet. But...

What I do is, I keep a close eye on the rotors. Yes, they heat and cool. But they don't suddenly fail. They start out with a nice smooth surface when new. As they go through heating and cooling cycles with track use, they expand and contract, as stresses build up in the metal. At some point, they start getting what look like tiny "spider web" cracks uniformly on the surface. This is the first sign that stresses are building up, and from this point on, I make sure to examine them closely before each session. As track use continues, cracks start to appear, usually in a radial direction, cracks that are bigger and more noticeable than the spider web cracks. As soon as the cracks are roughly 10 mm or 1/2" long, that's the point at which I replace the rotors. As another test, this is also about the point when you can feel the crack if you run the edge of your fingernail along the surface of the rotor. DON'T DO THIS when the rotors are hot coming off the track!!! Which reminds me...

Because the metal expands with heat, the cracks tend to fill in when you're out on the track. The cracks expand as the rotors cool down and contract. So everything may feel perfectly normal when you're out on the track and the brakes are hot; then when you get back into the pits and the car cools down, the cracks open up. If you're not already aware of that, you find that the brakes are giving you huge shudder and noise when you're driving to the grid for the next session or driving back to the hotel.

I avoid turning the rotors, because that makes them thinner and more susceptible to cracking. Also if you turn them, you need to re-bed the pads, although that's really no big deal. So I don't turn the rotors on a routine basis, e.g. I don't do this just because I'm changing pads, although I bed the pads when doing so. The only time I turn the rotors is if there's a bad shudder due to a buildup of pad material on the surface and bedding the pads doesn't cure it - never more than once on a set of rotors, and more often than not I don't do it at all.

HTH

 

Thanks for the info NSXtasy

 

yea, no worries. i'm no n00b when it comes to track crap. i know when its time to change stuff.

 

Autozone/Duralast.

They used to have lifetime/year free replacement warranties.. I think we abused it..

 

You "think" we abused it?!?! What's up Ed!

I replaced both rotors last night and the rotor that cracked had about 3 other spots on it that looked like they were ready to go at any time. The other rotor still looks brand new. Both were purchased and installed at the same time.

As Ken suggested, I had looked at the rotors the night before the event while I was swapping in the race pads. I am very good about maintaining and checking my equipment and never would have thought either of the rotors were going to crack.

The local Autozone quoted me $62 per rotor for the Duralast. The Ate's were $44, so I figured I would give those a shot. If I am going to be replacing rotors a lot more frequently, then I might as well save a couple dollars. I will let you guys know how they do!


Brian.

 

What the hell happened?? They used to be $25 per..

 

Huh? I just looked it up on their website, and it's showing me $33.99 each. This is for the front Duralast rotor for the Integra Type R, item 3296. My experience is that the stores charge the same thing as you find when you look it up on the website.

I know Autozone sometimes charges different prices in different geographical areas, but I'm logged in there so it knows my local store, and you (Brian) and I are in the same geographic area.

It shouldn't be $62 each.

There was a topic a year ago noting that they were up to around $38 at that time. They've actually gone down a few bucks since then, as you can see.

Three years ago, when the fronts were $25, the rears were $49. Now, the rears are $57.

 

Search and find out where pretty much all the blanks are made at. Find the cheapest set, and run them.

 

Is it not worth the money to spend for slotted or cross-drilled? Wouldn't using one of those pro-long the life for those of you going through them every 5 race weekends?