Which disk brake rotor should I buy

[72hemi]

Ok, so i need to replace the rotors on the front of my 72 Challenger and I am trying to decide which rotors I should get. I have a stock disk brake setup and am debating between a pair of Bendix 141046 stock replacement rotors, and SS Brakes drilled and slotted rotors. The price difference between the 2 is almost $50 a rotor. I guess my real question is it worth it to spend the extra $100 bucks on rotors? Below are links to the 2 rotors.


http://shop.oreillyauto.com/ProductDetail.aspx?MfrCode=BEN&MfrPartNumber=141046

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SSB-23109AA3L/

[brads70]

I bought mine off E-bay sellers name was iROTORS they were $179 for the pair. I asked before I bid if they were offshore or US made he told me US made but it doesn't say on the rotor. They look OK? drilled and slotted. They are coated and I had to remove the coating off the bearing races but other than that they seem OK? They are for a Dodge St Regis 79-81 (big rotor set up).

[72cudamaan]

Guess it really depends on how you drive your car.  Casual cruising or even occasional runs to the strip wouldn't require slotted rotors. But if your gonna do a lot of high speed cornering then it may be an improvement. just my  for what it may be worth.

[72hemi]

I drive my car every day and make trips over mountain roads on occasion. I am sure my mountain road driving will be increasing and I may start hitting the track (road course) as I am an hour from Laguna Seca and Sears Point. Of course long term I will be replacing the stock brake system entirely and probably going to install a hydraboost system with 4 wheel disks. For now I want a good quality rotor that isn't going to cause me any problems. I was talking to a buddy of mine this evening who heard some of the replacement rotors available use inferior metals and some have actually broken in two. If Bendix rotors have an issue like that then I will definitely be willing to spend the extra money for the SSBC rotors.

[72cudamaan]

Actually the best rotors for a stock app. are coming from Canada right now. If you use a good quality pad on a freshly machined or new rotor you shouldn't encounter brake fade on those downhill slopes. I personally would save the fifty bucks apiece and put it to something else. (the slotted rotors sure are cool looking though)

[HP2]

Drilled rotors can have problems with breaking because the holes create stress points that can crack if you get too much heat in them. If you really are concerned with remvoing boundery layer gasses, then just slots can accomplish that. FWIW, a number of the local road racers where I'm at, use plain old stock rotors with no holes or slots in them.

[72hemi]

Thanks for the input. I was searching on Bendix's website and came across another replacement rotor, the part number is PRT-1046 and Summit lists it for $67, why does Bendix have 2 different replacement rotors and why the $20 price difference?


http://www.summitracing.com/parts/BEN-PRT1046/

Also what about pads? Will stock replacement pads suffice or should I upgrade to pads like below from Firm Feel? Firm Feel reccommends installing a set of the carbon metallic shoes on the rear as well, should that be done if I run the carbon metallic pads on the front even though most of the braking is done on the front?

http://www.firmfeel.com/carbonme_e.htm

[72cudamaan]

Ya know, try pricing at your local parts store. You guys might be suprised how expensive Summit & Jegs can be, especially on stock replacement parts. Firm feel doesn't make their own pads anyway. Again, try your local parts store. You might even price out the ceramic pads. No fade and no nasty dust to contend with. I bet the price diff for 2 different #s is probably due to a 1 piece and 2 piece rotor.

[the_engineers]

I bought mine off E-bay sellers name was iROTORS they were $179 for the pair. I asked before I bid if they were offshore or US made he told me US made but it doesn't say on the rotor. They look OK? drilled and slotted. They are coated and I had to remove the coating off the bearing races but other than that they seem OK? They are for a Dodge St Regis 79-81 (big rotor set up).

  Same rotors, same seller.  They are great and look fantastic!

[wally426ci]

Autozone is working fine for me with about 2 summers of crusing so far.

[72hemi]

So after all the discussion on here and thinking about it i bought new rotors, but I didn't get any of the above. I called my local speed shop where I get jobber pricing and they had raybestos oem rotors that are "Made in the USA" for $109 a piece. Kragens sells these rotors for $190 a piece, so i am really happy with that, plus the fact that they are made in the good ol USA, means I hopefully won't have to worry about any metalurgy issues. Thanks all for the input. Below is a link to the rotors i ended up with. Oh and the speed shop had them in stock, so no waiting for them to show up.


http://shop.oreillyauto.com/ProductDetail.aspx?MfrCode=RAY&MfrPartNumber=7008

[JH27N0B]

I doubt you'll find Raybestos made in USA.  I worked for the company that makes Raybestos (also Napas United brand, Carquest and others) for many years until I was laid off in early 2005.  They have been shutting down North American production since 2005 and the last plant was supposed to be shut down last June.  All their stuff is made in good old China now. 
The E body rotors were made at a plant in Canada IIRC.
The last plant here was making some low volume brake parts, that they called "ends".
These were parts that they decided it wasn't cost effective trying to tool up to build in Asia.
It could be that the E body rotor production was moved from Canada to the plant in downstate Illinois instead of China after the Canadian plant closed, in which case they would have been made in USA for a couple years.
But if that is the case, then Raybestos may not sell E body rotors after the current inventory runs out.  Parts made in that now shuttered plant supposedly will be obsolete.

[72hemi]

Well these say made in the usa right on them, so I doubt they were made any where else.

[JH27N0B]

If they are Raybestos, then they must have moved that tooling down to Litchfield IL from Canada a couple years ago.  Litchfield was to be closed in June, and the parts being made there were all low volume older application or special market type stuff that supposedly was going to be discontinued after the plant was closed.
All Raybestos (and Napa United etc) is the same made in China stuff most everyone else sells now.  The few items they sell that aren't Chinese would be purchased parts from OEM vendors.
Really sad.  The plant up in McHenry where I worked had around 400 employees back in '90 when I started with the company as an engineer.  They made tens of thousands of rotors and drums there every year.  Now it's used as a warehouse and maybe 30 or 40 people work there.
They now have a skeleton engineering staff, I don't think anyone left in that group now even has an engineering degree.
Performance Friction and I believe Hawk are the only brake companies left in the US who manufacture brakes.  EBC is made in UK, there are some German and Italian manufactures I think.  But most everything else is now made in China or India.

[72hemi]

Well I can see there is no convincing you, so if you want to believe that they are made in China or aren't Raybestos then go right ahead. But I know what they are and that's the bottom line.