Autozone rotors

[Hemix]

I am in dire need of some new rotors. From what I've read in the past and searching, it seems like a lot of people in this forum that track their cars like to just buy Autozone rotors for cheap and often. I use the car as a DD and autocross but I do the occasional track day depending on cash flow, which isn't much. I had HPS pads but now I am putting on HP Plus pads. I went over to Autozone to get some rotors and they had two different brands, both of which i believe are Autozone brands. One was Valucraft rotors which are $20 each and the other was Duralast which are $42 each. So I guess my real question is, for you guys who run "Autozone rotors", do you get the Valucraft ones or the Duralast ones? I ask because I don't trust the Valucraft rotors without hearing from people with experience on them. And the Duralast ones cost more than Brembo blanks ($33 each). So if people who say they use "Autozone rotors" mean that they use the $20 valucraft ones, then I am going to get a set of those, but if people mean the Duralast ones, then I think I would rather just pay less and get the Brembos. Thanks ahead of time.

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[garados]

I used the cheapo autozone rotors, the valucraft ones, with hp+'s and valvoline synpower fluid on my old old DB8 and I had zero problems with them. I did track days every month, auto-x's once in a while, and fun runs up and down the local mountain once or twice a month.

So yeah, as far as the rotors go, I would replace the rotors once per year and they wouldn't show any cracking or heat discoloration much less any warping.

[projectTeG]

no runout and vibrations? what pads?

[garados]

nope, no vibes. I was running hawk hp+ pads. I was sure to keep up the maintenance on the braking system (clean and lube the pins, clean off misc. dust, flush the system etc) every year when the rotors were replaced, after every pad change, and when the racing season started/ended.

[civichb20]

I use cheap chinese rotors $14 have not failed me yet.

[Autocratic]

Joe Sim broke both of his slotted rotors that came with the FastBrakes.com kit at Nationals (see Migs HC Coverage thread for pics)

Not sure of the miles on those rotors, but they were cracked all the way through on both sides and into the rotor hat.

He picked up some cheap-o rotors from a local parts store. Worked just fine for the rest of Nationals.

Now, I'm no saying that at some point the cheap-o rotors will fail, but you can't always rely on expensive products to get the job done. Sometimes the simple solutions work better.

[Stinkycheezmonky]

Autozone rotors (or any other generic auto parts store) are totally hit or miss. If the rotor was manufactured properly, you'll have no issues whatsoever. But there have been plenty of people who have bought the same exact product and had different wear life because of a difference ONLY in manufacturing somewhere across the ocean.

If you investigate more, there are very few rotors that have really consistent manufacturing quality, and they are not cheap.

Overall, I say go for the cheaper ones. The Duralast that are twice as much money do not have twice the guarantee or twice the quality of the other ones, and you don't sound like the kind of guy who really NEEDS the best.

Not that I condone canyon driving, but you should be more concerned with your pads not fading than your rotors cracking, especially if you're talking about glowing rotors.

[JohnW]

Remember, you get what you pay for. Spend 14 bucks on a rotor- that's what you get.

http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/brake...ar=&perfCode=S

I've used every brand under the sun in 7 years of w-2-w racing, these are by far and away the best. Period. End of story.

Becareful on the streets, dude.

[garados]

o_O 600 bucks for rotors? That's nutty =\ What Carbotech brake pads are you using? I used Hawk Blues on Brembo rotors on my Miata and I had to replace both the rotors and pads after just a few races and about 1000 street miles ... that was about 2 months of use. I definitely don't think I got my money's or performance worth out of that setup even though it was more expensive than my previous autozone/hp+ combo.

Anyways, what I'm trying to get at is that the OP isn't going to be using a super aggressive pad like the Hawk Blues or Carbotech xp10/12/16, so he won't be needing a rotor that can put up with that kind of abuse and heat that the pads under racing conditions put on rotors.

[Stinkycheezmonky]

Legitimately, the OP is the one who was talking about glowing rotors. Normal street use, I agree completely.

[fireant]

Originally Posted by JohnW

Remember, you get what you pay for. Spend 14 bucks on a rotor- that's what you get.

http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/brake...ar=&perfCode=S

I've used every brand under the sun in 7 years of w-2-w racing, these are by far and away the best. Period. End of story.

Becareful on the streets, dude.

soooo... do those outlast 5 sets of $20 rotors?

[bokals]

Originally Posted by JohnW

Remember, you get what you pay for. Spend 14 bucks on a rotor- that's what you get.

http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/brake...ar=&perfCode=S

I've used every brand under the sun in 7 years of w-2-w racing, these are by far and away the best. Period. End of story.

Becareful on the streets, dude.

I agree with you, The DBA rotors are really good. They make 4x100 sets too. I've driven a car with those exact same rotors. IMO best bang for the buck. I personally am running Duralast rotors in the front and rear, but i do plan on upgrading to DBA's next season.

[Hemix]

Okay, I think I will try to cheap-o rotors then but plan to check their thickness and wear often. Hell, they have a 2 year warranty on them, maybe I can get two full sets for 40$.

Thanks for the help guys!

[Stinkycheezmonky]

A budget is understandable, but you won't ever be able to legitimately justify canyon driving. There is ALWAYS a possibility of something happening beyond your control. If you can't afford a track day, you most likely can't afford damaging or totalling your car or someone else's either. I don't really feel like preaching right now, so I'll just leave it at that.

[bokals]

Can you preach me to sleep ?

[petwhookie]

Originally Posted by Stinkycheezmonky

Autozone rotors (or any other generic auto parts store) are totally hit or miss. If the rotor was manufactured properly, you'll have no issues whatsoever. But there have been plenty of people who have bought the same exact product and had different wear life because of a difference ONLY in manufacturing somewhere across the ocean.

If you investigate more, there are very few rotors that have really consistent manufacturing quality, and they are not cheap.

Overall, I say go for the cheaper ones. The Duralast that are twice as much money do not have twice the guarantee or twice the quality of the other ones, and you don't sound like the kind of guy who really NEEDS the best.

Not that I condone canyon driving, but you should be more concerned with your pads not fading than your rotors cracking, especially if you're talking about glowing rotors.

would getting brembo blanks be a better option because itll be less then a hit and miss as compared to the autozone rotors?

[drewbie]

Originally Posted by Hemix

I am in dire need of some new rotors. From what I've read in the past and searching, it seems like a lot of people in this forum that track their cars like to just buy Autozone rotors for cheap and often. I use the car as a DD and autocross but I do the occasional track day depending on cash flow, which isn't much. I had HPS pads but now I am putting on HP Plus pads.

I went over to Autozone to get some rotors and they had two different brands, both of which i believe are Autozone brands. One was Valucraft rotors which are $20 each and the other was Duralast which are $42 each. So I guess my real question is, for you guys who run "Autozone rotors", do you get the Valucraft ones or the Duralast ones? I ask because I don't trust the Valucraft rotors without hearing from people with experience on them. And the Duralast ones cost more than Brembo blanks ($33 each). So if people who say they use "Autozone rotors" mean that they use the $20 valucraft ones, then I am going to get a set of those, but if people mean the Duralast ones, then I think I would rather just pay less and get the Brembos. Thanks ahead of time.

Edit: I forgot to mention that the ability of the rotors concerns me less for autox and more for canyon driving. I live in Colorado so I do a lot of canyon driving and often get my rotors to glow orange by the bottom of the canyon, so they do need to stand up to quite a bit of heat without cracking..

sounds like you need carbotechs. They also sell rotors.

[JohnW]

Originally Posted by fireant

soooo... do those outlast 5 sets of $20 rotors?

Dunno, I gave up those sub $20 rotors long ago.

Back in the day, I'd warp a set of cheapcrap in only a few sessions... that problem is now long gone. Buy cheap parts you should expect a equal outcome.

[JohnW]

Originally Posted by drewbie

sounds like you need carbotechs. They also sell rotors.

Roger that.

I asked Danny @ Carbotech a few years back about DBA rotors and his quote was... "these are the best rotors you'll ever use". Call and ask him: 1-877-899-5024

BTW- Again, like others have said- glowing rotors on the street REALLY isn't a good idea. Keep that stuff on the track before you kill someones family. thanx.

[Lo-Buck EF]

I use the cheapest rotors I can find and they last at least a full season of racing.

[Stinkycheezmonky]

Originally Posted by bokals

Can you preach me to sleep ?

Anytime, buddy!

Originally Posted by petwhookie

would getting brembo blanks be a better option because itll be less then a hit and miss as compared to the autozone rotors?

I used to think so, but more people have been "missing" with them lately than in the past. I don't remember the exact details, but they do have some off-shore manufacturing facilities in Asia, and because of that (?) have been having similar issues to all the other rotor companies. Making a rotor properly involves more care and machinery than a lot of these places have room for in the profit scheme. See DBA stuff.

Originally Posted by Lo-Buck EF

I use the cheapest rotors I can find and they last at least a full season of racing.

Note: Spencer is a braking wizard. I still don't know how the hell he pulls this off.

[Hemix]

Posts edited so everyone can sleep better...

My real worry was more of sudden catastrophic on the track. In my head I just imagine the rotor getting hot and shattering or getting a massive crack that causes loss in the ability to brake as well as damage to the braking system and that was my worry with cheap rotors. But, it seems like people's concerns with cheap rotors are their life-span. So I think I will try them out. If they are dead in a few months, then I will have wasted $40 and learned a good lesson. If they work for 2 years then I will have saves $40+ and learned a good lesson.

[scratchymaster]

NAPA rotor user here. 1.5 years, maybe 6-7 track days and still going. Outlasted the Hawk HPS pads.

[Stinkycheezmonky]

The Autozone/etc. rotors should have some kind of warranty. If you start getting heat cracks after 2 months or whatever, you should be able to exchange them for new ones.

[descartesfool]

Originally Posted by Stinkycheezmonky

Anytime, buddy!
.... I don't remember the exact details, but they do have some off-shore manufacturing facilities in Asia, and because of that (?) have been having similar issues to all the other rotor companies...

It is virtually impossible to find rotors not made in Asia, Brembo or otherwise (Brembo has a huge factory in India). Unless you buy really big $ stuff like Performance Friction, AP Racing, Alcon, etc, they are 99% made in Asia, regardless of the brand. there are virtually no foundries making rotors in the USA.

Buy cheap rotors, push them really hard with hard core race pads and high power engines, and they will crack. But they are cheap, so just check them and replace them. Dime a dozen. Wish I could get real race pads cheap, but no such thing, Race pads cost so much more than rotors.