After-market brake rotor experience?

   / After-market brake rotor experience? #1  

daveinnh

Gold Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2007
Messages
326
Location
Hillsboro, NH
Tractor
Kubota L4310
I have a 2009 GMC 1500 Sierra with about 46k miles. Front brakes are pulsing, especially going down long hills with a load in bed.

1. Has anyone bought after-market drilled or slotted rotors? Do they offer a value over solid or just looks? Have they resisted warping?

2. Any recommendation on pads - I see that ceramic leave less dust and maybe reduce grinding?

I Googled some websites to see that you can go broke buying specialized parts...
 
   / After-market brake rotor experience? #2  
All wheel disc? Have you been lubing the sliders with synthetic brake grease?
 
   / After-market brake rotor experience? #3  
The more quote specialized brake pads you buy the better braking you get, the better braking means more friction .Any brake pads can cause the rotors to get too hot and warp if used too much IE...riding the brakes or too long pedal action.Aftermarket rotors depending on the quality can warp easier than OEM.Im ASE certified in brakes Ive been working on them since the 70s and 9 out of 10 times its the drivers method of braking to blame (nothing against you)such as Police cars,cabs,even rural postal carriers go through brakes left and right(extreme duty).Drilled rotors are a little better as it provides more air flow to cool the rotors.If your brakes get replaced and the caliper slides do not get cleaned and lubed so they can slide easier you in a sense will be using the inner pad more than the outer pad to stop.Which again is more heat.your vehicle is well known for caliper slides freezing up from lack of lubrication from the start.Hope this helps
 
   / After-market brake rotor experience? #4  
I have not bought slotted rotors but do use the ceramic pads on anything that i want to reduce the brake dust. It helps a lot. Some say it grinds rotors faster, i have not noticed it in the saturn i drive daily. I did the brakes in it a few years ago. As cheap as rotors are these days its not a big deal. But the ceramic does cut way back on dust.
 
   / After-market brake rotor experience? #5  
When did the brakes start to pulse? There are a number of things that will make the rotors pulse; uneven glazing, warping, cracked web in vented rotor, cracked rotor, etc. Warping can be caused by over-torquing the wheel nuts, e.g., by using an air impact gun. Shops used to be blamed for this a lot until they began using torque sticks, but you still need to know the proper torque to use. I used 100 lb-ft on my GM alloy wheels, but when I used the same torque wrench on my Volvo alloy wheels, I developed a pulsing because I later found out they only needed 66 lb-ft.
 
   / After-market brake rotor experience? #6  
I have ceramic brakes on my current 05 Suburban and also had them put on my 99. They feel a little different but they will last longer. It won't stop you from doing thermal damage to your rotors, though. If you think that's what is happening you might want to look into a higher-performance rotor. They aren't snake oil.

In my youth, I tore up a set of front brakes and rotors on a Camaro real quickly. I replaced with rotors that had holes in them and wasn't able to damage them again. If you have ever looked at a racing car, you might notice that they often have air ducts bringing air directly to the brakes. If you keep tearing them up, there are plenty of things you can do to keep them from over-heating.
 
   / After-market brake rotor experience? #7  
I bought the slotted,drilled rotors and ceramics pads for my van and its been 3 years and no pulsating yet. I believe that either the slots or drilled holes really do work to prevent warping and dont need them turned. The only thing is that its a bit noisy from slots if you slam on brakes. My other car and truck I am still running aftermarkets rotors and had them turned when the OEM ones were past point of getting them turned.
 
   / After-market brake rotor experience? #8  
I put after market Drilled and Slotted Rotors on my 08 Nissan Titan 10,000 miles ago with the best pads I could get. I got the entire kit from a company called Brake Motive out of Chicago. To my door in under 30 hours for less than the cheapest stuff from Auto Zone or O'Rileys. It made a huge difference. This trucks main job is towing a 9,680# boat about 7,000 miles a year and with surge brakes I was constantly eating up front rotors on my truck. These still look like new and perform like new.

This is the third set of Brake Motive brakes I have put on. One set on a friends F-350 and one set on a Lincoln Aviator. All were as happy as I am.

Brake Motive mainly sells though Ebay and thats where I got the best pricing from them.

Chris
 
   / After-market brake rotor experience? #9  
I have drilled and slotted front rotors on my 2008 Impala. No brake fade or warping has been noticed.
 
   / After-market brake rotor experience? #10  
I'm not a fan of drilled and slotted rotors in terms of cooling is isn't going to do much. I have been told the slotted ones tend to self clean a little better in dirty/wet conditions.

Have tried all pad materials, I'm back to cheapy organics in my daily driver car as I was tired of squeal, weird brake feel and wearing out rotors. In my truck it tows heavy frequently, its got ceramics as the cheaper pads got cooked quite quickly.

As for warped rotors, on the truck stuck caliper pins will ruin a rotor in no time, either warping it or letting one face rust badly. Even if you fix the pins once a rotor is rusted deeply it wears that pad to the backing plate in no time. (maybe not a problem in the south?)
 

Tractor & Equipment Auctions

2019 CATERPILLAR 289D SKID STEER (A51242)
2019 CATERPILLAR...
2003 International 4300 Flatbed Truck w/ Liftgate - Inoperable - 7.6L DT466 Diesel Engine (A52128)
2003 International...
2013 VOLVO VNL860 TANDEM AXLE SLEEPER (A51219)
2013 VOLVO VNL860...
2006 Pearson Quantum Fire Truck (A50323)
2006 Pearson...
2019 CATERPILLAR 326FL EXCAVATOR (A51242)
2019 CATERPILLAR...
2023 TAKEUCHI TL10V2 SKID STEER (A51242)
2023 TAKEUCHI...
 
Top