Rear Rotor Replacement - Does Expensive mean Better?

[jdioguardi]

LR says I need new rear rotors, and just looking on Atlantic British there's a million options. 04 Disco II

There are high performance ones, Genuine parts, and everything in between, but does it really make a difference? I rarely take my D2 offroad, and my goal is for them to work well and not squeak.

Here's the options I found:

totally generic for 37.99 ea http://www.roverparts.com/Parts/NTC8781.cfm
Genuine Rotor for $99.99 ea http://www.roverparts.com/Parts/NTC8781G.cfm
ATE PremiumOne for $99.99 ea http://www.roverparts.com/Parts/NTC8781ATE.cfm
Ferodo kit (2 rotors and pads) $137.95 http://www.roverparts.com/Parts/9977F.cfm
Drilled/Slotted for $199.95 pair http://www.roverparts.com/Parts/NTC8781HPA.cfm
EBC Performance for $231.95 pair http://www.roverparts.com/Parts/NTC8781EBC.cfm


Thoughts?


Same for pads, what's recommended? I got them changed about 5 mo. ago and they were squeaking about 2 weeks after replacement.

 

[JohnB]

Ever since Brembo started making rotors in China I have given up on names. I buy the cheapest stuff my distributer sells. If your rotors are warped return them any rotor new has a 12 month warranty.

 

[pdxrovermech]

if i was a consumer looking at those i would just go with the ferodo kit. me personally, i'd probably just buy the cheapest or next to cheapest rotor and some akebono ceramic pads. I'll never understand paying extra for EBC stuff. IMO rovers aren't race cars so i dont drive them like one or need to brake like one. much like softer rubber tires they perform better, but wear out much faster.

 

[distrovol]

I just replaced my rear axel rotors and pads last week. After exhaustive research I went with Will Tillery's deal for the axel kit. Best deal I found for the quality of parts. He even threw in a slide pin bracket so I could correct my siezed caliper problem. No squeals or amigos, I am a satisfied customer. Don't forget to inspect/grease the pins, apply anti-squeal compound, and clean all mating surfaces.

 

[Tugela]

I've bought two sets of rotors and pads from Will Tillery (a vendor on Discoweb - look in the parts for sale section and his name pops up frequently).

Prices are low, shipping is fast, quality has been good, I am happy.

You call the guy up, the conversation lasts 30 seconds, you paypal him money, your parts arrive in a couple days, you install them, they work great, you move on to your next project.

 

[fishEH]

I've bought two sets of rotors and pads from Will Tillery (a vendor on Discoweb - look in the parts for sale section and his name pops up frequently).

Prices are low, shipping is fast, quality has been good, I am happy.

You call the guy up, the conversation lasts 30 seconds, you paypal him money, your parts arrive in a couple days, you install them, they work great, you move on to your next project.

Wow, he must really like you!

 

[cosmiccharlie]

I would stay away from EBC. When I bought my 04 disco it had EBC rotors and pads front and back. In less than 10,000 miles the fronts were warped. My brother experienced the same on his 04 Grand Cherokee. I bought the $299 (front and rear) kit from Atlantic British. Standard rotors and ferredo pads. Installed them last weekend, so I can't give a long term review, but so far they are great.

 

[rover4x4]

I bought whatever will had with "OEM" pads, it was cheap and my brakes work well.

 

[Spike555]

Brakes is brakes.

 

[listerdiesel]

The standard Discovery II discs are vented fronts and solid rears.

We bought a set of new fronts in 09 for our D2 from one of the ebay vendors (Island4X4) with Mintex pads.

They are still on there 53k miles later, wear rate has been good, but ours is a manual gearbox which makes a bit of difference.

Buying 'high-performance' drilled discs is a waste of money in my view, as long as the discs are machined properly and have no hard spots in the basic casting, they will be fine. The rears haven't been touched, they still have plenty of life in them, but we may replace this year for the annual inspection.

Mintex pads are good quality kit, you may find them in the USA, but plenty of other quality stuff out there.

I have no experience with EBC parts, some seem to love them, others won't touch them.

You pays your money....

Peter

 

[kennith]

Brakes is brakes.

Not for everyone. Different combinations are available for a reason. Not all vehicles are equally used, and there are many people who are better served by some of the less conventional arrangements.

I've grown tired of explaining brakes, but I'll at least say that everything has it's place.

Cheers,

Kennith

 

[Spike555]

Not for everyone. Different combinations are available for a reason. Not all vehicles are equally used, and there are many people who are better served by some of the less conventional arrangements.

I've grown tired of explaining brakes, but I'll at least say that everything has it's place.

Cheers,

Kennith

I will agree that you need the proper combo for the application, road racing requires a different set of brakes than going to the mall.
On my work van I've used cheap, better and best, they all do the same thing, stop the van.
The cheap does not last every long, about 4 wks, better lasts about 6 wks and best lasts maybe 8 wks.
The cost difference between better and best is to much to warrant paying the extra for 2 wks of life.
None of them stop the van any better, life is the only difference.
Rotors last about 2 yrs.

 

[Keanan]

I will agree that you need the proper combo for the application, road racing requires a different set of brakes than going to the mall.
On my work van I've used cheap, better and best, they all do the same thing, stop the van.
The cheap does not last every long, about 4 wks, better lasts about 6 wks and best lasts maybe 8 wks.
The cost difference between better and best is to much to warrant paying the extra for 2 wks of life.
None of them stop the van any better, life is the only difference.
Rotors last about 2 yrs.

Are the cheap ones made of pudding or something? How many miles are you driving in those 4 weeks?

 

[listerdiesel]

That is going some! 4 weeks!

I'd be looking for some money back on those.

Peter

 

[SGaynor]

Call Will. Done.

 

[Spike555]

Are the cheap ones made of pudding or something? How many miles are you driving in those 4 weeks?

I'm a FedEx Ground driver, I average 1200 miles a week.

 

[Spike555]

That is going some! 4 weeks!

I'd be looking for some money back on those.

Peter

No warranty on commercial use.

 

[seventyfive]

STC1910. Replace these when you do the job, use good lube with the new slide pins.

 

[kennith]

It's always best to replace slide pins, or at least inspect them for wear. It's also good to get in the holes with gun cleaning equipment to clean them out before replacing the pins. When the pins are replaced, work them in and out as required to get the grease everywhere it needs to be.

Those boots should be replaced every time.

If you do things right, and keep your hardware protected when the vehicle is being used, calipers can be kept very nice. I'd just lubed the pins when this shot was taken:

There is a bit of brake dust in the picture, but it wiped right off. Through some trial and error a while back, my powder coat man and I worked up a fairly non-stick blend. That makes the calipers a bit easier to keep clean, but even before that they were always clean, it was just more of a pain to keep them that way.

Even regular off-the-shelf caliper paint helps quite a bit, if that's all you can buy.

Clean stuff works better. If you take the time to do things properly, you'll find that most of these "problems" people have can be avoided almost entirely.

Cheers,

Kennith