I've been running really good pads on mediocre vented blank rotors for about 12k miles now. Mostly city driving on my daily commute....too much stop and go actually and many short stops from 45-60mph. I have not had a single complaint from this setup.

Top quality Motorcraft pads (semi-metallic and not the OEM from Ford stock...this is an upgraded pad) on overseas made blanks. For what I paid for the rotors I can afford to replace them 3 times and still not equal a set of stock rotors or aftermarket "performance" rotors.

 

I use to go throught the stock ones on my F350 until I put these on. Great product.
brake pads, brake discs, brake rotors by EBC Brakes

 

I only notice the warpage when on the highway doing about 70+ mph and need to slow down, in town I don't notice anything. So, lets suppose I buy high-end rotors can they be turned just like anyother brake rotor?

 

I went though two sets of front rotors on my old 2004 before I switched to Duralast rotors. After that, I never had any issues with them again and drove the truck many more miles before trading it in.

 

If you end up in the market for another wrench give Armstrong a shot...they make my Snap On look cheap at about $100 less....they also come with a printout cert that lists the "set torque" and "actual torque"...the grip and lock are much nicer. Just a FYI, I have Craftsman, Snap-on, and Armstrong in my tool box and the Armstrong is my go to wrench for most of my jobs.

 

Good to know, thanks!

 

I had good luck with Disc Brakes of Australia (DBA) drilled and slotted rotors on a '92 Land Cruiser. It was extremely under-braked and it was a huge improvement. I know it's not the same vehicle, but I did notice a dramatic difference.

 

DBA makes excellent rotors!

 

Ford will no longer waranty the rotors so I bought new ones from a company called Powerstop, they are warantied against wrapage for life and were $100 less than "Power slot" also they're made in the USA.
What is the best way retract the calibers?

 

always wanted to try some powerstop rotors .. keep us posted.

i always use the old brake pad and a big channel lock or c-clamp to push the pistons back in. time permitting, i crack the bleeder screw and push the old fluid out instead of back into the master/abs pump. then just a gravity bleed from there.

channel locks can be hard on the pad; if you are trying to save it the c-clamp is your best bet.

i have had luck pushing them in with a channel locks one piston at a time, just keep going back and forth between them and you will eventually get them both back in.

good luck

 

I put Powerstop cross drilled rotors on an Olds Aurora some years back. Never had another warped rotor again.

 

So the Powerstop rotors warped I had the original rotors turned bought new pads from Pep Boys and have not had a problem since. I did notice that the Pep Boys pads looked different than the OEM pads is it possible the OEM pads are causing too much heat when the brakes are applied? I did this switch at about 60K miles the truck now has 83K on it, so 23K miles on OEM rotors that have been turned twice and still no issues.

 

I've always found this website has useful information for brake questions, especially the Tech article on rotor warpage.

-Warped- Brake Disc and Other Myths

 

Hey finally someone posted that information! I just saw this thread.

After many years of tracking my Corvette, and building my own Wilwood brake system for it, I can confidently say "performance rotors" is a bit of a marketing ploy.

Rotors are blank pieces of metal to provide friction and convert kinetic energy to thermal.

What can differentiate rotors is (1) how quickly they dissipate thermal energy, (2) how well they can expand/contract with heating/cooling, (3) how much rotational mass they have.

The #1 cause of "warped" rotors is often not warped rotors at all, but uneven pad buildup on the rotor. Correct bedding of a new rotor/pad combo is important.

Drilled rotors are as much visual impact as they are true brake function. Drilled can provide additional cooling but also provide stress points for cracking, so drilled require a little more love and caring than blanks.

Stopping power is determined by clamping force (the calipers) and friction (the pad compound) and contact area (slotted and drilled reduces this).

Repeated stopping power, such as on a track is determined by all of the above, as well as heat dissipation.

On the street, heat dissipation is rarely a concern...

On the track I used $25 Napa blank rotors... correctly bedded with a racing pad they'd make your ears pop at threshold... pads/calipers are far more critical.