Jeepjeepster wrote:
so are the rotors from napa better than ome? ive towed a boat a couple of times and the rotors are warping on me, i want to get ceramic but come people say there not good for towing, is it b/c of the rotors? I want the power slots with there ceramic pads but the rotors are $100 a piece, alittle much for me.
Since Ron is happy with the response to this thread, I hope it's ok to go ahead and hijack it (hate it when that happens).
Jeepjeepster, of course I have no product analysis to compare Jeep OEM rotors to Napa rotors.
Having said that, I will give thoughts and opinions.
I do a lot of stop and go city driving with an automatic transmission, so the brakes probably heat up pretty good compared to other driving situations and / or a manual transmission where the transmission helps control vehicle momentum. I do not tow anything.
With only 12k miles on the Liberty, I had a bad case of brake judder / steering wheel shimmy. Probably warped rotors. If so, the warping caused further hot spots in the metal of the rotors every time I used the brakes (pads only hitting high spots on the rotor for the most part). Therefore, there were hard and soft metal areas of the rotors as a result of uneven cooling. Since the rotors only had 12k on them, there was plenty of stock left to turn them true again. However, I figured that if the original thickness OEM rotors warped in only 12k (actual problem started much earlier) , how long would they last if they were thinner from turning? And, the act of turning would have also contributed to hard and soft areas as the rotor heated from the metal cutting. The cutting tool would hit only high spots until turned down enough to be trued. I considered rotor turning as only a stop gap (pardon the pun) measure.
So ... I decided to replace rotors and pads all the way around. I used Napa parts because I have always had good reliability with their products and have used them for years and years. Other's results may vary.
I have only put about 3k miles on the Liberty since the change out, but have had no problems whatsoever. There has never been a squeal and the Liberty stops positively straight with no judder, shimmy or pedal oscillation.
The only thing that would make me happier with the brakes is if there was no brake dust at all. I went with Napa's Ceramix pads and found there is some dust on my rubi wheels if I don't wash them often.
No, I do not work for Napa. Just like their high end stuff. I would stay away from their cheaper products lines.
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- 2003 Jeep Liberty Sport 4X4 -
245/70R16 Revos on Rubicon (Moab) wheels. 2" Revtek spacer lift front. 2.5" Daystar puck rear. Stock struts. Rancho RSX 17004 shocks. Debadged.
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2104014
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