Disc Rotor Shopping

What do you recommend for the front disc rotors?

I will be installing Raybestos EHT 1094H brake pads along with Raybestos caliper guide pin and caliper bracket mounting bolts.


I purchased a Raybestos 980368FZN rotors by mistake -- they are for the REAR (dumb ass) -- and decided to keep them. Must order front rotors.

For those who are curious: the front rotors measure 26 mm -- the minimum -- and the brake pads 4 and 5 mm. The minimum is 2 mm.

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Here is a quick summary of what I have found on Xterranation and theNewX.org:

TerryD likes “Raybestos EHT pads and slotted rotors”. (I thought slotted rotors were a bad idea for off-road vehicles.... comments?)

Some like Centric rotors.

One poster purchased Wagner E series rotors and OEx pads on his ‘05.

One poster installed Bosch quietcast rotors.

General_Tarfun installed Raybestos Element3 Coated Rotors but took them off after a while because the protective coating started to flake off.

Hopefully going to be installing the brake parts I bought over a year ago in the near future, here’s what’s in the crate in the garage:

-Raybestos EHT pads all around
-ACDelco Severe Duty rear rotors
-Carquest Platinum Painted front rotors
-And I wanna say Wagner shoes/hardware for the parking brakes

Regarding slotted rotors I believe I’ve read that slotted is okay if you clean it, drilled is the one to avoid.

I

westslope said:

General_Tarfun installed Raybestos Element3 Coated Rotors but took them off after a while because the protective coating started to flake off.

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Yeah I wasn't really impressed with them. At the time I also had Raybestos EHT pads. They don't even salt the roads where I live and after about a year/12,000 miles they were vibrating and it appeared that water got under the coating and rusted them out from underneath it.

I replaced that setup with Carquest Part No YH145675P rotors about 25,000 miles ago and I'm still running them, no complaints. After about 12k miles they started vibrating a little too so I replaced the pads with Akebono ASP1094 and after about a month the vibration was gone. Turned out the vibration was caused by build up from the EHT pads. The price has gone up a bit since I bought them but with Advance if you make an account online you can usually find a 20% off code to order/pay online and then pick up in store.

No experience with slotted rotors so I can't speak to how those perform vs a standard type.

I've been using Power Stop for the last few changes. Been happy with the results.

I've got around 30k miles on my front Raybestos EHT pads. According to my records I put them on in April of 2018.

They have been great paired with the (what I'm guessing is) the OE rotors. I like them so well I put them and basic rotors on my wife's Malibu when it needed brakes and it stops like a hot damn now! The Malibu stops so hard now it's almost painful.

The rotors on my Xterra are showing some pretty good rust around the vents now and I'm looking at upgrading to the slotted (not drilled) rotors that Raybestos offers.

But I couldn't be happier with the EHT pads and I'll be installing them on my K2500 when I dig into it later this year after the X is back on it's feet.

@Zack and G_T: Thanks. The Carquest disc rotors are not easily (inexpensively) available in Canada unless you can recommend a source like rockauto.com.

@Prime: What model of Power Stop did you purchase?

The Power Stop JBR1124EVC Evolution Coated Rotors are available on amazon.CA for C$80.73 each. That is a coated rotor.

The other Power Stop rotors I see are slotted and/or drilled -- something which off-roaders generally want to avoid as best I understand.

Yes. The coated rotors and evolution pads.

General_Tarfun said:

...
Yeah I wasn't really impressed with them [coated Raybestos Element3 Coated Rotors]. At the time I also had Raybestos EHT pads. They don't even salt the roads where I live and after about a year/12,000 miles they were vibrating and it appeared that water got under the coating and rusted them out from underneath it.
...

Click to expand...

Governments use salt sparingly here in British Columbia. In some instances, salt (NaCl) does not work because it is too cold, in others it is warm enough to not be necessary, and in general, it is used sparingly to minimize the environmental impact especially on migratory Pacific salmon.

That said, stuff still rusts. Am currently soaking my front driver side brake caliper in vinegar to help reduce the rust. (I finally figured out that if I want the brake pads to work properly, I have to remove the accumulated rust so the caliper brackets slide in easily and the new pads easily move back and forth.... New short mill 'bastard' files are on order.)

I initially intended to order the Raybestos 980370FZN Element 3 coated rotors because some extra protection against corrosion would be nice and Raybestos described them as Best. I accidentally ordered the rears 980368FZN and initially thought about keeping them but now will likely send them back and replace them with something better.

The uncoated Raybestos 980370 are rated as Specialty - Truck. At RockAuto.com they are 58% more expensive than the coated "best" rotors. I asked Raybestos why the 980370 were more expensive. I was told that the more expensive rotor has the same metallurgy as the OEM Nissan rotor. It also has a 0.002 runout or less where the FZN rotor has a 0.004 runout or less.

At this point, it looks like the Raybestos 980370 (front) and 980368 (front) rotors or something better.