Usually the cheapies are made in China. I have tried the Chinese ones on a
minivan I had and tested them as I had 2 identical mini vans. I put one high
priced and one low priced rotor on each van and used the same pads
(Raybestos Ceramic Quiet stop) on each. I could find no discernible
difference in performance or pad/rotor wear during this test. This was a one
time purchase fwiw and I now use only US made parts. Mostly because I wear
the flag on my sleeve but also I just "feel" they're better.
Larry

Your point is true....there are many different brands that may
share the same "quality". I too have worked in a maufacturing
environment and have made the same observations.

Higher price does not always equal better quality. The same
goes for some of the brand names.  While most consumers have
no real way to differeniate between one brand and another, they
depend on advertising or other sources.

Personally I've had good experience with bendix brand brake parts.
I've also had good experience with NAPA branded parts. Of course
NAPA buys their parts from other sources and its a roll of the dice
some times to figure out who made what.

The best suggestion I would have is to purchase  mainstream brake
parts.
I buy bendiz where possible, i have bought raybestos parts too.

Generally I don't deal with the generic brake parts because I am
concerned about their quality, and I have no real way to make a
valid judgement on quality. I don't want to find out the hard way
that there is a problem.

Ask around from people that work as mechanics in your area
what they reccomend.  Many people just slap on parts they get
at the local parts store and have good service out of them.

Ask the people who do this type of work every day, they see
a lot more problems or issues with parts than most of us here
would even have a clue about.

I own a Honda and I buy honda branded parts to fix it.
I also own a GM pick-up, I normally buy aftermarket parts
for it but as the situation demands I buy GM parts. On the brakes
for the truck I normally buy bendix / raybestos / napa , because as
many have learned GM really likes to price their parts on the high
end.

Elbert

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Elbert Clarke
elbert.clarke@**adelphia.net
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Usually cheapies are made from tooling which has gone past its useful life
and sold to after market manufacturers.  Take a good look at those castings
vs OEM.

Personally I only buy Delco as so far they are good and durable.  I get them
at dealer pricing so there isn't big incentive for me to go aftermarket on
my truck.

I find the Raybestos brands to be paper thin and crap - pads falling off
etc.  Sure they replace them under warranty but how much are you saving when
you have to do your brakes twice?

They are designed to cool better and dissipate water better. But I've read
that you need to verify they are approved for street use. A cheaply made
drilled rotor could break on you.

Brian

The slots and holes are not for cooling as much as they are for venting the
gasses that build up in your pads during breaking.  This reduces fade under
hard breaking conditions.  So it does not have a direct relationship to
warping, but in general, only the better built rotors with good steel are
offered in a slotted or drilled design.