Ebay brakes

[Wulfkind]

Hi Guys,

I think I've finally got all I can out of my factory rotors (3 1/2 years) so I'm looking for replacement options.

I definitely do not want to fight it out with another set of OEM ones as I've had issues with them warping early in life so I was looking around and noticed RDA branded discs on ebay... Are these any good? I know the FAQ suggests DBA but I just can't justify spending that much.

[Kenshin X]

warping is usually human error when braking, if this is the case then getting slotted rda/dba aftermarket rotors would not make a difference. try changing braking habits and especially at the lights, take your foot off the brake and use the hand brake instead. this will stop the pads making an imprint on the rotors and therefore "warping" them.

to answer your question, rda/dba are both good just make sure they are for your car.

[SecaBoy]

i had slotted rda's on my trd... HUGE improvement over the std trd brakes...

[u54mot]

What is the odometer reading on your car?

[Wulfkind]

110000 - I know, decent for the factory brakes, I'm not complaining about their overall longevity, just that they'd warp at the slightest hint of rain.

[Wulfkind]

warping is usually human error when braking, if this is the case then getting slotted rda/dba aftermarket rotors would not make a difference. try changing braking habits and especially at the lights, take your foot off the brake and use the hand brake instead. this will stop the pads making an imprint on the rotors and therefore "warping" them.

to answer your question, rda/dba are both good just make sure they are for your car.

Thanks for the advice, I'll take it to heart... The Aurion is the first car I've had with problems like this... But thats probably due to the fact that I can generate decent brake temperatures more easily than some of the bombs I've owned.

[SecaBoy]

110000 - I know, decent for the factory brakes, I'm not complaining about their overall longevity, just that they'd warp at the slightest hint of rain.

HOLY FARK!!!

i only got like 40,000kms or something like that... :(

[Hiro]

110000 - I know, decent for the factory brakes, I'm not complaining about their overall longevity, just that they'd warp at the slightest hint of rain.

HOLY FARK!!!

i only got like 40,000kms or something like that... :(

The weight of the car must play a big part in rotor wear, because my 1050kg 336,000km 1997 AE102 is still on original rotors (and was on original pads until 280,000km):P They've been machined once because of slight warpage, but still ....

[Ronnyboy]

HOLY FARK!!!

i only got like 40,000kms or something like that... :(

That sucks :(

[Beep Beep]

warping is usually human error when braking, if this is the case then getting slotted rda/dba aftermarket rotors would not make a difference. try changing braking habits and especially at the lights, take your foot off the brake and use the hand brake instead. this will stop the pads making an imprint on the rotors and therefore "warping" them.

to answer your question, rda/dba are both good just make sure they are for your car.

I'm not really sure if it is "human" error, as you said, Kenshin X. From personal experience, I think it has more to do with the pad/rotor combination. I once changed the pads on my Landcruiser to Bendix 4WD pads. They worked a treat and stopped the Cruiser on a dime. However, after about 25,000km driving the way I normally do, I noticed braking started to become very uneven. When I pulled the wheels off, I could see distinct warping of the rotors!! The heat buildup was so tremendous that the standard OEM rotors simply could not handle the extra performance from the pads. Needless to say, I had the OEM rotors junked and had them replaced with DBA Gold cross drilled & slotted rotors. I retained the Bendix 4WD pads. This combination worked like a dream, from riding the brakes down Greenmount hill (10% downhill grade for about 2km) to your normal day to day braking in city traffic, it never faded. I had to ride the brakes down the hill because I was fully loaded up in the Cruiser with my mate's gym equipment (probably about 300kg worth) PLUS I had a trailer full of my mate's furniture!! Ahh... the things you do to help out a mate who's moving house. Anyway, you can imagine the stress the brakes and rotors underwent. Engine braking in this instance wasn't really sufficient, even for a Diesel.

Ultimately, the pads lasted about 115,000km, and were replaced because I had the Cruiser undergo a full and complete service and check up from top to bottom for a road trip from Perth to Broome then back to Perth. Didn't want to have any brake issues while flying along at 110 - 120 km/h in a heavy, fully loaded Landcruiser...... I noticed there was only very very slight wear on the rotors too, which was a very pleasant surprise.

I guess the lesson I learnt here was if you are going to upgrade your brake rotors, make sure they can handle the pads you're putting on too!

IMHO, DBA Rotors are definitely very good. A bit pricey, but they are certainly fit for purpose.

Cheers,

BB

PS. Do you really want to cheap out on something that's going to potentially save your A$$ in an emergency situation? If it were me, nope!

Edited November 24, 2010 by Beep Beep

[Wulfkind]

PS. Do you really want to cheap out on something that's going to potentially save your A$$ in an emergency situation? If it were me, nope!

My initial question was related to the quality of the RDA rotors, I certainly do not want to cheap out on them. But also having said that, I don't want to spend $600+ for high performance discs I don't need.

I have never truly been unimpressed with the factory setup on the Aurion in terms of being able to pull out, in fact they've saved my backside on one or two occasions where it seemed almost inevitable I would hit the person cutting me off. I suppose I am being a big unappreciative of the life I've gotten out of the set on my car and I shall endeavour think higher of them. It's just... I got my Aurion with 33000km on the clock and needed to immediately get the front end machined only to have the vibrations return 10,000km later, got them remachined and avoided rain for the next 50,000km (Don't ask, it wasn't easy) - as soon as I hit some serious rain again however, the vibration immediately returned under loaded braking so I suppose what I am really wanting is something a bit hardier in those conditions, I figured going for something that was a bit better at dissipating heat would be the way to go... So please do correct me if I'm wrong, I'm glad to hear other options (less than $600 for the front end :))

[VF-X]

Stupid Q,

How do you know if the brakes need a change? Rotor / pads?

Reading this thread makes me want to change my discs althou I think I don't need them yet.. Just for the looks. xD

[stedyedy]

Stupid Q,

How do you know if the brakes need a change? Rotor / pads?

Reading this thread makes me want to change my discs althou I think I don't need them yet.. Just for the looks. xD

If you break lightly under high speeds, you will feel a slight shudder through the steering wheel, this would indicate that your rotor is warped.