Chinese rotors are junk

The owner of the mom-and-pop auto supply insisted that they were of the
highest quality, and they looked OK, for what it's worth. I paid around $30
ea.
After about 15,000 miles, these made in china rotor cracked on my 96 Sebring
Jx conv. and shaved down one pad in no time. They were also full of surface
pits. This time I insisted on USA-made rotors and got them at AutoZone for
$44 each vs $25 for the junk. Not a big difference in price. Kelsey-Hayes
Autospecialty brand has Made in USA on the label and a big US flag sticker
on the box, however, the rotor has CANADA molded into the rotor. OK, made in
America.
Boycott that cheap junk before they drive all of the the quality guys out of
business.

 

Well...yeah. With very few exceptions, Chinese auto parts are junk.

You expected maybe for them to say "Here, buy these garbage Chinese
rotors. They're junk, but they'll get you out of our face and keep
groceries on our table."?

? How do rotors "look OK" at the relevant level, without the use of e.g.
an electron microscope or at least some metallurgical analysis technique?

Chrysler paid less than that for similar junk rotors, because they bought
them by the ten thousand.

They'll probably last long and well.

It's already too late. The quality stuff is getting scarcer and scarcer,
harder and harder to get. More and more, Chinese crapola is the only
option. This is a result of companies being taken over by MBAs who
consider it beneath them to know anything about icky auto parts beyond
"they can be made cheaper in China" and "With an ISO 9000 certified
factory, quality is a nonissue".

DS

 

Yeah, I've patronized this small auto parts store for years, and trusted
their judgment. No more. I was impressed with the AutoZone guy (let the
flames begin) he went out of his way to call around to two non-AZ stores to
get me the USA-made part in 20 minutes, at a reasonable price, from a
shop-only parts distr. The place was jammed, they were actually helping
people install things on their cars in the parking lot, while the
traditional shops nearby were empty.
The only chinese-made parts that are good are the ones with intense quality
control by those that put their brand name on it. Try going after the
ying-yang trading co. in a product liability case when those cheap tree
lights burn your house down.

 

Yup, invariably the chinese rotors are made from crap metal and the QC
on the finished part is non-existent. Years ago, my family's service
station used to spec "white box" rotors for customers who demanded the
cheapest price we could get. After a year or two of dealing with spotty
(at best) quality from Chinese parts we decided to just turn the
business away if they're not willing to spring for quality parts. It's
just not worth the aggravation to save (in the greater scheme of things)
a rather trivial amount of money.

Having lived and worked in both China and Hong Kong, it is fair to say
that quality and pride in one's work are sorely missing in the PRC. 60
years of communism and corruption have really transformed a country once
known for an industrious and inventive workforce into the 3rd world slum
you see today. Sad.

As another poster pointed out, they *can* provide quality parts. They
just choose not to since there really isn't any cost effective way to
monitor them other than stationing your own expensive expat engineers on
site to babysit. Taking your case to the courts is a joke since the
Chinese legal system is a complete farce. Until that's fixed, you're
basically stuck with the current situation. The carrot doesn't work.
There needs to be an effective stick.

Cheers,

C

 

For my 96 mini-van I mail ordered from the Tire Rack a pair of reasonably
priced Italian rotors. They were very well made and about $45 a piece.

Richard.

 

Actually the parts are fine - the problem is that they use scrap
steel to make everything(and I mean just about everything) out of.

Even metal that is subject to wear like rotors and drill bits.

 

Reread the post that started this thread. The parts are most certainly
*not* "fine".

DS

 

To be more precise, the engineering is okay, but if you use softer
junk metal, it's going to wear a lot faster. Kind of like making
a copy out of aluminum instead of stainless steel. Looks good and
fits, but put stress on it and suddenly things change.

 

It's not just the metal. I've had a number of chinese rotors that were
warped right out of the box. There is also really poor quality control
on the machining.

C

 

At the Autozone near me, when I had a question about wiper blades the
guy came out in the rain to have a look. Always get great service
there.

 

Approximately 11/16/03 20:10, Joseph Oberlander uttered for posterity:

That means nothing. Japan has been using scrap American steel
for decades, everything from car body steel to airplanes and
battleships. What matters is how the scrap is re-refined and
manufactured into whatever.

Hardest darned body steel I ever ran into was a '70 Datsun
2000 Roadster. Ruined two Dremel bits until I broke down
and bought a tungsten one. Those same other Dremel bits
would cut American body steel like butter.

 

Where is evryone getting $25.00 or $45.00 rotors? I get quotes of over
$100.00 a piece for rotors on my '72 Dodge PU.

 

Yes, because you have a truck, with much larger rotors containing integral
hubs and machined bearing seats, inner and outer -- not the simple
miniature metal discs most of today's passenger cars use.

DS

 

One of the few, I'm sure. I've resorted to just punching in the information
myself, it's faster and more accurate. I have gotten good response from the
manager and employees in respect to returns and finding parts but the
employees (especially the younger ones) don't know enough about cars to give
you an educated opinion on much of anything.. =o'

I went to O'reillys for a pinion seal. The guy asked me, "what size?" I
said, 7 5/8'ths. He said, I only have 7.5 and I said, "that's fine, it's
sometimes called 7 1/2 ." Then I looked at the screen and it said, "7.5 and
7.625" I guess I shouldn't set my expectations so high, huh?

-Bruce

 

After about 15,000 miles, these made in china rotor cracked on my 96 Sebring

Ya know, cheap parts bashing aside, this sounds like you have a
problem other than the rotors.. one pad shaved down makes me think
about a sticky/hanging caliper/slide.

Regards,

Jim

 

Often overlooked during a pad change is the need to take apart the rubber
gasket and bushing and pin, clean them with a rag and apply good lube. I use
a synthetic break lube and it has eliminated caliper hang-ups once and for
all.

Richard.

 

So are Raybestos Canadian rotors!! I bought Raybestos PG Plus rotors
that are imported from Canada and they came pre-warped right out of
the box. I exchanged them and the next set was also warped.

I bought no name rotors and they're smooth as silk.

 

I find that extremely difficult to believe. I have *never* had this
problem with Raybestos parts in 20 years and many hundreds of rotors.
I'm not saying it's impossible, but it is very very very unlikely. The
same can be said of Wagner parts.

With Chinese rotors, a statistically relevant number of rotors arrived
warped out of the box. I'd put that number at approximately 25-33%.

Cheers,

C

 

Another point is to take notice of how hard the old brake pads were to
remove. If they come out with the fingers, fine. If you had to pry
them out with a screwdriver, check for rust underneath the shims. Rust
expands when it forms and can cause the pads to jam. Clean the rust
out with a wire brush and apply a thin coat of brake grease.

 

What we have here is a basic quality control problem. It happens in Canada, the USA and obviously
in offshore countries. I have had similar problems with auto parts purchased here in Canada and
across the border in MN and ND. One would think that "made in the USA" or "made in Canada" would
mean quality. I'll guarantee anyone that it doesn't guarantee that at all. We have to check what
we buy, but sometimes it is pretty well impossible - not every spark plug works right out of the
box, for instance....