Hey, I guess everyone is entitled to an opinion but it's one thing to be for or against drilled rotors but to recommend to buy the cheapest of anything could be a recipe for disaster! LR Discos are notoriously heavy and in my opinion have a fairly small sized rotor for the vehicle weight and wheel size. Drilled, vented and slotted definitely improves stopping power but some argue they can clog with dirt if that is what you drive in a lot.

That being said, the cheapest rotor is probably made in China and I have rarely been impressed with much of the machined metal coming from there. Cheap rotors warp and wear faster than quality ones and need to be replaced sooner.

I went with D&S EBC rotors and Green stuff pads and noticed a marked improvement in stopping time and power.

 

The short version is that rotors are really hard to get wrong in this day and ag, including the made in china rotors, and with proper maintenance (read: don't wear your pads down to the metal), and lack of abuse (if you're not boiling your fluid, congrats, you're not abusing your brakes), they'll do just fine against the not made in China option.

And also, rotors don't warp, contrary to popular belief. Look it up sometime.

 

And here is an example of what can happen if rotors are abused.



It's hard to see but check out how thin the face of the rotor on top in the pic is. And the rotor was separated from its hub while in service, not after being removed. The guy drove the truck like this for several weeks at least. It was installed by a Land Rover dealer several years prior so I assume it was a "genuine" part.

 

Racer, I am not sure where you get your information but rotors can and do warp when run hot.

As for the original question, whichever Rotors you buy, don't go cheap on the pads. Cheap pads don't last as long, stop as well make dust and squeak causing the 3 amigos. Consider using Akebono ceramic pads which stop faster last longer then OEM pads, don't make dust or squeak which causes the 3 amigos.

As for the whole concept of drilled or not drilled slotted rotors, with 110,000 miles on my slotted and drilled DBA rotors, I am still with in specs and can out stop a set of regular pads and rotors.

 

That looks like something wore into the hat until the material got so thin that the rotor cracked off, and all that ensues. Maybe the pad wasn't installed correctly?

Mike, rotors don't warp, but they do collect pad material, especially with inexpensive pads that get overheated. The result over time is a build up in one spot. If you measure the rotor you'll see that build up as a change in rotor thickness, but if you actually evaluate the material that gets machined off in resurfacing, you'd find that it was pad material that got fused to the rotor.

You are correct in saying that a good pad means everything though, and I should have made that point in my post. A cheap rotor + quality pads should be all you need. Partsgeek.com has Pronto branded rotors for less than $30 a corner, and the economy line Centric aren't much more expensive. I've had good experience (read: no failures) with both all of the times I've used them.

 

There is no doubt that there are 2 schools of thought on this subject; one that denies warping and blames steering vibrations or brake pulsations on a build up of material on the rotor and one that claims the rotor in fact does warp and end up with increased run out.

Her is a quote from a reputable brake parts related website:

"Overheating brake pads beyond their designed temperature range releases large amounts of gas and uneven, sticky deposits of melted binders/fillers that coat the rotor surface. Every time the brake system heats up, those uneven deposits will grip the pad more aggressively than the areas without the deposits. The brake pad will slip over the non-coated areas because it can’t grip as well on those bare areas. These heavy concentrations of compound material are called hot spots because they cause uneven overheating on the rotor surface. This can actually alter the molecular structure of the cast iron rotors forming hard spots. Severe overheating forms a compound within the cast iron structure called cementite which is harder and more abrasive than the surrounding iron. It’s also not as effective as a heat sink as the surrounding cast iron. The compound cannot wear down these hard spots and the result is more heat building up in those areas and a thumping you can feel whenever you apply the brakes. Continued use of the rotors will expand these areas of cementite and uneven heat distribution. Eventually this will distort and warp the rotor. Once cementite forms in the rotor, it cannot be removed. The rotor needs to be replaced."

I believe the theory expressed here is correct. What starts as deposits can over time end up warping the metal. Furthermore, it used to be that brake pads were largely made from soft materials that could withstand high heat like asbestos. Brake pads today now are very are hard and are largely ceramic and/or have metal fibers in them that increase heat. A rotor that has been machined in the past and is thinner is more likely to warp than a newer one.

Even Car Talk's Tom and Ray have an opinion on rotors and replacing them:
Today: When to Replace Brake Rotors | Car Talk

It has been awhile since I have machined rotors on a brake lathe but I have witnessed rotors so warped that they could not be machined! And as I mentioned, INHO stock LR rotors are on the light side of what is needed to stop a vehicle that is so heavy. And no, not all Chinese rotors are bad but there have been QC issues in the past.

 

I just did my brakes last week with the R1 Concepts disks noted above. Too early to judge them long term, but they look well finished and went on easy. $136 shipped off eBay.

 

Hi, new to the forum, I need to new brakes, rotors and pads. Went to the dealer and they said they are warped, trouble is this isn't the first time. I've been looking at 360 performance rotors at rotordepot.com. They are drilled and slotted and come with a 3 yr warranty. Has anyone every used them? Thanks!

 

Same thing happened to my wife while she was driving earlier this month.






New DBA non directional slotted and vented fronts.


Slotted non directional solid rear.


All with Akebono ceramic pads.

 

Uhhh, wow that is bad......happy my rotors aren't in that kind of shape!!!