Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2004 22:06:47 -0400
Reply-To: The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Subject: Re: Syncro front rotor life expectance
In-Reply-To: <411FEBD9.8000204@fyi.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
> Here is one for the record books. I've had a set
> of new front brake rotors installed on my Vanagon Syncro,
> for about a year and a half. These were a special deal
> from our most popular list vendor. They are trash.
> These are obviously made of a material that rusts very
> badly. The brake pads that were used with these rotors,
> are not even worn down half way, but the brake surface is
> all chewed up with rust on mostly on the inside.
Eric,
If these are my rotors you're talking about (as I did have a closeout
deal on Syncro rotors a couple of years ago), these were first-quality
rotors manufactured by Brembo, who is the OEM supplier to Porsche, VW,
Mercedes-Benz (on their S-class sedans), BMW, Ferrari, Lambroghini,
Lotus, and others. The only reason that they were closeout is that I got
them from a distributor that had decided to stop carrying them for
Syncro's, but they were recent-production, first-quality merchandise. In
fact, that distributor who sold them to me was a VW-approved supplier to
Volkswagen of Canada, so the same products they sold me were sold by
Canadian VW dealerships as well (for twice the price, I might add). I
only wish I could have gotten more, as it was an exceptional price for a
VW-approved Syncro rotor. I never buy "factory seconds" or anything
less than first-quality merchadise, except in very rare cases where the
defect is purely cosmetic, the product undergoes my personal scrutiny
first, and it is clearly identified as such.
Rotors, of virtually any brand, are cast iron. They rust. In fact they
will begin to look rusty rather quickly, just as a muffler will. How
quickly they rust depends solely on environmental factors and the
condition of your braking system. If you had paid twice the price for
rotors elsewhere they would have been the identical Brembo rotors (since
this is what most companies sell as their premium brand) and would have
rusted in the identical amount of time if placed in identical
circumstances. Furthermore I have had not one complaint of any Brembo
rotor failing prematurely, nor have I had any such an experience on my
own Vanagons (on which I've been using Brembo rotors for years).
As I recall, you live in Pittsburgh, which has had two very severe
winters in a row and uses lots of road-salt - not the best thing for
iron. So of course the rotors would be in worse shape than the ones that
were on your other Syncro, which sat for ten years without exposure to
road conditions or even continuous wear. Also, the abrasiveness of the
particular brake pads that you have installed can make a big difference,
as well as your personal braking habits. You also might want to check
the condition of your calipers, hoses, etc. These are just guesses as to
what might have caused your rotor wear. But one thing I can tell you for
sure, from years of experience, is that Brembo rotors are far from
trash. If they were, top companies like Mercedes, Porshe, and BMW would
not be putting them on their $100,000 cars.
- Ron Salmon
The Bus Depot, Inc.
www.busdepot.com
(215) 234-VWVW
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