Brake rotors from China/Hong Kong???

[jwm2k3]

OK, before you blast me...yes, Ive kinda always been against no name parts from China. Ive seen cheap chinese parts break...ummm, ya turn 12 Jasnmar's footpeg broke right off as I was 10 feet behind him...so..

Anyway, Ive read a few good reviews of some rotors, so I MAY be willing to give it a shot...For like $175 to $190 shipped to my house I can get a pair.

EBC, Galfer, etc. are like $500-$600 and up....

Anyone tried any of these brake rotors?? I mean, stainless steel is stainless steel right??

[tsorfas]

Fairings I would get. Clothes and shoes I would get. Cd Players and TVs all day

Brakes...? Helmet? Gear? Nah not so much.

[OneCheekRider]

In 2008 or so I bought Chinese rotors off eBay as I was super money tight at the time. They're still on a set of rims I use on the track. I rolled the dice and it seems to have worked out. YMMV.

[Stromper]

I am sure that they all are from China any way

[scubasteveRR]

let me know how they are

[caddydaddy]

I put Chinese rotors on my truck and they were crap! EBC rotors have been awesome for many miles since!

[Rambunctous]

What's the worst that can happen? Seriously, a lot of reliable engines come from China. Honda and Yamaha generators and the Honda CBR250 come quickly to mind. But these are made to specs with quality checking. Those Chinese mopeds and scooters are junk though.

[aldend123]

I am sure that they all are from China any way

I thought a big chunk of Brembo parts, including rotors, were made in china now. But the country of origin isn't the issue. It's buying no-name parts without a brand name that has a reputation to lose, and parts which aren't made to meet DOT specs (or some similar standard).

[gamorg02]

i know a lot of the vmax folks got the wavy galfer kind of knock offs from a certain ebay seller (tobyhuang2006) and were very happy with them. i think they're available stateside at madhornets.com but not sure.

[Ductard]

So I'm sure everybody can give stories of stuff from China they've bought or name-brand stuff that's made there (read: almost everything).

I look at it this way, China is a bit of the wild west. Name brand companies have tight specs on their parts, the dedicated resources to source quality parts, and the clout to keep their suppliers in line. Not all suppliers in China are bad, but you have no way of knowing how good that no name part is off of ebay, and really nothing to do about it if you buy it and it's crap. EBC / Galfer, etc. have a reputation cost to think about when it comes to producing low quality goods.

I bought some no-name Chinese clutch/brake levers off of ebay that look amazingly close to a name-brand expensive set of levers. They're ok, but I had to file the clutch lever down so that it would fit on the perch. I would bet dollars to doughnuts that chinese supplier makes the name-brand part and hawks the ones that are out of spec (but they *think* are good enough) on ebay to make an extra dime. I'd probably buy them off of Michael (434 Racer) if I had to do it again. At least he represents some buying power with whatever supplier he deals with...more than my 1 time $20 transaction anyways.

I'd prolly go with name-brand rotors. Pretty bad stuff can happen if you have problems...

..I'm not an expert in alloys, etc. but I'd imagine that the quality / purity of the metal used could make a difference in whether the rotor warps at a given temp, etc. I'd also bet that the specs on the thickness / straightness of the rotor aren't as tight as a name brand rotor.

[xxaarraa]

What's the worst that can happen? Seriously, a lot of reliable engines come from China. Honda and Yamaha generators and the Honda CBR250 come quickly to mind. But these are made to specs with quality checking. Those Chinese mopeds and scooters are junk though.

What's the worst that can happen? Failing to stop at the end of the main straight going 100+ mph. Even if you don't completely "fail" to stop, any sort of performance degradation when going that fast is a safety risk.

I'd buy generic offbrand Chinese stuff without thinking twice, as long as it's cheap disposable items my life doesn't depend on. Brakes, not so much.

[MHenry600]

I'd also bet that the specs on the thickness / straightness of the rotor aren't as tight as a name brand rotor.

That's what the BFH is for... duh.

[Ductard]

That's what the BFH is for... duh.

Just better hope that BFH isn't a Chinese knockoff

[dougie]

Buy used OEM rotors from a trusted source or new name brands. My thought, would you buy a no name skydiving chute from China? Kind of the same deal except a wall instead of the ground.

[jasnmar]

So, you're saying that this chute isn't safe?

[RandyO]

I would not dismiss the quality of steel made in china, its import hatred, back in the 60's there was a manufacturer named J.A.Pan, they bought scrap metal from New England and reprocessed it into car parts that rusted from the inside out, this of course was not true, early japanese cars rusted thru quicker only cause they they were lighter weight, turns out, japanese cars are really good quality

I bought a chinese axe a couple years ago, paid $150 iirc, close in quality to the similar axe made in NewZealand and costs nearly 5X

[Degsy]

I'm with Randy on this. The Chinese have forgotten more about steel than the rest of the world will ever know. Brake rotors aren't rocket science. When you buy Brembo rotors you are paying a whole lot of that price for their sponsorship in motor racing and advertising. I'd guess at least 60 or 70% of the cost.

[jwm2k3]

I've decided to try them out...

Maybe I should wear a schute as well....ya know, for turn 1 and stuff.

[Kurlon]

What you're paying for with Brembo et al is engineering, QC, and liability coverage so they can survive the lawsuit from you if their product does fail. You get none of that with a fly by night run of product out of the back of a factory in China. It may be good steel, it may be white metal, who knows. You sure as heck don't until it arrives.

[Uncle Snake]

I've got the Asashi(sp?) rotors on one bike and they don't seem any worse than the Galfer's on a different bike. Both with EBC-HH pads. That said, I bought those rotors because the ad claimed they were 420 stainless steel which is a good grade of stainless for rotors. I've got 3k miles on them so far with no problems.

[Rambunctous]

I've got the Asashi(sp?) rotors on one bike and they don't seem any worse than the Galfer's on a different bike. Both with EBC-HH pads. That said, I bought those rotors because the ad claimed they were 420 stainless steel which is a good grade of stainless for rotors. I've got 3k miles on them so far with no problems.

yeah they are stone turned

[Uncle Snake]

yeah they are stone turned

I don't know what that means but they appear to have a Blanchard ground finish on both sides. It's a way to help insure that both sides are parallel.

[carsick]

yeah they are stone turned

420= I think it was a joke.

[tls25rs]

I've decided to try them out...

Maybe I should wear a schute as well....ya know, for turn 1 and stuff.

Maybe the Chinese rotors will help you slow down just a little quicker when passing admittedly slower riders in turn 9 ..........

[Uncle Snake]

420= I think it was a joke.

Damn. Just barely...