Question about Victoria British parts
 

I am getting ready to do front and back suspension and brake work. What I am wondering is has anyone had any experience with Victoria British brake rotors for the front and rear? I have a 4-lug base car and I am hoping I can avoid going to NAPA and paying more for them. I was going to get Beck-Arnley at NAPA but it is almost $40 more per pair. If VB's are quality or you have experience post, or if you know they are not, post that too.

My friend has VB brakes on his MG and he has never had a problem with them.

Napa around here is always more expensive then the competing stores. Use the phone book and call their competition or visit the websites.

Besides napaonline.com, check partsamerica.com, autozone.com, brakewarehouse.com, rockauto.com......

I don't have a VB catalog but 4 lug rotors aren't expensive. How much does napa/VB want for theirs?

NAPA wants $69.99 per front rotor for Beck-Arnley and $64.99 per rear rotor

Autzone wants $54.99 per front rotor for Duralast and $66.99 per rear rotor

Victoria British wants $49.95 per rotor regardless of front or rear

Victoria British does not list who makes the rotor so that is why I am wondering if they are of good quality or not.

Considering shipping for some heavy lumps of metal... won't autozone win on price and you can have the rotors in your hands the same day?

Well, I have several things to order from Victoria British that are unrelated to my job, but no on having them in my hands that day. Autozone nor NAPA (surprising since the store is attached to the regional distribution center) would have them in stock. They would both have to order them for me.


EDIT: Post 1,308... heh, heh :p:

what's the significance of this?

1308 cc?

Yeah, I know I am lame. :)

LoL

Last summer, I bought a set of dimpled and slotted rotors from Race Concepts on eBay for $119 - yup, for all 4. Totally happy with them. They don't seem to have a set for the 2nd gen listed right now though. They have a web site at www.raceconcepts.net but the prices there are significantly higher then what they sell them for on eBay.

I rather not get into slotted, drilled, dimpled, whatever rotors. I just want some plain OEM style rotors for a decent price. I am assuming no one has used the VB rotors that are listed in their catalog since no one, other than bknopps, has said anything about them for or against.

I have bought a ton of MG and Triumph parts from VB since the '80s and never had a problem with them. Brake parts including rotors-its nice since they are an hour away.

Drilled rotors can crack between the holes, but slotted and dimpled are just as reliable as stock, and they perform better.

But, Race Concepts actually manufactures these items so if you wanted them plain, I'm sure they'd be more than happy to accomodate.

Really though, does anybody make a bad brake rotor?

Yep, some of the imported rotors are poorly cast, poorly machined, or not oil coated(pre-rusted). So, there are really bad rusty lightweight thin rotors out there!

Unless Victoria British mentions their supplier, I WOULD NOT BUY ROTORS FROM THEM.
After looking at the advancedauto/rockauto/brakewarehouse selection of $20 rotors, I wouldn't hesistate to skip napa/autozone/VB...... But, a check with napa shows that they have no-name $20 rear rotors. Advance auto had $20 front rotors. Rockauto.com list brand/pn from $10-$80. At least you know what you're paying for!

If you want cheap rotors, check your local partsamerica chain or buy them online from a store that mentions the brand. But, if you want the backing/warranty of the store, pay the extra at your local autoparts stores. It sure beats paying $50 for a $10 "catalog" rotor.

None of the cars that I've worked on ever stopped better with slotted or drilled rotors. Any material removed from the rotor lightens it(less thermal mass=hotspots) and reduces the braking surface area. Stock sized rotors work best without holes, dimples, grooves....... Also, noise/dust/padwear are increased with modified rotors.

Brake pad selection is probable the most important thing to consider. Definitely upgrade the pads to a name brand street performance set regardless of rotor chosen.

Treating the rotors help prevent future noise(especially on the poorly machined/cast imports)
http://www.gunk.com/item_asp/M725_6.asp
http://lubegard.com/automotive/brake_squeakrelief.html

Drilled/dimpled and slotting rotors isn't supposed to make the car stop shorter. It's for brake fade.

Well, I do not have an issue with brake fade so that does not matter to me. Also, I would be wary of putting some kind of spray onto the rotors. I have never seen that done before nor does my Haynes manual or the FSM call for it.

Geez...you keep asking for advice, but then acting like you don't need it! If you know what you don't want, then go buy what you do and case closed!

I got my rotors from IROTORS.com . I have had 0 problems or concerns with them. The front ones have heated up to the point where I could feel the heat 3 feet away. My front cailpers locked up. And I had to drive about 5 miles like that. Do home. no problems. replaced calipers. Still no problems with the rotors.

The ones i have are x-drilled and slotted.

I had to replace one of the rear ones only cause the caliper locked up in the rear. Destroyed the brake pad to metal. and took the rotor down to half its size and the rotor still did not brake. That satisfied me. btw, this was over a 2 week period.

Sometimes the drilled and slotted are cheaper

I like how people think this. I guess it depends on how many holes are dilled into the rotor. There are 3 holes in one line on mine. I have no problems. if they were going to snap . they would have when my calipers locked up.

Unless you get SS rotors. They will all rust.

is this your opinion? My opinion is the drilled are more efficient then the dimpled ones

Drilled are at least as good, if not better then dimpled. I just left it out of that sentance because that's not what I have. I have seen rotors with cracks between the holes a few times.

<Sigh> This was not meant to turn into a thread over what kind of rotor is better or why. My request for advice was very specific in the first post... I wanted to know if anyone had used the OE style brake rotors from Victoria British. People were supposed to post their experience if they had or had not and if they would buy again or would not buy. I guess that got lost somehow...