I bought my '04 S-Type R a while back and just had replace the Rotars for the first time recently. I was told that I have to use Rotars with some type of composite material on them that also happens to be soft and wear down quickly. Is there a manufacturer that makes all metal rotars that will fit this model that would last longer? I know these are supposed to make stopping smoother and more of a 'luxury' feature, but I'd rather just have rotars that are more durable.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

 

There isn't that many options for rotors for an 04 STR. The factory rotors at $600/pair and the aftermarket as far as I know are all steel and the rotors are good for about 2 sets of pad changes. May be able to get more life out of the rotors with less agressive pads.

 

Not sure where that info came from but no the rotors are all steel. I have found the best price is about $450/pair.

Try Ken at Motorcars Ltd.-He is in Houston-800-338-5238
or
Andy at Brakeperformance-866-756-5536

I had brake shudder and turned the front rotors. It worked great and now almost 20K miles later it's still great!! But the factory says no to turning. They must be replaced instead.
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Here are some non Brembo ones that look to be the correct size. They're from Centric.


http://extranet.soleniuminc.com/Cent...m=S%20TYPE%20R

http://www.centricparts.com/index.ph...d=51&Itemid=85


Find a dealer and I think you'll find these are a lot less money.

Bob S.

 

All of the rotors that I've seen are a single piece casting of steel (common name for Fe based alloy). Various manufactures will use different formula for their steel so the hardness & resistance to wear will vary. There are two part rotors where the disk is steel and the hub is Al alloy. There are a few racing companies that will custom make them and the last time I checked the break even price was after the 3rd set (since you just have to replace the disk). There are also composite rotors where the disk is ceramic based composite and the hub is Al alloy that is typically offered as an option on high-end cars (I believe Porsche's is a $10-15k option).

 

Floating calipers on an aluminium hub are a racing item. In the rough and tumble of street use with harsh winter weather involving plenty of salt on the roads I'm not sure that's what I'd want on a car.