I Rotors Warning

[OLU40]

Hi guys. I wrote awhile back about some rotors and pads I got from I Rotors. I negotiated a deal so that we can get a discount by simply emailing our interest like a petition. I now do not suggest you guys deal with these clowns any futher. My purchase of all 4 rotors (Bradi), were uneventful until just a week and a half later vibration set in from varying speed. I figured it was a defect and a mecahnic confirmed it. I call I Rotors with detailed messages to arrive at a solution. Keep in mind I used these guys previously some weeks back. Since I have called several times, they have not returned any of my phone calls. Be VERY careful dealing with these cats. I will be calling the Better Business Bureau and State Attorney General's office next if a response of some sort doesn' t come about. Tech told me I would probably have to go through 4-5 sets of rotor, pad combos before I realized they're a hassle.:uzi

[Q45tech]

The only rotors besides oem that I feel safe in mounting without trueing are PowerStop.............junk [even BIG Brand name junk] abounds in the aftermarket.

I feel the customer out if I can or look at how bad his old rotors were before he came in to get things fixed...........nothing worse than a come back............it happens to me every time on my own car when I don't take the time to check the parts for conformity to factory specs.

The factory gets really mad at its suppliers when a recall occurs not so in the aftermarket............buyer beware!

We had a salesman offer us Q rotors for $31 delivered they only weigh 1.5 pounds [9%] less than oem but look good [at least brand new]..........almost half the price of our previous standard non oem brand but they all needed trueing so far. It will be 90 days before we know if they are safe to use.

I have had excellant samples delivered for testing only to find the regular shipments are garbage.

[OLU40]

Yeah Powerstop was my original choice. I hope I can salvage these for a little while by cutting them to cut the vibration. If they can be done at all.

[Q451990]

Thanks so much for the update! After all of this I'm going back with PowerStop. I've gotten a good 70-80K out of mine with some minor warping (by my defination, not Q45Tech's) and I think they've been turned once... They're getting warped again now, but the new set will go on "Q2." I'll have these turned again before selling Q1.

I bought mine back in 1999 from Olympic Auto Parts (1-888-370-0041) for $88 each. I called this time and they quoted $142.23ea, but they came off back to $88 without hesitation. Does anyone have a better source for PowerStop?

Thanks!

Heath

[OLU40]

$88 sounds good. I remeber seeing them for 75+ somewhere....

[90Q45blue]

OEM rotors for a 1990 Q45 are $81.21 apiece a la Joe at Scottsdale.

[szh]

Interesting experiences! ... I have been using the Irotors Bradi rotors on my 95 Q for about three weeks now (about 500 to 600 miles) without a spot of trouble. They are working just fine.

I am using new OEM Infiniti pads too - they were installed at the same time as the Irotors rotors.

Z

[Q451990]

I guess it's hit-or-miss.... I wonder if the rotors that OLU40 bought were the new non-bradi/brembo models...

Heath

[OLU40]

I wonder too. I think they were a knock off. Rest assured I will find out. Come to think of it, I dont remember seeing any Bradi engraving anywhere on the rotor.

[OLU40]

My rear work fine! The front is the issue. I have new factory pads in the front as well. I had to buy those after the Axxis MM were making a metal grinding noise. There is something definetely not coincidental about this.

[reggiegsd]

I have close to 10K on Bradi rotors and have had good service so far. They will need to be trued at the next oil change.

They are noisy (no squeal, just a thrum) during hard use. Most slotted rotors make this noise.

[Q45tech]

"after the Axxis MM were making a metal grinding noise"Now by their name what would a normal person think.........MM have more metal scraps than oem obviously they are going to make more noise.Generally the more metal in a street pad the higher the optimum friction temperature.........up to a point.Kevlar and carbon fiber have extreme high temp points but they are slick [have low friction] brake pads are like a fruit cake lots of different things each with their own parameters the combination and homogenety is what counts.

Unless they dust like a muther, they scrape and groan from the metal ............chose which downside you want.

[szh]

I wonder too. I think they were a knock off. Rest assured I will find out. Come to think of it, I dont remember seeing any Bradi engraving anywhere on the rotor.

I do not remember seeing any markings on the rotors I got (not to say that there weren't any...I just don't remember), but all the packaging material and boxes were definitely Bradi original stuff.

Z

[szh]

They are noisy (no squeal, just a thrum) during hard use. Most slotted rotors make this noise.

I have noted the slightly higher noise too - as posted earlier in a response to a question from Jeff Williams. I conjectured that it was due to the slots but was not sure. Is this a definitive assessment (i.e., the noise is due to the slots for sure)?

Z

[OLU40]

[They are noisy (no squeal, just a thrum) during hard use. Most slotted rotors make this noise. [/QUOTE]

This is true. In conjection with the MM they sounded like a low drumming noise. I have never heard anybody state this with the MM's before.

[OLU40]

"after the Axxis MM were making a metal grinding noise"Now by their name what would a normal person think.........MM have more metal scraps than oem obviously they are going to make more noise.Generally the more metal in a street pad the higher the optimum friction temperature.........up to a point.Kevlar and carbon fiber have extreme high temp points but they are slick [have low friction] brake pads are like a fruit cake lots of different things each with their own parameters the combination and homogenety is what counts.

Unless they dust like a muther, they scrape and groan from the metal ............chose which downside you want.

I saved the MM's and can see what Tech is talking about. However I theorized the metal content wouldn't be a annoying as it was. Oh well. It still doesn't explain the digusting customer service.

[Q45tech]

To the factory quietness is almost as important as producing the shortest reasonable 60 to zero braking distances for publication.....Nissan [having a performance heritage like BMW] tilts a little towards allowing a tiny bit more noise. Whereas Lexus goes the other way.

It is expected that buyers understand this [but 99% don't have a clue] but the engineers always hope.

Just like pinging will be more common on edgey engines.

Every aftermarket pad that is designed for street use will probably be noiser than oem if it stops as well [or worse].Every sloted rotor will be noiser than a plain rotor.Every drilled rotor will be noiser than a plain rotor.The higher the friction coefficient the noiser the pad will be.

Sometimes the luck of the draw or the stars line up right and aftermarket is no louder than oem but this is rare indeed.

You surely can't say because a pad is quiet on one car that its will be quiet on another different car........only the J30 and Q45 front rotors and calipers are identical but the weight is different /so is the master cylinder ratio.

[OLU40]

To the factory quietness is almost as important as producing the shortest reasonable 60 to zero braking distances for publication.....Nissan [having a performance heritage like BMW] tilts a little towards allowing a tiny bit more noise. Whereas Lexus goes the other way.

It is expected that buyers understand this [but 99% don't have a clue] but the engineers always hope.

Just like pinging will be more common on edgey engines.

Every aftermarket pad that is designed for street use will probably be noiser than oem if it stops as well [or worse].Every sloted rotor will be noiser than a plain rotor.Every drilled rotor will be noiser than a plain rotor.The higher the friction coefficient the noiser the pad will be.

Sometimes the luck of the draw or the stars line up right and aftermarket is no louder than oem but this is rare indeed.

You surely can't say because a pad is quiet on one car that its will be quiet on another different car........only the J30 and Q45 front rotors and calipers are identical but the weight is different /so is the master cylinder ratio.

Naturally I don't believe a set of pads is the same for every car. However, there are many drivers on this forum who have not stayed with the factory setup with desirable results. I guess the stars have to be aligned right just like you said:abducttoo It's all trial and error. Thanks for all of the insight. I wish this situation would have worked out so we here at NICO would have had another source who was willing to show us love on discount parts. Oh well.

[szh]

[quote=" szhosain I have noted the slightly higher noise too - as posted earlier in a response to a question from Jeff Williams. I conjectured that it was due to the slots but was not sure.[/quote]

By the way, I should say that the noise is not loud - certainly not objectionable in any way! It seems to have gone down a bit too since the installation, probably after the pads bedded properly.

My original goal with the Irotors was to minimize cost, but even then, I was not sure how well they would work out ... for the moment, they seem to be doing okay. But the jury appears to be still out, I would have to say, based on the other posted experiences here!

Cost is not everything, of course, but based on the numbers shown in above posts, for four rotors, here is how it approximately works out: Irotors $230, OEM from Joe $325, Powerstops $350. If going with the Irotors (and if it works out) allows somebody to spend the extra 100 bucks, or so, elsewhere, to make other improvements, it is worth it, no?

That was my rationale ... so far, it is working out, but I am keeping my fingers crossed tightly!

Z

[reggiegsd]

I have used Metal Masters as my street pad for 25 years and have always been pleased with them. Early on, they were very tough on the rotors. They would EAT rotors in 12K miles. Just wear them away. No need to turn the rotors either, the pads would just knock the high spots right off. But they would stop you like dropping an anchor with a short chain.

Over the years, they modified them until they are downright civilized.

I have a set of Rotex Kevlar pads on the Q now. The longer I have them the less pleased I am with them. They are not very linear. On a hard brake application from high speed, you can feel the braking force increase as the pads heat up. You find yourself stopping much more abruptly than you anticipated. Gentle braking around town is just the opposite. It always takes you a few feet longer to stop than you think.

I am used to this and have compensated, but my wife is completely confounded. I guess its back to MMs when these pads are done.

[szh]

My original goal with the Irotors was to minimize cost, but even then, I was not sure how well they would work out ... for the moment, they seem to be doing okay. But the jury appears to be still out, I would have to say, based on the other posted experiences here!

Cost is not everything, of course, but based on the numbers shown in above posts, for four rotors, here is how it approximately works out: Irotors $230, OEM from Joe $325, Powerstops $350. If going with the Irotors (and if it works out) allows somebody to spend the extra 100 bucks, or so, elsewhere, to make other improvements, it is worth it, no?

That was my rationale ... so far, it is working out, but I am keeping my fingers crossed tightly!

Well, I am up to 1200 miles now, and things are still working just fine. The brakes stop smoothly; I have gotten used to the different sound of the drilled, slotted rotors; and am happy still with the decision.

I'm sorry that people seem to be having bad experiences with Irotors (particularly on the business issues) ... all I can say is my experience has been fine so far!

Z

[Q45tech]

Luckily the J and 90-96Q have the same front brakes therefore one can assume the same pads will work on both [other than the wear sensor]............for non experts: oem or Metal Master won't be an incorrect decision.

Pad /temperature compound linearity can get you in trouble in the winter or new ocassional drivers in a wreck anytime.