"Generic brake-discs"

[Sharky]

I'me a short distance away from a complete braking system overhaul that includes a front brake discs change. As usual, the dealer charges a considerable amount of money for the "original" discs. However, there are many suppliers out there that sell "generic" discs for a fraction of the price.

is it a good idea to buy the "generic" ones or should I stick with those provided by the dealer?

[thebear]

Originally Posted by Sharky

I'me a short distance away from a complete braking system overhaul that includes a front brake discs change. As usual, the dealer charges a considerable amount of money for the "original" discs. However, there are many suppliers out there that sell "generic" discs for a fraction of the price.

is it a good idea to buy the "generic" ones or should I stick with those provided by the dealer?

Are you going for 200,000km?

Aftermarket stuff should be good enough for you.

Are the current disks scored badly or worn down below the minimum thickness?

If they are not badly scored from running on `no pads' or driving with the `squeaky tabs' screaming, just put new pads in. There is no other justification for disk refinishing or replacement, especially on a car that weighs under 1½kg.

[Sharky]

The car has solid discs which are considerably thinner than ventilated disks and after 110.000km of a daily commute which requires a lot of downhill braking, the discs are quite thin now. I've never allowed the brake pads to completely wear out BTW. Two separate mechanics have suggested (without me asking about it) that I should think about replacing the discs.

The brake pads are close to their end so I thought that since the discs will need replacing soon, I might as well buy new pads and new discs now. However, saving some money would certainly be nice, as always.

BTW, do brake discs come in standarized measurements?

[thebear]

Originally Posted by Sharky

BTW, do brake discs come in standarized measurements?

There is some standardization but the parts books (not at the dealer's) will tell the story.

Ventilated disks are only necessary in extreme conditions. You will never (I hope) get yours glowing red hot.

Please adjust the car weight in the previous post by 1000x.

[Sharky]

Originally Posted by thebear

Please adjust the car weight in the previous post by 1000x.

Ha ha ha. Actually, the adjustment should be 600X.

I haven't traveled through those roads with my car but there are some (most infamous being "la lÃ*nea" which communicates the the western montainous region with the central one) that can easily "cook" any car's brakes within a few miles. very long steep descents with drivers that don't aide themselves with the gearbox cause many accidents every year, several of them fatal, because of severe brake overheating.

I know I've had to "slow down" a couple of times when driving through montainous roads as I've effectively "boiled" the braking fluid.

[johnh875]

Sharky you should be able to get brake discs for your car from suppliers other than the dealer, which should prove to be cheaper.

[Sharky]

Thanks for the help. I guess that I got a bit influenced by the dealer's advertisement that implies that if I don't buy the original disc brakes I'll end up crashing aganst a school, all my limbs will be cut off, and my family will end up living under a bridge because they had to sell everything in order to pay for the rebuilding of the school.....

[StuiE]

Genuine parts are often a rip-off, sometimes genuine is better, and even good value, but not in this case. European genuine discs tend to wear more than Japanese ones I've found, just go aftermarket, it'll be around half the price, replace the pads at the same time if they are getting low.

[Notso Swift]

Originally Posted by gtr69

Genuine parts are often a rip-off, sometimes genuine is better, and even good value, but not in this case. European genuine discs tend to wear more than Japanese ones I've found, just go aftermarket, it'll be around half the price, replace the pads at the same time if they are getting low.

That is because the pads wear the disks

Generally speaking they are all made of cast iron. If you are worried then you can get anything that is TUV (German Transport ministry) approved it will be 100% up to spec.
If it is a solid disk then there will be no problems anyway (Non OEM can have less metal and more Air in the vent )

[silver bullet]

I've twice had experience of generic discs. Once I fitted them to a Celica I used to own, they were OK until one particularly tough road rally which was too much for them, by the end of it they looked like sparklers, and when they cooled they warped.
The second time, the previous owner had just fitted them to a quattro I bought. One of those actually shattered.
IMHO there are two areas on a car where you should not penny pinch, brakes and tyres.

[DAVID PATERSON]

I have just bought some brand new disc rotors for my race car, a Historic Production Touring Car and my mechanic says I should get them cryo cold treated before use............... Your thoughts?

[Sharky]

Well, I'm not planning on buying super cheap brake discs, but somehow I reckon that I could find brake discs as good (or even better) than those of the Peugeot dealer at a considerably lower price.

[icemachine]

Never had a problem with aftermarket discs and pads myself, don't go for the cheapest, and I wouldn't suggest getting them from Ebay - too much Chinese knockoff stuff on there