Hi All, Ain't been in for a while so bear with me. Looking for brake rotor suggestions on my 2006 Z-71 vert. Would prefer to buy from local retailer as opposed to ordering for confidence's sake. We have most popular retailers in our area. Wanting a decent but not great rotor thats at least drilled, but slotted is not necessary. Any brand names stand out? I notice that Rock Auto seems to have ridiculously low rotor prices....are they for real? I know internet ordering is only way there but am wondering how they can be so low if accurate? Any suggestions would be helpful. THANKS to all.

 

Check out the various Power Stop pads & rotors on Amazon. I've had good experience with them especially if not tracking.

 

I bought the AC Delco black hat rotors from rockauto. No issues on my end.

 

Unless there is a legit racing centric shop/store near you it is unlikely you will be able to purchase something that is not made of chinesium as is found in the chain auto parts stores.

If I have missed something, I would be happy to know otherwise as I am probably going to need rear rotors in the near future.


ETA: So I looked at Advance Auto, they have DBA brand rotors. That works.

 

Part supply chains are getting really bad. If not tracking the car, I would use PowerStop Z26 Street Warrior Carbon-Fiber Ceramic.

I use to trust Raysbestos but recently their quality went into the toilet. New rotors that are out round and pads that fall apart.

 

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I'm well past my "Aggressive" driving days...LOL so track quality is not needed. Oh I run it up from time to time but not enough to worry about too much heat. Power Stop seems to be mentioned a lot so maybe take a look at them. I may have to bite the bullet and order on line and hope the retailer gets the order right. I'm not so old that I won't still install them myself and i'm assuming the install is still old school usual on a 20 year old Vette. I noticed on some newer models one may have to deal with different anti-lock sensors and new tech stuff like that ???.....Thanks again to all

 

I buy nearly all of my auto parts online, especially from RockAuto. I've only made two exceptions in the past few years: batteries, which I buy entirely from Walmart and a C6 alternator that I bought from Advance because I could easily return it if it wasn't the right one.

I just purchased four OE-branded rotors for my 2006 Z06 from RockAuto. There were a wide variety of products from which to choose: blank rotors, slotted and/or cross-drilled, coated and non-coated. You wanted a recommendation: if all you do is cruise in your Vette, OEM rotors are a great choice.

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You asked if RockAutofor real. Yes, and I buy the vast majority of my auto parts from RockAuto. In fact, I've replaced 12 brakes on my family's cars since last September, and I have six more to go. 100% of the parts came from RockAuto.

RockAuto is an e-commerce front for wholly separate companies that warehouse and sell the parts. In effect, RockAuto is a drop shipper.

The prices on RockAuto are low for the following reasons:
1. There is no brick and mortar overhead. Contrast this with your favorite auto parts store, which has thousands of retail locations.
2. No post-sale services. AutoZone, Advance, etc. offer to test your battery or alternator, install your wipers, collect your old oil, etc. RockAuto is just a front for parts.
3. Reduced distribution expenses. Nearly all parts you buy at a store spent time in a warehouse like the one that ships to you via RockAuto. But it has to be boxed, palletized, loaded onto a truck, driven to the retail location, unpalletized, maybe unboxed, and then put on a shelf. The cliche "cut out the middle man" applies here. When I buy parts from RockAuto, a warehouse boxes the parts and ships them to ME, who provides the labor to unbox them.
4. Returns are at the buyer's expense, meaning that the buyer pays shipping to return the parts. This acts as a barrier to returns, reducing costs.
5. No theft at the retail outlet. Shrink hits retail margins *hard*. Every socket or wrench or oil filter obtained via five-finger discount raises prices for everything.
6. Sales tax and shipping are always add-ons in addition to the price. Sometimes, RockAuto isn't cheaper, or much cheaper, than your local auto parts store. This is especially true if you are buying parts that ship from separate warehouses. RockAuto's interface tells you which parts ship from the same or different warehouses, and you can evaluate your options.

The best part about RockAuto is that I don't have to go to the store. I don't have to drive there. I don't have to deal with somebody behind the counter who knows less than I, but through whom I'm forced to operate. I get far more choices than I would at an auto parts store and I can see those choices in seconds.

You can also buy parts online, for delivery to your house or shop, from all the major auto parts retailers. But their prices are consistently higher, sometimes much higher, even if shipping is "free".

So what's bad about RockAuto? A few things:
1. As noted, returns are at your expense. You can't just drive a part back to a store and get your money back.
2. Their web interface is an acquired taste. The search function works well if you know how to use it, but it won't help you filter the options you see on the screen. Sometimes there are dozens of products that you have to evaluate to make your choice.
3. You have to wait! Shopping online everywhere rewires your brain to be patient. The truth is that I seldom need anything "right now" so RockAuto works for me, just like Amazon for tools and fluids. Heck, I even get all of my groceries from Walmart using Walmart+ and InHome. If it's later than 10 AM, then the soonest I can get my order cost- and tip-free is to wait until the next morning. I almost always wait - but I don't have to go to the store, which I prize.

 

You mean Z51, not Z71. Unless you have Silverado brakes on your Corvette!
I just did my brakes on my base car. Straight forward process.
www.gmpartsdirect.com is my source.
I used water-pump pliers to move the pistons back in the calipers. Tried a C-clamp but "no go" as it was on an angle.

Sorry, it's outta focus, but you get the idea....

 

I did a complete brake job (rotor's, calipers, pads) on my Granddaughters 2000 Honda Accord, 167K miles. After surfing the internet and local stores I ordered everything from Rock Auto. $518 for everything, when I returned the old calipers they refunded me about $130. Only had an issue with one caliper, the rubber gasket was pinched by them and leaked. I returned it to them and they sent me another one, all good. One caliper I returned for core was pretty bad and they still refunded me the core charge. Only thing, dealing with them EVERYTHING is done over the internet, you can't reach a real person at all. That said all my internet transactions went smoothly. Good luck!

 

LOL and I'll play stupid on the Z-71 claim and call it a typo. Appreciate all the info, esp on Rock Auto from Dave. I was just kinda dumbfounded at their pricing as it looked like a true "Too good to be true" situation. I mean unless I was missing something they looked along the lines of 30% to 60% cheaper depending on quality desired. The install should be straight forward as i've put on many a brakes in my years, just not to many lately on these newer models that might be teched out. Heck....me's thinking the pads & rotors may be the org. from the factory as there's only 33-K on the ODO and i've owned it for 16 yrs and it had 10-K on the ODO when I bought it back in 2010. Only issue may be is that old car parts are kinda like old plumbing in a house. Once you start putting the wrenches to them all kind a things can happen that can start the bad words flying.

 

Are there problems with the brakes right now?

 

It's the aftermarket parts supply chain which is in shambles due to private equity firms, bankruptcy, poor quality control

First Brands Group owns: Fram filters, Autolite spark plugs, Trico wipers, and Raybestos brake pads, among many others. With that in mind, the news from Reuters that First Brands has filed for bankruptcy takes on a new level of seriousness for home mechanics and independent auto shops.

Read More: https://www.jalopnik.com/1984356/fir...lier-bankrupt/

 

I ordered my pads and rotors from KNS Brakes. They are a forum vendor. I also have a 2006 conv. with Z51 option.

 

No problems with brakes right now. Last State inspection (2 yrs ago) said that they passed then, but might want to consider replacing by next inspection. The pads are worn enough to change and there is a decent lip on the rotor but not a bad one. Pads can and probably will wear faster when they get 20 yrs old....esp. OEM which even though it is a Vette the pads were still probably just high enough quality to feed the goose so-to-speak. I could stand to change the fluid also. I'm not big on the overkill of changing it every 3 yrs as the "Experts" suggest, but I think a change after 20 yrs might be in order....lol. Speaking of changing the fluid....does one have to do anything special since it's got anti-lock braking? The almighty internet research seems to suggest just change fluid as normal and don't worry about the antilock as that cube is cut off during normal operation. Makes sense....but inquiring minds must know