Help- ordered wrong brake rotors

[Mark Olson]

Many members here are using the Chinese wave rotors with not a single problem I have heard off yet .

I may be mistaken but I think L.A. Mike was one of the first to try them about 11/09 ... 

[the fan]

I have been running them at least that long on my YZF. That bike saw mainly track duty and was pushed harder than most street riders will ever push.

I purchased three sets and all have performed to expectation.

When I purchased the first set I subjected them to every non destructive test our quality manager had at his disposal (I work for a major global tier 1 auto part manufacturer). The OEM YZF600 rotors was used as a control. The 95 YZF600 uses the same rotor as the non ABS FJ, in fact I donated the worn stockers to a member of this group.

One of the sets was bent at a race (as was the wheel and a few hundred dollars worth of other parts) and I let the Q manager (also metallurgist) inspect the parts including cutting them to inspect the microstructure and hardness penetration. In his opinion the steel ring was well made.

I do have a few issues with them. Unlike the Galfers they resemble, they are not full floating. This can cause a pulsation at the lever during extreme conditions due to the outer ring not being able to expand sufficiently. I noted this on more than one track and once on the street where I was riding way faster than I should have been.

I am not sure if this would be an issue for 99% of the street riders out there as I run very aggressive brake pads (Vesrah SRJL) and have a riding style on that bike that involves very high corner entry and very aggressive trail breaking.

Would I purchase them again? Depending on budget I probably would. Fortunately I have a pretty good job these days and when I set up my SV1000 I went with a true full floating and high quality Braking rotor. Truthfully this bike will never see the track and is no where near as quick as my 600 so I don't really know if the 'better' rotors were worth the nearly 5X price. But they do look cool.

Conclusion. In my opinion the Chinese rotors are at least as good as the not 21+ year old stock rotors.

[FJmonkey]

I first heard of them from LA Mike. When I was upgrading my front (May of 2012) I looked him up and asked what he thought of the rotors now that he had some time on them. Based on his opinion I got a set, over 16K miles later I am still very happy with them. Great for the price.

[ribbert]

Full floating rotors need to be clocked between right and left rotors.

Pat, myself and one other asked what you meant by this and got no answer.

Noel

[ribbert]

Mine are genuine Galfers Wave rotors made in Spain.

....from Chinese sourced components.

Noel

[Pat Conlon]

Full floating rotors need to be clocked between right and left rotors.

Pat, myself and one other asked what you meant by this and got no answer.

Noel

Sorry Noel, I've been away....The Galfer installation instructions mentioned this...The Galfers have a rotor carrier with the buttons at the end of each of the spokes. Clocking is aligning the rotor carrier spokes so that the right and left carriers are in alignment as you view the carriers from the side. I assume this is to assure that the left and right loads (under braking) are transferred at precisely the same moment (not out of sync) from the carrier -> to the buttons-> to the rotor plate-> to the brake pads/calipers.

I've been chasing a strange intermittent hum coming from the front tire on my '92...happens at freeway speeds in a narrow window between 75-80mph. It felt harmonic in nature, not the typical vibe, more like a hum. I have fresh wheel bearings. I've had the tire spin balanced on a Hunter....I put a new Pilot Road 4 tire on....the intermittent hum still there.
Then, I was up visiting Randy at RPM one afternoon and Frank (Flynt) was there, and we were chatting...and he mentioned "clocking" the rotors.
Only then did I recall the Galfer instructions. Sure enough, my rotor carrier spokes were out of sync....
So, leaving the wheel on the forks, I unfastened the rotor bolts and rotated the left and right sides until the spokes lined up and all is well.
...the hum is gone.

[The General]

Full floating rotors need to be clocked between right and left rotors.

Pat, myself and one other asked what you meant by this and got no answer.

Noel

Sorry Noel, I've been away....The Galfer installation instructions mentioned this...The Galfers have a rotor carrier with the buttons at the end of each of the spokes. Clocking is aligning the rotor carrier spokes so that the right and left carriers are in alignment as you view the carriers from the side. I assume this is to assure that the left and right loads (under braking) are transferred at precisely the same moment (not out of sync) from the carrier -> to the buttons-> to the rotor plate-> to the brake pads/calipers.

I've been chasing a strange intermittent hum coming from the front tire on my '92...happens at freeway speeds in a narrow window between 75-80mph. It felt harmonic in nature, not the typical vibe, more like a hum. I have fresh wheel bearings. I've had the tire spin balanced on a Hunter....I put a new Pilot Road 4 tire on....the intermittent hum still there.
Then, I was up visiting Randy at RPM one afternoon and Frank (Flynt) was there, and we were chatting...and he mentioned "clocking" the rotors.
Only then did I recall the Galfer instructions. Sure enough, my rotor carrier spokes were out of sync....
So, leaving the wheel on the forks, I unfastened the rotor bolts and rotated the left and right sides until the spokes lined up and all is well.
...the hum is gone.

Geez this place is educational. (Thanks) 

[fjfool]

geez, i ask , and then its almost like i try to bite back with some pic of my opinion - fellas, i obliviously have some personal issues to deal with
i ask for info and get a great response- thanks avaitionfred! i dont mean to comeback at you with some "i know better shit"  that chinese crap, bla bla bla
as i look back on the post i see some issues on my side and i have to question myself and how i come across to other people, antisocial maybe a bit
thank you also , Noel, you are so right when you said something to the extant of - i dont remember this starting out as a rotor failure thread
where the f%#k was i coming from?!?
i have to check myself here
this site and the people that add to it have already helped me so much, way more than a shop manual could 
i know i will need further assistance and it will come from this place
thank you for putting up with me and i will try to be a bit more thoughtful when i post
i got plans for this thing!
-eric

[FJmonkey]

Eric, stay connected. This is our digital campfire. Not a proving ground. We learn more when more members contribute. Simple as that. Happy you are part of this group...

[Mark Olson]

geez, i ask , and then its almost like i try to bite back with some pic of my opinion - fellas, i obliviously have some personal issues to deal with
i ask for info and get a great response- thanks avaitionfred! i dont mean to comeback at you with some "i know better shit"  that chinese crap, bla bla bla
as i look back on the post i see some issues on my side and i have to question myself and how i come across to other people, antisocial maybe a bit
thank you also , Noel, you are so right when you said something to the extant of - i dont remember this starting out as a rotor failure thread
where the f%#k was i coming from?!?
i have to check myself here
this site and the people that add to it have already helped me so much, way more than a shop manual could 
i know i will need further assistance and it will come from this place
thank you for putting up with me and i will try to be a bit more thoughtful when i post
i got plans for this thing!
-eric

Eric , as you may have noticed the threads can go in all kinds of directions from the original topic. Lots of information will come out around the topic that most of the time will be helpful to the op or maybe someone else who hadn't even asked yet. you will often get advice you don't need but may still be useful to someone.

The picture of the wasted Chinese rotor failure caused a collective butt clinch for the members who have them on their fj's . The first guys to use them took a risk and for the FJ it has worked out so far.

I look forward to your future posts .

[aussiefj]

I bought new rotors from http://metalgear.com.au/

Great product from an Aussie company for members down-under, and no risk of hepatitis.

John

[ribbert]

geez, i ask , and then its almost like i try to bite back with some pic of my opinion - fellas, i obliviously have some personal issues to deal with .......

.....where the f%#k was i coming from?!?.......

-eric

Eric, stop thinking so much. As Mark said, posts wander off all over the place. It's in part what makes the forum interesting and somewhere in the mix you'll get your answer.

BTW, did I tell you about my recipe for deep fried goat gonads............

Noel

[ribbert]

Sorry Noel, I've been away....

Thanks for the reply Pat, you learn something every day, although after 3 coffees when I first read it early this morning and again after 3(+)wines tonight (one or the other usually works) I cant make any sense of the theory behind it other than the wind creating a whistling effect.  Tell me what I'm missing.
The loading up of the rotors at the same time is rubbish. Think about how the load is transmitted.
Maybe tomorrow morning's coffee will shed new light on it.

Noel

[TexasDave]

Clocking the rotors does not have anything to do with the position of the spokes relative to each other.  I think it is how much run out (measured with a dial indicator on the outside diameter of the brake rotor) there is between the hub and the rotor. Depending on which position on the hub it is mounted you will have more or less. With 6 positions possible the one with the least amount could be found. It is my OPINION with too much run out the rotors will vibrate back and forth on the buttons(in the same plane as the rotor). I suspect this will happen at a specific speed and would go away immediately when the brakes are applied. With such a small amount of movement I don't think you would feel any vibration but would get a hum. I think this scenario would be extremely rare. Just my SWAG.   Dave

[Pat Conlon]

Thanks Dave, that makes sense......

Yea Noel, I figured you would mention (in some form) the word "rubbish" in your response... silly me.
I have thought about the load path.
I always used to assume that (under braking) the load transfers equally across all the buttons and thus equally across the entire circumference of the rotor plate, but remember, we are discussing full floating Wave rotors with peaks and valleys on the outside circumference.
Now I can visualize a slight increase in load concentration where the rotor plate sweeps across the brake pads.

That's why I was careful in my post when I wrote, "I assume..."