Raybestos Rotors

Graham Jagger · **Joined:** Fri Aug 29, 2003 12:53 am **Posts:** 1718

Got this from a friend:

Was at my local club meeting Tuesday night. One of our members is an account executive with Raybestos. ( he has a 64 and 72 vettes plus a 38 chevy pick-up )

He mentioned to me that all the Raybestos rotors are now cast in China. The Canadian foundry and McHenery ILL finishing plant were closed.

Raybestos ( NAPA, RockAuto, Walker, Pep Boys, Carquest) rotors prices are going UP do to the shortage of scrap metal and cost of shipping.

Fronts about $30-38, rears $30-35 retail depending on store.

Now here is a kicker. The 2008 Summer Olympics are in Beijing China. All manufacturing within 200 km of Beijing will be shut down two months prior to the Olympics and the 3 weeks during the Olympics so the air quality during the Olympics is improved. Then it will take 2 months to get foundries and manufacturing plus shipping back up and running

So that means there will be 5 months next summer when manufactured products out of China will be in short supply.

Raybestos is renting warehouse space to stock up on products to cover that 5 month lapse. Not just rotors, but brake pads, oil filters etc.

In short, stock up before next summer on what you might need for a 4 to 6 months or brake rotors. Not just Raybestos, most of the BBK rotors also come from China.

Chris Landi · **Joined:** Mon Mar 08, 2004 6:31 pm **Posts:** 579

Shutting down manufacturing in a 200km radius for that timeframe will have a signficant impact within China as well as foreign interests. I question this since I have not heard of any mitigation planning taking place within my company or from any of our business partners operating out of Beijing. Having said that, it's worth looking into since it is something they are being pounded on by the greens.

BriceJohnson · **Joined:** Thu Apr 13, 2006 7:33 am **Posts:** 2230

seems like a HUGE economics effect to have what will likely be only a marginal effect on air quality. Anybody got a reliable news source that this is actually true (not saying you are unreliable Graham, just strikes me as incredible that they would actually do something like that)?

Wes Eargle · **Joined:** Mon Oct 27, 2003 9:47 am **Posts:** 3683

BriceJohnson wrote:

seems like a HUGE economics effect to have what will likely be only a marginal effect on air quality. Anybody got a reliable news source that this is actually true (not saying you are unreliable Graham, just strikes me as incredible that they would actually do something like that)?

Do you doubt that the Chinese would do such a thing? Considering that they're the world leaded in suicide by three shots to the back of the head, nothing surprises me. They've been doing a lot of cleaning up along the parade routes and have razed centuries old homes. They've relocated people from the city to the countryside without compensation for these Olympics, I can imagine that they would shut down the big polluters for a while too.

Wes Eargle · **Joined:** Mon Oct 27, 2003 9:47 am **Posts:** 3683

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/china/2007/ ... -firms.htm

They're starting early, the writing is on the wall for the others.

Graham Jagger · **Joined:** Fri Aug 29, 2003 12:53 am **Posts:** 1718

Whether you consider this a reputable source or not.... I posted this for a number of reasons.

1. Raybestos closing both the Canadian and US plant is not good. It's a fact that their rotors are now being cast in China. We all know the "quality" level of hardware from China isn't "quite there" yet. Those 2 foundries were the major supplier for most manufacturers rotors.

2. The NAPA rotors I was getting for $26/ea made in Canada. They are now about $38/each and made in China. Lower quality and higher price. We are paying for the shipping whether it says it explicitly or not. Yechhh... This also will change the price on most rotors whether you get them from NAPA, Walker, Pep Boys, Advance, Auto Zone. They don't have to have Raybestos logo on the box to be affected. My NAPA blanks were Raybestos but came in a plain white box.

3. If the above is true and you're a track junkie then you might want to stock up on rotors for next season. They could become harder to find and much more expensive. If you use NAPA blanks (Vincent, Bernie).

4. If you are buying expensive BBK kits you can plan on your new replacement rings for the hubs to come from China or another Asian foundry. 1 big name brake maker has been getting their rotor rings made in Taiwan for a while now. They just played it down since they charge a hefty price for them.

If you order rotors from Rock Auto they are still selling them at the lower price. You may luck out and get the remaining ones made in Canada. So I can still get my rotors for about $26/ea for the time being. Rock Auto will soon bump their price on the rotors similar to NAPA and the rest to offset their costs.

DickRasmussen · **Posted:** Thu Sep 06, 2007 8:52 pm

We better be nice to the Chinese since only they will be able to manufacture war machines in a few years when most of our factories have closed and most of our manufacturing workers and engineers have retired or died of old age. Plus, who actually makes the vast majority of the stuff in most computers?

Dick (too old to learn to speak Chinese but may need to learn Spanish to communicate with hospice workers in a couple of decades).

steve remchak · **Posted:** Thu Sep 06, 2007 11:00 pm

DickRasmussen wrote:

We better be nice to the Chinese since only they will be able to manufacture war machines in a few years when most of our factories have closed and most of our manufacturing workers and engineers have retired or died of old age. Plus, who actually makes the vast majority of the stuff in most computers?

Dick (too old to learn to speak Chinese but may need to learn Spanish to communicate with hospice workers in a couple of decades).

he said hospice. heh heh heh.

buy german, they will never start another war.

Arthur McDonald · **Joined:** Fri Aug 29, 2003 1:54 am **Posts:** 2052

I'm always jealous of someone who can find a rotor for their car for 30 or 40 bucks. Any decent quality 4-lug 11" Mustang front rotor has always cost at least $60, with Motorcraft ones going for $90 or more. Of course, you get a lot of metal, including the hub, lugs, and a shiny inner bearing race.

I bought a pair of rotors at Autozone a few years ago, and the box said "made in China" instead of Canada, as I was accustomed to. I didn't notice anything funny with the first one as I installed it, but when I got the second one on, and rotated it while adjusting the bearing, I noticed that the raised center mounting surface (the part with the lugs) was D shaped. Not even close to round. But heck, I was 3 hours into the job, so I went ahead and put on the brake pads and wheels and took it out for a drive. No imbalance at all. Go figure. I never put those rotors on track, though.

<my rant>
You won't be able to buy furniture made in the US pretty soon either. That's a lot of jobs lost in NC. I'm not sure what the answer is. Tariffs would help local industries in the short term, but it would not make them competitive world-wide in the short or long term. On the other hand, if the dollar continues to weaken, that will make US-produced goods more cost competitive, if anybody is still making them.

The big ugly monster in my anxiety closet is whether the US could support a major conventional war (like WWII) with our current industrial capacity. You can't shoot down a missile or stop a tank with anything on the Starbucks menu.
</my rant>

Graham Jagger · **Joined:** Fri Aug 29, 2003 12:53 am **Posts:** 1718

Art,

Vincent went to using a Mustang Cobra rotor setup. He said about $30. But the rotor didn't come with bearings, lug nuts, and the kitchen sink. Just a plain rotor. Go look at rockauto.com. About the best place for low cost rotors. I'll find you a 10% discount code too if you need it.

My original GM rotors on the Z06 were made in Brazil. They actually held up well but cost about $60. I'll be going back to them before I buy Chinese rotors for $40.

DickRasmussen · **Posted:** Tue Sep 11, 2007 12:21 pm

The older (pre SN 95) Mustangs use the old "wheel hub integral with the rotor" design just like every car I ever owned until the formula car and now the two newer mustangs.

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