Rotor recommendation-place to buy

[El Gato27]

So one of my brake rotors seems to be warped, I’m starting to get a little wobble on the steering wheel when I brake. Last did a brake job ~2 ½ years ago, ~32k miles. 2007 Toyota Corolla. I drive like very conservatively—slow lane, gradual stop & go’s….
Don’t want to resurface the rotors since I figure they will just warp again in a few months.
I’m looking for a recommendation on where to buy rotors. I bought mine at O’Reilly’s but I don’t really want to go back there. Not sure Autozone is any better. Do auto parts big box stores carry sub-par products?
So where do you all recommend for a rotor source? Any brands that are decent? I guess pads also.
Any info will be appreciated. Thanks.
Felix

[Dave B.]

Most brake rotors on the market today are made in China or other countries with cheap labor. I’ve had reasonably good luck with various brands. I’ve never purchased rotors from O’Reilly’s, so I can’t comment on those. I buy most of my parts from either AutoZone or NAPA, simply because I have fewer problems with them. If you buy from AutoZone, I highly recommend their “Gold” line of parts (especially brake pads)… they ARE worth the extra money.

[AD2BU]

Great question. My input: I buy all my brake parts at AutoZone - mainly because of convenience, but also because their pads are guaranteed for life (when I need pads, I have them look up which ones I bought before and then I buy the same ones. After the brake job, I take the old ones back in the box from the new ones and they give me a credit for the purchase price I paid. That way I have all the parts I will need before I start the job.) Their rotors are guaranteed for 3 months and I have not had any issue with them.

My procedure after installing new pads: You might rough up the rotors with emery cloth and then "bed-in" the brakes by warming them up and accelerating to 40 mph and brake hard (but don't lock up the brakes) until you are ~15 mph. Repeat a few times. Then accelerate to ~50 mph and brake hard down to ~20 mph. Repeat a few times at this speed. Finally, accelerate to ~60 mph and brake hard down to ~20 mph. I do this procedure every time I do a brake job and have had very good luck with my brakes lasting and working well. Note: after you stop, you will smell the brake pads as they will be very hot.