I have a 2005 LT which, unfortunately, has to spend some time out of the garage and in the driveway in the winter. Since I try to drive my beater Grand Am in the winter as much as possible, the MC sometimes sits a while and I've had problems with the brake rotors rusting. After the first winter, I replaced the factory rotors with standard GM rotors...big mistake and will never happen again. Now that this winter's over, the rear rotors are again rusted more than I'd like and i'm looking for a rotor that won't rust if it's not driven daily but won't cost a fortune. I've looked through some threads but haven't seen any advice....any suggestions??

 

Zinc coated rotors work well for rust protection, however, you're always going to get surface rust on the location that the pads meet the rotor. Nothing can stop that since it's bare metal. The rest of the rotor will look nice though.

Try looking at R1 Concept rotors. They're not too expensive and I've heard great reviews.

 

If its going to be sitting for a while just spray the rotors down with wd-40.

 

I agree- even zinc plated rotors won't do squat where the pads touch- thats always going to be bare metal unless you put new rotors on before you store it each winter. Wherever you have bare metal is going to rust regardless.

If you're really that worried about it, you could spray them with WD40 as said above, or if it sits for a long time, maybe some light grease all over the braking surface. The only bad thing about doing either is you're gonna have to spray brake cleaner on all the rotors (and wipe off the grease if you do that) before you drive it again.

The only 'normal' rotors I've seen for these cars are cast iron, so regardless what brand you buy- its going to rust once any protective coating is gone. About the only kind of rotors I know of that won't rust are either carbon composite or kevlar composite rotors like race cars use, but they're pretty steep.

This is what I'm talking about (this is a carbon rotor):

http://www.markwilliams.com/detail.aspx?ID=1140

But you're looking $1000 per rotor, plus you need a hat which is $175- then they only reccomend carbon pads, which run $175 each (so $350 per wheel for pads)- so you're talking ~$6100 to do all 4 corners.

What was so bad about the standard GM rotors?

 

i think rust is inevitable in the winter, unless garaged or you live in a warmer climate like arizona or something. i have the R1 slotted rotors on all 4 corners, along with hawk hps pads. installed about 2 months ago and couldnt be happier for the price. think i paid 330 for all 4 slotted rotors and pads. cant beat that.

www.r1concepts.com

 

Great price and reviews on R1 rotors.

2003, how are the Hawk HPS pads with rust and noise? On my Stratus with Powerslot rotors there would be a lot of brake dust and some squeak, but they stopped on a dime.

 

i actually havent had any noise on them yet at all, so no complaints there. as far as dust, i thought it would be better but they put out dust just like any other pad i've had. if you rinse your wheels once a week, you shouldnt have to scrub them.

one thing i'm gonna add on my car soon though is stainless steel brake lines. my lines just dont feel strong anymore.

 

are they rusted right through? cuz the first time you hit the brakes when driving all that rust goes away

get raybestos premium rotoros, they will have a black coating on the hub and on the inside of the rotor, they will probably get surface rust from sitting, but that goes away as soon as you hit the brakes, the black coating helps a lot, and they're not insanely expensive, and they last a LONG time

 

thanks to all...i'll probably go with the R1s. My problem with the GM rotors (both the factory ones and the set of rears I bought about a year ago) is the rust. I know that sitting w/o driving often in the winter will rust about any rotor...but the GM rotors seemed to rust up fast. Also, I was a Chevy dealer having some warranty work done when I overheard a tech talking to someone else in the waiting room about how she needed new rotors all around on her Impalla...the tech said they have a lot of late model GMs coming in that have rust on the rotors that won't go way even after driving around to work it off.

 

R1concepts do good rotors. i love mine. they also give you an option to upgrade to their premium rotors if you want, i just went with the E class rotors. even if your monte isnt your winter driver and you just keep it in the driveway, run it around the block a few times every other day or so if its gonna be sitting. that should take care of the rotor rust, and also stop it from penetrating deeper into the metal. drive it to the grocery store or something........better than just sitting.