Is it currently possible to resurface brake rotors in the Machine Shop or Auto Shop? I need to do a front end brake job on my 2019 Kia Sportage. Kia Dealership wants $150/ea for new OEM rotors and $200.00/pair for resurfacing. They want an outrageous $350.00 for front end brake job (resurfaced rotors) or upwards of $600.00 for front brake job with new rotors. Brake fluid flush is an extra $150.00.
Rotors on RockAuto are $25 each. That + $75 for good pads, a bottle of brake fluid and a friend (or enemy) to push the pedal down and youāre good to go.
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Thanks for the info! I am unfamiliar with Rock Auto. Why are the rotors so in-expensIVE?
Opinions will differ, but āless markupā is a popular one.
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They sell mostly cheap imported stuff and are very competitive on price. But rotors are just big dumb blocks of cast iron so itās a fairly good place to be a cheap bastard economize.
Personally, I donāt ever cheap out on the pads, since those and the tires are what actually give you braking performance.
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I disagreeā¦yes, they usually have an economy option, but I only replace parts on my car with OEM which for Toyota is typically Denso (and a few others), and Rock Auto almost always has the parts I need.
R/A also typically offers level-up or performance parts if/when desired. Case in point, Ake Bono brake pads: RockAuto | All The Parts Your Car Will Ever Need
My gripes with R/A include it is not possible to get a human on the phone (I donāt mean difficult, I mean actually not possible); returns, when necessary, are bit a hassle; and shipping can be a bit of a shock as they will split orders and ship from different warehouses if they have to which means more than one shipping charge if you are not watching your cart carefully.
Do you have an opinion on slotted rotors? Yea, nay, or meh?
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Drilled is just bling, actually worse for performance since youāve got spots for cracks to propagate.
Slotted does have a purpose if youāve got the budget. They typically run slotted rotors in higher $ racing until you get into $$$ carbon ceramic rotors (which are solid).
In practice on the street your braking system is so under-stressed that thereās no point unless you just like the way they look, and for track driving theyāre a consumable thatās not gonna get you any faster times. Spend the money on pads and tires.
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Good to knowā¦itās easy to get bamboozled or taken in by all of the marketing nowadays :ā/
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I always liked the ATE PowerDiscs for the bling-slotting
and I disagree that drilling is just bling (personal 20 or so year old research showing a special effectiveness on non-vented rotors, specifically, but then, who has those anywhere these days?).
Brembo combines the drilled look with the carbon ceramic
Porsche agrees with me
And the KO, Road & Track agree with me, so I must be right.
https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a45531436/cross-drilled-vs-slotted-rotors/
PS stumbled across the next DMS Racer upgrade.
If you canāt find Hello Kitty rotors for the beast, we MUST laser etch shrimps onto the discs before each race!
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PPS now been forced to look at this hotness
no cross drilling, no slotting, just carbon-carbon heat-syncing bad-assery. 
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Themās fightin words.
Read the James Walker Jr quote in that article
"The big thing, the big problem with the cross-drilled is now I have this really large area that's got no metal," Walker says. "So as this thing gets 1200-1800 degrees Fahrenheit, it wants to swell and move around, and [it will] start cracking because it's not going to swell and expand evenly around that hole."
Yes in the 60s they had a purpose because pads used to off-gas. Yes you can get away with using them on the street. But thereās no performance benefit, if anything theyāre worse at high temps. Increased bite I guess? But you can likely find a brake pad with whatever amount of bite at whatever temp range you want, thereās no need to mess with the rotor.
Iāll take your Porsche GT3 Cup rotor and raise you:
F1
Indy Car
WRC
NASCAR/TA1/TA2/many more loud v8 'murican cars
LMP3
Lamborghini Super Trofeo (which btw, runs silly drilled carbon ceramic on the street version)
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So, back to my original question. Can I resurface my rotors at DMS? Or is there a shop that I can take them to while at DMS for a quick-turn surfacing??
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We do not have a brake lathe, and while it CAN be done a regular lathe like we have (maybe, depending on their diameter and if that stock will fit) I personally recommend against it. See below.
IF you want them resurfaced, parts stores (oriley, autozone, etc.) usually offer that service. I canāt recommend that, either, but if you insist, thatās probably what Iād do. Thereās an OāR on Josey that I think most folks choose when 'Spaceing their autos.
Brake rotors have largely been made to be disposable wear items for the better part of 40 years, or so.
Is there a specific reason for turning the rotors?
If itās ājust procedureā, donāt do that. That hasnāt been recommended in 30 years. Just put new pads on, make sure they actually seat against the braking surfaces (i.e. not being held up on inner/out ridges - adjust the pad by shaving if needed), and do the usual 3-4 stops from moderate speed to bed. Buff the rotor with a stotchbrite if youāre really worried about the shiny rotor seating the new pads, but itās not necessary. Shiny rotors work fine. Even for bedding new pads.
If itās to correct a problem, donāt do that. They wonāt have enough beef on them to actually turn out any irregularities (warping) anyway. Also, measure them, theyāre very likely near or below spec if theyāve been through a set of pads. See above about their effective disposability.
I agree with Jason to buy the cheap-oh set (or OEM from ānot the dealerā, for likely much less $) and put money into good pads, good fluid flush, and carry on.
Donāt forget to hit the brakes at least 1x BEFORE moving the car to take up the slack of new pad installation.
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If yes to this, there might be other things to address while doing the brake job. Warping is usually caused by excess heat build up, often dragging caliper slide pins or deteriorating flex lines. So making sure those things are working properly is also part of doing a brake job properly, especially if thereās a problem. Turning the rotors might only be addressing a symptom, I guess is the central point of this post.
Yes you could but why would you? For 75 bucks you can have a kit that includes rotors and pads, plus they have a 10% instant discount.
Ask yourself, how much do you value your time.
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No particular reason for turning rotors other than cost-benefit between doing that vs buying new.
As you stated, rotors are disposable items and I always purchase new.
Kia dealership is at $350.00 for front brake job (resurfaced rotors) vs $600.00 for front brake job with new rotors. This does not include an extra $150.00 for brake fluid flush.
Kia dealership charges $150.00/ea for new front rotors. I asked them about on-line Kia parts that are generally around $80.00 - $90.00/rotor. They state that they are not OEM and that Kia does not sell parts on-line.
Might as well purchase new rotors. However, I do want to purchase made in USA, Canada, Japan or Mexico. So long as I am not purchasing Chinese crap.
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Most dealerships have a parts department that will sell you the needed brake rotors and pads. Iāve found the local Toyota dealership parts dept sells parts for less than the same dealershipās service department.
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Maybe if you machine an adapter first? A lot of auto parts places will turn rotors for cheap. Or like others have said, Rock Auto is great for something like this. FYI dealers make very little of their profit from selling cars. The service is where the money comes from. Thatās why an hour of labor and $150 in parts turns into a $1,200 service. Independent shops will be more competitive too.
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Not to belabor the point, but Luke is absolutely right. The money and especially the profit is in car service departments.
I just bought a new 2025 Hyundai Palisade. My wife loves the car. After we purchased the vehicle, their finance agent put the full court press on us for a service contract. A multi-year multi thousand dollar contract. The biggest of which was almost $500 a month. When I pushed back, he said just the display on the dash will set you back several thousand dollars if you have to replace it. Why donāt you want to purchase a contract? I told him that it was because that contact is where the real profit is, and I never buy those types of contracts.
Iād rather 1) pay an independent repair guy, 2) repair it myself with OEM parts, or 3) sell/trade in the car. I actually asked him what the statistics were for people claiming on their contracts. He didnāt know or if he did was unwilling to disclose it.
I told him that I suspected there was more than 50% margin in the contract. I told him most people probably never collect on it and that many times when they go to have their car serviced they are told your warranty/service contact doesnāt cover that.
I then told him he probably got a hefty commission from selling the contracts. He said he does get a commission, but then so does the car salesman, so why shouldnāt he?
The truth is he probably makes more commission than the car salesman because of the huge margin in the contracts. It also guarantees you will come to the dealership for your service. Thatās also why you get the 7000, 14000, and 21000 mile checkups for free. They want to find something that they can charge you for. The checkups are a good idea, but then using the dealership for the service is another matter.
He accused me of being in the car business because I understood so much about it. The truth is, I wrote software for a company that automates the auto service business operations with AI. Workflow in service centers is all about the optimization and utilization of resources, equipment, technicians and tools.
There is a lot of money to be made if you can optimize the service center workflow. AI using video cameras for video inputs helps identify technician bottlenecks, work bay congestion and ensure proper tool utilization.
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