April Newsletter
Go to the RockAuto Catalog
Save on R1 Concepts Brake Kits
See what we have from R1 Concepts

R1 Concepts Brake Rotor & Pad Kits provide high-quality stopping power. With their state-of-the-art technology, you don’t need to choose between performance and budget: it’s all in a single package. Through May 3, 2024, R1 is offering RockAuto customers an exclusive 10% instant rebate. Simply add qualifyingStar in catalog R1 Brake Rotor & Pad Kits to your shopping cart to instantly save!

R1 eLINE Brake Rotors are machined in the USA featuring Diamond Slots to provide the maximum stopping power, durability, and performance. The precision drilled counter-sunk holes prevent cracking and smoother brake pad bed-in while the black or silver zinc plating protects from corrosion which leads to better appearance and longer life. Double disc grinding on the brake pad surface promotes a faster and more even brake pad bed-in and provides quieter and smoother stopping performance.

R1 Brake Pads are available in multiple formulations for daily driver, towing/hauling, off-road, autocross as well as OE matched (OPTIMUM OEp Series) pad materials. The pads are pre-scorched to accelerate the break in process while providing low dust and noise. Stainless steel hardware is included to minimize noise/vibration and prevent premature pad wear.

R1 Concepts Brake Kits

Find the R1 Concepts Brake Kits and more in the "Brake & Wheel Hub" category of the RockAuto catalog.

Ever Wonder Where Unloved Auto Parts Go?

RockAuto gives them a second chance for even less than our regular low prices!

Click for closeout parts

To see a list of Wholesaler Closeout Parts for your vehicle, click "Show Closeouts Only" at the bottom of the part group list....and give a part a home!

Another Happy Customer!
Another Happy Customer!

This is my go-to auto parts store! Very thorough part descriptions, multi-angle pics, as well as alternate part numbers to help ensure the correct part is chosen! I tell everyone I know who needs parts to check out RockAuto first!

Ed in Texas

Automotive Trivia
Automotive Trivia

The Mazda Miata was originally whose idea?

A. Michele Alboreto, Formula One race car driver

B. Bob Hall, Motor Trend magazine journalist

C. Jujiro Matsuda, Mazda Motor Corporation founder


Answer below

Repair Mistakes & Blunders
Repair Mistakes & Blunders

While working on cars often runs in a family, individual execution styles can differ wildly. That was the case for my father and me. He was a "get it done" auto mechanic while I'm an engineer and tend to be more thoughtful and detail oriented.

One day I was in the driveway changing the brakes on my car. The front rotors were, of course, seized to the hub, and I was working to get them off. After spending some time trying different things, I noticed that these particular rotors had threaded "jacking" holes that would accept a screw which could be used to separate the rotor from hub. So off I went in search of metric screws to fit the holes.

In the meantime, Dad was sitting on the porch drinking his coffee and watching me struggle. After a bit he asks "Got new rotors?", to which I replied "Yes." A couple minutes later he gets up, goes to the basement and comes back with a sledgehammer. He walks up to the car, takes a single swing, and pops the rotor off. Without a word spoken, he returns the sledgehammer to the basement, then resumes drinking his coffee.

I look at him, scrunch my face, and say "Yeah, I guess that works too!"

To this day, every time I find myself struggling with a problem I think of him and smile!

Keith in Florida

Share Your Story

Oil Viscosity & Piston Rings
Tom's Story

It has been a long journey for me to accept and appreciate the lower viscosity motor oils. The owners manual and the RockAuto.com catalog tell me to pour 0W-20 into the crankcase, but a little voice inside my head kept whispering the engine would be so happy if I gave it some nice thick 10W-30 instead. Why give my baby skim milk when I can get whole milk for the same price?

It may not help that many engine manufacturers' marketing emphasizes improved fuel economy and emissions rather than engine durability. Motor oil has new jobs such as acting like a hydraulic fluid to operate variable valve timing and cylinder deactivation systems, but were any engineers still paying attention to the engine's lubrication and heat dissipation needs? Had they simply decided to pour lower viscosity oil into the same old crankcase?

RockAuto often helped reassure me that a new oil viscosity was just one piece of a major engine redesign. The engineers actually were still paying close attention to lubrication, heat dissipation and engine durability. Simultaneously optimizing oil chemistry and engine design is amazingly complex work. For example, the RockAuto.com catalog shows that when Chevrolet switched the Silverado 1500's 5.3L V8 from 5W-30 to 0W-20 in 2014, they also changed the engine's pistons and piston rings. Chevy increased the engine's oil capacity from 5.7L to 8.0L.

The 5.3L's piston oil control rings were designed to have the correct radial width and tension to sweep 0W-20 off cylinder walls as the piston moves up and down. Control rings for 0W-20 are not designed to push around higher viscosity oils. (This is why attempting to reduce oil consumption in an old motor by using a higher viscosity oil does not usually work. If piston rings are too worn to scrape a lighter viscosity oil off the cylinder walls then they may have even less luck scraping a heavier oil off. Higher viscosity oil might actually increase oil blow-by and consumption.)

Typical piston and oil control ring
Typical piston & oil control ring

Increasing the 5.3L's oil capacity by 40% (2.3L) increased the lubrication system's ability to disperse heat and control the level of contaminates. The "W" in 0W-20 stands for winter. A lower number to the left of the "W" indicates the oil provides better (not too thick) lubrication for cold starts. A higher number to the right of the "W" means the oil retains its ability to lubricate (not too thin) and dissipate heat at higher engine temperatures. "30" should be better than "20" at high engine temperatures, but the Chevrolet engineers figured out that 8L of 0W-20 oil keeps the oil/engine as cool or cooler than "only" 5.7L of 5W-30 in the older 5.3L engines.

Oil Viscosity

I am humbled by all the hard work and brainpower that goes into designing all the systems that together make a great engine. I now feel comfortable always using the owners manual and the RockAuto.com catalog to pick the correct motor oil for my specific vehicles just like I do spark plugs, belts and nearly every other part. (Maybe babies were designed to use skim milk after all? Another reason babies should come with owners manuals and/or there needs to be a RockBaby.com catalog.)

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

To read more of Tom's articles, click this link and choose from story titles on the Newsletter Archives page.

Joe's 1992 Saturn SL2
Joe's 1992 Saturn SL2

This 1992 Saturn SL2 was my mother's car that I inherited in 2014. It had just over 26,000 miles at the time and now is approaching 50,000. RockAuto has been my source for parts as I’ve been slowly replacing all of the aging components.

To date, RockAuto has provided me with: shocks and struts, tie rod ends, a/c condenser, a/c compressor, dryer, expansion valve, brakes, brake master cylinder, brake lines, expansion tank cap, coolant hoses, ignition wires, ignition coil, fuel filler neck and hose, muffler, oil pan, serpentine belt, water pump and engine/transmission mounts.

I’d hate to think of how much this would have cost were it not for the great prices at RockAuto!

Joe in New York

Share Your Hard Work

Automotive Trivia Answer
Automotive Trivia
Up


The Mazda Miata was originally whose idea?

A. Michele Alboreto, Formula One race car driver

Answer: B. Bob Hall, Motor Trend magazine journalist (source: https://www.hagerty.com/...)

C. Jujiro Matsuda, Mazda Motor Corporation founder

Share Your Hard Work & Stories
Up

Your Hard Work Do you purchase parts from RockAuto? If so, RockAuto would like to give you the opportunity to have your car or truck possibly featured in one (or occasionally more) of our publications such as the monthly newsletter, collector magnets or other commercial use. New, old, import, domestic, daily driver, trailer queen, classic, antique, we want to see them all! For submission instructions and tips for taking pictures of your car, please visit our Photography Tips & Submission Info page.

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Your Most Infamous Auto Repair Blunder Use your woe to help others avoid similar mistakes. Please email your story to marketing@rockauto.com. Include your mailing address and if you would like a RockAuto Hat if we publish your story. See the Hats under Tools & Universal Parts in the RockAuto catalog. The story will be credited using only your first name and your vague geographic location (state, province, country, continent, etc.) so you can remain semi-anonymous!