Thanks for your patience, Dave. I appreciate you sharing all your knowledge.
I meant for a new rotor, what characteristics demonstrate quality? When I look at Rock Auto, for example, they have parts from 1X to 3X dollars for the same application. What is the difference between the cheap stuff and the good stuff? For a Ford, is Motorcraft same as OEM, or a cheaper substitute? When you take your car in for a brake job how do you know what parts they will install? Do the cut rate places typically install Chinese parts? Should you negotiate the parts brand in advance?
There's no way the average person can tell. Hardness of the metal, alloying metals that may make it less likely to wear, etc. Conformance to specs is another...but again no easy way to check. For example radial runout, concentricity, etc. Motorcraft is same as OEM. In summary all I can say is that I've never seen a rotor fail because it's "cheap"....more likely the issues you'll find are that they are rusty when you open the box because they did not coat it, or in a couple cases I've seen where they won't quite fit over the hub and need some very minor sanding/filing.
. What comes as original equipment? How would you know? Buy it from the dealership.
Would making sure the pins slide freely and lubricating the pins be part of a standard brake job? No, typically this is not done. However, if they are stuck badly, a good technician will point this out and suggest a rebuild kit or pins or whatever is needed. It's not much extra work to clean and lube the pins.
How much difference in wear is normal? Would a lot more wear on one side indicate a problem of sticking calipers? There's no exact number, but I'd say if wear varies more than about 15-20% from inside to out...something is wrong. The problem is either a sticking caliper slide or, if the difference is VERY extreme...look for a stuck piston.
How often should brake fluid be changed? Is this part of a standard brake job? See my other article or an upcoming one.
Great job, Dave.