Why are they hard to justify?
I mean if all you're looking at is how they look then yeah, lol, spend your money on something else, but floating rotors are a fantastic upgrade and cheaper than say going to a bling bling monobloc caliper.
Like I said initially they cost a decent amount but you also lose a couple lbs, they're directionally vaned, slots to help out with off gassing/pad buildup, not to mention they handle abuse like no other. You get a significant less amount of wheel tug on trail braking. The rings/rotor shouldn't run any more than 300-500 for a set and the lock nuts for the hats are not expensive at all.
There's more to gain IMO from running a stock caliper and a good set of floating rotors than going with a fixed rotor and 4-piston or uber overkill 6-piston caliper.
As long as you don't go with a set of drilled rotors, a good aftermarket vaned/floating rotor should last longer than a stock style fixed rotor.
Heat kills rotors most of the time not thickness.
