Quote:
Originally Posted by bvl
I doubt they are truly warped. People incorrectly toss that word around.
The vibration could be a number of things but often its just deposits that build on the surface over time. I see this a lot as I am not easy on the brakes but I try to remember every now and then to really warm them up through a few hard stops. This gets them to temp to scrape off the material *if* the build up is not bad. If its bad, turning the rotors a few thousands of an inch will scrape it off.
Find a safe place and do a series of accelerations and full on hard stops starting at 40mph and building to 60. 8-10 cycles should be good.
This has worked a few times for me. The only time I have truly needed to replace rotors is when I wore them over 50K+ miles and very hard brake pads (Hawk HPs) and they were less then the specified minimum thickness.
Stoptech has a few good articles on this, check them out.
- b
ps: adorable pup...what breed?  |
Thank you very much for such a detail explanation and help! Much appreciated.
I know whatcha mean when you hear a lot of people randomly toss that word warp freely when they experience vibration when it could be from a result of many things not related to the rotors. I actually don't have any vibrations issues or at least not able to experience any myself. But as I am putting a cooling duct into my 370z, I noticed the Rotor isn't spun evenly when I rotate the rotor around the hub. That could be just me though as I'm just eye balling for lateral runout (cross section of the rotor) as I spun it around.
I stopped by a Pepboyz place and asked one of the techs and he said that surfacing is only going to be good for rotor scoring but if the rotor is warped, they don't surface it as I just need to replace it.
In the end, I think I'm just gonna leave it as is and perform the brake tests you suggested! Great tip.
I also stumbled upon a decent short article what trade offs I'll have if I surface it.
"When you have your brakes serviced, it is always verified that your rotors are not warped. They must meet a certain standard for thickness. Rotors can then be taken and placed on a lathe. They are sanded on both sides to provide a smooth finish. This is the correct procedure for rotors that need to be resurfaced. It gives a good working service for new pads. The problem with this is that by resurfacing all rotors that meet requirements, people lose precious rotor surface. Rotors naturally become smooth with use.
People are losing rotor life because otherwise good rotors are being resurfaced too frequently. The more modern rotors are thinner than those of their older counterparts. As a rotor thins, it has less ability to dissipate heat. This will eventually cause warp, so keeping rotors sturdy is vital.
There are now many manufacturers that stand behind the fact that their vehicle rotors do not needs to be resurfaced during pad replacement. Ford and General Motors both now recommend reusing rotors as they are as long as they meet the thickness requirement.
There are rotors that still need to be resurfaced. These include rotors that are warped, scored, or not up to thickness standard. Another reason a good rotor may need to be resurfaced, is if you must have its partner on the same axle surfaced. They need to be equaled out to prevent pulling."
LINK TO ARTICLE
PS> I have a yorkie, actually I have 2 yorkies and 1 Maltese...but of bratty doggies.