FUELER Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 ill make it short and easy OEM rotors were warped at 120k miles Replaced with some inexpensive-medium ($45 each) rotors off the internet... "Mountain" brand made in Japan Now the new ones are warped after only 17k miles of use MY QUESTION Resurface / brake lathe, or dont waste my time and replace with Brembo blank face ($80 per rotor)???? Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navygz19 Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 (edited) MY QUESTION Resurface / brake lathe, or dont waste my time and replace with Brembo blank face ($80 per rotor)???? I hate to say it, and I know you already know it, but you got what you paid for...always ALWAYS spend the extra $$ on rotors and pads. While I can't help but say told you get what you put into a lot of things, I admire you being totally honest! Anyhow, even if you COULD resurface those things, I wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole. I'd be more concerned about them flying to bits on the lathe than anything else. Spend the $$, buy some decent discs. My .02. Edited February 18, 2008 by navygz19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 I've heard valid recommendations for both approaches... It really depends on whether the the warping was due to the rotor having residual stresses from manufacturing that have now been released (in which case turning will fix them) or if they warped because you induced uneven heat stresses (in which case turning will not fix). But I might have a couple suggestions for minimizing the risk of future incidents: 1) Use an accurate torque wrench and follow factory specs when installing lug nuts. Overtorquing or uneven torquing of lug nuts can warp disks. Some designs are more sensitive to this than others. 2) Don't hold brakes clamped at a stop after they've gotten hot. If you've been driving hard, or stopped from higher speeds, the rotors and pads are going to be hot - seriously hot. If you come to a complete stop and just sit there, the part of the rotor not under the pads starts cooling quickly due to the ambient air. The section under the pad? Well, it is being insulated by searing hot insulative brake pads. So it stays much hotter much longer. This leads to thermal stress within the rotor and warping. So after you come to a stop after heavy brake usage, let the vehicle creep forward a foot or two every 10 to 15 seconds to expose that hot spot and even out the temperatures in the rotor. Just a couple creeps will reduce chance of warping dramatically. If you have been prone to stop hard and then not creep, I would guess you induced heat stresses and I would recommend replacing. If you don't, then I would suspect residual manufacturing stresses releasing and turning may work well for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FUELER Posted February 18, 2008 Author Share Posted February 18, 2008 Here are prices for front brake rotors for my R50 $79 each - Brembo solid face Rotors $38 each - OPparts Front Rotors $39 each - Mountain Front Rotors $42 each - Meyle Front Rotors (w/ Anti-rust coating) $48 each - BPI Front Rotors $53 each - Zimmermann Front Rotors $65 each - Kiriu (OEM) Front Rotors Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unccpathfinder Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 don't brake at the last minuet to keep the heat low in them on my WD I always use the NAPA Gold pads and I cant remember which of their rotors but I havent ever warped any... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 On my dads r50 the rotors are still the original oem ones and it has 125k miles on it. I'd go with the oem ones again. I know I will when it comes time to change mine on my 95 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laxman0324 Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Brembo is a great rotor. I want to have the best brakes so I dont get in an accident, dont have fade problems, etc, so i will be getting brembo when i need new ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yozsi Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Here are prices for front brake rotors for my R50 $79 each - Brembo solid face Rotors $38 each - OPparts Front Rotors $39 each - Mountain Front Rotors $42 each - Meyle Front Rotors (w/ Anti-rust coating) $48 each - BPI Front Rotors $53 each - Zimmermann Front Rotors $65 each - Kiriu (OEM) Front Rotors lol, mofo gettin parts off of IMC. lol, op parts are good, but if you can get the meyle for 4 bucks more, go with those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowTied Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 (edited) I've heard valid recommendations for both approaches... It really depends on whether the the warping was due to the rotor having residual stresses from manufacturing that have now been released (in which case turning will fix them) or if they warped because you induced uneven heat stresses (in which case turning will not fix). But I might have a couple suggestions for minimizing the risk of future incidents: 1) Use an accurate torque wrench and follow factory specs when installing lug nuts. Overtorquing or uneven torquing of lug nuts can warp disks. Some designs are more sensitive to this than others. 2) Don't hold brakes clamped at a stop after they've gotten hot. If you've been driving hard, or stopped from higher speeds, the rotors and pads are going to be hot - seriously hot. If you come to a complete stop and just sit there, the part of the rotor not under the pads starts cooling quickly due to the ambient air. The section under the pad? Well, it is being insulated by searing hot insulative brake pads. So it stays much hotter much longer. This leads to thermal stress within the rotor and warping. So after you come to a stop after heavy brake usage, let the vehicle creep forward a foot or two every 10 to 15 seconds to expose that hot spot and even out the temperatures in the rotor. Just a couple creeps will reduce chance of warping dramatically. If you have been prone to stop hard and then not creep, I would guess you induced heat stresses and I would recommend replacing. If you don't, then I would suspect residual manufacturing stresses releasing and turning may work well for them. I agree 100% plus I will add that we should always service our rear brakes when replacing the fronts - often back brakes are not working to their highest efficiency if they have not been serviced in a while and this adds to the stress on the front brakes which are already doing around 70% of the braking to begin with. I'd get go with better rotors too, IMHO. Edited February 19, 2008 by BowTied Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheel366 Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 I agree. Go with the Brembo's and get some good pads too. I got the Hawk SUV pads but I hear that the Satisfied pads are pretty good too. Tirerack has the brembo's a little cheaper than what you posted above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostPath Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 Shop carefully on eBay. I got my Brembo front rotors for $10.99 the pair, plus $20 shipping. I also recommend the Performance Friction CarbonMetallic pads, available from AutoZone. Awesome street pads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FUELER Posted February 19, 2008 Author Share Posted February 19, 2008 After reading the tech article at: http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_warped_brakedisk.shtml I am convinced that there is no such thing as "warped" brake rotors. It's actually a buildup of pad material that hardens into cementite. It looks like part of the rotor and worsens as you keep driving on them, because that part where the material builds up gets hotter than the rest.. I am now thinking I might have wasted my money on the new setup. Anybody have any more advice? Maybe I should resurface and do a proper bedding/break in procedure? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 I've read that article as well, and I agree they have some valid theories. BUT, I have measured rotors that were warped. And I have seen rotors warp suddenly after "professional" tire wranglers installed wheels with 688 lb-ft impact wrenches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey.T Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 When I swapped out the rotors on my 91, I had the new one(Drilled and Slotted) resurface because they were .012" out.... That was brand new out of the box warped.... What really amazed me was I had them checked prior to installing them... cost $10 each... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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