brake rotors
- Thread starter cndctrdj
- Start date
EVOX_SPEED3
Member
At 55k miles, and mine still work perfect (knock on wood). On my Evox i had to swap rotors and pads at 10k miles. I go to brakeperformance.com for my replacements.
Blue hedgehog
New member
Lug nut torque has a HUGE effect on rotors. The spec for the Sonic is 100'lbs. Most impact guns go to 300+. If you want to argue that lug torque doesn't effect rotors, try torquing 4 lugs to 100'lbs then hit the last one with an impact gun. I guarantee you will have warped rotors. There is no way to get all lugs the same torque with a impact gun. Torque sticks do get them close, but not as accurate as a old fashioned torque wrench. I know I always torque my lugs. I don't have problems with my sonic at 17k. My old Tahoe is on its 3rd set of rotors at 220k+ and never had a problem with warpage.
Black Turbo LTZ
New member
I installed Powerstop crossdrilled/slotted rotors and their ceramic pads yesterday and I've done about 200km on them since lunch yesterday and so far very happy..My car has 54,000km and my OEM rotors and pads that I took off still had a ton of meat on them, more than I thought they would.
MachineGun
New member
Hey guys!
I have just recently purchased a Sonic RS and have been lurking around a bit.
I have learned alot from this site and have also come across many urban myths regarding some info.
Rotors becoming warped from daily driving (not track days!) is one of them.
Rotors do not get warped from everyday driving. Now let the flaming begin!
Rotors can and sometimes come from the factory or supplier warped from being machined incorrectly. This would be something you would notice on your test drive or the first few days of driving.
The othe cause is breaking hard then resting your pads on the heated rotors. This will leave a very thin layer of break pad on the rotors in a specific area. The next time you stop your pads will hit this layer causing you to believe your rotors are warped. The best thing to do is not to break hard when coming to a stop and if you have stop hard throw the vehicle in neutral at the stop and let go of the brake.
If you do decide to replace your rotors make sure break them in correctly. Clean them with brake cleaner and soap and water.
Drive 50-60mph and break hard, but not come to a stop (10mph) and do this close to 10 times. Then drive around a bit and cool the rotors off. This will remove any residue and coat your rotors with a thin layer of new break pad.
Or you could just throw the break in engine oil you just drained after your first 500 miles and coat your warped rotors....:banana:
I have just recently purchased a Sonic RS and have been lurking around a bit.
I have learned alot from this site and have also come across many urban myths regarding some info.
Rotors becoming warped from daily driving (not track days!) is one of them.
Rotors do not get warped from everyday driving. Now let the flaming begin!
Rotors can and sometimes come from the factory or supplier warped from being machined incorrectly. This would be something you would notice on your test drive or the first few days of driving.
The othe cause is breaking hard then resting your pads on the heated rotors. This will leave a very thin layer of break pad on the rotors in a specific area. The next time you stop your pads will hit this layer causing you to believe your rotors are warped. The best thing to do is not to break hard when coming to a stop and if you have stop hard throw the vehicle in neutral at the stop and let go of the brake.
If you do decide to replace your rotors make sure break them in correctly. Clean them with brake cleaner and soap and water.
Drive 50-60mph and break hard, but not come to a stop (10mph) and do this close to 10 times. Then drive around a bit and cool the rotors off. This will remove any residue and coat your rotors with a thin layer of new break pad.
Or you could just throw the break in engine oil you just drained after your first 500 miles and coat your warped rotors....:banana:
Blue hedgehog
New member
They can and will become warped if the lug nuts are not evenly torqued.
Agreed
I have never seen this happen. Not saying it can't. If it does, the pad material on the rotor should wear off within a few stops.
What do you suggest people do if there not on flat ground? Jump out and chock the wheels?
I've never used soap and water, just brake cleaner. Never had an issue.
Only do this if you want glazed brake pads and heat cracked "new" rotors.
The proper way to seat your brake pads is to get up to about 30 mph, and ally the brakes lightly (not too light though) to slow down to about 10 mph, accelerate back up to 30 mph slowly so the brakes have a chance to cool before hitting the brakes again. Do this 10 times.
There are people who know very little about working on their cars. If they read your post thinking you know what your talking about, they may end up dead with comments like that.
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sx sonic
New member
There's a great link on CruzeTalk that state's the same/similar thing MachineGun said.
Standing on the brakes while stopped after getting them real hot is indeed a huge cause for "warped" rotors, especially early in their life and/or they aren't given a proper break in.
I'll see if I can find the link, it's by a big brake company and has some excellent articles. They also dispel the big brake myth (big brakes don't stop you faster with a few rare exceptions).
Standing on the brakes while stopped after getting them real hot is indeed a huge cause for "warped" rotors, especially early in their life and/or they aren't given a proper break in.
I'll see if I can find the link, it's by a big brake company and has some excellent articles. They also dispel the big brake myth (big brakes don't stop you faster with a few rare exceptions).
MachineGun
New member
Thank you BlueHedgeHog for making corrections on my post!
My last statement was sarcasm. I would never want someone to get hurt or killed.
There are some very good articles on the internet regarding seating your brakes/rotors and debunking myths.
My last statement was sarcasm. I would never want someone to get hurt or killed.
There are some very good articles on the internet regarding seating your brakes/rotors and debunking myths.
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MachineGun
New member
Blue hedgehog
New member
That is a very good article.
It explains why cars driven by people who don't brake hard get squealing brake pads. My fix for that was several hard stops. That almost always cured it. According to the article the pad material was worn off the disk and the pads needed to be re bedded.
The article says warped rotors aren't common on street cars when everything is installed properly and lugs are properly torqued. I agree with that 100%. I haven't had a rotor warp on my vehicles in 18+ years. I always use a torque wrench on my lugs.
I have seen many rotors warped on other people's cars. It's easy to see when the rotor is warped when your cutting it on a lathe. I'm willing to bet the warpage was caused by installing the lug nuts with an impact gun 99% of the time.
As for your break in procedure, according to the article going 50-60 mph and slowing down to 10 mph. That is for a high performance street pads. Most daily drivers that don't see the track don't need them.
Since the closest track to me is 2 hours away without traffic. More like 3.5-4 with traffic. Most auto parts stores around here stock/sell standard street pads. They don't require higher speeds and harder braking to seat. Most of them have a special compound on them that they claim don't have to be broken in. I still do anyway.
Also, I knew you were only kidding about the oil on the pads. But unfortunately I know people who will do stuff like that if someone tells them to. One person decided while doing brakes on his car, he should put disk break quiet on the friction surface
Another wanted to fill the engine with soapy water and run it to clean it out because the oil was black when I changed his oil.
mitdr774
also a dinner prick
I have one that is slightly warped due to hard braking followed by a massive puddle. the braking was to avoid the puddle, but I had no where else to go when i got to it.
ahtoxa
New member
Yep. I posted a link to this exact article in post #15 of this thread.
It explains the whole misconception of warped rotors very well. Not to say they aren't out there, but certainly not every car (not even close) that has a pulsating brake pedal has warped rotors.
ChrisJ
Active member
Has anyone used the drilled and slotted rotors available at rockauto?
I see they sell a kit with both rotors and pads for $150. After seeing that I'm surprised to see people saying they are "saving up for rotors". Perhaps there are rotors out there that are more than $60 each and I just haven't found them?
If the rotors and pads are decent, I'll probably buy them rather than deal with the stock. Mine have a slight shake at 40K from all of the 70 to 0 stops on the so called "highways" I drive on every day. I baby the hell out of my brakes and it still happened, though they were near perfect until 30K.
I still need to get some way to mount my dial indicator so I can check the new ones when I install them.
Here's the kit
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,carcode,1501881,parttype,13824
I see they sell a kit with both rotors and pads for $150. After seeing that I'm surprised to see people saying they are "saving up for rotors". Perhaps there are rotors out there that are more than $60 each and I just haven't found them?
If the rotors and pads are decent, I'll probably buy them rather than deal with the stock. Mine have a slight shake at 40K from all of the 70 to 0 stops on the so called "highways" I drive on every day. I baby the hell out of my brakes and it still happened, though they were near perfect until 30K.
I still need to get some way to mount my dial indicator so I can check the new ones when I install them.
Here's the kit
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,carcode,1501881,parttype,13824
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Black Turbo LTZ
New member
Thats what I've been running since december, same company is used in the ZZP big brake kit...I love them
