Warped rotors

PittSpeed Automotive
1

So just put new brake rotors on about 2-3 months ago and they are warped to shit already, they were just OEM rotors from pep boys. Would getting a set of crossdrilled rotors of ebay for around 70 shipped be the way to go and would getting upgraded pads make a difference the ones i put on still have a good bit of life left also? this is just a pos daily driver ford focus.

2

pads will probably help more than crossdrilled rotors. More metal in the rotor= more heat it can dissipate, crossdrilled just looks different, imho. the drilled rotors would be better if you had a lot more air flowing over the brakes, like ductwork or something, but stock it seems like a waste.

different pads fixed my sho’s warping problem

3

OEM made where? I’ve actually noticed a difference between the really cheap Chinese OEM and Bendix brand. They seem to last much longer as far as warpage. Could be coincidence, but I’ve noticed this with maybe 3 sets.

4

Warped rotors are commonly due to drivers braking habits…not the product itself

5

Parkway rush hour is definantly the problem, but im trying to get the most for my money here!

6

Well the cheapest way then would prob be those rotors u talked about and a set of bendix pads from advanced auto,looking at around 120 or less for everything.

7

I saw a presentation by a Ford engineer a few years ago. He talked about rotor warping. If you use composite brake pads, you have less of a chance of warping than ceramic.

Ceramic is an insulator and keeps the heat in the rotor. As the rotor heats up, it expands more in some places than others and wears unevenly. When the rotor cools back down it is warped.

Composites will let some of the heat dissipate through the pads so the rotors don’t get as hot. On the flip side, composites have a lower flash point and will burn up quicker than ceramics.

8

Also make sure you torque the lugs down evenly to help to prevent the rotors from warping.

9

Awesome, thanks for all the input

10

And never run through any cold puddles. :slight_smile:

11

The main reason for “warped” rotors is improper pad/rotor break in. New pads and rotors need to be bedded in by making a series of controlled and fairly low speed stops. Here’s a link to everythign you ever wanted to know about the subject:

http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_warped_brakedisk.shtml

12

if you were looking for rotors that may help, try the slotted rotors. I could be wrong, but from what I have been told, the slotted rotors are actually more functional that the cross-drilled. Also, as someone said above, stay away from ceramic pads.

It may be expensive, but look into a good brand of pad also such as Hawk for example. You may find that it is worth the cost.

13

This is by far the most common reason for warpage. The other two possibilities are:

  1. Lousy (inconsistent) metallurgy of the rotors themselves. If there is chemical variance in the compound around the rotor, it will expand (with heat) and shrink at varying rates and you will get warpage. Buying a quality rotor should eliminate this manufacturing variance (going to Brembo OE’s eliminated warpage for me).
  2. CHanging pads and not rotors where the pad materials are incompatible (not the case here). To be complete - going from say ceramic to metallic could induce warpage. All pads leave some material on the face of the rotor. When going to a different pad type, the wear of the material may be uneven and cause warpage. I don’t know the specifics and I call the pad manufacturers when I have questions about this item. A few years ago, I settled on a pad, rotor and fluid combination that I stick with on each of my vehicles and have not had any problems since.

Only buy cross drilled rotors for looks and then only if you have no plans to run them at lapping days on rado courses (don’t get me started on this topic!!!). In extreme conditions, they have a higher likelihood of cracking and failing. Slotted rotors are good for removing dust (and supposedly off gases) from the pad/rotor interface but I have personally good for the solid, non-drilled, non-slotted blanks for road racing. More mass = more heat dissipation = less likelihood of fade on the track. Probably no so important on the street.

14

Plus you can’t machine cross drilled rotors, so if you warp them youre shit out of luck

15

I have the same problem but mine is makin a Extremely loud knock when I hit the brakes and I wana smash the fuckin rotor