Why do the rotors warp?

[AndysGX]

Did we ever figure this out? Is the car too heavy, or the lug nut torque specs too high....?
Factory rotors warped, so my 'ho got GM replacements. Those warped so it got Powerslots. Those warped so it got eBay cheapies. Those warped so it got Duralast Golds. Those are warped.
Are there ANY rotors that will last longer than 12-15 months of daily driving?? No, I don't want the giant brake kit, just a badass stock size.

[Redog]

Parts just wear out, it just happens.

I usually get about 20 to 26 months out of rotors, how hard are you braking? and if your doing stock style rotors, why are you not getting them cut?

[cavaliers60]

I think it just happens, especially if you are heavy on the brakes. I just got my front ones replaced not to long ago. Only advice I can give is try braking not as hard and start sooner. It seems to work well for me. The only reason mine got warped the last time was because some idiot in a van slammed on his brakes in front of me for no reason, and we were on a highway. The car shook ever since. Feels good to have a shake free stop. :)

[AndysGX]

I'm a cheap ass, so I wait too long and they end up beyond turning. :p

Also being a cheap ass, I'm a hyper-miler wannabe, so I do time lights & such in order to brake as little as possible. My wife has a Mustang that is 400 lbs heavier, same driving conditions, her factory rotors are 6 years old and work fine.

Is there any benefit to expensive rotors like Brembo & Stillen? Or is it all stopping power with no durability?

[cavaliers60]

I'm a cheap ass, so I wait too long and they end up beyond turning. :p

Also being a cheap ass, I'm a hyper-miler wannabe, so I do time lights & such in order to brake as little as possible. My wife has a Mustang that is 400 lbs heavier, same driving conditions, her factory rotors are 6 years old and work fine.

Is there any benefit to expensive rotors like Brembo & Stillen? Or is it all stopping power with no durability?

By that, you mean you wait as long as you can before braking? If that's the case, you probably ARE braking to hard. Our cars aren't the best with rotors. Buying more expensive rotors probably won't help at all.

[whiterider00]

i must have gotten ridiculously lucky with the random ebay brand rotors and pads i bought 3 years ago. ive gone a little over 40k on some off brand pads, and no name d/s rotors, and just now im going to have to change pads. rotors are fine tho. no warp at alli resally dont know what causes it, but seeing as its happened across many different brands of rotors, im going to assume its something on the car. dont know what, but thats what i would assume.

[Weazel]

How much is it to get the rotors cut? My rears are beyond cutting, but I've had them for over 2 years and the way they looked I'm sure they were on my car a lot longer than that (I've only had her for 2~ years). With the cheap price of rotors, is it really worth the time and money? Because let's not forget, time = money.

[cherrington17]

By that, you mean you wait as long as you can before braking? If that's the case, you probably ARE braking to hard. Our cars aren't the best with rotors. Buying more expensive rotors probably won't help at all.

it means he coasts as long as possible before braking very lightly. (i do the same when i can)

my brakes warp due to temp. almost ALWAYS in the winter one hard brake (due to idiots who can't drive in snow) with cold brakes almost always warps them.

but the other bad thing is, my rotors ALWAYS rust apart. the inner fins and outer rim rust to hell in under a year. :glare: . Like redog... i usually get a full year, almost 2 if i'm lucky.

[zzyzzx]

Rotors warp easily on these cars????
I have to admit on mine, which only has 26K miles on it I am already wondering what was causing that.

So some of you are just changing them out without even changing the pads?

Obligatory pic:

http://www.aa1car.com/library/2003/rotor_warning.jpg

Maybe you should stop buying Chinese rotors.

[cherrington17]

considering the pic... i apparently always buy chinese rotors. Even the Bendix rotors i got, were the same as the one on the left.

So where do I find the ones on the right?

[comanche]

There is a TSB (Technical Service Bulletin) out in regards to adjusting angle of the rotor or something like that on these cars....

It's been 5 years since I've seen it...

Anyone know what I'm talking about??

[Cliff8928]

Rotors don't really warp. It could be your driving style. If I ever got that vibration in my brakes I could make a firm stop and it would go away.

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

[Banks860]

i went down to advance today to try to get driled an sloted roters but they didnt ave them..... what do i do?

[cavaliers60]

Before I got mine changed a couple months ago, I last got them changed back in 2006. Have not been changed until this year, and I only replaced the front rotors with used ones that were machined. The pads that were on the rears were the same pads that were from 2006, and I changed my front pads 2 years ago. Don't see how anyone could be going through pads and rotors every 12-15 months. :lol: Guess I'm a little too nice to my car. I try not to be to hard on the brakes. I want them to last a while. :)

[[ion] C2]

i went down to advance today to try to get driled an sloted roters but they didnt ave them..... what do i do?
Seriously? You think a chain store would carry drilled or slotted rotors?

Aleromod Upgrades > Performance > Brakes > Rotors (http://sites.google.com/site/aleromodupgrades/performance/brakes/rotors)

[AndysGX]

it means he coasts as long as possible before braking very lightly.

This.

Rotors don't really warp. It could be your driving style. If I ever got that vibration in my brakes I could make a firm stop and it would go away.

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

That. Is an outstanding link. Thanks.
I'm gonna get some garnet paper and see how it goes. The local Home Depot doesn't have it, so i'm gonna try a lumber place Monday. I'll post the results, but hopefully its a $10 solution.....

[Cliff8928]

C2;542602']Seriously? You think a chain store would carry drilled or slotted rotors?

Aleromod Upgrades > Performance > Brakes > Rotors (http://sites.google.com/site/aleromodupgrades/performance/brakes/rotors)

Not for the Alero, but some of the AutoZone stores do (or did?) carry Baer DecelarRotors

[Daytona]

Summit and Jeg's carry slotted rotors. I forget the brand Redog talked me into buying but they've been great on my car the past 2 years. Just don't buy ceramic pads, go for the regular pads. Ceramics don't wear or stop as well IMO (from personal experience), though maybe they do slightly help keep the rotors from wearing/warping prematurely..

[lord2heart]

Rotors don't really warp. It could be your driving style. If I ever got that vibration in my brakes I could make a firm stop and it would go away.

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

is number 6 true on our cars?

[Redog]

Summit and Jeg's carry slotted rotors. I forget the brand Redog talked me into buying but they've been great on my car the past 2 years. Just don't buy ceramic pads, go for the regular pads. Ceramics don't wear or stop as well IMO (from personal experience), though maybe they do slightly help keep the rotors from wearing/warping prematurely..

It's the Summit name brand.

Cheap and awesome.

I get 2 years out of mine, rears have to be changed soon and they've been on the car for 4 years now.

I get the center hub powdercoated though. They rust in the middle (surface rust) and look like shit behind open spoke rims. That's just my .02 cents

[zzyzzx]

Did we ever figure this out? Is the car too heavy, or the lug nut torque specs too high....?

According to my 1999 Owner's Manual, it's 100ft lb torque. That's what I set them to yesterday. Now that I have had more time to think about it, that's clearly way too high! For every other car I've done, it's usually 65-75 ft-lb, and on only 4 lugs. I can't imagine why a car with 5 lugs would need a higher value.


I haven't checked my factory service manual to see if it gives a different number.

[zzyzzx]

considering the pic... i apparently always buy chinese rotors. Even the Bendix rotors i got, were the same as the one on the left.

So where do I find the ones on the right?


All part of our race to the bottom! My OEM rotors do look more like the ones on the left too, but it's impossible to say unless you can compare the two (since it's a relative thing). I'd want to look at ones from NAPA and CarQuest.

[Cliff8928]

is number 6 true on our cars?

Pretty much, Even with my big 2 piston calipers I never have to add brake fluid throughout the life of the pads. But only the fronts wearing down isn't really enough to turn on the light.

According to my 1999 Owner's Manual, it's 100ft lb torque. That's what I set them to yesterday. Now that I have had more time to think about it, that's clearly way too high! For every other car I've done, it's usually 65-75 ft-lb, and on only 4 lugs. I can't imagine why a car with 5 lugs would need a higher value.


I haven't checked my factory service manual to see if it gives a different number.

Factory specs for lug nut torque on most GM cars is 100 FT-LB for 12mm and 140 FT-LB for 14mm.

[Nate's Alero]

when mine wear out. i get like a year out of my brakes. i wish my rotors would STOP doing this. when i did the brakejob on zoL's alero. those R1 rotors were like... AMAZING. if anyone wants to get a good set. get those.

[lord2heart]

Pretty much, Even with my big 2 piston calipers I never have to add brake fluid throughout the life of the pads. But only the fronts wearing down isn't really enough to turn on the light.



awesome! just learned somthing new! :D

do you know what light comes on in the cluster?

[zzyzzx]

Factory specs for lug nut torque on most GM cars is 100 FT-LB for 12mm and 140 FT-LB for 14mm.


Wow! Anyway, do you guys also keep a breaker bar in your car? I doubt that I could get the lug nuts off, even with my lug wrench that I keep in the car (not the one that comes with the car).

For my GF's Subaru it's speed at 65ft lb and my Escort I think 75.

[Cliff8928]

awesome! just learned somthing new! :D

do you know what light comes on in the cluster?

The "BRAKE" light... Same as the parking brake.

Wow! Anyway, do you guys also keep a breaker bar in your car? I doubt that I could get the lug nuts off, even with my lug wrench that I keep in the car (not the one that comes with the car).

I have no issues at all getting 100 ft-lb lugs off the car... It's nothing for the average person to be able to put a little over 100 lbs of pressure on a lug wrench. And most are over 1ft long.

[Monza]

Any time a tire shop mounts my tires I loosen and re-torque all the nuts correctly. Some times they're pretty good. Other times they're tighter than a bear's ass. No way I'd get them off by the side of the road. And it may cut down on warping wheels and rotors.

[AndysGX]

So I tried the garnet paper suggested in the link Cliff posted. It works great so far. Mine were getting bad, even a grinding noise, but now they're silent & no vibration at all.
I used 150 grit paper on a block, and hit each rotor for about 20 minutes. Then brake cleaner. Total cost: $7. :coolio:

[TheThickster]

I read an article that said rotors dont warp and all this talk about rotor warping came from auto racing. The article explained that its in the manufacturing process, cheap rotors are not cast or machined well, and the good expensive ones are. IIRC it was the Counterman Magazine

[undersc0re]

I just had an issue with warped rotors replaced 2 front lefts within 2000km. The original job was new pads and rotors stock. Only noticed the shake with firm braking from approx 75 km/hr. Would these be so cheap that maybe the mating surface from the rotor to the wheel or from the rotor to the hub is defective? I do not brake hard, and the new rotors gave me the shaking problem only with a firm braking from higher speed. I feel it a little with lighter braking from high speed as well. Is there a way for us average guys to check the rotor mating surface for bad specs before application....or is that a little too technical?

[cherrington17]

i have a huge issue with the outside and center of the rotor rusting. total PITA..

...and makes it even more of a bitch to get the caliper off for a brake change.

[robalero]

thats something you can fix, before installing of new rotors paint the center with rust-proofing primer or black rust proof stuff and it will prevent most of the rust apperring, however the top part of the rotors will still have that unless you buy really really high end rotors

[widbyj]

^^^ forgot step two

1 - Tape off the area where the pads will rub (doesn't have to be real accurate)
2 - Using Brake Caliper spray paint do the centers (both sides) and all around the edges (get some inside the vents also)
3 - remove tape and install when the paint is fully cured

Note: The cheaper the rotor the faster it will warp. ABS, if/when it kicks in, will warp rotors at higher speeds. Drilled/slotted can help reduce rotor heat and warping.

[robalero]

drilled/slotted also look cool lol, but they do help you stop better in the rain I find when I use to own it on my other car

[undersc0re]

Siezing caliper or calipers will cause warping to your rotors, the caliper may not be full on siezing but just enough to heat up and warp those nice new rotors you just put on. You should notice when you push the piston back up into the caliper if its really hard to do. I had a caliper sieze at approx 150,000km on my 2001. I only noticed after going to the car wash and when I sprayed the one wheel it made a huge steam bath in the car wash! Where as the other wheel was fine. Explained my rotor warping after only 2000 kms. Not sure if its possible but if its warped enough it may even throw off the wheel bearing sensor!?? and give you the 3 wonderful dash lights?! not positive on this but seems possible.

[scott192]

i got the slotted ones ands there great so far

[Cliff8928]

I'm nearing up on 53k miles on my 12" rotors from the original install way back when with no issues at all...

The only reason I'm going to replace them is to upgrade to 13" (or rather 12.98")

[doubleN0alero]

C2;542602']Seriously? You think a chain store would carry drilled or slotted rotors?

Aleromod Upgrades > Performance > Brakes > Rotors (http://sites.google.com/site/aleromodupgrades/performance/brakes/rotors)

I got Baer a few years back from either advanced or autozone and they were still going strong when I traded in 60K miles later. I want to say they were 250 or 300.