vetteman9368

Not sure what pads are on the car now (98 vert), installing Hawk HPS's, stock rotors but no warpage. Should I change em? turn em? or just clean em?

WNeal

I have no idea but your avatar gives me a woody

Miaugi

By the book they should be turned or new rotors should be installed at the same time. That being said, the problem is these days are that most rotors don't have much meat on them and some can barely take a spin on the lathe without ending up under spec.

Personally if you have no issues I would just install the new pads and be done with it.

Ok, flame suit on!

VetteDrmr

HPS are street pads. Just swap 'em out and break 'em in. If you want to, season them after a few hundred miles.

If you're thinking about running them autocrossing or DEs on the track, I heartily advise getting some HP Plus pads or PFC Z-rated pads at least.

HTH, and have a good one,
Mike

vetteman9368

maybe they are HP+, they are teh street/auto-x pads

Bill Dearborn

If you are installing the same pads as being removed there is no need to turn the rotors if they are not damaged (scored, etc). GM does not recommend doing anything with the rotors during a pad change as long as the rotors are not damaged.

Since it sounds like you are installing a different brand with a different brake compound you would get a quicker break in if the rotors were turned and the old pad deposits removed from the rotor. If it is cheaper to replace the rotors you could choose that option also.

Bill

xsiveone

I would just bed the new pads into the old rotors. I wouldn't recommend turning the rotors. If anything, I've seen guys scuff the rotor surface, but I'm not sure that's a great idea either. I've heard of residue from sandpaper or whatever you're using getting on the rotors and causing issues.

Again, I'd just do a break in procedure with the new pads. It usually requires several stops from various speeds followed by not using your brakes if you can at all help it and then let the brakes fully cool.

tigerdrvr

^good point, it's probably cheaper to buy new rotors at NAPA than have them cleaned up...can you even turn our rotors? I've never looked into it, as they are usually cooked pretty good before I would swap and cheap to replace.

Usually, if you go from a pure street pad to a semi race or race pad, the new pad will remove the old transfer layer of pad material and bed in fine...but, like Bill said, there is the risk that the old transfer film will not get scraped and you'll end up with uneven pad transfer, shudders, squeals and all that good stuff!

xsiveone

Ideally, you'll want to have a seperate set of rotors for your pads, but in this case, I'm pretty certain that he won't have any issues by just swapping pads and doing a break in procedure.

C6400hp

You'll know if they are the HP+ after you install them, if they squeak like hell after you get them broke in they are the HP+. IMO,great for autocross but not the best idea for street use unless you like your car to sound like a garbage truck coming to a stop.

Wicked Weasel

they do make noise and they do dust, but after running race pads it is so hard to go back to something that is really less aggressive.


Since changing pads and rotors is pretty easy I decided to have dedicated race pads/rotors and street pad/rotors. The street pad/rotor combination should last a long time while the racing pads will eat through the rotors in a few sessions on the track.

VetteDrmr

At the most I'd get one of those 3M rotational abrasive brushes and put a non-directional pattern on the rotors. My experience has been that it makes little difference if I do it or not.

If, after you run the Hawk pads you don't like the dust (which they do a lot!), try the PFC Z-rated pads. I've been running those and they're just an outstanding pad for a street/autox combo. My DE experience with them has been good, but I rarely push hard at a DE, just 70-80%.

HTH, and have a good one,
Mike

wtknght1

Just bolt the new pads on and bed them in. You won't have any issues.

Allthrottleandsomebottle

We swap out Zo6 pads and reg pads a lot with stock/NAPA rotors..........after each swap we bed them in and they are

HalM

I doubt if you will have any issues.

If you do have issues it will go like this: Horrible vibes and chatter initially with the new pads. You can drive through this window and settle things down but a lot of folks don't like it when an incompatibility occurs.

On the race car we almost always try to mate new rotors with a new pad type (old rotors with new pads of the same type, btw) unless we run out of funds ($) and then we just let them misbehave for a lap or two...

Jason

That's what I'd do.

Armycop

Ditto. Been there, doing that now, HP+'s with OEM rotors. Just make sure you bed them in, or they'll howl like a scalded cat.

meldog21

I've always put my motorcycle rotors on a lathe and done a non-directional surface with a scotchbrite rotary pad. This evens the surface to remove any grooves, and hopefully removes the chemical residue from different brand pads, if changed. The difference is that my motorcycle rotors are made of high quality steel, unlike all the cheap Corvette rotors.

For street use you can get ebay zinc coated rotors for around $200 so it's probably a good idea to just replace them when you get new pads.

If you're going to the track, either get the Napa rotors and replace them every time, or spend the big bucks for high quality brakes.

I'm cheap so I have the zinc coated rotors for the street(no rust) and Napa rotors for the track.

Dog