REALLY dumb question - are brake rotors balanced?
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,581
Likes: 2
From: The Motor City
REALLY dumb question - are brake rotors balanced?
Hi everyone,
While putting the brake calipers back on the car, I noticed that my rotors have what look like metal inserts in a couple of the rotor vents. One rotor has two of them, the other only has only one. I was about to start prying them out (they are pretty rusty looking, so I figured they were just some brake rotor material that got lodged in there) but they didn't really want to come out. I got to wondering if maybe they were a type of balance weight that was added when the rotors where manufactured.
Any thoughts on this before I go screwing something ELSE up?
Thanks in advance.
While putting the brake calipers back on the car, I noticed that my rotors have what look like metal inserts in a couple of the rotor vents. One rotor has two of them, the other only has only one. I was about to start prying them out (they are pretty rusty looking, so I figured they were just some brake rotor material that got lodged in there) but they didn't really want to come out. I got to wondering if maybe they were a type of balance weight that was added when the rotors where manufactured.
Any thoughts on this before I go screwing something ELSE up?
Thanks in advance.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 9,036
Likes: 13
From: Edmonton AB
The 12" rotors from my '89 C4 have straight vanes with no material
in them that looks like what I would describe as brake pad material.
One rotor has a vane that contains a shaped wire "hairpin", the vanes
in the other rotor are as cast. These came off at about 55k mi. They
may not be original - IIRC, the previous owner had brake work done by
a Chev dealer.
I do not recall the C5 rotors that are now on the '89 having obvious
signs of balancing.
OEM Rotors from my 5 Series BMW's do not have balancing marks
- one of the arguements for choosing factory replacements is
that BMW balances the rotors after receiving these from their
supplier. However, the used rotors I have here do not support that.
in them that looks like what I would describe as brake pad material.
One rotor has a vane that contains a shaped wire "hairpin", the vanes
in the other rotor are as cast. These came off at about 55k mi. They
may not be original - IIRC, the previous owner had brake work done by
a Chev dealer.
I do not recall the C5 rotors that are now on the '89 having obvious
signs of balancing.
OEM Rotors from my 5 Series BMW's do not have balancing marks
- one of the arguements for choosing factory replacements is
that BMW balances the rotors after receiving these from their
supplier. However, the used rotors I have here do not support that.
Pro
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 658
Likes: 1
From: Centerville OH
Originally Posted by TheCorvetteKid
Hi everyone,
While putting the brake calipers back on the car, I noticed that my rotors have what look like metal inserts in a couple of the rotor vents. One rotor has two of them, the other only has only one. I was about to start prying them out (they are pretty rusty looking, so I figured they were just some brake rotor material that got lodged in there) but they didn't really want to come out. I got to wondering if maybe they were a type of balance weight that was added when the rotors where manufactured.
Any thoughts on this before I go screwing something ELSE up?
Thanks in advance.
While putting the brake calipers back on the car, I noticed that my rotors have what look like metal inserts in a couple of the rotor vents. One rotor has two of them, the other only has only one. I was about to start prying them out (they are pretty rusty looking, so I figured they were just some brake rotor material that got lodged in there) but they didn't really want to come out. I got to wondering if maybe they were a type of balance weight that was added when the rotors where manufactured.
Any thoughts on this before I go screwing something ELSE up?
Thanks in advance.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,581
Likes: 2
From: The Motor City
Originally Posted by Z51L9889
You are correct -- they are balancing clips.
Just curious, if these really are balancing clips isn't it possible that during the course of regular use that they can come loose and maybe "fly out" on their own? I mean, I've never heard of a shop trying to re-balance a set of rotors after putting them up on a brake-lathe. How badly can they effect the car's high-speed characteristics?
