A friend, insists, he will have his rotors cut instead of replacing them. I would rather replace them. He is changing his pads to ceramic HP and having the rotors cut. 60K miles on the stock rotors. Insists they will be just fine if resurfaced. I disagree. Opinions please. This is to settle an arguement.

 

60k is a lot. If it's the rears I'd consider it. If it's the fronts get new rotors. I have 40k on mine and cut the rears. No problems yet. I believe the fronts do most of the braking.

 

At $25.00 each for new ones it's better to replace, NOT re-surface. They are available at Napa Auto Parts and all the other big chain parts stores.
Bob

 

If you can get new rotors for $25 buy em. I know the stealership is a lot more than that.

 

Replace the rotors. Why skimp on rotors when you drive a Corvette?

 

I always have mine resurfaced the first time around as long as the show no visible signs of damage and haven't displayed any problems during driving. I would get new though if you plan on road racing. Just my $.02

Good luck with your argument as I don't believe there's a right or wrong answer.

 

I contemplated this very idea today.

It has it's perks working for an auto parts store. I'll get factory fresh stuff for it when it needs it.

Will the warranty cover brakes? If not I am prepared. Car has 34XX miles on it.

 

Warrantee won't cover normal wear items. i.e. pads & rotors

 

You should be alright just machining the rotors as long as you do not go below the recommended minimum thickness.

Also, I am skeptical about the metallurgy and quality of some aftermarket rotors, especially since most of them are made in China or Mexico. I bought new rotors for my "other car" and Wagner was the only brand I found that were made in the good ole USA.

 

Hello,

I've been thinking about this subject myself. I have an 02 with 17K miles on it. I would like to put on the GM Ceramic Pads and resurface the Rotors over the winter. I don't think its necessary to replace Rotors with this low mileage.

I'm not too concerned with the resurfacing, done it many times with great results. However, on my Corvette I'm concerned more about that very shiny surface that I currently have on my Rotors that give the Rotors that chrome look.

My question is "how to maintain that shiny look" while resurfacing ??

On other Rotors after they have been resurfaced there is that very dull finish. Is there a special cut rate to use or special tool that will maintain the look I want ?? or is it just a question of the rotors looking like I want after a little use.

Does anyone have any suggestions ?? Do I really need to resurface them just because I'm putting on new Pads ??

Regarding replacing Rotors, in my opinion, stamped on all rotors is the minimum thickness (also found in the shop manuals). If your thicker that this dimension, you should be absolutely fine. Thats one of the reasons why these numbers are available.

In addition, I have to agree with another member. On just about all Rotor packaging boxes and on some Rotors are stamped where manufactured. I have found that the ones made is USA seem to be better than the rest.

Good Luck,
c5firstimer

 

Every time you cut rotors you are removing mass which is needed to absorb and then dissipate heat. Others may disagree but I believe cutting brake rotors was left over from the days of Drum Brakes when egg shaped out of round drums were common. There was plenty of materiel on drums to allow multiple cuts. With weight being a consideration rotors are designed to be the thickness they are with very little leeway. There was a lot of money invested in Brake Lathes, which were easily converted to rotor lathes.
Cutting should only be done to true up very slightly warped rotors. I never even do it then, just buy new as someone said "cheap enough". What percentage of the price of a Corvette?
When replacing pads, a simple clean-up with emory cloth should be fine.
Barrier
Off my soap box!

 

On many of the modern braking systems, cutting rotors can be a hit or miss proposition. Many manufacturers in fact recommend not turning them at all, but replacing them. Well duh… they sell rotors, what would you expect... you might ask…??? It can actually end up being more cost effective for everybody. What they have discovered is that turning rotors often times will result in pulsing in the brake pedal after a brake job. The unhappy customer then brings the car back and complains, and the dealer just has to do the job over. By replacing the rotors with new when doing a brake job, there is a lower probability of this and the dealer has less chance of having to do the job over. And in most cases the customer ends up happier.

Many of the newer rotors are thinner for lighter weight and are considered more of a consumable, like pads, than they were in the past. Most of them are also much less expensive than they were in the past. Add this to the cost (and time involved) of turning rotors and new rotors can be a bargain. As others have mentioned, the mass of the rotor is what enables it to handle the heat generated in braking. Turning a rotor under the best of circumstances just removes more of this mass.

If you are using stock rotors, I would always recommend replacing them with new if at all possible. It saves time and often money. If on the other hand you are using more expensive after market rotors and resurfacing is called for, it might be worth it to try turning them. But you need to accept the possibility that you may end up with some pulsing in the brakes as a result.

Good luck… GUSTO

 

Rotors should be bedded to a set of pads. Some dealerships or repair shops turn rotors when they put on new pads.

Brakes work best when the rotor is bedded to that new pad. Bedding involves transfer of brake pad material to that rotor.

SHinny rotors dont stop as well as there is not that brake pad meterial on the rotor.

warped rotors ( I know this is not the topic) in most cases are impropler deposition of brake pad material from not beddeding or imporper bedding of the new pad on the rotors.

When putting on new pads one does not have to turn the rotor, but many shops do to remove old brake pad material. One can take some brake pars cleaner and spay the rotors and clean off the old brake pad mateial then bed in the new pads.

Driving around for a few hundred miles and doing easy braking DOES NOT bed in pads and rotos.

To bed in new you need heat. Heat from hard stops.

find a nice low to no traffic straight road during the day.

acceralte to 40 mph and stomp, not step but stomp on the brake peddle. Stomp hard enough to almost activare ABS but not quite

do three to five 40-5 mph stops
Staight line braking only
then do three to five 80-5 mph stops

all one right after another

if you have the nads do three to five 100-5 mph stops

Then drive around easily for 30-40 min to cool the brakes down

Next put your car away for 24 hours to allow the brakes to finsh cooling.

This also teachs controled hard stops.

I love bedding new brake pads or rotors in.

I took my wife once with me and the first 80-5 mph stop she almost

some times a harness system is a good thing.

 

As an ASE tech in Brakes, this is what I can tell you- Brake rotors have a specific "machine to" specification. This is the minimum, or thinnest, the rotor can be before replacing. In the corvette's case, the lowest "machine to" spec is 1.205 inch. This can only be measured with a micrometer and not the eye! A proper brake inspection by a certified technician may save you money in the overall brake price, by having to reuse and recondition a rotor before you junk it. So my advice? Get a measurement, if it's above specification by about 0.20" or more(the room you 'll need to turn within specs), turn it, recondition it, and save $$ that you can put MODS!

P.S-dont forget to index the rotor(use chalk or paint) so you put it on the same way. Rust or uneven surfaces on the hub may cause a runout problem(brake pulsation) if you install in a different spot. Don't forget to torque the caliper if possible, and torque the wheel lug nuts to 100 ft/lb torque in a star pattern

 

Heck, tell your friend he can have my original ones! Less than 4000 miles on them!
Drive on out here and they are all yours!

 

Well, there's good news and some bad news.... As it happens, you're both probably wrong.

Unless the rotors are out of spec, there is no need to replace nor turn them, just simply change the pads and rebed as normal. Turning rotors at the drop of a hat is the brake-industry version of the 3K oil change scam.

It also doesn't sound as if he's experiencing problems and I doubt the rotors are worn enough to need replacing. Of course, if they do need replacing, I'd plump for the 25 dollar specials.

 

NAPA made in Canada or the US depends on what you beleive on the box How much to cut them vs. new? Cut them and you have less material. 60,000 miles junk'em up north they probably are rusted also.

 

Get new ones from NAPA at $25 each...

 

I can understand your skepticism but my Cavalier had just 36K miles on it when it was pulsing on stops so I bought a set out of JC Whitney rotors. When I got them I saw they were made in China! If I had know that I would not have bought them but they worked just fine for the next 60K miles when I sold the car to a friend who still has it with no rotor problems. I had no problem with them and they must have been better then the original GM to hold up much longer.
BTW I would personnaly not turn rotors since I also believe the most mass to dissipate heat is necessary to avoid warping.

 

This is what I did. Cheap and I didn't have any down time waiting for a shop to machine them.