Warped Rotors?
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Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 83
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From: Marlton NJ
Warped Rotors?
2003 Z06 my brakes are pulsating coming to a stop. How much should replacement rotors cost? I have replaced rotors in other ordinary cars, is it any more difficult in a Z06? Anyone have their rotors resurfaced instead of replaced?
Tech Contributor
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 41,058
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From: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)
Why not go out and do a few hard stops and see if it clears up the problem. You may have been too easy on your brakes. The harder they are used (up to a point) the less problems they seem to have.
Bill
Bill
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 10,962
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From: Van Buren Arkansas
Wounded Warrior Escort '11
I replaced mine a while back with ACDelco rotors and ceramic pads. No more warpage for me so far whereas before I no sooner had them turned, they were pulsing again within weeks. I noticed the ceramic pads take a hair more pressure on the pedal to stop or slow down the car, but a bonus is no more dusting too. The added extra bonus was the loss of warping...so I'm pleased. The rotors themselves ran about $30 each and I think the pads were like $56
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 4,275
Likes: 4
From: Vancouver WA
It's probably not warping you are feeling, but brake material bonded uneven on the rotor. Do a search on "Bedding brakes" on the internet. It will explain the process. You should do this on new brakes.
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2000
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From: San Rafael CA
A few hard stops (with a minute or so of no braking to cool the brakes in between) will most likely clear the problem, which is commonly an uneven coating of the pad material on the rotor.
If you decide the rotors are "warped", I wouldn't recommend turning them (having them resurfaced). The cost to have them turned is about the cost of a new rotor. Napa Auto Parts has a very good price for OEM "equivalent" rotors ... about $35.00 each. Search around and you should find prices that are much better for new rotors than getting the current ones turned.
Race Director
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From: San Diego CA
Here's my story and after many thousands of miles, I stand behind it 100%:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1410305
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1410305
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From: Oklahoma City OK
C6 of Year Finalist (appearance mods) 2019
Drifting
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,590
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From: Littleton Colorado
Its pretty easy, the only hard part is breaking the two bolts that hold the caliper bracket. They torque to 125lbs and sometimes have locktite on them. Get a long breaker bar with a cheater bar and some good sockets, I use 1/2 drive. Still sometimes I have to step on my breaker bar... The fronts may have enough room to get a impact wrench on them, but not the rears. Don't worry about the calipers, they are a floating design and it would take effort to get them on wrong LOL. For the street I use the AC delco ceramics because the stop OK and have very low dust.
AC delco rotors, a good buy. Big brake kits or high end rotors are more for the dedicated road race guys than the average guy.
Good luck with it,
Matt
AC delco rotors, a good buy. Big brake kits or high end rotors are more for the dedicated road race guys than the average guy.
Good luck with it,
Matt
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Drifting
Joined: Dec 2003
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From: Darien IL
Read the White Paper written by Carroll Smith on the Stoptech website link above. The Myth about warped rotors.
Your options:
1. Replace rotors with NAPA or RockAuto stock equivalents. About $30-$40 apiece now days.
2. Beat on them and try to remove the pad material build-up. I have never had much success with this.
3. Rent a set of Hawk Blue pads and drive the car 5 miles with them on the front. That will knock material off. Downside is you will have to clay bar the wheels and body afterwards.
4. Pull wheels off and carefully inspect the rotor surfaces. Sometimes you can see the pad material build-up and scrape it off with the end of a flat file. It sometimes looks like a piece of thread. You can feel it with your fingers. I did this on my daughter's car.
Your options:
1. Replace rotors with NAPA or RockAuto stock equivalents. About $30-$40 apiece now days.
2. Beat on them and try to remove the pad material build-up. I have never had much success with this.
3. Rent a set of Hawk Blue pads and drive the car 5 miles with them on the front. That will knock material off. Downside is you will have to clay bar the wheels and body afterwards.
4. Pull wheels off and carefully inspect the rotor surfaces. Sometimes you can see the pad material build-up and scrape it off with the end of a flat file. It sometimes looks like a piece of thread. You can feel it with your fingers. I did this on my daughter's car.
Race Director
Joined: Dec 2000
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From: San Diego CA
By the way, buying new, plain rotors will not solve the problem if you are using stock pads and you don't want to go through any special break-in procedure. My PowerSlots totally solved the problem without "bedding" the pads or slamming on the brakes. They're not cheap, but you will never have to worry about pulsations again.
Last edited by Dave68; Nov 7, 2007 at 03:21 PM.