I have had a problem with the rotors on my 01 Vette warping. I read a post a little while back that said other people were having this problem too. I also was sent to another page that explained the proper break in process in which I should have printed it out. If anyone still has this process please respond with it as I am about to pick up my Vette from the dealer tomorrow.

I leased my Vette with 10300 mile on it. The original rotors were warped. The dealer replaced them. That set warped within 2000 miles. They turned them. Warped again. They replaced them. Warped again within 2000 miles. They turned them again but I continue to be a pain with the dealer.

The end result is that they are putting performance cross drilled and slotted rotors all the way around. It has been a long battle but it finally worked. GM is covering it all under warranty. I have been told by service and the mechanics that GM is having a problem with rotors on the impalas and malibus. The mechanics have told me that it is a problem with the Vettes as well but GM refuses to admit it.

I love my Vette as it is the second one I have owned so far. If anyone else is having the same problem don't waste any time and refuse to agree with service when they tell you that GM will not allow them to put new rotors on your Vette. When all is said and done the money saved can go towards other mods. :cheers:

 

Chris - I can relate. I just replaced all 4 on my '98 with x-drilled/slotted/vented.
Here is a link that I found hard to argue with. However, it may give
GM an "out" on this issue.:nonod:
http://www.stoptech.com/whitepapers/...otors_myth.htm

 

Wish I was in OH to pay that dealer a visit. The cross drilled rotors are currently #1 on my mod list. Your ordeal sounds identical to mine.

 

My 2002, has 10,000 miles on it. I warped the rotors really bad on highway one in california at about 5000 miles. I was driving the car very hard, and the brakes faded to the point of being able to push the pedal to the floor with out the car stopping. I had them turned under warranty but i waited until they had about 8,000 miles on them. Now with no major use or hard driving, they are warped again. I am not sure what to do.

Are the covered under waranty, and if so for how long?

 

Read the Stoptech article suugested in the other post. I don't think they warp. I have seen too many warped rotors "cure themselves" with some hard driving on a roadcourses. I think you have uneven pad deposit build up.

 

This happened to me.

 

Y'know, warped rotors are a mystery to me. The stock rotors on my Vette went 100K miles, and the only reason I replaced them was due to wear, they were still buttery smooth. The new ones are just as smooth after 5K miles.

OTOH, the front rotors on my '94 Z-28 warped, I replaced them about 20K miles ago due to warpage (or whatever the problem is), and now they're starting to do the same thing. Ditto my '96 Crown Vic (the mileage numbers may differ, but the issue is the same).

I maintain my cars the same, drive them the same (well, the Z-28 and the Vette, the CV is my wife's car). Using basically stock brake pads, so what is causing this? Could it be that I autocross the Vette, and am scrubbing the rotors clean?

One of modern cars mysteries.

Have a good one,
Mike

 

I think you are right on. Like I posted earlier, I have seen quite a few "warped rotors" "cured" at roadcourse events! :steering:

 

If you only Auto-X the Vette, then you don't drive them exactly the same! I agree with you, it's very hard to track down the reason why a particular rotor warps (or develops uneven pad buildup). My '01 rotors are very smooth, and my driving style is fairly hard on rotors, as I do a lot of highway driving then suddenly have to stop from 80-0 at the end of the road. I recommend the following:

1. Bed in the rotors properly and periodically re-do 'em.
2. Make sure the wheel nut torque is correct.
3. Clean the back of the wheels and fronts of the rotor hats when R&Iing the wheels.
4. Don't sit at a stop with the brakes on after a long hard stop (like the 80-0 stop off the freeway). This is an especially key issue with automatic-equipped cars.

 

Actually, I cruise my Vette pretty regularly; I put on 15K miles this last year. Also I autocross probably 8-10 times a year, just for fun.

I already do all of your suggestions, except for periodically rebedding of the rotors (ever seen nose-dive on a CV before? :eek: :lolg: ). I think I'm going to give that a try and see what happens.

Thanks for the suggestion, and have a great 4th!

Mike

 

The only thing i can say is that the first time I went to the dealer i had about 12-14000 miles on my Vette. I talked to service and told them that there is no way that a set of rotors should warp this soon. They agreed with me. They tried to turn them down but they went below specs so the replaced them. If service tells you "We can't do them. GM won't let us replace them" this is not true. GM is telling the dealers that they are covering too many break jobs under warranty. They are going to try to make you go away first. Go all the way up to the sales manager. If that does not work, work your way up to the owner. It all boils down to the fact that you purchased a 50,000 dollar car from that dealer and the C-6 is coming out in 05. Ask them where they want you to go to buy your next one. Then show them the front of your owners manual where it says you purchased Chevy's premier sports vehicle and tell them that this is not "Premier" quality. The service manager will probably have to meet with the GM rep to get authorization but they will realize that if you are not going to go away that it will be cheaper in the long run to put good rotors on your Vette that to keep putting stock ones on. The company that GM went throught from what I am told is owned by GM. Funny thing is, they look exactly like the 649.99 set in the mid america book opposite of the page the Bear rotors are on. Good luck and let me know what happens. Just tell them the actual milage the warped again instead of saying that it happened 8000 miles later. It may not have been too convienient for you to bring it back right away. I imagine that you actually wanted to drive it some this summer. :yesnod: P.S. This was for Daniel. Being a junior member I don't really know how to put the response under his post. Thanks for all of the advise. I will be trying some of the things suggested. Thanks for the advise.


[Modified by Chris Pattie, 9:46 AM 7/3/2003]