Ceramic Rotor Question
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 129
Likes: 11
From: Treasure Coast Florida
Ceramic Rotor Question
Looked at a GS today for a friend and it has the Z07 package. The car is under 10K miles but the front rotors do not seem correct. Should not the surface be smooth? They are rough to the touch and I hope the attached photo shows what I am seeing. If they are bad can I also assume the pads are bad? What is the cost to replace these items.
Thank You for any input.
Pro
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 732
Likes: 138
From: Allen (DFW) Texas
Rotors appear to be worn to the point where they will eat pads at a high rate, and may be underweight i.e. need to be replaced. Whether current pads are "bad" or not depends on remaining pad thickness, but suspect they're quite worn given the disk condition. Replacement disks are probably $1,200 to $1,500 apiece.
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 3,715
Likes: 343
From: Norman OK
Rotors appear to be worn to the point where they will eat pads at a high rate, and may be underweight i.e. need to be replaced. Whether current pads are "bad" or not depends on remaining pad thickness, but suspect they're quite worn given the disk condition. Replacement disks are probably $1,200 to $1,500 apiece.
1st you cant determine if the rotor is worn without removing the rotor, cleaning it off and then weighing the rotor and comparing that weight against the minimum discard weight. The rotor in the picture looks fine, that is how the CCB rotors look on the surface. The pads on the CCB rotors have a wear sensor in them as CCB pads dont use a brake squeal tattletale as it would damage the rotor if it made contact with the CCB rotor surface.
Also the replacement CCB rotors are closer to the $2000-$2500 each range for the CCB rotors.
If you do decide to check everything over be very careful, especially make sure you dont drop the wheel on the edge of the rotor as it can fracture the rotor and damage it. You can pull the pads without removing the caliper, typically as long as the car wasnt tracked the CCB rotors and pads will go a long time before they need to be replaced. Like 50k miles on the pads and 100k miles on the CCB rotors for normal street driving with no track use. Track use cuts the life expectancy down considerably.
Pro
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 525
Likes: 411
From: San Jose, CA
Looked at a GS today for a friend and it has the Z07 package. The car is under 10K miles but the front rotors do not seem correct. Should not the surface be smooth? They are rough to the touch and I hope the attached photo shows what I am seeing. If they are bad can I also assume the pads are bad? What is the cost to replace these items.
Thank You for any input.
I track my Z07 that's how my rotors looked before I replaced them. That doesn't mean these rotors pictured are completely worn out, but they definitely have some wear on them.
The brake pads you can see the approximate thickness remaining. Point your camera down at the point where the pad meets the rotor at as much of an angle to the caliper as you can. Pads are 10mm thick when new. Pads should not be used with less than 2.0mm remaining in my opinion. Otherwise you risk damaging the rotors. (Don't ask how I know.) Also keep in mind that the first 5.0mm of the pad tends to last a lot longer than the second 5.0mm, it's not totally linear.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 41,058
Likes: 9,820
From: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)
Most of this info is wrong.
1st you cant determine if the rotor is worn without removing the rotor, cleaning it off and then weighing the rotor and comparing that weight against the minimum discard weight. The rotor in the picture looks fine, that is how the CCB rotors look on the surface. The pads on the CCB rotors have a wear sensor in them as CCB pads dont use a brake squeal tattletale as it would damage the rotor if it made contact with the CCB rotor surface.
1st you cant determine if the rotor is worn without removing the rotor, cleaning it off and then weighing the rotor and comparing that weight against the minimum discard weight. The rotor in the picture looks fine, that is how the CCB rotors look on the surface. The pads on the CCB rotors have a wear sensor in them as CCB pads dont use a brake squeal tattletale as it would damage the rotor if it made contact with the CCB rotor surface.
It's very likely the rotor wear you see is from tracking the car. I don't think you could possibly do that much wear in 10k street miles. But with track use it is easily possible.
I track my Z07 that's how my rotors looked before I replaced them. That doesn't mean these rotors pictured are completely worn out, but they definitely have some wear on them.
The brake pads you can see the approximate thickness remaining. Point your camera down at the point where the pad meets the rotor at as much of an angle to the caliper as you can. Pads are 10mm thick when new. Pads should not be used with less than 2.0mm remaining in my opinion. Otherwise you risk damaging the rotors. (Don't ask how I know.) Also keep in mind that the first 5.0mm of the pad tends to last a lot longer than the second 5.0mm, it's not totally linear.
I track my Z07 that's how my rotors looked before I replaced them. That doesn't mean these rotors pictured are completely worn out, but they definitely have some wear on them.
The brake pads you can see the approximate thickness remaining. Point your camera down at the point where the pad meets the rotor at as much of an angle to the caliper as you can. Pads are 10mm thick when new. Pads should not be used with less than 2.0mm remaining in my opinion. Otherwise you risk damaging the rotors. (Don't ask how I know.) Also keep in mind that the first 5.0mm of the pad tends to last a lot longer than the second 5.0mm, it's not totally linear.
Bill
Pro
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 525
Likes: 411
From: San Jose, CA
You are not supposed to apply chemicals or even soap to the CC rotors. The carbon material basically absorbs and binds to all kind of stuff. I would stick with water only.
Pro
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 732
Likes: 138
From: Allen (DFW) Texas
Per the GM service manual the correct way to clean the carbon ceramic rotor surface is to use soap and water or denatured alcohol, after using a firm bristle brush to clean the fire path of loose material. To ensure getting a correct weight measurement you also need to remove any loose material from the cross-drilled holes, just be very careful to not pry against the holes.
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