Replacing front brake pads and rotors

[fueler]

resurfacing does help fix warped rotors but not for very long (in my experience)

thats why i replace rotors instead of resurfacing.

[Empty V]

My wife's '01 RX300 has been like that for the last year. Unfortunately all 4 are disks so it's gonna be a huge chuck of change to replace. Come up to LA and we can do it at my shop.

[Innovazn]

Sorry guys but the brake rotors don't warp, it's a myth. I was curious as to see what everyone's answers would be. Especially our resident ricer because he like to delve out wrong info all the time. I know I'm a d!ck, but it's important to know what you're talking about, before talking. Especially when giving others advice on their car and even more important when you're dealing something as critical as brakes.

If you think about it when brake pads and rotors heat up which will break down first? Which is the softer material? Which is the one that's supposed to breakdown when hot? If you're answer is the rotors then you're Innovazn, if your answer is the pads then you're right. I'm not quite sure at what temp a brake rotors would warp but it's way hotter than your pads, the pad back plates and even the caliper's pistons. The roughness that you're calling warped rotors is actually uneven deposits from the brake pads onto the rotors. This happens when the brakes are operating above spec temp and the brake pad material loses it's integrity. That's why Chuck has awesome brakes that last so long, he knows how to drive.

Make sense?

id like to say that i never said rotors were the softer and weaker material. me saying that is like calling you a woman. Im not retarded. as everyone above has already said. its possible. ive experienced it and my old rotors have scorch marks all over it to prove it. Ive gone through basic mechanics course and i know what im talking about to a certain degree. No i nor am i saying im a fully license mechanic. But through experience and talking to 3 different mechanics regarding my brakes your myth has been busted.

[Empty V]

id like to say that i never said rotors were the softer and weaker material. me saying that is like calling you a woman. Im not retarded. as everyone above has already said. its possible. ive experienced it and my old rotors have scorch marks all over it to prove it. Ive gone through basic mechanics course and i know what im talking about to a certain degree. No i nor am i saying im a fully license mechanic. But through experience and talking to 3 different mechanics regarding my brakes your myth has been busted.

Myth busted? You haven't proven any facts, all you've stated is that your rotors have had some sort of discoloration which does not indicate in any way that your rotors are warped. Instead of listening to everyone else do some research. Research Read that entire thing. Actually if I were you I'd read it 3x through. After that buy this book Book It helped me a lot during high school. I'm being serious it's a great reference book. Heck I'll even buy the book for you if you promise to use it.

[Innovazn]

myth busted? You haven't proven any facts, all you've stated is that your rotors have had some sort of discoloration which does not indicate in any way that your rotors are warped. Instead of listening to everyone else do some research. Research Read that entire thing. Actually if I were you I'd read it 3x through. After that buy this book Book It helped me a lot during high school. I'm being serious it's a great reference book. Heck I'll even buy the book for you if you promise to use it.

never said anything about discoloration. there was definitely scorch marks. need i dig a definition of that up as well? and i told you earlier. "when braking i could feel my pedal pulsating" which caused the scorching on my rotors. and in order for me to even feel the pedal pulsating the rotor had to have been uneven. in another sense it was WARPED

Uneven pad transfer will often lead to a thickness variation of the disc. When the thicker section of the disc passes between the pads, the pads will move apart and the brake pedal will raise slightly; this is pedal pulsation. The thickness variation can be felt by the driver when it is approximately 0.17 mm or greater (on automobile rotors). - Wiki

Warping
Excessive or heavy and continuous braking may warp brake rotors. Braking hard (heating the rotors a lot) and then going through water (which quickly cools the hot rotors) may also cause the rotors to warp. If the brake pads or brake rotors are getting thin, the rotors will warp more easily. - Answers.com

stop being a c*** sucker, just cuz your wife doesnt listen to you at home doesnt mean you need to go online and try to preach to multiple people about warping rotors are "myths"

Fueler IS experiencing it, Canuck knows about it, Golden has explained it, and I have experienced it and dealt with it. 4 - 1 on your myth. just cuz you've never had it happen doesnt mean its a myth.

[GoldenR50]

To add to Innoazn's note, I've experienced it as well (not on my car) but my friend's car down in Bay Area, California when I was down there (04 Acura TSX). Warped rotors are definitely not a myth. Your car basically shakes to a stop. And yes, there were visible scorch marks on the brake discs. Ask any mechanic.

You can believe whatever fairytale you want but it exists.

[CanuckQx4]

Well I call them "warped" anyways. Maybe because of lack of a better word, but the metal just no longer is flat, braking feels violent. What causes that ontop of excessive heat I dont know Im not an expert just have first hand experience with multiple brake jobs in multiple cars, and I think I "warp" my rotors alot faster that they are supposed to on average, but thats just because of my s*** driving habbits (that are alot of fun )

We can call them bent, screwed, wobbely, out of shape or whatever, but warped just seems to be the common term

And by putting them on my manual lathe at work and taking .002" passes you can see that the surfaces of the rotors just are in a wave motion. I never resurface my own rotors though, they are cheap enough that buying new everytime and DIY the job is worth it to me.

To the original lady who posted this thread, I believe the price the mechanic is FAIR, hes probably not trying to make more money off of you than he would the next person, but hes definetely making money. You could save yourself the most money, but still have the work done by someone else, by purchasing the rotors and pads at your local auto store and hiring a side machanic off Craigslist with good reputation and knowledge of your vehicle for fairly cheap

The first time I tried my fronts I couldnt figure out how to get the rotor off and I brought it to a local who charged $60 to do all my front brakes, and taught me (as I watched) along the way.

[Qxxx4]

I just got my rotors and pads replaced, I still had my original rotors with 165k kms on them. On the highway I used to feel a little wobble in the steering wheel and under my seat at +100km/h and I am near positive it was my warped rotors....I will find out next time I hit the highway (traffic on way home last night from mechanic). I think everyone is kind of right...your all being too critical here. I machined warped rotors in high school in shop class and as long as they meet decent caliber specs and arent TOO scorched i dont think machining is that bad of an idea. Rotors would look brand new after being machined properly and seeing how much metal is shaved off and how smooth it would be from a second pass of the lathe I'd say their good as new as long as they still meet that caliber spec. (caliber? caliper? you know, that measurement tool that you check in..that book...its been 5 years guys sorry LOL)

Anyways, I dont have any time to do my own brakes nor do I trust myself enough to do them, my mechanic charged me $560 all in with half decent parts, I dont expect them to last a LONG time but based on my driving style and average commute, I really dont need crazy good brakes, Even with my 20's my old pads and rotors held up excellent since I am pretty easy on the brakes.

is it true that if you get your rotors wet while their still hot theyll warp? I remember many occasions where I washed the q and I can hear the rotors go "shhhhhhhhhhhh"

[oasisx]

dont mean to butt in here and jump the thread but, do any of you guys know any good places where you can order brake pads for a decent price?