Brake Rotor recommendation?

[birelshifterkart]

Anyone have good/bad experience with Brembo aftermarket stock size rotors,etc?

Looking to get rid of my warped POS's, bleed the brakes and maybe go to HAWK pads.

Any ideas on a good, cheap way to improve fading/power on 2G awd's? Thanks, peace.

[sbiggi]

Rotors dont generally ever warp.
What happens is you get uneven material transfer on the rotor, then you get hot spots which starts making the brakes pulse.

Usually that happens from improper break in and/or cool down.

Just get some blanks from Checkers and some good pads and break them in properly. Good pads will make a huge difference. Slotted/Drilled arent going to help (at least noticeably) but they look cool.

-Seth

[hooptytalon]

Anyone have good/bad experience with Brembo aftermarket stock size rotors,etc?

Looking to get rid of my warped POS's, bleed the brakes and maybe go to HAWK pads.

Any ideas on a good, cheap way to improve fading/power on 2G awd's? Thanks, peace.
I have slotted Brembos on the wife's Subaru, it stops better than before but that could be attributed to the Hawk pads I installed at the same time.

[midlyfcrysis]

Rotors dont generally ever warp.
What happens is you get uneven material transfer on the rotor, then you get hot spots which starts making the brakes pulse.

Usually that happens from improper break in and/or cool down.

Just get some blanks from Checkers and some good pads and break them in properly. Good pads will make a huge difference. Slotted/Drilled arent going to help (at least noticeably) but they look cool.

-Seth
Will having the rotors turned help? My brakes are pulsing and I was going to turn the rotors and pads.

[sbiggi]

Will having the rotors turned help? My brakes are pulsing and I was going to turn the rotors and pads.

Yup, as long as they are in spec after turning them, you will be fine.

I had my slotted rotors turned and they are fine with new pads.

-Seth

[CU DSM]

Will having the rotors turned help? My brakes are pulsing and I was going to turn the rotors and pads.

Mike,

Don't turn the pads, just the rotors. You can normally turn rotors several times before having to replace them... normally. However, sometimes they get so bad they just need to be replaced, period.

You want to replace the pads (and/or shoes on drum brakes) as they're the part that wears out. I'm sure that's what you meant to say though. ;)

-Jonathan

[midlyfcrysis]

Mike,

Don't turn the pads, just the rotors. You can normally turn rotors several times before having to replace them... normally. However, sometimes they get so bad they just need to be replaced, period.

You want to replace the pads (and/or shoes on drum brakes) as they're the part that wears out. I'm sure that's what you meant to say though. ;)

-Jonathan
At least I spelled everything correctly. :o I'll be turning the pads into the trash.
thanks for your concern Jonathan. ;)

[Bryan Savage]

Rotors don't generally ever warp.
What happens is you get uneven material transfer on the rotor, then you get hot spots which starts making the brakes pulse.

Usually that happens from improper break in and/or cool down.

Just get some blanks from Checkers and some good pads and break them in properly. Good pads will make a huge difference. Slotted/Drilled aren't going to help (at least noticeably) but they look cool.

-Seth
I'm going to have to disagree with the "rotors" not warping issue.

I haven't done very many brake jobs on DSMs, but I used to work at a Jeep dealership. The 1999 through 2003 WJ Grand Cherokee was absolutely notorious for warping rotors. DCX had to replace so many of them under warranty that we had to start measuring runout and reporting it before DCX would ante-up for a claim.

Most likely the warping issue is due to an overly massive vehicle with undersized brakes, but I've seen rotors warp as much as 0.020" with the hub having less than 0.005". This produces a horrible pedal pulsation and steering wheel shudder. The original fix was a pad slap with an on-car rotor turn followed by a runout measurement that had to be verified by a supervisor to make sure it was less than 0.004" (or so (I can't remember the exact number)).

DCX issued a Technical Service Bulletin to "solve" the issue. The 2004 WJs got redesigned calipers that were much larger. These larger brakes were to be retro-fitted to 99-03 models with chronic problems. The Jeeps weren't supposed to have the hardware replaced unless they had been in before for the same problem.

I do agree that cooking your brakes without any sort of cool down is a bad idea, but I'd bet that if you drive too aggressively with some $12 Checker rotors, it won't be long before you get a free hand massage each time you stop.

For the rest of my two dollars (I'm worth more than two cents), I installed PowerSlots and Repco/Axxis Metal Master pads on my talon (with the wimpy one-piston calipers) more than five years ago and only recently have the front pads began to rub the wear indicators when I brake. Those were far and away the best mod I've ever bought. They are totally silent, they never faded (I drive like a grandma), and they never pulsed. Nothing else on the car has been less trouble than those brakes.

[talontsi]

Mike,

Don't turn the pads, just the rotors.
-Jonathan

Im sorry, that really made me laugh! lol

[sbiggi]

I'm going to have to disagree with the "rotors" not warping issue.

I haven't done very many brake jobs on DSMs, but I used to work at a Jeep dealership. The 1999 through 2003 WJ Grand Cherokee was absolutely notorious for warping rotors. DCX had to replace so many of them under warranty that we had to start measuring runout and reporting it before DCX would ante-up for a claim.

Most likely the warping issue is due to an overly massive vehicle with undersized brakes, but I've seen rotors warp as much as 0.020" with the hub having less than 0.005". This produces a horrible pedal pulsation and steering wheel shudder. The original fix was a pad slap with an on-car rotor turn followed by a runout measurement that had to be verified by a supervisor to make sure it was less than 0.004" (or so (I can't remember the exact number)).

DCX issued a Technical Service Bulletin to "solve" the issue. The 2004 WJs got redesigned calipers that were much larger. These larger brakes were to be retro-fitted to 99-03 models with chronic problems. The Jeeps weren't supposed to have the hardware replaced unless they had been in before for the same problem.

I do agree that cooking your brakes without any sort of cool down is a bad idea, but I'd bet that if you drive too aggressively with some $12 Checker rotors, it won't be long before you get a free hand massage each time you stop.

For the rest of my two dollars (I'm worth more than two cents), I installed PowerSlots and Repco/Axxis Metal Master pads on my talon (with the wimpy one-piston calipers) more than five years ago and only recently have the front pads began to rub the wear indicators when I brake. Those were far and away the best mod I've ever bought. They are totally silent, they never faded (I drive like a grandma), and they never pulsed. Nothing else on the car has been less trouble than those brakes.

That may be true on a jeep that had a shitty brake design to begin with.
Even if you measure runout that doesn't indicate the rotor has warped in its self.

I've nuked my pads and rotors out at 2nd Creek, I burnt the paint off the pads (EBC Green Stuff) and the rotors got so hot they ended up grooved with tiny fractures you could see on the surface. They didnt pulse, ever.

Rotors do not generally warp, I'm not saying that they cant. Most of the time they were not broken in properly.

To break them in properly, I've done the 75% brake pressure from 60-0, drive normally back to 60, then repeat two more times.
Then drive to let them cool down and park it over night.

After that they are pretty much broken in enought to not worry about uneven transfer.

Brake manufactures say the same thing > http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/faqs.shtml#7

-Seth

[sbiggi]

More info http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_warped_brakedisk.shtml

[Bryan Savage]

More info http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_warped_brakedisk.shtml
Those articles are pretty cool!

I'm sure the author knows more than I do, so I stand corrected on the "warped rotors" definition. Though they are different terms for basically the same thing (material transfer from the pads become part of the rotor and therefore makes the rotor itself uneven), the cause is a different one than I had previously assumed.

I will now use the term "improper material deposition" when I refer to pulsating brakes.

The cure still stands at machining the rotor unfortunately, but I hope at least that article and this thread will enlighten a few more people on the importance of proper break in for new brakes. Just don't do it in traffic, eh?

[birelshifterkart]

Any good hookups on powerslots and Hawk pads? My buddy used Hawks on his M3 with GREAT success....and very little dust.

[talontsi]

Be a little carefull if you have slotted or drilled rotors that need to be turned. Most shops won't turn them. If you do find a place that will, make sure they turn them on the slowest speed.

J.P.