mesrop1991

Ive had my 1998 Civic LX since 105,000 miles. It now has 215,000 miles.

Since I've had the car, every time Ive installed new rotors and pads (front) they have WARPED! Every time.

Finally, a couple years ago I put in OEM honda rotors and pads. This past month I started riving on the highway again (as I did in the past), and the OEM rotors have warped. Again.

I do highway breaking most of my ride. I probably brake hard.

Are these civic bad with highway braking? Should I resurfaced and get new pads? Should I deal with it?

(Btw, can doesn't have abs, and about 3 years ago I put in a new front left caliper - but warping was from day one.)

I brake them in after each replacement by going from 40 mph to 30mph gradually without stopping a few times.

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

<p>Get Brembo blanks. &nbsp;There's a sponsor in the marketplace who sells them for a good price. &nbsp;If you're still warping those, then there's a serious problem with your driving habits that we can't help you fix.</p>

mesrop1991

Is this the guy?
https://honda-tech.com/wheels-tires-...pping-2714953/

And are Honda OEM inferior to Brembo?

tony_2018

Bleed your brakes after this replacement, all 4 of them.

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

<p>That's the guy, and Brembo are some of the best blanks you can get, period.</p>

oneheadlight

In the past I had trouble with warping rotors, and they were OEM Honda. Honda released a service bulletin admitting the blanks were not low in run-out (what gives you the warping vibration), and for the dealers to turn the rotors before use! That's the lowest cost supplier for ya! cheap.

I've tried the brembo rotors and they were good for a little bit, until the switched to china manufacturing and they began warping. I never bought the brembos again.

Personally I have bosch quietcast (that's the name of what I have) rotors and their run-out measured almost 0.0001", which is almost perfect. Have not had any more warping issues after switching to bosch. Finally someone who actually makes something good, and the funny part is.. they're made in china too! Depends on what the company asks for, from china, is what they get.. the good stuff, or junk.

What I would suggest first is that you look at your hub/wheel bearing end. Clean off any rust then measure the run-out of the hub. If that isn't perfect then the rotors will warp. I'm not going to insult you as to say did you check your sliding pins to make sure that the calipers are not sticking.. because I bet you already did!

The run out of the front brake rotors/discs measured 10mm from the edge is 0.004in.
The run out for the hub/wheel bearing end play measured at the flange of the wheel bearing is 0 - 0.002in

It's also important when installing new brake rotors/discs that the run out is minimized or over time this will also warp rotors. If you need a run out gauge, they're at harbor freight under "travel machinist gauge" for about $10, and the mounting is about $15 or so..

EDIT: just found the part number for the Bosch (in case you need it) is Part # 26010730 an I got them at O'reilly auto parts. about $48 each.

tony_2018

QC must be down on brembo parts, losing sight of what customers look for in a name brand.

Bently_Coop

Been like this for a while now.


I have centric blanks on my 98 LX with Hawk HPS pads and no issues. Been like that for over 10k miles.

What kind of grease are you using on the slide pins and pads?

oneheadlight

yeah after trying brembo twice, I gave up on them.. They kept the "good manufacturing" for the higher performance rotors/brakes.. But the oem-replacements, they off-shored, didn't care.

So I didn't care about them if that's what they think of the customer, took my money to someone else, and have been very happy with Bosch. Usually I had heard bad things about Bosch electronics, but took a chance on their rotors. Was happy to find such good quality rotors (in a sea of aftermarket junk lately). I probably still will use NGK for o2 sensors instead of Bosch. But hey if Bosch works for rotors, they get my money!

Bently_Coop

Bosch rotors sure, Bosch electronics nope.


NGK or Denso all day though.

tony_2018

I definitly did have centric at one point but I was short on time I went to the local Honda dealership for pads and rotors. Never again... passenger side is warped.

oneheadlight

Were the centric warping as well? yeah I am not surprised at all about the Honda oem rotors, they're terrible, and not cheap priced at all!

mesrop1991

Thanks for the details. I might go and get the tester from Harbor freight. I have had this problem with every set of rotors on this car. I've probably gone through a handful of sets, usually from autozone.

I use CRC/Brake and caliper synthetic grease and load up on the grease. The pads definitely don't stick.

I may, honestly, even just deal with the shaking when braking. I can afford to keep changing rotors.

I have also noticed that the brakes show high signs of warping when i'm braking from about 40 to 0 mph (ONLY after I've driven and braked on the highway). It's noticeable much more wobbly after braking on the highway than if I were just driving around town. Is that bizarre?

oneheadlight

yeah it's impossible to see 0.002inch runout with a regular eye, lol.. A lot of people just throw rotors on, not realizing they need to be very close to 0.0 run out. It's not easy, and it is work. I once tried to HAND SAND the hub, 5 hours+ and sore hands! Now I use the 3m roloc brake hub cleaning tool, attach it to my drill, and go clean! Finally, much easier! What's nice is that it will take rust off but not sand off the good metal! I got mine from amazon.. here's a link

yeah you'll need the run out gauge from harbor freight (cheapest around and good quality).. when you do measure the run out, you have to load the "stylus" of the gauge up about 0.005 inches.. then you can measure the run out. I'm betting your hub is either rusted or imperfect causing all the rotors you put on the car to "warp". Ok maybe you're just unlucky and getting junk quality with every rotor. But without measuring the hub, you'll never know if it's bad quality rotors or the hub!

and yeah 40-0 mph if that's the same vibration pattern regardless of the rotor then it's definitely the hub. Plus, that vibration appears at that speed because the imbalance is more readily shown at those speeds.. Just depends on how the frequency of the imbalance is.. other defects could be different speeds, but generally, you're showing a typical hub run out problem.. Like I said, either rust or the hub is bent.

you're welcome for the info.. hope you can get the run out gauge and find out what's causing this. And fix it, don't need to keep spending money all the time!

tony_2018

Those actually faded well.

Jimi Hondrix

Here's a read:
Raybestos Brake Tech School, Part One: Rotors Don't Warp | Hendon Publishing

mesrop1991

This helps. I'm starting to believe my hubs are uneven. That's the only explanation for all my rotors warping.

But tell me this. Why do the brakes get extra wobbly after I've driven 50 miles on the highway, and have come off the highway to stop and go from 45-0 mph. (This is my commute: 1 hour highway - 30 min 45 mph roads). When coming off the highway and stoping/going from 45 to 0, I feel extra wobble when braking, but when the car hasn't been driven on the highway and I make the same braking, I don't feel as much wobble.

I know I'm being tedious, but I'm curious... 😅

B serious

iTrader: (1)

Your rotors aren't warped. Rotors don't warp like you're describing.

What happens is that you apply the brakes and get them hot. Then you leave your foot on the brakes as the car sits at a light. Brake pad material transfers to the rotor in that spot. Bam. Brake pulsation.

Buy better pads. Rotors are for the most part...just rotors.

I shop at rockauto. They have a "heavy duty" brake pad section where they sell centric stoptech street performance pads. These will help quite a bit. Buy a pair of cheapo rotors or whatever rotors make you happy. I would recommend blanks.

BEDDING IN THE PADS is extremely important.

Stay away from street blend ceramic pads.

Jimi Hondrix

Use semi-metallic for longer rotor life ..plus they are cheaper.
Read: What Are The Best Brake Pads? Ceramic vs. Semi-Metallic

mesrop1991

Aha! This makes the most sense! Because I am sure that there is extra pulsation after transferring from highway driving to stop and go driving!

Dang, even Honda OEM brake pads suck, eh? 😔

oneheadlight

have you measured the hubs yet? Can't assume anything without testing/data. And yes rotors do warp, hubs can cause this. While it's true that uneven pad deposits on the rotor braking surface can cause vibration misdiagnosed as "warp", if a hub is not even/true then that will lead to runout problems which people call "warpage" or "warp". You can assume all day long, but without measuring the hub, it's a waste of time to guess all day.

SonicC

My bet is that you're not bedding in your pads whenever you replace either pads or rotors. Without a good transfer layer between the two, you get a lot more uneven deposit when you take them up to highway speeds and start braking.


EDIT: basically what he said

CRXyes

Bet your caliper pistons are fucked

egsleepercivic

I didn't every post, but here is my experience recently

had az cheapies rotors and pads for 40k plus rotors and pads, changed the pads because they were wore out.

forgot to tighten the caliper down all the way started shaking etc

tighten the caliper back down little vibrations while braking ok so i figured I warped the rotors

replaced the rotors, a couple weeks shaking like crazy im like wtf

I found that on the caliper bracket where the slide pins go in was messed up... ie there was play

replaced caliper bracket slide pins and rotors again lifetime warranty ftw !!!

problem has not returned

moral of the story ...check the slide pins and bracket for play

gl

TomCat39

This is dependant on the pad.

The Hawks I believe all have a bedding compound.

Akeebono performance pads don't and you don't do any bedding.

You have to read the instructions that come with the pads to see whether they are the bedding type or not.

I missed doing that on my first set of Akeebono and I heated the bad boys up "bedding" them in. I probably lost a good 3-6 months of life doing that only to learn Akeebono is designed to not be bedded.

This time around I did new rotors and new Akeebono's and did a couple of slow moving stops to be sure I didn't goof and get grease on the pads and they have been golden since.

I suspect this time around my pads will last a bit longer.

Just commenting that you shouldn't just assume you have to bed the pads.... Read the pad instructions to see which design you have.