I have a '00 GS-R and in the first 6 months of owning the car I found out my brake rotors were warped so the acura dealership had to grind them down so they wouldn't be jerky when I hit the brakes. Well, about a month ago I noticed the brakes starting to get all jerky/choppy again and it has worsened since then. Should I just have the dealership grind the rotors down again or should I try to get some replacements since the car is still under warranty?

 

If the continuously grind them down won't it make my already poor breaking performance as stock go downhill even further since they are thinning the rotors out by grinding them?

 

and if you have the cash, just toss em for some Brembos or something nice.

 

That's my only problem right now ....oh well once summer comes along and I am out of school cha-ching!(hopefully )

 

well there is a minimum thickness/service/throwout point.. if they keep grinding them down and you reach that.. they have to be junked...

anyway what are your driving habits like? or have you had your rims mounted at a shop that went airgun/impact wrench happy? or did you wash your car shortly after driving or drove it hard, then went to a car wash?

you can get Brembo blanks for like $30/ea... + shipping.. http://www.collettimotorsports.com
or http://www.performancemotorcars.com

 

The thickness DOES matter.

Your brakes are there to stop you. They rely on friction to do their work. When rotors are surfaced, they remove material from the rotor. Yes, this may even out the surface, but with less material, your rotors cannot dissapate heat as well, and they are more prone to warp again (as they have again).

I wouldn't surface a rotor more than once. Toss them after that. Rotors are wear items. They're not meant to last forever.

Your best solution would be to get a set of Brembo 'blanks' from Colletti Motorsports. The front rotors are $28 each.

Buy a Helms manual and do it yourself. Honda brakes are amazingly simple.

 

One thing that you can do to help prevent warped rotors is to make sure that the lug nuts are tightened with a torque wrench to 80 ft/lbs and in a criss-cross pattern.

I would take your car back to the dealership and let them know that the rotors are warped again. They will probably replace the rotors since they have already been turned.

 

Had the same problem with my 00 GSR, and the dealership replaced the pads under warranty, and machined the rotors... They should automatically replace them, so long as they are not more than 50% worn..... The car is perfect now.......

 

Check your driving habits.

Don't stomp your brakes when it's not necessary. Use a firm motion, not jerky, to take into acount the initial bite and caliper flex that can cause uneven wearing or material transfer.

When you get the rotors replaced, take it easy on them for a few hundred miles until a good lay of pad material deposits itself onto the surface of the rotor. Uneven deposits are the most likely culprit in warpage.

Don't get the brakes hot, then just park the car. Drive some to cool them off.

Don't set the parking brake on hot brakes.

 

the biggest mistake people make is getting their rotors turned (or grinded, whatever).

this is why.

the more metal (henceforth, called "meat") that is on the rotor the better, honda rotors are notorious for lacking meat. the less meat, the more heat will build up, because there is less to dissapate that built up heat. the heat buildup is what causes rotors to warp. you get charged 60 bucks to have your rotors turned, and have your problem go away until the next time that you brake really hard, or drive through a puddle of water.

I recomend one of two things, buy new rotors from acura, and learn to live with the warped , or upgrade your brakes.

I really don't understand what kind of driving conditions you are under though to put your brakes through such torment as to warp them, unless you are on a track, you shouldn't have to put them under that much stress.

I still have 100k miles on my original pads, no warped rotors and I still get where I am going fast enough.

brake early cause you aren't just saving money for the brake pads, you are saving the rotors, brake lines and all other stuff that gets undo stress every time you lay into your brakes.

 

bps2799:

you make my job so easy... you're right on the money here...

-andie

 

Andie is THE brake expert on HT, so maybe search through his posts to learn more about brakes.

Go to Carbotech's website and read up on their FAQ section.

Next stop is StopTech.com to read about rotor warpage and their FAQ.

There is a good thread in the competition forum about Wilwood brakes now that has good links in it. Check those.


Anyhow, Tires are the most important factor in how you stop, followed by pad compound and the mass of your brakes, then, perhaps, caliper design.

Read up and likely it'll be a while before you ruin another set of rotors (unless you buy EBC pads).