I read the "My new Brembo blanks just warped!!" thread and I have the exact same problem. Unfortunately, the problem was never solved and the thread is now dead. The following explains the issue, which I believe is common.

My 92' Prelude SI vibrates when braking at high speeds. It vibrates both the steering wheel and the rest of the vehicle. I purchased Brembo blanks and the problem went away almost completely. But after a couple months the vibration came back. Either a failed component resulted in warping brand new rotors or the problem is not brake related. I thought maybe "pad transfer" might be the problem, so I did a few hard stops. Actually, the hard stops helped a little but the vibration has come back to full strength since then. I am beginning to think wheel bearings might be the problem, but that is an expensive repair and I want to be sure before I go about it. The problem is not with the tires or alignment. I have lifted the car off the ground and can't find any loose suspension components.

Is replacing the wheel bearings the next logical step?

Thanks for your help.

 

I'd check to see if the rotors warped again. It could very well be you have a frozen caliper that's causing your rotors to overheat and warp. If that's fine, check tie rods, ball joints, and wheel bearings

 

first question-did you come to a complete stop when you were trying to eliminate pad transfer? If so, you could have made it worse. When doing that do some 70-10 mph braking, maybe 5-7 runs, until you start to feel a little brake fade, at that point, drive your car WITHOUT stopping for about 10-20 minutes, to get your brakes to cool down. If thats not what you did, I would give that a try before spending money on other repairs.

 

I did not come to a complete stop when braking hard. And I made sure not to leave the brakes engaged while the rotors were hot and the car was stopped.

The rotors may be warped again, but I don't think it is a result of a frozen caliper. When I replaced the rotors, I also replaced the pads and lubricated the slides which were not frozen. If a frozen front caliper was the problem, I would expect the vehicle to pull in one direction which is not the case.

It seems to me that some component has failed which allows a detremental range of motion to occur. What component failure can result in premature warped rotors or vibrations while braking? Let's say my rotors are not warped. What other component failure can result in this vehicle behavior?

 

unequal brake power distribution maybe, tires maybe, suspension maybe, i'd say calipers still though. they may close properly but maybe they arn't opening properly. if car is jacked can the front tires rotate COMPLETELY freely after brake is applied and release? if you hear metal on metal, pads might be going (not in your case of course though) or calipers arn't opening as far as they should (maybe the problem?).

 

Drive the car to work/wherever. Once you stop, get out of the car and put your hand on all of the wheels. See if any are unusually hot...or if one is hotter than the other.

After that, jeck up the car and push on pull on the wheel. See if there is any play. This is to test the ball joints.

 

yeah, or smell. you could smell around where rotors are.

 

wheel balance