I was picking up my brake pads for my 99 Accord at my local import parts store. The guy behind the counter (who typically knows his stuff) tells me that my brake rotors need to be cut only on the car !!!! I never heard of that ! My brother (an owner of a 2000 Civic) heard the same thing ! Can anyone verify the truth if this?

Thanks...

 

They can be. I work at a car dealership and they have a machine that cuts the rotors on the car. I have heard good things and bad things about these machines. Try a search feature to see if anything comes up. I think that I would just remove them and get them cut off the car. I doubt you "HAVE TO" cut them on the car.

 

resurfacing?

 

It's resurfacing the rotors. It's so the new pads have proper contact with a flat braking surface.

 

Not that this is the norm but I have 255,000 miles on the original rotors and they have never been cut/resurfaced. No pulsations as of yet. And the brakes wear relatively even. I hear they are a bugger to get off the car though. IMO I'd say resurface only if you have bad pulsations when you apply the brakes.

 

use 50 grit snadpaer in a circular motion on the rotors

 

I don't think it is anything to worry about. This is an article in this month's Undercar Digest. It is an automotive repair facility magazine geared towards repair shops and garages. They cut them on the car because when a rotor is bolted down it may sit slightly different than on an off-the-car lathe. This will cut the rotor smooth from the brake pads point of view so to speak so it will be smooth with respect to thepad surface and not just smooth in general.

 

my dealer never resurfaces the rotors, they rearely replace them unless they are warped, all too often rotors are resurfaced unnecessarily.

 

the timing of this thread could not be more perfect.........thank God for the search feature!!!!!!!

i am in a similar situation >> i have a 5th gen accord wagon >> i have to cut the rotors because when i brake hard from say 45 to 0 the front end shakes..... my mechanic tells me that the ONLY way to remove the rotor is to remove the bearing, in which case the bearing would have to be replaced..... according to him >> i trust this guy >> hes totally honest and hes an amazing techinican. i have never heard of this though and if any of you can elaborate for me I would appreciate it >> lastly . would it make sense to just buy new rotors as opposed to having them resurfaced?>

 

255,000 miles on 1 pair of rotors??? omg...I go through rotors and break pads like crazy!

 

a slight resurfacing is ok, but the more they take off the more prone to warping your rotors are. when you can get a pair of brembo blanks from nopi for around $60 shipped, i'd rather have new rotors.

 

2 pairs the rears are original too. I change the pads probably every 30K or so. I guess a lot of my driving is on Interstate 95 and I drive relatively normal and I don't have to hit the brakes till the exit ramp.

My cousin had a 96 EX and she's had her rotors cut once, due to a bad vibration when braking at high speeds she said she hit the brakes really hard to slow down fast and from that point on they were warped. She's got 185,000 miles so far.

I really think the key is making sure all the lug nuts are torqued to the same specs, I really think that having them off even a little will lead to the rotors warping under high temps (make any sense?) Just my .02