Brakes and Rotors

[elle]

I'm looking to replace my brakes and rotors. Owner before me had someone cut the rotors and i don't like the feel. Should i just get stock replacement or upgrade. The car is street driven very lightly and drag races. Thanks!

[WildBillyT]

What type of car?

[elle]

:facepalm:Sorry, 2002 SS Camaro.

[fmybody]

IMO unless you have mods that give you a substantial amount of power and speed, where you will need substantial stopping power... there is no need to upgrade you brakes from factory. Unless you have bigger wheels or something and your little brakes look silly...

just my two cents... not to mention you could spend the money on other things...

[WildBillyT]

It kind of depends on your budget.

For a street car Brembo blank rotors and a set of Hawk HPS pads work well. If you are flushing the brakes going to braided hoses makes a difference too.

[1320B4U]

^ I agree. Too many people do the engine mods and forget about the brakes. At the very least do powerstop/slot rotors and hawk pads...from summit they aren't that much at all. SS lines will help combat that squishy feeling as well...well worth it. I run the baer street setup on the camaro..worth every penny...going to do the wilwood on the rears soon.

[Jersey Mike]

$165 shipped for rotors and pads. Running them since the summer and no gripes at all. Coming from OEM rotors and Hawk pads, and I like these for a street car.

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/sponsor-sales-specials/1375700-brakemotive-drilled-slotted-brake-kits-lowest-prices-ever.html

[elle]

Thanks for the help. I didn't think anything special would benefit me at this time. That last deal seems pretty sweet! Now i just have to decide if i want to install a line loc...powerbraking sux.

[WildBillyT]

Do it. SLP kits even have prebent lines.

[jam01]

i bought from a guy in pa, sam strano good guy. i replaced all 4 rotors and i bought hawk pads. he also sold me brake fluid, this was a few years ago so what i paid wouldnt matter. dont buy junk rotors, you can buy cheaper but you get cheap that warps easily.

[elle]

I'm going to do some research before i buy. Thanks again.

[maroman88]

i got cross drilled n slotted zinc coated rotors and ceramic pads from an ebay vendor CHEAP for the vette, very happy with them

[WildBillyT]

FYI, if you are worried about "warping" you may want to read up a little bit. Stoptech has some good white papers.

[BonzoHansen]

I've read that. I understand what they say but I've cut too many rotors to totally buy into what they say about it's pad buildup and not warping.

[WildBillyT]

I've read that. I understand what they say but I've cut too many rotors to totally buy into what they say about it's pad buildup and not warping.

I've heard it from Raybestos too...

[BonzoHansen]

Does it discuss why over torquing lugs or cheap china rotors ' warp' easier? I forget, I'll have to review.

[sweetbmxrider]

I'm not sure what you guys are talking about but I've definitely dealt with warped rotors before. As scott said, throw a rotor in question on a lathe and see how true it is.

I prefer napa rotors and adaptive one pads. They are a little on the dusty side but quiet as can be.

[WildBillyT]

I'm not sure what you guys are talking about but I've definitely dealt with warped rotors before. As scott said, throw a rotor in question on a lathe and see how true it is.

I prefer napa rotors and adaptive one pads. They are a little on the dusty side but quiet as can be.

What I have been led to believe is that the rotor itself does not "warp", that it runs out of true because of uneven pad transfer. If you mic the rotor and it comes out uneven it's not that the rotor itself lost its shape, it's that the pad material did not cross to the rotor evenly.

Stoptech says this, and a dude who used to run the brake dyno at Raybestos (i.e. running a rotor/flywheel up to high rpms and then slamming on the "brakes") said the same.

[sweetbmxrider]

Interesting and it could definitely be a contributing factor.

[BonzoHansen]

6 of this, 1/2 dozen of that. ok i guess it is the 'why' in their eyes. i'll have to read again. end result is still pulsation, noise and rotor resurfacing/replacing.

[sweetbmxrider]

I remember back in the day getting bad rotors out of the box too. Manufacturing/quality control has come some ways I guess.

[WildBillyT]

6 of this, 1/2 dozen of that. ok i guess it is the 'why' in their eyes. i'll have to read again. end result is still pulsation, noise and rotor resurfacing/replacing.

Only reason I bring it up is because of the "reasons" given for those symptoms. Buy OK parts house rotors but run **** pads and it's a bad brand of rotor? I guess my point is that I prefer to cheap out on the rotor (if I had to) and run good pads vs good rotors and cheap pads. YMMV I guess.

I remember back in the day getting bad rotors out of the box too. Manufacturing/quality control has come some ways I guess.

Yeah, that too. Can't go TOO cheap or the parts QC on the way over isn't good enough.

[elle]

Mine work fine but pulse like a sum bytch.

[BonzoHansen]

^^then they don't work fine lol

I remember back in the day getting bad rotors out of the box too. Manufacturing/quality control has come some ways I guess.we got into the habit of resurfacing new rotors when the brand was questionable.

i got a cheap rear rotor for my olds from advance and the casting was bad. all pitted. i got what I paid for

[KevinW]

GM rotors 'warp' because of 2 things. lugs not torqued properly (in sequence to 100ft/lbs) and 'power brakers' :) people who slam on the brakes and keep there foot on the brakes when stopped. The pads heat up rapidly and then transfer the heat to one spot. The proper way to brake is to stop a little short of where you want to be, then let the tires roll a bit to spread the heat out. And stopping smoothly instead of panic stops helps too. since I have been doing that, no pulsating brakes!

[sweetbmxrider]

I don't really buy into the whole torque thing. Maybe if you crank them down to 500 foot pounds but I think the studs are going to give first. I agree with the bad braking habits completely.

[BigAls87Z28]

Biggest cause of "warped" rotors is over-torquing the wheels. Another problem is mating surface of the hub to the rotor. If it's not clean, it can cause problems. The other is material transfer due to excessive heat.
Cheap rotors tend to be effected by the first two because manufacturers take more and more metal out of the hat area, which in turn becomes weaker and more susceptible to over-torque of the wheels.

Buy good rotors, good set of pads, new hardware, you should be fine. If you want to upgrade, start with braided steel line to improve some pedal feel.

[elle]

So i finally put the brakes and rotors on. I also installed the SLP line loc. I had a hard time grasping why the SLP kit had a 50 ft piece of wire they wanted to go to the solenoid? I cut it and went 4ft straight ahead. Works good and no more pulsating brakes.