Brake Rotors-Are They All The Same?

The problem normally is with the torque on the wheel lug nuts. They are supposed to be hand torqued down these days and some garages or $tealerships still use impact guns for it. The guns even with 'torque sticks' on them are not accurate enough to prevent rotor warpage.

Then sometimes you get what you pay for, ones that warp easy or hard, but the most I have seen bitched about are the good ones with s***ty wheel techs.....

Mike

Listen to Mike, dude. There are a couple of reasons for pulsation, but if you have calipers working as they should, good brake pads, true rotors, and free moving slide pins, part of the battle is won.

You must be very careful about torqueing the wheel lugs. If you see a SOB coming at your wheels with an impact wrench, stop him. I dont care if he has torque stix out the butt, dont let him use the impact wrench.

There are articles which discuss rotor warping, taper, etc. Either of the two is bad. You can measure the rotor for warpage and taper, and see what the basic problem is.

At the end of the road, you have to bring everything back to 'true', but it is good if you understand what the root causes are.

wrote in news:xAWoh.9829$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr17.news.prodigy.net:

Here's the best one I've found yet.

wrote

Premium: Modern factory, pure high-grade iron poured into precision-aligned molds in a temperature-controlled environment, allowed to cool slowly in oven, cooling slots cleaned of all casting slag, fully machined and balanced on CNC machine.

Mid-grade: Ex-sewing machine factory retrofitted with a small furnace, "used" iron with a few minor impurities poured into almost worn-out but still serviceable molds, air-cooled on wood pallets, most casting slag removed using hammer and chisel, surfaced on a lathe in the local high school's auto shop after last class.

Economy: Third-world yokel in a grass hut, old wheels, cranks and tin cans thrown into a big pot, heated over an open fire until they sorta melted, got granny to help pour into home-made carved wooden molds, cooled by dropping them in the creek beside the hut, "machined" by spinning on a stick while the kids held rocks against the sides.

Not much difference, really. Honest.

to help pour

the sides.

And the funniest part of all that is that the 'economy' ones are known to hold true where the 'premium' ones warp if they even see an air gun in the shop....

Mike

It is a good article, and it blows holes in so many of the myths that float around these newsgroups.

Regulars, read this article and learn!

Ian

I couldn't agree more! Bob

I agree, Ian. I have read this article several times and, maybe I am a slow learner but, I get a little different perspective every time I read it.

Some of the principles are sometimes misquoted or misinterpreted by people on these groups but the principles are important and will show you how to do a good job in preventing brake pulsation and buffeting.

I had the rotors replaced on my full size car. They were low cost rotors. They were wearing thin after about 20,000 miles of use. Thats not good. You get what you pay for.

Sometimes.