BRAKING PROBLEMS

[bradley1997]

I put a new set of cross drilled rotors and new pads on the car about 3 mos ago. When I am going about 50 mph or faster and slightly tap on the brake pedal my car shakes really bad. Are one or both of my rotors warped? I hope not I just got em. It's starting to get worse. Any ideas?

[seth98esT]

What type of pades? Did you remove the caliper from the brake line? If so did you bleed the brakes properly?

[bradley1997]

The rotors are Brembo drilled, and the pads are EBC Green. I never removed the brake line from the caliper so there was no need to bleed them. When I put the new rotors on I hung the calipers out of the way with a zip tie.

[SamirDarji]

If you didn't go easy on them for the first 100 miles or so, I'd say they're warped. Cross drilled rotors can't handle heat as well as the stock solids. It's easy to mess up drilled rotors. https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/sad.gif

Another thing that could be the problem is wheel balancing. Try having all the tires re-balanced and see if that does it. (Or if you don't have the cash, just rotate the rears to the front to see if things change.)

[JiP]

Drilled and slotted rotors handle heat BETTER then normal brake rotors because they allow the hot brake gases to escape.

[SamirDarji]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JiP)</div><div class='quotemain'>Drilled and slotted rotors handle heat BETTER then normal brake rotors because they allow the hot brake gases to escape.</div>
That's what I used to think too until I did some reading.

The braking capacity of a particular rotor is directly related to its heat capacity. If you take the exact same rotor in drilled and undrilled states and put them through the same braking tests, the drilled one will fail faster. Why? Because it is overheating regardless of how fast it can cool off. There's mass being removed by drilling, so it can't take as much heat.

That's why no one will use drilled rotors are in SCCA road racing events and also why Baer told me not to get drilled rotors if I planned to road race.

[JiP]

Good to know. I know drilled rotors are put down a lot becuase they aren't as strong due to the wholes drilled in them. Slotted rotors are suposed to get all the benifits of drilled and keep the stability..

But if what your saying is correct why would anyone use anything other then normal old cheep ass rotors??

[FrankMB]

I hate EBC. I warped several rotors on my other cars using the Green Stuff. I highly do not recommend them. I replaced my rotors twice on my CLK, first because I thought my rotors were pretty old and needed replacement. Second time thinking it was due to defective rotors. I switched to Porterfield and have not looked back since. Do a little research on EBC and warping and you'll find others with the same problem.

[SamirDarji]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(FrankMB)</div><div class='quotemain'>I hate EBC. Â*I warped several rotors on my other cars using the Green Stuff. Â* I highly do not recommend them. Â*I replaced my rotors twice on my CLK, first because I thought my rotors were pretty old and needed replacement. Â*Second time thinking it was due to defective rotors. Â*I switched to Porterfield and have not looked back since. Â* Do a little research on EBC and warping and you'll find others with the same problem.</div>
Good to know. I may need to get new pads in the near future.

[SamirDarji]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JiP)</div><div class='quotemain'>Slotted rotors are suposed to get all the benifits of drilled and keep the stability..</div>
Yep, that's what they say.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JiP)</div><div class='quotemain'>But if what your saying is correct why would anyone use anything other then normal old cheep ass rotors??</div>
You know, that's the funny thing. Cross drilled looks great, but in all reality stock isn't that bad either. Now, I think the difference is cheap vs expensive. You get what you pay for. A rotor that costs $25 is definitely different than a rotor that costs $50, even if it looks the same.

The only real benefit I've found to cross drilling is better braking in rain. I guess the water doesn't have to boil off first and just runs through the holes. This was both on my stock size on my Altima and the big brake on the Galant.

[bradley1997]

I have noticed less brake dust on my wheels since I put the drilled rotors on, with stock I would clean my wheels and by the end of the week they looked like crap again with all the brake dust on them. I also used to have a squeeking problem due to dust getting trapped between the rotor and the pads. That is the only benefit of drilled rotors that I have noticed. I would go to slotted, but I have heard that it is a waste of money unless you are going to do a lot of racing and need a lot of stopping power. They eat your pads up.

[JiP]

I don't know a great deal on the subject but I would think slotted and drilled would both eat away at the pads. Then again thats probably why your not suposed to use regular cheep ass pads with them =P

[94MitsubishiGalant]

If i were u i would make sure both rotors are at Specification...Have u checked dat??...Does ur car ever pull more to 1 side??...i would check da rotors for worp and measure da whole rotor for improper worpage...Check da Specs all around...make sure if perfectly round and da surface area is smooth not wave...Use a Dial indicator or micrometer or something...check if it has many different reading on each....

[bradley1997]

My car doesn't pull either way. I am sure I have a warped rotor. The question now is do I just go back to stock rotors? I probably will, even though I can't stand the dust and squeeling that sometimes comes with them. If EBC brake pads aren't any good, what do I go with? I had axxis ultimate pads but I really didn't like those.

[SamirDarji]

I've heard good things about Axxis Metal Master pads and Powerstop rotors (I believe. Stillen said they're theirs, but I don't buy it). It's the setup I have on the Altima and never had a problem with it.

[shannon957g]

If you're looking to go cheap but not too cheap, Bendix sells GREAT pads.

The brakedust is gold https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif

They're 40 a pair, require something like 1/2 or 3/4 stopping distance when compared with regular pads.

Who else can say their brakedust is gold?

Not many. https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif

You get them from (dun dun dunnnnnn) Advance Auto Parts. I've been HIGHLY satisfied with these brake pads and they have protected me from MANY accidents.

https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif

[bjarvis]

I've been using raybestos PG Plus rotors [solid, $60 each locally] and
QuietStop pads [ceramics, $40 for 4]. I've been very happy with them.
They dust more than stock, but they never make noise and they "bite"
a little better.

A few things to keep in mind to avoid vibrations:

1) Make sure all the bolts are tightened to spec, in particular
the wheel lugs and the caliper mounting bolts.
The symptom of any of them being over/undertorqued or being
torqued inconsistently is vibration at high speeds.

Some service places ignore this kind of thing and just torque the
crap out of everything with an air wrench because they would
rather warp your rotors than have your wheel fall off and you
crash into a tree and sue them. Mine had last been
torqued by an oil change place that rotated the tires, and they
were tightened to 200-300ft/lbs. It's supposed to be 70-80 ft/lbs.

2) If you used some neolithic technique for removing your rusted on old
rotors, you may have bent or gouged something causing the rotor
to not sit level. If for example there was a ridge on the wheel hub
or a flake of rusted metal or something preventing the rotor from sitting
completely flat, that could cause your vibration. A few thousanths of an
inch of runout in the rotor will cause vibration, so it doesn't take much.

The stock rotors have threaded holes you can screw a bolt into to break
them loose without messing up the metal. For some reason aftermarket
rotors don't always have those.

Good luck.

[peanotation]

regardless of what anything says, i used to go through rotors every 5 months before i got my brembos, i still have them and they're still perfect (as far as i can tell)