Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Brake Rotor replace, turn, or leave alone?

I am in the process of changing the brakes on my sisters car. I have experience doing this but I was wondering how do you know what to do with the rotors? I personally always change my rotors when changing the pads, but my sister only has enough money for the pads. I would buy them for her but I cannot afford it either.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.Brake Rotor replace, turn, or leave alone?
New pads will bed onto used rotors but only fully after a few hundred miles but the combination should be able to pass a rolling road brake efficiency test immediately, they just won't be %26quot;as good as new%26quot;. Done a fair bit of research into this as I had an argument with a mate who said new rotors weren't really necessary whereas I claimed they were.Brake Rotor replace, turn, or leave alone?
feel the rotors with your hands . if you feel grooves in the rotors, they should be replaced if not, they are good.Brake Rotor replace, turn, or leave alone?
I change my rotors when they warp. On the MR2, this is just about every time the pads give up.



On my camry, I change the rotors when they warp, which is about every third time I change the brake pads. Actually on my camry, I just press the brakes harder and it shuts them up.



If the rotors aren't warped, don't bother changing them.



Consider buying a boat. Not only will it give you an excuse to wear a fashionable ascot, but boat have no wheels, ergo, no rotors.Brake Rotor replace, turn, or leave alone?
If the rotors aren't severely rusted or scored up and the brakes didn't vibrate, you should be OK with just replacing the pads.Brake Rotor replace, turn, or leave alone?
You may be wasting money on rotors. unless they are warped, or grooved or worn where the pads hit beyond minimum thickness you can just put on new pads. Also, all rotors are not the same, the cheap chinese ones are only good for selling your car, US versions last a LOT longer and won't warp much.Brake Rotor replace, turn, or leave alone?
If the rotors are smooth and shiny they do not need replacing.

Minor grooving gets worse the deeper it goes.