Thread: Brake rotors
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Old 07-14-2003, 03:44 PM
Duke2.6 Duke2.6 is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Southern California
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Cross drilling conventional rotors reduces thermal capacity and creates stress concentrations that can lead to hub to OD cracks in hard use. If rotors are OEM cross drilled, that's okay, but I highly recommend AGAINST cross drilling conventional OEM vented or solid rotors.

Many rotor warp problems can be traced to improper torquing of wheel bolts. Wheels bolts must ALWAYS be torqued to specification with a torque wrench, preferably in two increments using the "star pattern", which means tightening every other bolt in sequence on a four or five lug pattern.

If you frequent a shop that just bangs the wheels on with an impact wrench, get them straightened out or find a shop that uses proper procedures.

I've never had a rotor warp problem on any of my cars, including the 2.6, and all including the 2.6 have been raced, but I ALWAYS remove and install my own wheels and always tighten them in two increments to the proper spec using the star tightening pattern. I also use anti-seize compound on the threads and wheel/bolt seating surfaces.

My rotors are worn more in the middle the the ID and OD and have numerous short thermal cracks from racing, but they have no runout and are still perfectly serviceable until they reach minimum thickness.

The only thing I have to be concerned with is new brake pad breakin, as breaking in new pads with worn rotors requires a longer and more thoughful breakin in order to achieve full effectiveness, which means light to moderate braking for about 300 miles or normal urban/surburban driving. New pads on new or refinished rotors are effectively seated in 25 to 50 miles of normal driving.

Duke
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