Having a hard time finding someone to turn rotors.

[manbridge 74]

Originally Posted by Driven97

Just as an FYI, it's fantastically rare for rotors to actually warp. 99.9% of the time pedal pulsing is caused by uneven pad transfer. During braking, some of the pad material embeds itself into the surface of the rotor. This is totally normal and actually desired.

If you like to sit at stop lights with your brakes clamped hard, especially if the brakes are on the hot side, a little extra pad material can sort of stick when you release. Do this often enough, and you can build nice little clusters of pad material. To make things worse, the brakes are "sticky" in these spots which increases the odds of stopping on one next time, making those individual spots build little peaks of pad material n the rotors higher and higher with each stop.

Best solution to avoid this is to not stand on the brakes anymore once you've stopped. Ease off on the pedal, use only enough pressure as needed. Even better is to roll ahead very slightly periodically to avoid being clamped on to the same spot.

I agree with the above - a light cut might help you temporarily, but it's best to just go with replacement and change your braking habits. This part I'm not as clear on, but I guess the uneven heating you've created can change the metallurgy in the rotor unevenly, and that means your problem will come back.

Good luck!

This makes good sense and would explain why I was able to what I thought was "reverse warp" the rotors on my first car. I let off brakes when they grabbed and relaxed when they were free coming up to stops. The pulsating was reduced by 90%. I was probably removing pad transfer material.

[yelcab1]

For the $50 per rotor, it would be economically cheaper to swap out rotors. I assume your time running around dropping them off, waiting a few hours, and running around getting them back, only to have the thing last 3 moths... is false economy. My standard practice is if each rotor is less than $100, I throw them out.

[Sooner or later]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

Brakes are thousands of dollars cheaper than a transmission rebuild. Don't downshift to save brakes. That is crazy. The brakes are cheap and easy to replace. In 20+ years of owning my 911 I have never warped the rotors and I have done over 100 autoccrosses.

What's a few clutches and synchro's...

[Nick Triesch]

I took my car to the shop I have used for 30 years and they turned all four rotors for $90. My car stops just fine.

[pmax]

Originally Posted by Nick Triesch

I took my car to the shop I have used for 30 years and they turned all four rotors for $90. My car stops just fine.

So, they removed the rotors, turn them and reinstall for $90 !

[KTL]

If you want to keep using the rotors, get one of these and see if it addresses your issue. Works very good to "scrape" the pad material off. One challenge you may encounter is the splash shield/backing plate may be in the way of doing the back side. Not to mention it's a pain in the butt to turn the rotor by hand while you're holding the hone in your drill against the rotor

Flex-Hone for Rotors, Hone Tools, Flex Hones

Get one at amazon or someplace else besides direct from the manufacturer. Direct from manufacturer pricing is way more than retailers.

[Matt Monson]

Originally Posted by yelcab1

For the $50 per rotor, it would be economically cheaper to swap out rotors. I assume your time running around dropping them off, waiting a few hours, and running around getting them back, only to have the thing last 3 moths... is false economy. My standard practice is if each rotor is less than $100, I throw them out.

My thoughts exactly.

[NICE 69 S]

I found Michael Lang's post #17 very interesting where he states that the European cars use very soft rotors. My wife's '99 C230 Mercedes had the front rotors changed by the dealer with less than 10k miles, then I put two more sets of ATE rotors on before it got to 100k miles.
In 2000, my son and daughter both bought a new Saturn on the same day. When they were about a year old, I went to the local auto parts store that offered free brake pad replacement for the life of the car, and bought a set of front pads, thinking I would get a two for one deal when I had to start replacing pads. Boy was I wrong. One of the cars was totaled (with 80k miles) in the rain when my son hydroplaned off the street and hit a tree, and the other was sold with 90k miles. These cars had GREAT brakes, and to my disbelief, at about 80k miles, the front rotors had lost less than .005" thickness and just less than 50% of the pads. I never had to use the pads, and they were thrown in the trunk of the one we sold.
Bob B

[cabmandone]

I ended up getting the rotors turned by a local I mentioned in a previous post. $25 for the pair. Lowest cost for new that I saw was $104 for the pair. Savings: $79
The funny thing is, I had no idea I was starting such a controversial thread.

[KTL]

We'll just leave this right here and add some laughs/levity to the controversy

For the Fellow Brake Nerds......

[Matt Monson]

Originally Posted by cabmando

I ended up getting the rotors turned by a local I mentioned in a previous post. $25 for the pair. Lowest cost for new that I saw was $104 for the pair. Savings: $79
The funny thing is, I had no idea I was starting such a controversial thread.

Start an oil thread and you'll see controversy.

[ClickClickBoom]

Even if you turn your rotors you will still need to bed the rotors. My brakes are like running into a brick wall.
Did you put a dial indicator on the rotors to check the runout? If the surface is blotchy it's a bedding issue, it's really easy to see with a flashlight. My Stoptechs have a satin sheen and to this day are uber predictable at all speeds. Add some heat into the rotor and pad and they are Velcro. The way brakes actually work is fascinating, it's not just surface friction that is doing the stopping. Hit a google search and read till your eyes bleed!
New Brakes!

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by ClickClickBoom

Even if you turn your rotors you will still need to bed the rotors. My brakes are like running into a brick wall.
Did you put a dial indicator on the rotors to check the runout? If the surface is blotchy it's a bedding issue, it's really easy to see with a flashlight. My Stoptechs have a satin sheen and to this day are uber predictable at all speeds. Add some heat into the rotor and pad and they are Velcro. The way brakes actually work is fascinating, it's not just surface friction that is doing the stopping. Hit a google search and read till your eyes bleed!
New Brakes!

The guy who turned the rotors checked run out. He indicated there was run out on both rotors. I'm going to order some new pads, get everything installed and then go out and bed the pads properly.
I considered starting a "which pad" thread but I think I'm just going to wing it to avoid further controversy. Plus there's already a thread on that subject.

Thanks for the input.

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by cabmando

... I considered starting a "which pad" thread but...

Voila... rotors and pads

[cabmandone]

JJ,
That's the thread I was looking at. UGH all it does it set me off on another tangent. The ATE ceramics look like they work best with the most rotors. The problem I'm having is determining which ATE pads are specifically ceramic. I checked this site and it doesn't list the composition of the pads as far as I can tell.

[Contadino]

When I was tracking my 951 I had the rotors turned three times before they were at minimum spec and I scrapped them. I had two sets and alternated between the two. Cost me $15 per rotor. Are you guys saying 911 rotors are made from different steel?

[JJ 911SC]

Doesn't look like they make it for our generation...

Give them a call you never know.

https://www.amazon.com/Ate-604842-Disc-Brake-Pad/dp/compatibility-chart/B00700Y4AA

[rnln]

:lol: :lol:

Originally Posted by cabmando

The guy who turned the rotors checked run out. He indicated there was run out on both rotors. I'm going to order some new pads, get everything installed and then go out and bed the pads properly.
I considered starting a "which pad" thread but I think I'm just going to wing it to avoid further controversy. Plus there's already a thread on that subject.

Thanks for the input.

[Nick Triesch]

The shop that turned my rotors has an on the car rotor turning machine. I had pulsating braking shudder at high speed and it is gone now. Turns out the shudder was from the rear wheels. My rotors are still within spec.

[Catorce]

Hey while we're at it does anyone know of a good source for whale blubber? My gas lamps stopped working, but there's plenty of life left in them and I don't feel like switching to those new fangled 'lectric lights.