2000 Z28 Rotor help!

Hey guys,

I'm really not too car savvy, so please bear with me. What are the minimum thickness specs for the front and back rotors? I think the stock rotors (which I have now) come originally 1.26in/1.02in for front and back respectively.

Another question is, do rotors wear down for any other reason other than having them turned or having messed up pads? Does driving under normal conditions wear down the rotors? It shouldn't right? I mean, that's why the pads are there with the special material that wears down, not the rotor.. Or am I wrong?

I haven't had any problems with them yet. I've had my pads changed a few times in the past but the mechanic at Midas told me I needed to turn the rotors (I probably didn't need them turned). This was 2 years ago. Under normal circumstances, should there be any reason why I need new rotors now if they're not warped? I'm sure I need new pads though...

Thanks guys,

Mike

The minimum specs are stamped on the back of the rotors.
Rotors will wear down some with normal use - Think about it, Extreme friction and heat is generated every time brakes are applied - something has to give. And in performance cars metallic pads are usually used because the synthetic just dont give the braking power needed. That is abrasive on the rotors too, not to mention grit & dirt from the road.
Some folks just plain dont pay attention and let their pads wear down to where the rivets will actually cut grooves in the rotor so deep that they can't be machined out
Usually a shop mechanic will want to turn the rotors - (1) because he wants the brakes to be as smooth as possible so you wont come back complaining about feeling pulsations in the pedal and jittering in the steering wheel when braking. - and (2) weather or not they need to be turned, it is a way to generate more revenue for the shop.

The more a rotor is turned the thinner it will be and subsequently will warp quicker and worse because the heat generated has less metal to dissipate thru and will sometimes cause a blue glazing effect and surface cracking & naturally thin metal warps quicker than a thick piece.

In today's market it is almost more cost effective for what you get to just replace the rotors with new ones especially if they have already been turned once or more , so you stay with the full braking specs for your car

also, if your pads are wearing out in just 2 years under normal driving conditions something is up with that.
I use bendix premium titanium pads and they will last at least 5 years before even considering replacing them.
I would have someone check to be sure the claipers are releasing completely & find out what kind of pads the shop is putting on for you. They may not be putting on premium pads and giving you the economy junk so they will make more $$

Lateral Runout
Front: .005in/.13mm
Rear: .006in/.15mm

Parallelism
Front and Rear: .0005in/.013mm

Original Thickness
Front: 1.260in/32.0mm
Rear: 1.020in/25.90mm

Minimum Refinish Thickness
Front: 1.223in/31.08mm
Rear: .980in/24.89mm

Minimum Discard Thickness
Front: 1.209in/30.71mm
Rear: .965in/24.51mm

I got teh specification hookups :)

Thank you both for your input!

I'll def look into getting better pads this time around...

Thanks for the specs, woot :)

you're welcome

you're welcome

Post whore? :loser:

Post whore? :loser:
:icon16: yea u are