brake question

Hey i was just wondering if any body else had problems with vibration/ car shaking when using sloted and crossed drilled rotors. if i'm not on the brakes fairly hard i get a shake in the front end and through the steering column. ive checked everything and nothing is loose in the front end. I didn't cheap out on these rotors either. so i was just wondering if this was common when trying to use these rotors on this car. dont know really what else to do. Thanks, Paul

Sometimes the new rotors arent perfect, ive seen it before. Take them and get them turned (resurfaced). That will straighten them out, then hope they didnt mess the pads up.

Can't turn slotted rotors...or last I checked you can't turn them. But that is what it sounds like, sounds like you have a warped rotor. Just get some Brembo blanks, better than slotted and cross drilled....forgot where I read a huge article on why to use blanks over slotted and cross drilled, but it made a lot of sense. Because of the way most(except for high dollar OEM parts, and a few other exceptions) slotted and/or cross drilled rotors are made, they are weaker than blanks and tend to crack quicker on you.

Now I can't say much right now, my hatch has slotted rotors on the front, but those were from before I read that article and will soon be replaced when I get back to doing brakes.

You can, but its finding a shop that will do it for you thats the problem.. most will say it messes up the lathe. But it can be done.

It's actually simple to do. You just have to make really small cuts.

well, it actually *does* mess up the lathe, b/c the areas where the holes are create a "wall" area on the other side of the hole, and when the cutter head hits it, it seriously dulls it.

They have tips that are meant for this exact job, we used to have them at Sear's... but the problem is, they still dull after only 2 or 4 rotors... so most places won't use them... waste of money.

Other than that, if they're not seriously used, see if you can RMA them.

well i got a warenty on them so i will just try to get a new set. but they were fine when i got them and they havent been under any punishment yet so i dont see why they would warpnever had this problem with stock rotors. weird, thanks for the imput though

there are alot of factors besides how much you used the brakes... if you just barely touch the brake pedal enough to turn the lights on, your brakes are riding the rotors... and overheating them.. another thing you wanna check for is that warped/warping rotors are a good sign of bearing wear... if your new ones warp again, drive it around for awhile, then remove your tire on the front and see how hot the hub is, immediately afterward.

bearings arn't the problem they are less than a year old. and im on the brake enough to slow the car when the shaking occurs

Have you checked the rest of the front brake/suspension system?

Even a small bubble or out-of-round condition can cause what you're experiencing (on a tire).

I'm not saying that it's not the rotors, but there are alot of other factors that would cause even a slight shake in the front end while braking... one of them is bad/worn bushings, actually..

Before sending those rotors back, you should check from every angle, to make sure it's not something entirely different.

yeah ive been suspect of the bushings for a while now they dont look teribble but they are worn and they are all origanal so im sure they need to be done but the car still handles fine but that shake is driving me nuts. ive never done bushings before, do you need a press to do them or are they easy to do. i got suspension class next so i could wait and do them there but i would like to get this done as that class wouldnt start till january.

MOST of the bushings aren't hard to change.. the only ones that I remember are a real POS to change are the ones in the rear trailing arms... those are pressed in, and I usually replace them w/ slide-in urethane bushings.

If everything else is OK, it's safe to suspect that your rotors are bad, and need to be either machined, or RMA'd.

jack up the car and push on your wheel..is it shifting at all? if it wiggles up and down or side to side could either be your wheel bearings or ball joints..

oh yeah, forgot about the ball joints... but ya know, they're not all THAT important or anything..

CUZ IT'S PEANUT BUTTA JELLY TIME!

Sry... had to.

Hey, do you think the rotors might have been dropped during shipping?
Or maybe all the rust on the hub wasn't cleaned off prior to install?

No to 1, Yes to 2. Dropping those rotors from any normal height is not going to hurt them. They could hold the weight of the car and be fine. Its a good idea to check behind though.

Easy enough. If theres something (rust, grease, road debris, etc...) between the rotor and the wheel hub, it could put your wheel at an angle when you bolt it on and cause it to vibrate.

The brakes on my car...

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/modelfreakca/DSC08089.jpg

Yes those are ACTUALY the brakes on my car.
No the thing ain't street legal.
Yes I do drive it around.

Those look like artifacts dug up from some indian burial mound dude..damn. They dont even have a distinct shape anymore. Especially the caliper.

EDIT... those are the "lack" of brakes on your car... no pads, no brakes bro... do you stop it w/ the e-brake or something?

I did that for awhile when one of my lines broke on my old azz sunbird... stopped w/ the e-brake and downshifting... made for a fun time when someone stopped quick in front of you.

yup... use ebrake

i just crank it as hard as i can... oddly doesn't lock... its like ABS on handbrakes. (stops fast too, so I know their not worn)

rofl... it's pry stretched or something.. so you may be reaching the end of the e-brake travel before the brakes can lock.. but hey, if it works, use it :P

no I can feel the tension and the handle only goes about 3/4 of the travel it's supposed to have.

I checked the rear pads the other day... they were about half an inch thick, but the drum is totaly shot... rusted to hell (rust actualy ADDED thickness to the drum.)

that might be why they won't lock too.. the rust might be breaking off and "rolling" between the pads and the drums.

that might be. Although that doesn't explain the Xtreme stoping power it has! It literaly push me into the belt and tilts my head forward... that's how strong it is!

again, could be that the rust is causing enough friction to stop you at a glance, but not enough to lock. BTW, nice sig ;)

well at least something works. My crx rears were so bad that I would CRANK on the damn thing and nothing would even happen..then all of a sudden I would start hearing the left rear lock. And it STILL didnt slow me down by more than about 3mph. My hatch rears are much better, I know because I blew the right front brake line about a month ago.

I have bad rear bushings... the trailing arm bushings.. so the rear end clicks sometimes if I jack on the brakes real hard... I have urethane inserts for them tho.

i checked all my ball joints and bushings and everything seems to be in order. i had some stainless steel brake lines waiting to go on so i put them on and found i was missing the little copper washers on the passenger side brake line. the shaking has been reduced quite a bit but is still there. i know there is no air in those lines cause we bleed the lines like crazy with a machine and by hand. the alignment is all in spec so im now turning my attention to my rims. i think i may have a bent rim or two seeing i got these rims second hand i dont know what they have been through but there is a considerable amount of curb rash on those babies. but thanks for all the sugestions. Paul