Cheap rotors or too aggressive pads?

[KrisZ]

I had to change the front brake pads and rotors on my grand caravan because of excessive vibration during braking. It was barely noticeable at speeds below 60mph, but aggressive braking from 80mph or so would shake the steering wheel.

The pads had lots of material left and were worn evenly. The rotors showed some grooving on the outer surface and discoloration on the inner surface. They didn’t look too chewed up, I’ve seen worse for sure.
Pads were Raybestos R-line
Rotors were made by Durago.

Not sure what caused the vibration. I tried re-bedding the pads and that didn’t help. Seems like uneven rotor wear and grooves perhaps?
Overheating, given the different inner surface color. I didn’t see any cracks though, so they never gat that hot.

Was it a bad combination of hard pads and cheap rotors? Performance wise they were fine, no different from the OEMs this combo replaced.

 

[BrendanC]

almost looks like something is dragging and getting really hot. that or you live in a hilly area and are always riding the brakes.

 

[Kalle.J]

Sticky caliper most likely, maybe dirty brackets aswell.
Ears on the pads look rusty.

 

[JavierH19]

As Brendan said they could be dragging from a sticking caliper and yes we know that disk brakes always drag though it's supposed to be a tiny amount unlike drum brakes which don't drag. It's the reason why I'm with audi on using drum brakes on their expensive ev's that usually regen brake for the most part.

Maybe clean everything up and fully compress the pistons then pump them out and repeat. Have you changed your brake fluid as well.

 

[Timmastertech]

Junk pads causing the uneven transfer thats visible on the rotor. Its the reason I stopped selling Carquest brake pads.

 

[KrisZ]

Junk pads causing the uneven transfer thats visible on the rotor. Its the reason I stopped selling Carquest brake pads.

I think that could be it.

Brakes were definitely not dragging, I could easily spin the disk by grabbing the wheel studs and spinning it this way.

Replaced these with Power Stop pads and rotors, we'll see how they do.

 

[factorytuned2012]

from the looks of the rusty ears pads were probably not moving much.

 

[Kalle.J]

I think that could be it.

Brakes were definitely not dragging, I could easily spin the disk by grabbing the wheel studs and spinning it this way.

Replaced these with Power Stop pads and rotors, we'll see how they do.

Yeah that us not how you test dragging brakes.
Go for a 10min spirited drive without braking and coast to a stop and feel if any disc is hot.

 

[KrisZ]

from the looks of the rusty ears pads were probably not moving much.

The pads wore evenly though and came out without issues.

 

[thescreensavers]

Brake vibration that suddenly appears is usually caused by overheating the pads. Either you over heated them or something is dragging causing excessive heat.

Buy more heat tolerant pads if your calipers are fine. You can cut the rotors to clean them up but with how cheap rotors are these days can just swap em.

 

[Kalle.J]

Brake vibration that suddenly appears is usually caused by overheating the pads. Either you over heated them or something is dragging causing excessive heat.

Buy more heat tolerant pads if your calipers are fine. You can cut the rotors to clean them up but with how cheap rotors are these days can just swap em.

You mean discs. Cooked pads can give brake fade.

 

[thescreensavers]

You mean discs. Cooked pads can give brake fade.

No discs/rotors don't warp. It's pad material causing high spots.

 

[Kalle.J]

No discs/rotors don't warp. It's pad material causing high spots.

Guess not


Proper bed in should prevent uneven pad transfer.

 

[UncleDave]

Bad rotor pad combo.

Im fairly certain thats whats called "non uniform pad imprinting" - the deposits left on the rotor from the pad causes the pulsing.

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

Usually cheap pads ruin the rotors in my experience. Do what you want to fix it. No cleaning and lubing will make a difference, they look good enough where that is not the issue. If they were growing rust bubbles, that's different.

 

[D1dad]

precisely the reason I stopped using cheap rotors and pads. I own and maintain daily drivers for myself, wife and 3 kids and found myself replacing brakes way too often. I solely started using Ebc rotors and pads and am trying a set of brembos to see how they fare. Now brakes jobs are done when the brakes need replaced.

 

[Timmastertech]

I think that could be it.

Brakes were definitely not dragging, I could easily spin the disk by grabbing the wheel studs and spinning it this way.

Replaced these with Power Stop pads and rotors, we'll see how they do.

We started selling the powerstop Z17 pads 18 months ago and no issues yet. We generally pair them with a high carbon rotor unless not available in a reasonable time, then we will use a plain rotor.

 

[The Critic]

Junk pads causing the uneven transfer thats visible on the rotor. Its the reason I stopped selling Carquest brake pads.

This.

 

[camrydriver111]

I think that could be it.

Brakes were definitely not dragging, I could easily spin the disk by grabbing the wheel studs and spinning it this way.

Replaced these with Power Stop pads and rotors, we'll see how they do.

To test for sticky brakes spin the wheel. Apply the brake hard, release the brakes, and spin the wheel again to see if there is a change.

It looks like sticking brakes or just overheated poor quality pads.

 

[Rust_Belt_Pete]

Guess not


Proper bed in should prevent uneven pad transfer.

That is not a run out, that is MARATHON OUT, cross into the next continent and come back.