Stop warping your brake rotors...

[speedy341]

...ease up on the pedal while stopped.

A wise old mechanic once told me the reason why brake rotors warp; uneven cooling. He said when you keep heavy pressure on the pedal (especially after heavy braking like from 50 to 0mph) the rotors don't cool evenly where the brake pads contact the rotors, and that causes them to warp.

So ease up on the pedal after a long stop. Just keep enough pressure on the pedal to keep the vehicle from moving (it allows the rotor to expand and contract easier), or creep forward a few inches every few seconds after hard breaking to move the pads contact point.

I thought it makes sense and since I've been doing it, my rotors last a looong time.

 

[SL8Brick]

quote:

---

So ease up on the pedal after a long stop. Just keep enough pressure on the pedal to keep the vehicle from moving (it allows the rotor to expand and contract easier), or creep forward a few inches every few seconds after hard breaking to move the pads contact point.

---

Yup, that is some good advice. I practice this and the super-cheapo Chinese made rotors on my Volvo are still in great shape after almost 3yrs/50k miles. Speaking of non-warping rotors, check this out... Frozen Rotors.com Kind of expensive and a bit unconventional, but very interesting.

 

[timzak]

quote:

---

Originally posted by speedy341:
...ease up on the pedal while stopped.

...or creep forward a few inches every few seconds after hard breaking to move the pads contact point.

---

I call such people "creepers."

Argh...this annoys the heck out of me. You come to a complete stop at a signal in a long line of cars and suddenly the car ahead of you starts creeping forward little by little after coming to a comlete stop prematurely. Normally I steadfastly hold my ground because I refuse to keep 'creeping' forward after I settle myself down to a complete stop, but sometimes you're obligated to do the same so the guy behind you has a better chance of making the left turn light.

Am I the only one annoyed by creepers?

 

[dickwells]

I started "rolling stop" stop signs last year for just this reason. I was going somewhere with my wife a couple weeks ago and she made the comment "you totally paused" (Re: Alicia Silverstone movie). I also got an Ipass so I don't have to stop at the toll booths. Just went over 46K on my 02 Silverado and no sign of brake pulse yet (crossing fingers).

 

[Dan4510]

quote:

---

Originally posted by timzak:

Am I the only one annoyed by creepers?

---

Tim,

No you are not, creepers seem to be subset of the larger set of people known as freaking idiots. Freaking idiots are breeding unchecked in our heavily regulated enviornment. Now we have so many safety rules, freaking idiots don't exit from the gene pool. And now, since they are protected at every turn they are out breeding people who have the ability to use their brains almost on a 3-1 basis.

Dan

 

[cangreylegend]

By the same token, it is easier on the brake rotors to stop slowly rather than one harder stop. The peak temperature reached is lower as there is more time to dissipate some of the energy/heat. It's also easier on the pad but don't overdo it and glaze the pads though.

 

[Dan4510]

For me the most significant help to not warping rotors has been to torque them to correct specs in the correct pattern with a good torque wrench.

there is good advice about slowing down without just standing on the brakds, but it seems that in today's traffic, that is not much of an option.

Warping rotors are sometimes caused by hard and soft spots in the rotor iteself and this can not be prevented by anything other than buying a quality rotor to begin with.

Dan

 

[speedy341]

You only have to "creep" 2" to move the pads off the hot spot.

 

[timzak]

quote:

---

Originally posted by speedy341:
You only have to "creep" 2" to move the pads off the hot spot.

---

Tell that to everyone else on the streets. Don't know why they do it (likely not to preserve their rotors), but they typically creep a few car lengths, and not all at once; a few feet, complete stop. A few more feet, complete stop, etc.

Yes, it's a big pet peeve of mine.

 

[Randy]

Here's some great information on this. . . It has pictures and everything! You can see the deposits discussed here.

Warped Rotors

 

[MRC01]

Some more brake life tips:

Lift the throttle sooner and coast up to stops.

Don't tailgate, so you can coast down rather than touching the brakes when the car in front of you slows down.

Generally less aggressive driving.

Downshift as you slow down to a stop.

Result: 140,000 miles on my Honda Civic, with original rotors, original pads on the rear, and only 1 brake pad replacement on the front (still on the 1st set of replacement pads from the OEM pads).

 

[Rick in PA]

Just be careful if you creep ahead at a stop sign / stop light.

Typical scenario: Car 1 coasts ahead then stops. Driver in car 2 sees brake lights on car 1 go out, figures car 1 is pulling out. Driver in car 2 looks to left to check traffic and steps on gas at same time. Driver in car 2 turns head just in time to see he's going to plow into rear end of car 1.

BLAM, BANG, CRUNCH, ETC. Then the drivers of car 1 and 2 get to meet each other face-to-face, exchange licenses, call cops, have insurance rates adjusted, you know the drill.

If you do creep ahead, keep a light foot on the brake pedal to keep your brake lights illuminated.

 

[labman]

Good point Rick. The driver''s manual in my state says you must stop before the stop sign, and if you don't have an adequate view of the road, then pull forward and stop again. Yeah, right. It also says you should always turn into the curb lane when turning. If you are turning the other way at the next corner, that means a lane change, possibly impossible in heavy traffic.

 

[JohnBrowning]

Brake Tip: DO not ride your brakes. Adjuast brakes manualy a least twice a year!! Buy a Toyota!

Here goes one! Make sure the iron is at the right temp at the mold as well as at cupola! Nothing like pouring orange iron !!

 

[TheLoneRanger]

Good tip, Speedy! That, along with evenly torqueing the lugs, should solve most rotor warping.

 

[acranox]

I hate creepers a lot.
And since I have a manual transmission, creeping it's just a simple act. If you own a manual consider this:
creeping to conserve your rotors may be really stupid since a new clutch probably costs more than having the rotors turned.

 

[S2000driver]

I CONFESS-- AFTER A HARD STOP I CREEP TO PREVENT WARPED ROTORS. PLEASE DON'T HATE ME FOR BEING A CREEPER!

I've never had warped rotors.

It's very easy to do with auto tranny. But with a manual, I don't put it in gear to move. Usually a hard stop qualifies as one that was downhill, so in a manual tranny you can just leave off the brake in neutral and coast forward.

It's a myth that holding firm pressure on the brakes (by itself) is enough force to warp the rotors. Do the calculations, it's ludicrous! The only thing that can severely warp a rotor is uneven cooling, can even happen at a car wash without the brakes applied. Not torquing lugnuts or cheap rotors contributes, but by far uneven cooling of the rotor plate is the culprit.

Speedy341 said: So ease up on the pedal after a long stop. Just keep enough pressure on the pedal to keep the vehicle from moving (it allows the rotor to expand and contract easier), or creep forward a few inches every few seconds after hard breaking to move the pads contact point.

NO NO NO NO!

If you can't creep forward, at least KEEP your foot firmly on the brake. This will make sure that the pad continues to contact the rotor and provide a solid path for heat to flow and the rotor under the pad to cool reasonably well. The less you push on the brake, the less effective contact area for heat to flow.

Furthermore, if you put the car in neutral, and take your foot off the brake, a very small air gap is created between the pads and rotor, and there is no longer conduction. In this case, if the car doesn't creep forward, you are effectively INSULATING part of your rotor from cooling, further increasing the difference in cooling rates around the rotor.

[ December 20, 2003, 10:20 AM: Message edited by: S2000driver ]

 

[S2000driver]

For those who don't quite understand how uneven cooling can warp a rotor, I have an experiment for you to try.

Cut a circle in a piece of notebook paper. Take the circle and cut a slit from the edge to the middle.

Now take those edges and pull them together, overlapping a bit. Notice what happens to the rest of the circle, it's distorted, no longer flat. This is what would happen if you cooled one area of the rotor quickly, as in with a blast of water from a hose on a hot rotor.

To demonstrate what happens with the brake pads in one position on the rotor during cooling after a hard stop, pull the edges away from each other. The paper cirle distorts again.

As the rotor cools, the majority of the rotor is cooling and getting smaller. The part under the pad is not getting smaller, and the forces of differential thermal profile in the rotor causes extreme stresses that are relieved by the rotor taking a warped shape.

This thermal warping of the rotor is effectively completely independent of any clamping forces on the rotor at the pad.

It takes thousands of psi to warp a rotor, which is easily achieved with creating an uneven thermal profile in a plate. The clamping/positioning force applied by the brake caliper is only a fraction of the force required to yield the rotor material.

 

[gumby_66]

I try a save my brakes and rotors by timing the lights.

I read somewhere that depending on the size of your vehicle it takes 50 - 100 horse power to restart a vehicle that is stopped.

Most times I'm only doing 10 to 20 KMH when the light changes or the car in front of me starts to move ahead.

I have 67000K on the orginal brake pads.

All my friends say I drive like a little old lady, but why go like a bat out of hell just to hammer the brakes at the next light.

Steve

 

[oilcanboyd]

quote:

---

I CONFESS-- AFTER A HARD STOP I CREEP TO PREVENT WARPED ROTORS. PLEASE DON'T HATE ME FOR BEING A CREEPER!

---

i do the same.