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Re: When to change Brake Rotors; Ceramic pad comments? Posted by Ari [Email]  (#2847) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Ari) on Tue, 6 Feb 2007 12:00:55
In Reply to: When to change Brake Rotors; Ceramic pad comments?, Rich Chang, Tue, 6 Feb 2007 10:27:08 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
I replace rotors if they are badly (really badly!) scored, or have reached the minimum thickness. And usually, if they feel warped. Theoretically you can grind warped rotors as long as when the grind is done, you are still above the minimum thickness. In practice, I just replace warped rotors, because unless you measure runout, you won't know if they'll be beyond the min thickness until after they are ground, and that means the possibility of cost and time wasted.
I'd have to check the manual to see what the minimum thickness is. It is engraved into the edge of the rotor, but the edge of the rotor is usually so rusted on an older car that it is unreadable.
If it matters any, I have NEVER changed a set of rotors on a 9000 because they were worn to the minimum thickness. In fact, I've only changed one set of rotors (fronts) on the '97 I picked up a few years ago with 102K miles. The previous owner had warped the rotors. Now, he lived at the top of a very steep hill. Otherwise, I've run plenty of Saabs to 160K and the original rotors were just fine.
The only rotors I've had to replace recently due to min thickness were on my '01 VW Jetta. Those rotors were at the min thickness at 80K miles. But a lot there has to do with rotor and pad material. The Jetta is the around-town car, so it sees a lot of braking. The front pads lasted an amazing 80K. I figure that VW used a softer rotor, so it saved the pads.
As to ceramic pads, the major advantage is that they are quieter and produce less dust than conventional organic and semi-metallic or metallic pads. From what I understand, they don't require the same warm-up that metallic and some semi-metallic pads need. However, you need to be sure to go with good quality pads. Just like they slap Turbo on everything (what's a Turbo shaver? It uses hair clippings to improve performance?) there are a lot of pads out there that say 'ceramic'. They might have a small amount of ceramic material in an otherwise typical matrix, and provide no advantage.
Another advantage of ceramic pads is that the pad itself is more resistant to heat. However, the pad is just one element of the braking system, and I haven't seen a heat issue with the 9000 brakes.
If you've got a nice set of wheels and spend a lot of time and effort keeping them clean, then some quality ceramic pads would probably save you work. Otherwise, if you're happy with what you're using now, I'd go with it again.
posted by 192.249....
, Tue, 6 Feb 2007 14:30:47, Tue, 6 Feb 2007 12:00:55 <-- Viewing This Message
, Fri, 9 Feb 2007 08:36:17
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