bought my '01 Z06 back on april fools day, 2005 with 5,600 miles on her.
rotors were severely warped @ 22,000 miles.
so I figured I'd replace them with the Baer Eradispeeds that have a limited lifetime warranty against warpage. I got the 2-piece front and 1-piece rear set (both cross-drilled and slotted) with Hawk HPS street pads.
again, rotors severely warped, this time @ 53,000 miles. And I mean warped, bad. Trust me, I am a BMW technician.
sure, 30,000 miles is good on a set of rotors, but the pads aren't even close to being done and I just don't feel like buying new rotors because they are warped (AGAIN!)
also noticed when coming to a stop, with light to medium brake pressure, car is actually SURGING according to vehicle speed, possible hot spot in rotor or what?? extremely annoying.
just so you know, my driving habits are as follows:
-car is a daily driver (rain, sun or snow, it is my only car)
-car has NEVER been tracked
-I am never hard on the brakes, never street race, etc
-I slow down mostly with the engine
-don't even use the brakes when stopped @ a light if the car will stay put without them
-torqued the wheels to spec and in a star pattern when I put the new rotors on @ 22k miles by myself.
what the hell gives guys? this is extremely annoying, and is the only never-ending issue i have with this beast. any advice guys? any rotors you guys have tried and had luck with?
I was thinking about Frozen Rotors if you guys like them. also was thinking about just replacing them with OEM and dealing with them warping later as they are cheap.
any and all input is greatly appreciated.
thanks guys,
Alex
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Mods so far - LGM Pro headers, GHL Bullets quad 4" angle cut, ACA HID projector kit, skip-shift delete, flush taillight mount kit, carbon fiber brake duct covers, hardwired iPod installation, etc.
I have the Baer EradiSpeed Plus-2 Rotors, 2-piece fronts (stock size) & oversized 2-piece rears (pad only touches the outer half of the rotor, rear calipers relocated outward), cross drilled & slotted, and have had no problems with them. I did have to replace my stock Z06 calipers recently since I was getting some pedal fade while cornering hard (& it seems to have fixed the problem). Have never had any problems with the rotors, with 15K miles of pretty hard driving....
My driving/braking habits sound alot like yours, but I have done quite a few AutoX's and a High Speed Track day. Used to have Hawk HPS's and like you experienced, barely wore. Switched to Hawk Ceramics when I changed my calipers out last month to help solve my pedal fade problem and I expect them to wear a bit faster than the HPS's.....
LeRox, wow... I also have noticed serious pedal fade when cornering hard, forgot to mention that. What exactly was wrong with the calipers? All 4 brand new calipers for $400 isn't so bad...
Does anyone think I need to be extremely hard on the brakes every once in a while? Will this remove brake dust deposits on the rotors?? Someone told me this once but I don't know if he is correct.
Thanks...
Last edited by SupercarFreak : 02-12-2008 at 06:41 PM.
Did anyone else take your wheels on or off besides you: say when you got new tires for example?
well, very shortly after I did the brakes I put new tires on the car myself. Pretty sure I torqued the wheels then also as I was at my BMW dealership with my tools, torque wrench, etc.
I have NEVER used an impact gun to put my wheels on, only to take them off.
The car was in an accident after that and may or may not have had the wheels taken off, but it was repaired at a very reputable, local Corvette-only shop, and I'm sure they are aware of rotor warpage issues from not torquing wheels properly.
Freak....not sure exactly what was wrong with my calipers that was causing my pedal fade. They all looked to be in ok shape & seals didnt leak. Probably some bending or warpage that wasnt visible to the naked eye, I guess. Before I replaced them, I bled the system (including an ABS bleed) several times with Motul 600 and replaced the pads with Ceramics, cause the guys at Hawk told me that they would provide a more "assuring pedal feel".
Still had the problem after that, so I replace all 4 calipers with new ones (I can send you to a place that has new ones for much less than $400 - send me a PM) and the problem seems to have vanished.
As far as the rotors are concerned, I only know one thing I would check. Check is the tightness of the rotor surface to the hat (since you have two-piece rotors) nuts on the back side of the rotors (about fifteen of them on each rotor). I have heard that two-piece rotors can start to seperate over time/heat and require re-torquing.......could be giving you a warped feel....
What kind of brake in are you doing after your brake job...the first thing that I do is get the car up to 65 miles an hour and then stop fairly quickly and come to a complete stop...I do this 6 times in a row...the brakes are smoking after the sixth stop...I then park the car and let the brakes cool down completely before the car is driven again....I have been using this method for many years and I never have any problems with warped rotors..I have 60,000 miles on the rotors on the car at this time..I like to use ceramic pads because of the lack of brake dust with them...but the brake in procedure works with metallic pads too.
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Steve Tillman
45 Years Of Corvette Experience
Y2K NBM 6MT HP?\TQ?
It's stock they all sound like that
LeRox, looks like I will be buying a new set of calipers then. I am experiencing the exact same problem you did. Interestingly enough, I seemed to notice that problem after doing the brakes which including installing SS lines. I don't think there is any air in the lines as we bled the brakes manually with a 3-man team and I do not believe we let the fluid get low enough to get any air in the master cylinder or ABS valve block. The brake pedal is rock hard. Maybe it was just a coincidence that the calipers went bad around the same time?
That is an awesome price on 4 new calipers. I think 1 new BMW caliper is 300ish. Will PM you if I decide to get new calipers for sure.
Will check the rotor fasteners when I can pull my car into the shop at work again.
Steve, the only break-in I did was being very easy on the brakes for the first 500+ miles or so per the Hawk/Baer instructions. I never did the numerous 60-5mph stops that were called for in the instructions once I was done with the first 500 miles. I don't really have a location locally I felt comfortable doing that. Do you guys think the fact that I didn't do that has something to do with what I am experiencing now??
blkZ06, I think I will go that route. That is cheaper than dirt. Am I reading this correct: OEM C5 Z06 rotors are $21 each at napa auto parts? Why are they $102 GM list and $53 at gmpartsdirect?
I do not have any aftermarket brake cooling components. Didn't think I needed them as I do not track nor autocross my car. I just have the factory brake ducts front and rear.
put a run out gauge on them with tires still on,like asked before if any tires where removed,look close at the one that the dealer worked on.your a wrench and you assumed they did it right ? come on pardner,ya got too much time with the beemer crowd .there was a TSB some years ago on c5,s brake drag ,seems the return spring in the booster was weak
Freak....when you are checking the rotor hats, make sure you check the tightness on your SS brake lines to caliper banjo fitting bolts. Mine were a little loose when I did my ABS bleed and I noticed it when I had a few drops of brake fluid spill on the floor from my front-left banjo fitting bolt on the caliper. Maybe the SS lines have a tendency to loosen over time, not sure....
They shouldnt be the reason for brake pedal fade though....if anything they should help the pedal NOT fade....
If you have access to the brake lathe at your work shop, try turning them to see if you can get more use out of your hi $$ rotors. Warped rotors will cause a surging motion just as you come to a stop, as you described.
If you can't turn them, use the NAPA rotors. I run DEs mostly with my C5Z and go thru brakes faster than gas. I get almost, but not quite, 1 track day on pads and about 4 track days on rotors.
Never use engine braking, unless in an emergency. Engine is for going, brakes are for stopping. Given that you are changing the motion of the car into heat and wearing mechanical parts, brake parts are much cheaper and easier to replace than engine parts.
Never use the cheepie OEM generic type pads (as sold at typical car parts stores). Hawks or other aftermarket pads, as described on this site, work well. Read the break in instructions from the manufacturer. This step is more critical for cars being tracked than for just a street car.
Good luck with your new ride. There are always a few issues initially with a new car, but you will come to love this one.
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