Do you think I should turn the rear rotors too?

[Rumpltzer]

2004 Honda Accord with disk brakes on all four wheels, ~80K miles

The factory pads started screaming at ~40K miles and I swapped all four wheels out for ceramic pads. At that time I noticed that the front pads had a lot of life left on them and it was the rear pads that were complaining.

I'm now at ~80K miles and none of the pads are complaining, but I get pulsing when I do a hard brake at 50+ mph. I popped off the front rotors and had them turned this morning. I only took off the front rotors because I can only carry two rotors at a time when riding my motorcycle.

I planned to do the rear rotors tomorrow, but I noticed this afternoon that the pulsing is completely gone now that I've had the front rotors turned.

What do you think? Should I turn the rear ones as well or leave well enough alone? Maybe wait until the rear brake pads start complaining?

 

[sjwaste]

Leave them alone. Turning the rotors makes them thinner, and these days, most factory rotors can only be turned once before they're below min spec. Don't do it unless you need to.

 

[Billb2]

What he said........

 

[alkemyst]

plus usually you can find rotors from $30-50.

 

[Bignate603]

I agree, if the problem is gone there's nothing to fix. Leave the rotors alone.

 

[Rumpltzer]

Originally posted by: alkemyst
plus usually you can find rotors from $30-50.

??? 😕

Kragen charged me $9 (tax included) to turn a rotor. Autozone wants $37.XX for a new front rotor. If a rotor can be turned (it's still in spec), I think that the choice is obvious.


It also seems that I won't be messing with the rear rotors today. Thanks guys.

 

[KentState]

Rear brakes wear much less so even at 40k, they may only show about 10k worth of use. I bet the pads still have plenty of material on them as well.

 

[thecritic]

Pedal pulsation is caused by the front rotors, not the rears. There's no reason to turn the rear rotors in this case.

 

[sniperruff]

if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[redgtxdi]

A bit of info regarding turning rotors.....(SPECIFICALLY TODAY'S CHEAP-ASS-POS ROTORS)................

That's great that the pulsation's gone, but don't be surprised if it comes back soon. Just know in advance, that turning the rotors didn't *correct* the problem. Warped rotors aren't just warped on the surface. The metal properties have now been permanently changed and there's no amount of turning that will change that.

Ride 'em out for all they're worth......(sometimes a turned rotor will be good for a long time, sometimes it'll only take a few months or even WEEKS)........but realize that not only are the rotors forever changed, they're now THINNER than they were before and will be even more prone to thermal abuse!!

Just something to know now so you aren't shocked later!!!

 

[dandragonrage]

Rotors rarely warp. 90% or more of the time, the problem is the brake pads heating up and leaving deposits on the rotors. But turning the rotors does raise the chance of them truly warping as you are removing surface area from the rotor.

The most important thing is to get a quality brake pad such as Akebono Ceramic. I also use quality rotors (Brembo) because spending $50 vs spending $30 per rotor is not a big deal and should there be a reason for the rotors to heat up, I know they will withstand true warping better than the cheapies.

 

[thecritic]

Originally posted by: redgtxdi
A bit of info regarding turning rotors.....(SPECIFICALLY TODAY'S CHEAP-ASS-POS ROTORS)................

That's great that the pulsation's gone, but don't be surprised if it comes back soon. Just know in advance, that turning the rotors didn't *correct* the problem. Warped rotors aren't just warped on the surface. The metal properties have now been permanently changed and there's no amount of turning that will change that.

Ride 'em out for all they're worth......(sometimes a turned rotor will be good for a long time, sometimes it'll only take a few months or even WEEKS)........but realize that not only are the rotors forever changed, they're now THINNER than they were before and will be even more prone to thermal abuse!!

Just something to know now so you aren't shocked later!!!

Chrysler concluded from their internal testing that most pedal pulsation problems (caused by rotor thickness variation) was the result of uneven wear, not warp:

"Takes a LOT of heat (cherry red) to warp rotors, so main cause of rotor variation is not heat but uneven wear. New calipers now available through Chrysler dealers to solve problem."

Lots of interesting info: http://www.aa1car.com/library/procut02.htm