How often do you need to change brake rotors?

[PottedMeat]

What's the average life on pads? I looked at the front brakes on an Odyssey with ~85K miles on it and there was more than half the pad left and the rotors looked fine. The brakes have never been replaced.

 

[thomsbrain]

My fronts are on original rotors and pads at nearly 100K miles. Rear pads were changed and rotors turned around 70K. I have mixed feelings about turning. It doesn't cost that much more to just get new ones.

 

[evident]

if they are gonna make you replace your rotors, may want to consider a good aftermarket brand. you can get brembo blank rotors for pretty cheap and they may last longer

 

[ehhhh]

How can one not have the time to change rotors or pads? For most cars the time it takes just to get to a auto shop is more than the actual time to change them yourself...

 

[bruceb]

My Grand Prix does have the vented rotors, as do most GM that I have seen. As to the query about pad life, a lot depends on the pad material and the brand as some are better, thicker and last longer. Also, a lot depends on if you ride the brake or do a lot of stop / go around town type trips or in heavy traffic, go down a lot of steep hills or mountainy twisty type roads. On average, minimum mileage would be about 25K miles or 2 years. I usually get about 40K miles out of the front pads & when I had my RX7 I got 80K out of the front pads. But that had a stick shift so I downshifted a lot. Clutch was still ok when car was stolen at 125K miles.

(formatting)

 

[fstime]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: BouZouki
From what I hear, turning rotors is much more uncommon now because rotors that are turned can become too thin and then heat up much faster and warp much easier.

Whats the point of turning them anyways, $20/rotor to turn vs $40-60 for a brand new rotor.


Anyways, I usually go by feel, you can tell if your rotors are warped, if you really want to make sure, measure them. Remember, bad brakes can result from a stuck caliper, unevenly worn pads, and many other factors.

myth...

not all rotors will only set you back $40-60 though. I can get rears for about $50 a pop...my fronts are about $200 each at the low end. Rotors should be closer to $20 turned for the set than each. If you aren't taking them off yourself, chances are you won't be getting $40-60 rotors either.

Obviously, we are talking about the average passenger vehicle here.

Brembo blanks go for $60 a pop with other good name brands even cheaper. I change my brakes myself so all I pay for is parts and almost anyone else can do it too.

If you feel the brakes on your Veyron are ready to go, change them and eat the price unless you feel like turning drilled/slotted rotors which already are brittle and sensitive as hell to cracking.

 

[evident]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: BouZouki
From what I hear, turning rotors is much more uncommon now because rotors that are turned can become too thin and then heat up much faster and warp much easier.

Whats the point of turning them anyways, $20/rotor to turn vs $40-60 for a brand new rotor.


Anyways, I usually go by feel, you can tell if your rotors are warped, if you really want to make sure, measure them. Remember, bad brakes can result from a stuck caliper, unevenly worn pads, and many other factors.

myth...

not all rotors will only set you back $40-60 though. I can get rears for about $50 a pop...my fronts are about $200 each at the low end. Rotors should be closer to $20 turned for the set than each. If you aren't taking them off yourself, chances are you won't be getting $40-60 rotors either.

what kind of rotors do you buy for $200? do you drive a high performance car?

 

[bruceb]

What kind for $200 ? ? ... Well if I went to GM and paid List for my car they are $140 List, but you can get them for $73 each (plus shipping)
at gmpartsdirect.com

Rotor, all models 97-05 $140.50 $73.05

Brembo Sport Drilled Rotors Front Fitment

Note: (Front) Drilled vented rotors. Not recommended for track use. Do not use with race compound brake pads. Drilled rotors are not warranted against warping or cracking.

Orig. Price: $245.00 (pair)

Manufacturer Part #: 37007

Rotors for a Camaro which are bigger are more costly

At Rockauto.com

ACDELCO Part # 18A1177 More Info {replaces 89000527 #19171337, 89000527}
ROTOR,FRT BRK DURASTOP PERFORMANCE; LEFT HAND; 2 DOORS

$117.79 (these are drilled rotors for 1999 Grand Prix)

ACDELCO Part # 18A812 More Info {replaces 18038816 #18038816, 19175049}
ROTOR,FRT BRK DURASTOP; 2 DOORS

$61.79 These are the stock front rotors

This is what I put on my car just now:

Brembo Replacement Rotor Front Fitment

Note: (Front) Plain vented rotor.

Price: $53.00 (each)
Manufacturer Part #: 27007 OR 67007

Here are the optional rotors:

Brembo Sport Drilled Rotors Front Fitment

Note: (Front) Drilled vented rotors. Not recommended for track use. Do not use with race compound brake pads. Drilled rotors are not warranted against warping or cracking.

Orig. Price: $245.00 (pair)

Manufacturer Part #: 37007

So you can see it can easily get expensive .. Granted, at Tirerack that is per pair for the drilled rotors .. at first I thought was per rotor

 

[exdeath]

Only time you should have to replace rotors is if they are damaged (cracked, warped, etc) or when they become too thin to turn.

 

[bruceb]

They do WEAR thin over time from the pad abrasiveness .. and it gets worse if you live in the Snow part of the country (like NJ / NY / ME / VT)
etc where they put a lot of road salt, which does corrode things. So if you need to change them, say after 2 sets of pads, that is not bad for
safety peace of mind. Brakes must work properly, no matter the cost.

 

[kalrith]

Originally posted by: PlasmaBomb
Buy a micrometer and measure the thickness of the rotors. Check it against the specification, if they are too thin they need replaced (baring warping or some other defect which would necessitate them being changed early).

O'Reilly's will do this for you. They charge $6 each to turn rotors. In fact the last time I had them turned there, I went to pick them up and pay for them, and they said, "Merry Christmas...it's on us".

AFAIK I've got the original rotors on both of my vehicles with 115k and 130k miles on them. I got them all turned around the 100k mark.

 

[KentState]

Originally posted by: alkemyst
Vette maybe, Camaro and GTO aren't running that special of rotors. At least Camaros aren't

The GTO and Vette share the exact same rotor and caliper. The '04 GTO used the C5 and the '05 and '06 used the C6 parts.

 

[HannibalX]

Rotors for basic passenger cars are cheap us all get out these days. If the shop wants to replace them tell those conmen you will run next door to AutoZone and pickup all four rotors for $50 and they can install them.

 

[overst33r]

Originally posted by: iFX
Rotors for basic passenger cars are cheap us all get out these days. If the shop wants to replace them tell those conmen you will run next door to AutoZone and pickup all four rotors for $50 and they can install them.

Since when does Autozone install rotors? and 4 rotors for $50? what car is this?

Last time I checked, the cheapest rotors at autozone for a basic 4 door car is about $25 each.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: mariok2006
If they vibrate even a tiny bit, in my experience machining/turning rotors is just a temporary fix. The vibration will be back.

Do you use a torque wrench on your lug nuts and tighten them sequentially in a star pattern?

 

[bruceb]

I myself do use a torque wrench at 90 LB/FT for my wheels per GM manual. But it is not tightened in a Star Pattern. 5 Bolts pattern on my wheels (as most american cars have) and what I do is 1 lug then, go diagonal from it, then diagonal to another next to the 1st one, etc
This is the best way in my opinion. I snug all of them, then follow that method to get to the final tightness.

 

[SSSnail]

Rotors are cheap, and it's actually good to replace both rotors and pads at the same time, if you can afford it.

 

[overst33r]

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: mariok2006
If they vibrate even a tiny bit, in my experience machining/turning rotors is just a temporary fix. The vibration will be back.

Do you use a torque wrench on your lug nuts and tighten them sequentially in a star pattern?

No torque wrench... yes to the star. Friend of mine does both though, and he's had the same experience