Do I need rotors as well?

5995 Views 13 Replies 8 Participants Last post by phlabrasca, Jun 4, 2010

phlabrasca

Discussion Starter · Dec 23, 2009

Sorry, I know this question has been asked before but was never answered clearly. This is my first car that I PERSONALLY have to maintain so I'm a bit confused. The dealership said I have 2k miles left on my front brake pads and they need replacing. He started saying they never cut into these rotors before so they don't really know what to do. Well I want to go with Hawk ceramic pads... Do I need new rotors? I plan on just buying the pads and taking it to a brake installer. Some have been saying you do not need rotors, some say you can drill them, some say you need new rotors... Well wtf... Assuming my rotors are in fine condition, what do I need? Thanks for any clarification, I'm a newbie.

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Guilhem

· #2 · Dec 24, 2009

You should not need new rotors unless they are really shot.
How miles has the car? is there any ripple on the disc surface?

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2URGSE

· #3 · Dec 24, 2009

Find out the thickness specs on these rotors via the dealership service department.

It's measured in millimeters. (mm)

You'll need a micro-meter, unless the dealer already checked them.

Usually rotors can be re-surfaced and you can use them with the new pads, however the stock rotors are cross drilled, so I'm not sure if those can be resurfaced.

Find out the thickness first, if they are just shy of minimum specs, ditch them. It's not worth paying twice the labor to get these done.

If you can find a similar rotor of high quality that's slotted, you might want to check into that.

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phlabrasca

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jan 6, 2010

Thanks, well the dealership told me I had 2k miles left on my brakes and mentioned nothing about the rotors. I bought hawk ceramic pads and i'm going tomorrow for installation so we'll see. :/ I wish I was a bit more knowledgable about cars.

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BigMikeISF

· #5 · Jan 6, 2010

Feel free to ask any questions you might have phlabrasca.

With regards to your rotor question, you should be fine. How many miles do you have on your F? Do you notice anything wrong (warping, ridges, etc.)? I had to have my pads and rotors replaced at 12k due to ridges in them.

Also, cross-drilled rotors are not recommended to be resurfaced just for reference.

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phlabrasca

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jan 6, 2010

Just got the rotors resurfaced and put on the hawk ceramics. MUCH less bite, but I really don't care about that... Not track racing on a daily basis.

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isflojo

· #7 · Jan 6, 2010

I'll be doing the same with the Hawk ceramics soon, although I also have the EBC yellow pads ready. I'm debating on which one to install first. It's good to know you could use your original rotors a second time (and probably the last). What's your current mileage?

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phlabrasca

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jan 6, 2010 (Edited)

22k miles, sorry I forgot to answer that earlier.

$386 for installation of hawk pads + resurfacing. They really tried to sell me those new rotors lol. I guess the technician said he resurfaced some guy's rotors the day before and the guy came in today saying it failed. It would have been $195 just for the brake installation.

Also got my HID light that burnt out replaced under warranty.

The brakes have muchhh less grab but I'm guessing that's from the resurfaced rotors. He said they are at min spec now.

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2URGSE

· #9 · Mar 26, 2010

phlabrasca said:
22k miles, sorry I forgot to answer that earlier.

$386 for installation of hawk pads + resurfacing. They really tried to sell me those new rotors lol. I guess the technician said he resurfaced some guy's rotors the day before and the guy came in today saying it failed. It would have been $195 just for the brake installation.

Also got my HID light that burnt out replaced under warranty.

The brakes have muchhh less grab but I'm guessing that's from the resurfaced rotors. He said they are at min spec now.

I wonder if this is because of the ceramic pads, but those pads are pretty good.

Hopefully they did a good job on the rotor resurfacing.

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ISFastBigA

· #10 · Mar 28, 2010

http://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-f/489822-complete-is-f-brake-thread-under-construction.html

Here this might help it is a pretty good list of what is out there.

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2URGSE

· #11 · Apr 17, 2010

phlabrasca said:
Just got the rotors resurfaced and put on the hawk ceramics. MUCH less bite, but I really don't care about that... Not track racing on a daily basis.

The hawk ceramics will have less bite, but less dust as well. That's the sacrifice being made with these pads. I'm running these on my Honda Accord V6 with DBA 4000 slotted rotors.

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lexus isf 4of50

· #12 · Jun 2, 2010

the new raybestos on rock auto are good.

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Ted C

· #13 · Jun 2, 2010

I was also tempted to use ceramic pads for less brake dust. Nothing I hate more than scrubbing brake dust off the wheels but after much research I decided not to trade performance for cleaner pads. The point is not whether you race the car. Less bite means longer stopping distance. In an emergency situation like someone dashing across the street or the another car cutting you off, that 3 feet of stopping distance makes a world of difference.
I stuck with high friction Porterfield pads and bought Mother All Wheel Clearns for the brake dust problem

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phlabrasca

Discussion Starter · #14 · Jun 4, 2010

Ted C said:
I was also tempted to use ceramic pads for less brake dust. Nothing I hate more than scrubbing brake dust off the wheels but after much research I decided not to trade performance for cleaner pads. The point is not whether you race the car. Less bite means longer stopping distance. In an emergency situation like someone dashing across the street or the another car cutting you off, that 3 feet of stopping distance makes a world of difference.
I stuck with high friction Porterfield pads and bought Mother All Wheel Clearns for the brake dust problem

If I didn't drive my F every day, I probably would not have changed the pads but I simply don't have the time to clean the wheels every day.

An update to the ceramic pads, working out great and no more tough brake dust deposits / accumulation!

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