Warped Rotors on a F-150

[MTboatguy]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

For my Jeep Grand Cherokee, I purchased a complete set of Vented and Cross drill rotors with Ceramic Brake pads, about this time last year, and I just had the tires rotated today and those things still look like NEW, there is virtually NO wear, no problems and are the smoothest stopping brakes I have ever owned!!

What is really amazing, is I live in Montana, lots of snow, ice and salt on the roads for 6 months of the year, the rotors I purchased are zinc coated, and when they pulled them today, I inspected them and No, Nada, None, no RUST on the rotors at all, the pads, still look like new and no brake dust on the wheels...for what I paid, I am absolutely amazed..and the amazing thing, for the rotors and pads, I paid $165.00! delivered to my door!

As I said earlier, I would look at some aftermarket rotors and pads, after my experience today, I would really recommend it!

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

A good article on rotor "warpage".. Myth or not?

http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_warped_brakedisk.shtml..

These are the exact people that are the ones creating the "so called problem" with pad transfer. Anyone who has ever done a run-out measurement on a warped disk realizes these guys are full of it.

Vented and cross drilled rotors are also not going to solve the problem themselves and will create more pad wear. They may appear to help but it is more likely because it is a higher quality rotor and not because of the cross-drilling and the venting.

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

Vented and cross drilled rotors are also not going to solve the problem themselves and will create more pad wear. They may appear to help but it is more likely because it is a higher quality rotor and not because of the cross-drilling and the venting.

Interesting Bruce..

You might want to check with the NASCAR, IROC, INDY and FORMULA 1 Guys..

And of course take into account that virtually every single high performance car in the world use, cross drilled and vented rotors, but you could be right, you never know.

 

[i386]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

Well I don't know for sure about the pad wear part but...

Race cars need their pads to last one race and then they get new ones. They're on the brakes a lot and the vented/drilled rotors do help cool them down. Just because something's good on a racecar doesn't mean it's good for a passenger car or tow vehicle. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they replaced the rotors on race cars after every race.

 

[98Shabah]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

It's hard for me to dismiss it when so many companies that manufacture brake parts even believe it.

Wilwood mentions it about 1/3 of the way through their FAQ section:
http://www.wilwood.com/TechTip/TechFaqs.aspx

These are the exact people that are the ones creating the "so called problem" with pad transfer. Anyone who has ever done a run-out measurement on a warped disk realizes these guys are full of it.

Vented and cross drilled rotors are also not going to solve the problem themselves and will create more pad wear. They may appear to help but it is more likely because it is a higher quality rotor and not because of the cross-drilling and the venting.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

These are the exact people that are the ones creating the "so called problem" with pad transfer. Anyone who has ever done a run-out measurement on a warped disk realizes these guys are full of it.

Vented and cross drilled rotors are also not going to solve the problem themselves and will create more pad wear. They may appear to help but it is more likely because it is a higher quality rotor and not because of the cross-drilling and the venting.

And that could very well be but IMO my rotors were warping due to heat and others have said vented rotors disperse heat better then factory rotors so I tried them and it worked for me. Truth be known I would have purchased cross drilled rotors if they would have been available at the time for my F350 but oh well. I don't mind changing pads regularly they are cheap and easy to change but replacing rotors was more then I could deal with. the analogy that NASCAR changes their brakes every race also holds water but it could also be said that without racing technology we may have never thought about venting and cross drilling rotors anyway. I don't think using rotors with better venting is in effect not solving the problem but more helping to deal with the problem that the manufacturer has chosen not to. So what do we do? I had my issues going to a 1 ton truck with all disc brakes because I never believed discs could handle the weight I towed in Colorado and initially I was right, fortunately there was a solution and it's worked well for me.

Just my 2 cents

 

[roscoe]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

The calipers push the pads, if the calipers are sticking, the pads will be on the rotors, heat, warp, replace.

A very good practice is to change your brake fluid annually or bi-annually, recommended by most manufacturers.
If the fluid is black, it needs to be bled out until it looks new again.

A very bad practice is to push the caliper pistons all the way in when cleaning, inspecting, or servicing your brakes.
It pushes the old gunk back into the proportioning valve. Can cause problems with sticking calipers.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

Interesting Bruce..

You might want to check with the NASCAR, IROC, INDY and FORMULA 1 Guys..

And of course take into account that virtually every single high performance car in the world use, cross drilled and vented rotors, but you could be right, you never know.

If they were that necessary every production truck that has warping problems would have them. None of them do.

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

If they were that necessary every production truck that has warping problems would have them. None of them do.

Bruce, No where did I say "necessary" I said they are better than the standard rotor issued on every truck, they do enhance the performance of your brakes.

There is lots of aftermarket stuff you can do to a vehicle to enhance performance, but many of them are not necessary..

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

They wear the brake pads too fast to really be useful on a truck and thats why you don't want to use them. Which is exactly what I said in my original post.

The reason a race car uses slotted or crossdrilled rotors is because of preventing brake fade due to brake overheat. Has nothing to do with them wanting to prevent a warped rotor which is what this thread is all about.

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

Well that is what is great about America, we all have the right to our opinions, I have them on my vehicle and love them, as does my buddy on his Ford 1 ton, we have no longer had any problems towing our trailers in the mountains here in Montana and are not showing any signs of excessive wear, as I said the other day, when I had the tires rotated on my car, after over a year of use, they show virtually no wear on them. he has not had to replace a set of warped rotors since installing them.

I agree that a lot of things can result in rotor warping, but for my money, adding the cross drilled and slotted rotors and upgraded pads have made a world of difference for me and a few others I know.

When your going down a grade that is up to 11% in some of the areas we tow and a few miles long, upgraded rotors do make a difference.

 

[windsors03cobra]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

The only thing the cross driling allows is your rotor to crack between the outside diameter and the cross drilled holes and I doubt that is a good thing.
The scrape-ing of the brakes pad and the allowance of the pad to de-gas is with slotted rotors it not even necessary today according to Wilwood.

As Wilwood (a great name in brakes) pointed out so eloquently:

Slots or grooves in rotor faces are partly a carryover from the days of asbestos pads. Asbestos and other organic pads were prone to ?glazing? and the slots tended to help ?scrape or de-glaze? them. Also, cross-drilling and/or slotting the rotor for racing purposes was beneficial by providing a way to expel the gasses created when the bonding agents employed to manufacture the pads began to break down at extreme temperatures. This condition is often referred to as ?outgassing.? When it does occur, the driver still has a good firm brake pedal, but a significant reduction in friction. Normally this only happens at temperatures witnessed in racing. However, with today?s race pad technology, ?outgassing? is no longer a concern with pads designed for racing.

So in the final analysis, drilling and slotting rotors has become popular in street applications for their pure aesthetic value. Wilwood provides rotors slotted, drilled or plain. For most performance applications, slotted is the preferred choice. With certain pad material, slotting can help wipe away debris from between the pad and rotor as well as increasing the coefficient of friction between the rotor and the pad. A drilled rotor provides the same type of benefit, but is more susceptible to cracking under severe usage; however, for street and occasional light duty track use, they will work fine. For more severe applications, we recommend slotted rotors.

Maybe we should all just go back to drum brakes ? Thats what all the 40,000-100,000 pound semi trucks use and they seem to be stopping pretty good.
I see the warped rotors on cars that are raced to each stop sign and then the brakes are hammered on to stop the vehicle in time. Seemed like it use to be mostly women drivers but now just as many men seem to have the problem.
Some cheap/undersized brakes on certain makes and models are prone to it as well.
F-Series and fullsize trucks in general are usually built with good and heavier duty parts and usually built to last several hundred thousand miles but rotor and brake replacement every 50k is more than normal IMO.

 

[dolluper]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

Roscoe makes a good point about the cailpers being a cause of warped rotors...other things like negected slider pins [not lubed or seized} will also cause warpping...and of coarse driver braking habits

 

[Tim Wagner]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

I dont drive like I stole it. I drive pretty much normal. (in my opinion, others may disagree)
My rotor problem is always the fronts. (both of them) the rear rotors are OK.
They state normal wear on the rear rotors.
The one fella states that the good news it theres an easy fix. an hour and he was out of the driveway.
So, whats the fix??

 

[Shamus O'toole]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

it has more to do with the air braking systems then the actual shoe vs pad line of thinking.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

At least on the 2004 and up F-150s, they had changed design or manufacturer of the rotor. Might be worth trying a different brand rotor or using the Ford rotor. Drilled rotors are weaker and the supposed cooling benefits are dubious.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

I'll throw in my $.02,,, to get thrown under the bus

I've had several vehicles with warped rotors and switching to drilled rotors solved the problem. Whether they are made from higher quality materials or the drilling works, I don't know, but the drilled rotors have not warped. (Try finding good quality not "made in China" rotors anymore )

I"ve turned rotors and also replaced them with good quality ($$$ expensive) rotors that eventually warped. But after installing drilled rotors,,, no warping.

I do believe pad transfer is a problem and have seen "pad" impressions left on the rotors after a panic stop, after that the brakes were surging. To solve the problem I took the vehicle up to high speed and braked hard, up to high speed again and brake hard, etc, etc, 10 times or so. This resolved what ever the problem was, be it pad transfer, cold spot, hot spot, warped rotor, moon and stars not aligned correctly,,, what ever... After bedding the pads again it took away the surging. Finding a place where you can do this isn't easy as you are not going to be doing that on a busy freeway. I'm in the middle of the desert so there isn't a problem finding some open highway.