Saw this from http://www.autopia-carcare.com/inf-wheels.html

"Warning: Do not clean your wheels if they are still hot from driving. Let them cool, or thoroughly hose them down. If your brakes are hot, spraying them with cold water may cause severe damage."

A couple of times I have driven my car for a long time came home and then washed it right after...I would spray the brakes down and see all the steam sizzle off the brakes when i sprayed them. I use to think it was pretty cool, DID I CAUSE ANY DAMAGE? Why would it damage them?

 

i do the same thing...i never wait for them to cool down.... is this bad?

 

it can warp the rotors, just like putting a hot pan under cold water.

 

yup that mostly crystalizes your brakes, where they can be brand new but it forms a little pocket between the brake and the rotors

 

i agree it can warp ya rotors, same if u go to a car wash after a long drive, or a drive from say d.c. to new york if u brake alot and hit a hard rain, its possible.

 

My friend used to get a kick out of doing that to his rotors and when we took off his wheels to change his brakes, all of his rotors had skinny cracks on them. I remember that thing used to shake like hell when he would brake...

 

so i guess the same thing can happen after a while of braking then runnin thru some puddles.

suck seems like you cant avoid it....unless....

 

You would have to really get them hot to damage them, unless they are slotted and drilled. ie, go down Pike's Peak while ridding the brake, then spray 'em real good. I don't think that driving through a puddle or washing will do anything bad unless you were really heating the pads up. Normal driving isn't likely to hurt it. Good luck, and yes, let them cool a little anyway before you spray 'em down.

Good luck, peace.

 

city driving & a car wash is the prime environment to warp rotors

 

^ that sucks i do it all the time

 

yup make sure you ride with your e brake up. gotta make um glow o_o