Like the title says...good or bad idea. I've had warped rotors for a while now and have had the dealership machine them down and they still shutter when I brake. I almost forgot how bad it shook until I borrowed my friends X5 (one of the best if not the best SUV on the planet ) and the brakes were smooth as glass (not to mention having a smaller steering wheel but thats another post). I was thinking of following in the footsteps of a member here and getting the brembo blanks and hawk hps pads from tire rack. Or should I just take it to the dealer and pay them to switch in another pair of OEM brake rotors . Thanks for all the help its much appreciated.

 

If you have to pay for the replacement, might as well try something better.

 

Are you autocrossing a lot or taking the car to a track?

I'm no expert but I hear that replacing the OEM rotors and pads can have a negative impact on braking dynamics during cornering and day to day driving.

Upgrading pads and rotors is also not going to significantly improve stopping distances. Usually people upgrade their brake systems to decrease brake fade during auto-xing or track driving.

Maybe someone who has that rotor/pad combination can chime in.

 

everyone knows by now that teh OEM brake system isn't that great....

 

Unless you go AutoCrossing, replacing the pads and having the rotors resurfaced should do the trick. I experienced the same warping issue @ about 10K miles. I had the dealer repair it (free of charge) and stuck with the oem setup for another 10K miles. After that, I replaced the pads with some Axxis Ultimates. My car brakes like a champ now.

 

Well I did have the rotors resurfaced once and it didn't do much. The problem was less but DEFINETLY still there. Even though I won't be tracking the car except for maybe once in a blue moon when I get up early enough on a Saturday to make it to a auto-x but most likely not. I don't think replacing the rotors and pads would ruin the braking dynamics as the rotors are the same dimensions as stock only better quality (hopefully). I'm just tired of having my steering wheel shake me senseless when I brake on the highway and why not get more aggressive pads while I'm at it for better stopping.

 

my pads are about to go. i've bought hawk hps pads off a member here. should be better then the oems.

 

are warped rotors covered under the warranty???
also, how many miles did you go before changing pads?
thx

 

warped rotors are not under warranty...they are a wear and tear item...look in your service manual it should say when the pads get changed

 

that's what i thought... but he said:

as for the mileage, i know about the manual, but was wondering what people experience in real life...

 

My rear pads were down to the warning indicators at 25k. The front pads still had quite a bit of wear but I replaced them anyway.

 

So everything I would need for the swap is just a pair of front blanks (brembo) and matching pads (hawk hps)?

 

I bought PowerSlot rotors and Hawk pads. Never had a shimmy since, plus, I can stop on a dime!

 

you'll reuse the shimms when you take out the old pads. make sure to have a breaker bar when you remove the bolts w/o air tools; it's torqued tight!

same set up - works nice so far for me.

 

Racingbrake rotors + Hawk Pads = kiss your issues with your brakes goodbye.

 

Had Brembo blanks + Hawk HPS pads on my 1991 Teg and that thing braked VERY well -- infinitely better than OEM.