Rotora Rotors...warping?

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Old 06-06-2007, 08:35 PM
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Unhappy Rotora Rotors...warping?

Seems like my Rotora rotors are warping, and I've only had them in since mid-March. It's not to the point of needing a replacement, but I do feel a light shudder when breaking from speeds above 35mph. I'm pretty anal about properly torquing my lugs, and I don't break excessively. I do have the Legend calipers paired with EBC greenstuff pads. I did just recently get an alignment, though the vehicle runs smooth out on the highway w/o and vibrations. I know there are others who've had their rotoras warp on them, but I thought i'd get more than 2500 miles out of them before they'd start to warp. Could there be another prognosis to shuddering while braking, or is it pretty much just downhill from here like with the stock rotors?
Old 06-06-2007, 08:42 PM
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try to bed the pads again.
Old 06-06-2007, 08:47 PM
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Originally Posted by CleanCL
try to bed the pads again.
Got back from doing just that before I posted anything, no luck. Would alignment affect the way the pads wear on the rotor? I was running around on some wicked negative camber ever since I had the rotors put in. I just got new tires and an alignment recently. Will try to bed them again tomorrow to see if it helps any.
Old 06-06-2007, 08:53 PM
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alignment shouldnt matter.
Old 06-07-2007, 07:53 AM
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I had this problem. But my solution wouldn't apply to you. In my case I had 2 broken wheel studs. Had the tires rotated & they were found. Once replaced everything was smooth again.

It's possible your felling the pads contacting the rotor? Slotted rotors have a certain sound & feel as the pads clamp down.
Old 06-07-2007, 08:24 AM
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Yeah I would hope that the rotoras shouldn't warp after 2500 miles

I have 37K miles on my stock rotors and im just starting to get a slight vibration under moderate braking. So when I upgrade to the rotoras soon I hope they will be better than stock not worse
Old 06-07-2007, 09:07 AM
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Originally Posted by fuzzy02CLS
I had this problem. But my solution wouldn't apply to you. In my case I had 2 broken wheel studs. Had the tires rotated & they were found. Once replaced everything was smooth again.

It's possible your felling the pads contacting the rotor? Slotted rotors have a certain sound & feel as the pads clamp down.
Since I've had the rotoras I have noticed a different feel while braking, though my whole brake setup was changed at the same time (pads, calipers, rotors, ss lines), but this feels just like my stock rotors when they began to warp. Only reason I mentioned the alignment was thats when I began to notice this, soon after I left the shop. I was right in the garage with the guy and never once saw him touching any part of the brake system, so I just automatically attributed it to the alignment itself. I'll try bedding them again this evening though, hopefully that'll take care of it.
Old 06-07-2007, 09:12 AM
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Well now the car is back to spec so it may be more pronounced now.

Can you measure the rotor runout with a gauge?
Old 06-07-2007, 09:55 AM
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Originally Posted by fuzzy02CLS
Well now the car is back to spec so it may be more pronounced now.

Can you measure the rotor runout with a gauge?
Yeah, I'll take it into the shop tomorrow if bedding another time doesn't do anything this evening.
Old 06-07-2007, 11:08 AM
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Originally Posted by gaping46and2
I know there are others who've had their rotoras warp on them, but I thought i'd get more than 2500 miles out of them before they'd start to warp. Could there be another prognosis to shuddering while braking, or is it pretty much just downhill from here like with the stock rotors?
The ROTORA rotors should definitely last more than 2500 miles, and based on the amount of ROTORA rotors out there a very small percentage have problems (which could either be manufacturer/installer/or user error). If there were a manufacturer issue though the rotors would have been uneven out of the box. Many people have them on for 50-75k (based on driving style) before they reach min thickness.

You said you noticed a difference though in the setup since the day you installed the entire brake system and then you noticed a problem after the alignment. That's interesting.

Anyways, as you mentioned, it is extremely important to torque the wheels down to 80 ft lbs of tq and in a star pattern.

Also try re bedding in the pads in this manner (courtesy of Stoptech):

http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_bedinstock.shtml
Old 06-07-2007, 11:18 AM
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Weird. I keep reading about warped Rotoras that are relatively new. And my co-worker has them on his TL. His warped within a month. He had them re-surfaced and they were fine. But I'm not sure why they warped so quickly.

I had no problems with mine.
Old 06-07-2007, 01:21 PM
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I have had my Rotora's on for 15k and they have been absolutely great. I do need to get new pads though. I hear a slight squeek under minimal braking from the rt side and I am guessing it is time for new pads.

Excelerate, When you sell the rotors what are the pads that you offer with it also? I need to get a new set probably hehe
Old 06-07-2007, 02:52 PM
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Originally Posted by RaviNJCLs
Weird. I keep reading about warped Rotoras that are relatively new. And my co-worker has them on his TL. His warped within a month. He had them re-surfaced and they were fine. But I'm not sure why they warped so quickly.

I had no problems with mine.
To be perfectly honest I think I have had 2-3 ppl in over a year call me back about a warped rotor. And suffice to say that there are A LOT of members running ROTORA slotted rotors. One had an issue out of the box and ROTORA warrantied it and the other two were due to installation error (overtorqueing of lugs, not in star pattern). The ROTORA slotted rotors aren't indestructible, but it is very rare that they warp.

There are machine shops that cut these rotors. They have to do the cross hatch method I believe.

To the other poster, I recommend Hawk or ROTORA ceramic pads.
Old 06-07-2007, 03:27 PM
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I completely understand how improperly torquing the lugs can warp just about any rotor. I'm very particular about this, and every time someone else has taken my wheels off, I'll immediately loosen and properly torque the lugs myself when I get back to my house, no matter if they were already properly torqued.
Old 06-07-2007, 05:53 PM
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Its possible that you have a caliper thats hanging slightly causing buildup on the rotor.
Old 06-07-2007, 07:01 PM
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I re-bed the pads again this afternoon, but I can't tell if it made any difference. The pedal feels real soft now and I almost have to put it to the floor to stop, so I think it's time to replace the brake fluid. What's the consensus on brake fluids? I've heard good things about Castrol GT LMA and Valvoline Synpower, but I think all I can get locally is the Valvoline.

Originally Posted by fsttyms1
Its possible that you have a caliper thats hanging slightly causing buildup on the rotor.
What's the simplest way to determine if the caliper is hanging?
Old 06-07-2007, 07:16 PM
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You may have to take the wheel off, but you should simply be able to see it:

Old 06-08-2007, 12:56 AM
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With his setup he should not have the pad overhanging the rotor.

What fsttyms1 meant to say was probably that your caliper is sticking.
Old 06-08-2007, 08:57 AM
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Castrol GT LMA

This is what I use on the CLS & my Explorer.
Old 06-08-2007, 09:07 AM
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Originally Posted by smokendsm
With his setup he should not have the pad overhanging the rotor.

What fsttyms1 meant to say was probably that your caliper is sticking.
Right, that above diagram doesn't apply to my brake setup. That has an extended bracket which isn't added when swapping the calipers. Is the only way to fix a hanging caliper is to rebuild it? I think the pads/rotors got unbedded from driving around town at relatively low speeds for a couple of months since I've hardly even driven on the highway. I definitely need to replace brake fluid, though.

Originally Posted by fuzzy02CLS
Castrol GT LMA

This is what I use on the CLS & my Explorer.
Hopefully I can find some of this locally and get it done this weekend.
Old 06-08-2007, 09:33 AM
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Originally Posted by fsttyms1
Its possible that you have a caliper thats hanging slightly causing buildup on the rotor.
Yes, what I think Kris was saying is that the piston is hung up and may not be retracting or may even be applying uneven brake pressure, therefore causing an uneven buildup on the rotor and therefore a shimmying when braking.
Old 06-08-2007, 10:20 AM
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Oops, I usually associate “hanging” with overhanging calipers on upgraded brake systems like in the picture. I realized later you’re running stock calipers with OEM size rotors…sorry.

With sticking pistons (if that's the problem), it’s recommended to rebuild or replace the caliper assembly.
Old 06-08-2007, 09:05 PM
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Checked every autoparts store in town and none carry Castrol brake fluid. I purchased a 32oz bottle of Valvoline SuperSyn. Is there any special method that I would need to use to replace my brake fluid as it's marketed as a synthetic fluid? I've read up on it a bit and found this website which seems like it has some good info. Towards the end of the article it states glycols used in the fluid are not naturally ocurring, therefore the "syntetic" status of the brake fluid. Should I be worried about the brake fluid in the system mixing (or rather not mixing) with the new fluid and causing problems later on?
Old 06-13-2007, 03:25 PM
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I'm sorry for your problems. I got sucked into the Rotora frenzy a while back, and even tho I had zero problems with my OEM rotors, I bought these POS rotors. After only 25K miles, I was forced to go back to my OEM rotors because the Rotora's kept warping as I was advised against any more turning of the POS Rotoras.
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