Brake warpage.
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
From: Odessa, Texas
Brake warpage. Ok, I have a 2002 WS6. I have had it in for warrenty 3 times to fix the front brake rotors. The car will warp the brakes in less the 1500 miles. What is going on with them!? They replaced the rotors last time but they too did the same thing. It will do this with normal driving too. So how do I stop it from warping? Do I need to go to aftermarket brakes and rotors? And which brands are the best? Now if the after market rotor heat crack faster then factory, then they are not any better then what I got. So give me the answers and I will throw them in my dealers face and demand the darn things fixed!
Re: Brake warpage. Buy Autozone rotors at $39 a piece for fronts. After you get them installed, return home and loosen all lugnuts. Retorque them to 100 ft/lbs, in a star pattern. Continue to do this EVERY time someone else touches your wheels. You won't warp these in 1500 miles, and it's worth the $100 to find out. Seriously, this answer comes after 4 years of reading what people used etc., and personal experience in racing. I have 36k on my ORIGINAL rotors ( turned once, by me ) and they have yet to warp, including after 2 seasons of autox.
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
From: Odessa, Texas
Re: Brake warpage. I have heard basicaly the same thing. I was told that GM got a batch of rotors made in China and the material is not all that good. They said GM is just using them up instead of getting good ones.
Re: Brake warpage. I used Brembo OEM rotors from www.tirerack.com and they have been great (even daily driven/autocrossed) on race pads. Just my experience.
TECH Addict
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 2,662
Likes: 1
From: LaConner WA
Re: Brake warpage. I've got 4 track days, 2 racing schools, an open road race and 28,000 miles on my front rotors. I just started changing them out tonight .... not because they are warped, but because I'm upgrading to the Prospeed brake kit. They are still in very good shape. If I wasn't upgrading to a big brake kit, I'd get some new pads and keep using them ! I guess my rotors weren't made in China huh !! 
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,586
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From: Columbus, OH
Re: Brake warpage. Welcome to the club. Viper has the best solution truthfully, although i'm going to keep going back to service until I go out of warranty. Then it's time for some Eradispeeds. 
Launching!
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 284
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Re: Brake warpage. Forget about aftermarket rotors, and the story about GM buying faulty Chinese rotors has been going around for a couple years. GM rotors are no better or no worse than anyone elses.
If your rotors are warping in 1500 miles, the problem isn't with them per se. Go to your dealer and have him check for lateral runout with a dial gauge. Lateral runout is wrobble, like a phonograph record might wobble as it spins. The pads are parallel in the calipers, but if the rotor wobbles within the pads, it will wear unevenly and you will begin to feel it because the surfaces of the rotors that contact the pads are no longer parallel.
Runout can originate from a faulty bearing hub to which the rotor is attached, in which case the hub should be replaced. If the surface to which the hub is attached isn't true, it can be shimmed. If excessive runout is the cause of the problem, you will obviously warp any rotor that you install no matter if it has the label of AutoZone, Baer or whatever. Trust me.
If your dealer refuses to find the root cause of your problem, or doesn't have the proper equipment to do so, look for another service department which will do the job correctly.
If your rotors are warping in 1500 miles, the problem isn't with them per se. Go to your dealer and have him check for lateral runout with a dial gauge. Lateral runout is wrobble, like a phonograph record might wobble as it spins. The pads are parallel in the calipers, but if the rotor wobbles within the pads, it will wear unevenly and you will begin to feel it because the surfaces of the rotors that contact the pads are no longer parallel.
Runout can originate from a faulty bearing hub to which the rotor is attached, in which case the hub should be replaced. If the surface to which the hub is attached isn't true, it can be shimmed. If excessive runout is the cause of the problem, you will obviously warp any rotor that you install no matter if it has the label of AutoZone, Baer or whatever. Trust me.
If your dealer refuses to find the root cause of your problem, or doesn't have the proper equipment to do so, look for another service department which will do the job correctly.
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TECH Fanatic
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,586
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From: Columbus, OH
Re: Brake warpage. Hrmmm, I've heard everything from heat build up due to stock pad compounds to faulty rotors, but that is the best explanation of the problem I've heard yet. Any insight as to why it is such a problem with these vehicles as opposed to something else?
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Brett Foote
On The Tree
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 133
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From: illinois
Re: Brake warpage. i put ls1 brakes on my 93z and they warped quickly. i replaced them with autozone rotors and torqued them to 100 ftlbs and no probs, with hard braking. now i have a 2000 ws6 and the rotors are warped within 1000 miles of owning it. ill be doing what i did before, it worked for me.
