Replacing brake rotors: Fact or Fiction?

[silver-e34]

yes the rotors are pretty thin and get flimsy on the brake lathe so you need to put special adapters on it to make it sturdier while being turned otherwise they will have nasty ridges so as long as you take your rotors to a professional you should be ok i have been able to turn my rotors 3 times before having to replace them

[KenB]

I'm getting close to doing my brakes also. They have around 80k miles on them. (still 15-20% pad left) There is a lip on the rotors so will replace them. I don't think its worth messing around with. They're relatively cheap from BMA.

[Ferret]

Hmm, the last german car I owned before the beemer was an '87 vw polo - *drumroll* without brake servo. (I loved that car!)

Brakes were critical on this car - but jeeze it could stop quick... untill I changed my disks/rotors. The old disks had huge ridges in them - looked like waves on the surface. I changed the disks and pads together... and immediately lost half my braking power.

My mother used to work in a garage at the time and I asked her boss what was going on - he checked I'd cleaned all the parts - grinned at me and asked if the old ones were ridged and scored badly?

Basically he ended up telling me that when the disks are ridged really badly - you've got extra surface area - I put the old disks back on and after a few hundred miles for the pads to bed in I had the same brake power again. Never bothered changing rotors since.

Just an interesting little story for your thoughts.

[genphreak]

Heh, maybe that's why stock discs have are flat but have circular ridge pattern on them- it could be this that ensures a good customer experience once the brakes are replaced at the dealer...

[632 Regal]

if they have deep ridges replace them, at $20.00 from BMA it's a no brainer. I bedded in the last set of pads/rotors and they warped and heat cracked the pads, had to do it again. This time i used the raybestos QS pads, which require NO bedding and its perfect...finally.

My brakes are getting low, I have been told that if I replace my pads and sensors that I should replace my rotors. I have never had to do this on any other car I have owned, but is this something particular to BMW's?

Do they just want more money out of me or is it a good idea.

[fkong777]

if they have deep ridges replace them, at $20.00 from BMA it's a no brainer. ......This time i used the raybestos QS pads, which require NO bedding and its perfect...finally.

$20?!!! really? what brand rotors were they? Maybe I'll just pickup new rotors if it is that cheap.

I do brakes on all my cars. it is pretty easy and parts are not that expensive. I like to change pads early so you dont groove the rotor with worn pads. It is a lot easier to just change pads

BTW I use akebone Euro ceramic right now.. Happy with it so far.. 80% less dust than Pagid.. I tried Pagid, Mintex, Ray.QS and now Akebono.
QS had low dust until they are half used then it dust like the rest of them.. Akebono so far have very little dust.. happy with it so far.

[632 Regal]

they were Opparts rotors, Bill R. mentioned some other brand a couple weeks ago that he has been using with good luck too.

$20?!!! really? what brand rotors were they? Maybe I'll just pickup new rotors if it is that cheap.

[MTV]

This shimmy under braking could also be your thrust arms - at what speeds does it occur ?

It usually occurs between 65-75 MPH. But there are times that there is no shimmy at all. I don't get any shimmy when I accelerate through the gears, only during this braking period. Could that still be the thrust arms?

I finished reading the rest of the posts and found varying opinions about turning or replacing the rotors. And it seems like it is a matter of preference, budget or driving style. At this time I am on a budget but did not know of the $20 rotors from BMA. If these rotors have good feedback I think that is the way I will be going. Does anyone have any feedback on the Opparts rotors? Thank you.

[632 Regal]

Im running them no problems at all.

It usually occurs between 65-75 MPH. But there are times that there is no shimmy at all. I don't get any shimmy when I accelerate through the gears, only during this braking period. Could that still be the thrust arms?

I finished reading the rest of the posts and found varying opinions about turning or replacing the rotors. And it seems like it is a matter of preference, budget or driving style. At this time I am on a budget but did not know of the $20 rotors from BMA. If these rotors have good feedback I think that is the way I will be going. Does anyone have any feedback on the Opparts rotors? Thank you.

[Zeuk in Oz]

It usually occurs between 65-75 MPH. But there are times that there is no shimmy at all. I don't get any shimmy when I accelerate through the gears, only during this braking period. Could that still be the thrust arms?

Thrust arm shimmy is usually felt between 45-55 mph, or thereabouts, and is usually worse under braking.