Rotors that don't warp?

herostar

herostar

Member
Location
Denver
Car
2005 FX35 2012 G37x
I need to replace the rotors on my '05 fx35 again.

I originally replaced the warped factory rotors with another set of factory rotors at ~30k miles, which then warped on me after ~20k miles. Now I have a set of drilled/slotted rotorpros which warped after about 12k miles and I've just been dealing with them for a few months.

Any suggestions on aftermarket rotors that won't warp? I'm getting sick of shelling out hundreds of dollars for new rotors every other year!!! I'd rather not spend thousands on aftermarket big brake kits... I've used factory brake pads the entire time.

I do a lot of driving in the mountains (denver to vail and back) with a full car, so my brakes often see heavy and/or extended use.

Thanks for your suggestions!
 
Have you "bedded" them in properly after install? Apparently they can warp if they aren't. Also, if you're driving mountain roads with a full load, you should def consider a big brake kit, at least for the fronts. They're probably getting worked pretty hard.
 
I thought rotorpros has a warranty? Mine have been working well, but I try to avoid heavy breaking. Haven't been up to the mountains on them yet.
 
How you brake really impacts probability of warping. Makes a difference between a new set warping compared to a 80k rotors not warped.

Never brake to a stop hard and if you do relax it right after.
 
herostar said:
I need to replace the rotors on my '05 fx35 again.

I originally replaced the warped factory rotors with another set of factory rotors at ~30k miles, which then warped on me after ~20k miles. Now I have a set of drilled/slotted rotorpros which warped after about 12k miles and I've just been dealing with them for a few months.

Any suggestions on aftermarket rotors that won't warp? I'm getting sick of shelling out hundreds of dollars for new rotors every other year!!! I'd rather not spend thousands on aftermarket big brake kits... I've used factory brake pads the entire time.

I do a lot of driving in the mountains (denver to vail and back) with a full car, so my brakes often see heavy and/or extended use.

Thanks for your suggestions!
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I have some questions:

Were your rotors actually warped when you decided to change them?

How much were they warped as checked with a dial indicator?

Some on this and other forums complain and have experienced a feel or sensation of warped rotors when braking, when in fact they were not actually warped.
I myself thought my 2009 FX35 were warped when I experienced a similar pulsing/vibrating feel when braking even just after about 25K miles or normal street driving and again just 20K after the first time. Both times a light machining fixed the problem. Turns out it was just surface irregularites on the rear rotors only. The front rotors were not having a problem at all. They were not warped. A light maching of .010" stopped my issue.
My guess is that a lot of folks think thier rotors are warped when actually they are not and are needlessly replacing rotors when a light maching will fix the issue. It's my guess that the OEM rotor material is not the what it should be because this issue reoccurs about every 20K miles.


I'm now at 63K miles and I haven't done anything to my front brakes yet.

https://www.infinitiscene.com/search/1/?q=20468-Rotors-Re-Surfaced-Twice-in-20k-Miles/page2

When it comes time to actually replace them, I'll be looking at EBC or Brembo rotors that are cryrogenically treated.
 
Normally when you change your pads the shop will machine the rotors back to within spec, after a couple of times of doing this they will not be able to do this anymore, so you will need to replace the rotors.

I suspect you are not bedding in your rotors correctly and this is leading to premature wear and they are getting warped. Any time you change the brakes on your car you should take it easy on them for the first little bit and you should also bed them in correctly.
 
It's probably a bedding/break in issue as everyone says. Also keep in mind that the 03-05 FX brakes are really small relative to the weight of the car, they're basically G35 brakes on a car that is 500lbs heavier. So if you drive around fully loaded through mountain roads on a regular basis, there may be nothing you can do about it.

And aftermarket drilled/slotted rotors are more likely to warp than factory. You're removing part of the rotor which is a big heatsink so what material is left will heat up quicker. The drilled holes don't do anything for cooling, that's what the vanes in the middle of the rotor are for. Factory rotors are probably the most warp resistant. BBK's can get away w/ drilled slotted since they're much bigger overall with a lot more mass.

Maybe look into 06-08 brakes. The front has a 2 piston caliper and thicker rotor (can't remember if diameter is bigger). They updated the G's and Z's with the same 2 piston caliper so I'm guessing that Nissan realized the shortcomings. Upside is the brakes are relatively easy to find used.
 
Shadow is completely correct. I been reading alot about drilled out rotors vs non drilled out rotors. Drilled is a waste of time and money. Buy bendix rotors with organic pads. I just bought that setup and about install them. I have on the fx now rotorpro premium drilled and slotted rotors. 18k later and i get steering wheel vibration up the wazoo when i brake. If your not in a track environment drilled and slotted not gona serve any purpose. Wish i learned this alot sooner before i bought those rotorpro rotors.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337
 
My rotors started warping during the bedding process after installing new front rotors and pads. I picked up a set of front slotted rotors off ebay and bought OEM pads from Infinitiparts. The only thing I didnt do was change the rear pads and bleed all 4 calipers.
 
I love my premium drilled rotors from rc concepts. Love how they look on my ride and how they look on the 2014 Ferraris. :)
 
shadow191 said:
Maybe look into 06-08 brakes. The front has a 2 piston caliper and thicker rotor (can't remember if diameter is bigger). They updated the G's and Z's with the same 2 piston caliper so I'm guessing that Nissan realized the shortcomings. Upside is the brakes are relatively easy to find used.
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Diameter is identical.

The two piston design is arguably a much more efficient and reliable set up. Don't know if it is worth the upgrade, might be easier at that point to just snag a set of Akebono calipers and swap those on...
 
meme405 said:
Diameter is identical.

The two piston design is arguably a much more efficient and reliable set up. Don't know if it is worth the upgrade, might be easier at that point to just snag a set of Akebono calipers and swap those on...
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If you change the calipers to a two active piston type without changing the master cylinder stroke or bore size, the brakes will not work as they should and you can't expect them to be better than OEM just because you changed one component in the system. Chances are you'll throw the entire brake system pressure parameters out the window. You better understand what your doing if messing with yours brakes. This is a major concern if the system has an anti-lock brake system on the vehicle. The master cylinder piston displacement must be matched to the calipers displacments for them to produce the correct brake pressure. (Braking) Force equals pressure over the area subjected to pressure. The purpose of using mulitiple piston calipers is to produce greater and more even pressure on the rotors but you need a master cylinder that displaces more fluid to accomplish this. Another advantage of having active pistons on both sides of the rotor is even pad wear on both sides. The OEM single active floating calipers do a adequate job of producing even pad wear but a calipers which have active pistons on both sides are best for wear and braking performance.
 
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Along with what everyone else has said, make sure that after re-installing the wheels to double check that the lug nuts are torqued to spec. Over-torqued lug nuts is another huge contributor to warped rotors.
 
shadow191 said:
"It's probably a bedding/break in issue as everyone says".

Bedding new pads to rotors is not manditory and WILL NOT hurt anything or warp rotors if you don't do it. I've NEVER made a major attempt to break in new pads on any vehicle I've ever owned or raced (other than being light on the brakes for the first few stops) and never had a problem from doing so. You SHOULD bed them in a little to get the BEST stopping performance from them. Bedding pads to new rotors can be done (but doesn't have to be done) and is a procedure preformed mainly to get the longest life out of pads. Pads will bed into the rotors in a VERY short period of time under normal light street driving. Generally a 25-30 miles of stop and go driving is all it takes before they are mated to the rotors and you should avoid really hitting them hard during this time if you expect to get the best stopping power and longest pad life.


"And aftermarket drilled/slotted rotors are more likely to warp than factory".
Only if they are junk rotors from a crappy manufactruer. Even aftermarket rotor I've purchased out performed the OEM item by far.


"Factory rotors are probably the most warp resistant".

Not my experience.
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My comments are above.

---------- Post added at 06:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:49 PM ----------
RAGTPZ said:
Along with what everyone else has said, make sure that after re-installing the wheels to double check that the lug nuts are torqued to spec. Over-torqued lug nuts is another huge contributor to warped rotors.
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You obviuosly haven't worked on cars or brakes systems much.
Over tightening a lug nut WILL NOT warp a rotor. At least not on the FX wheel/rotor/axle relationship design. The rotor is flat sandwiched between the wheel hub and axle flange. There's no way over tightening will warp the rotor. You'll break or pull the stud out before that can happen.
On an unsupported design......over tightening can warp a rotor.
 
Um, the master cylinder size is the same (check the part number) between the 03-05 and 06-08. It's also the same between 350Z's w/ standard brakes or 4 piston Akebono's. So while going with huge BBK's that require a lot more fluid could cause issues front/rear balance and pedal feel, going to 2 piston calipers or Akebono's won't do anything. And I have Akebono calipers on the front, it's fine other than noticably more braking power. Pedal feel and brake balance are the same.

And to your other point, how do you gauge rotor performance? You realize that they have no real effect on stopping power right? So how are you stating that all aftermarket rotors you have used outperformed stock by far? Over the years, I've used OEM, aftermarket blanks, drilled, slotted, drilled/slotted, BBK's, etc. The brand of the rotor had no difference and neither did drilling or slotting. Only difference is from rotor size/diameter. Unless you're going with 2 piece rotors or something like that, most rotors are pretty much the same. Centric makes most rotor blanks from Stoptech's lower end line to a bunch of other rebranded ones.

Rotors aren't rocket science. Only advantage to paying more for OEM or higher end brand is better quality control/warranty. How many things can you do to cast iron to make it perform better?

bluestreakrem said:
If you change the calipers to a two active piston type without changing the master cylinder stroke or bore size, the brakes will not work as they should and you can't expect them to be better than OEM just because you changed one component in the system. Chances are you'll throw the entire brake system pressure parameters out the window. You better understand what your doing if messing with yours brakes. This is a major concern if the system has an anti-lock brake system on the vehicle. The master cylinder piston displacement must be matched to the calipers displacments for them to produce the correct brake pressure. (Braking) Force equals pressure over the area subjected to pressure. The purpose of using mulitiple piston calipers is to produce greater and more even pressure on the rotors but you need a master cylinder that displaces more fluid to accomplish this. Another advantage of having active pistons on both sides of the rotor is even pad wear on both sides. The OEM single active floating calipers do a adequate job of producing even pad wear but a calipers which have active pistons on both sides are best for wear and braking performance.
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shadow191 said:
Um, the master cylinder size is the same (check the part number) between the 03-05 and 06-08. It's also the same between 350Z's w/ standard brakes or 4 piston Akebono's. So while going with huge BBK's that require a lot more fluid could cause issues front/rear balance and pedal feel, going to 2 piston calipers or Akebono's won't do anything. And I have Akebono calipers on the front, it's fine other than noticably more braking power.
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Calipers with more pistons requires more fluid. You change physics. The net result of using calipers with more pistons, without changing master cylinder stroke length, will reiqure more brake pedal travel. I personally like the standard short travel of the OEM set up and am not willing to accept the longer pedal travel to obtain the marginally improved braking performance that a two piston caliper would offer.
 
I'm not arguing the physics with you, you are correct that more pistons requires more fluid movement. I'm just stating that Infiniti didn't change the master cylinder between 1 and 2 piston caliper vehicles. Same for the FX35 and 50, they use the same master cylinder even though one has the 4 piston setup. So apparently it's within the operating range of the M/C.

bluestreakrem said:
Calipers with more pistons requires more fluid. You change physics. The net result of using calipers with more pistons, without changing master cylinder stroke length, will reiqure more brake pedal travel. I personally like the standard short travel of the OEM set up and am not willing to accept the longer pedal travel to obtain the marginally improved braking performance that a two piston caliper would offer.
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Any suggestions on where to get my slotted/drilled rotors machined? I'm having a hard time finding a shop that will do it...
 
bluestreakrem said:
My comments are above.

---------- Post added at 06:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:49 PM ----------



You obviuosly haven't worked on cars or brakes systems much.
Over tightening a lug nut WILL NOT warp a rotor. At least not on the FX wheel/rotor/axle relationship design. The rotor is flat sandwiched between the wheel hub and axle flange. There's no way over tightening will warp the rotor. You'll break or pull the stud out before that can happen.
On an unsupported design......over tightening can warp a rotor.
Click to expand...

I should have been more clear. It is the consistent torque on each lug nut that is important. Agreed, if you tighten each lug to exactly 100 ft-lbs (in the correct order) then the likelihood of them being warped is small. Torqueing without a torque wrench will get you inconsistent tightness across the hub which then leads to warping. The point was to make sure to use a torque wrech. Torque spec for 2nd Gen is 80 ft-lbs by the way if anyone is interested in knowing.
 
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