Replacing Rotors

[orange57]

06 Vue with 3.5 V6. Needs new pads, and was reading a little bit about the rotors. It seems some people say the stock front rotors are crap. Should i replace them at this time as well, or just have the m turned?

[Vue6]

...Don't waste your time turning the rotors , buy New ,quality ones , Turning them will only make them thinner and subject to warping faster in the future, just my.02, DC

[Chazberry]

Should i replace them at this time as well, or just have the m turned?

I agree - forget cutting rotors. I went through 3 sets of pads before I replaced the factory rotors at 85k mi.

[BryanF]

What is everyone replacing their rotors with anyways? I see so many different brands available ranging from like $20 a pop to $75.

[SaturnSdn]

There is NO reason not to turn rotors if they stay at or above the minimum thickness. Go do a search on the internet I'm sure all of you will learn something.

[orange57]

There is NO reason not to turn rotors if they stay at or above the minimum thickness. Go do a search on the internet I'm sure all of you will learn something.

I wasn't saying that they couldn't be turned, i was just wondering if replacing would be better. I did some searching, and it seemed a lot of people were saying the stock rotors were not that great.

[3RedLines]

Personally I've had no problems with the stock rotors on any of my Vues, but maybe I'm not hard on brakes. :cool:

I would go for new rotors over having them turned tho.

[Tom92SCm]

There is NO reason not to turn rotors if they stay at or above the minimum thickness. Go do a search on the internet I'm sure all of you will learn something.

You'll probably learn something along the lines of turning rotors allows you to spend your money on getting them turned, only to have to spend your money again on new rotors anyway. Turning rotors doesn't not always fix the problem. The hot spots on the rotor (hard areas of cementite formed in the crystalline structure of the iron) that have been accumulating the pad material unevenly and causing the "warped" rotor sensation can also deflect the cutting tool on the lathe- making that hard spot now a high spot that will continue to be problematic after the rotor has been turned.

And except for the cheapest "white box" Chinese rotors available for the S-Seires, I've found that when you spend more on rotors, you get a better quality product.

And don't forget to properly bed in your rotors with your pads. This step is often overlooked after a brake job and problems typically follow.
http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/tech_white_papers.shtml

[orange57]

I read over the stop tech, and it seems a little aggressive, especially since i probably will not be going with a performance street pad or track pad, i'm leaning towards something similar to stock. Is there a separate break in for pads and rotors for that? I did a little googling, and some said they will wear in over the first 300-500 miles nicely.

[Tom92SCm]

While the Stoptech site does talk about "performance" oriented brake setups, I put my VUE's brakes through that bed in process after I bought it new. 62,000+ miles later, I'm still on the factory braking equipment and never once had any pulsations from the rotors. I've read about too many VUE owners who would be on at least their third set of rotors and pads with this many miles on their VUEs. So no, I don't think it's aggressive.

Brakes work best when the brake pads are rubbing up against other brake pads. Since there is a rotor in the way, you need to build up a good transfer layer of pad material on the rotor to act as that other brake pad. In my experience, getting that transfer layer done right away works better than letting it happen over a tank of gas or two.

But I'm no expert........

[txaginid]

I replaced by original pads after just shy of 70K miles without doing anything to the rotors. They looked ok to me and the buddy that changed the pads. So far no issues (5k later)

[carlito]

I've had nothing but porblems with my rotors. I'm sure it has something to do with my driving habits, but I've driven every car I ever owned ther same way and never had a problem before. I bought my 04 vue Redline with 38k on it, by 48k the rotors were warped. I went to the dealer got new pads and rotors and by 60k they were warped. So just a couple days ago I put on some drilled ERP rotors with cermaic pads. Hopefully they will last a long time.

[mlc5]

the stock rotors Saturn uses do appear to be sub-par.. based on my experiences. My wife's 2004 V6 3.5 AWD model went through 2 sets, and then a mechanic talked her into getting the 2nd set turned once they went south.

That was good for around 15k miles before I had to replace them... At that point I decided to do the work myself, and bought a cheap pair for $35 or so apiece from PepBoys or Autozone (I forget which).. and they've been running fine for the past year and a half (35k miles or so)...

To be honest, the cost of turning is only around $30-50 cheaper.. if you replace them yourself... so that's a no brainer in my opinion.. but if you need a mechanic to do the work, then the cost may come into play..


Mike

[BobbyP]

I agree that the OEM rotors are not that great. I've driven 99% city stop and go and at 15k miles I have a little pulsating in my pedal.

In October when it cools off I'm going to replace them with a better set of rotors. Most likely a set that's drilled and slotted. The set I put on my SC held up very well, even under harsh treatment.

[newbievueowner]

Your best bet is to get a new set of qaulity rotors that come with a good warranty. It's not to say that those rotors can't/won't warp but with a good warranty they can be replaced for free. Up here in Canada, Canadian Tire has ATE slotted rotors on sale regularly (buy 1, get the 2nd for 1/2 price). They come with a 2 year warranty. They were awesome for the first 8 months and then I started to get the pulse again. Went into the store, told them I was getting a pulsing when braking and wanted a new set under warranty. They initially gave me some excuses about how it likely was the pads and that I likely overheated them (they were going to check for 'blue' heat marks on the rotor! lol! Do you know how hot they would have to get to turn blue?!). I said that's B.S and it should not matter what pads are on the rotors. They ordered 2 new rotors under warranty and I replaced them and the pulsing is gone. Good thing is I still have 1 more year warranty left so if these second set warp/pulse again like the first I will be going in for another warranty set next year.

ATE slotted rotors and Hawk HPS pads stop great though! Hammer on the brakes and it will litterally try to launch you through the windshield.... waaaay better than stock brakes.

[far2grumpy]

ATE slotted rotors and Hawk HPS pads stop great though! Hammer on the brakes and it will litterally try to launch you through the windshield.... waaaay better than stock brakes.

NBVO - did you bed your brakes? Experts (I'm not one) insist new rotors and pads should be broken in ... regardless of component costs ... or money is wasted.

I have no doubt special rotors and pads would be beneficial if involved in motor-sports or coming down a mountain with a loaded Vue ... or in other cases where brake-fade increases with heavy use.

However, if you're tooling around the city and need to slow quickly or make a panic stop, ABS will eliminate many of advantages of the expensive brakes as its not possible to "lock" the wheels.

[far2grumpy]

I read over the stop tech, and it seems a little aggressive, especially since i probably will not be going with a performance street pad or track pad, i'm leaning towards something similar to stock. Is there a separate break in for pads and rotors for that? I did a little googling, and some said they will wear in over the first 300-500 miles nicely.

orange57 ... this is extract from Saturn service manual ... just about as plain vanilla as you can get.

Burnishing Pads and Rotors

Caution
Road test a vehicle under safe conditions and while obeying all traffic laws. Do not attempt any maneuvers that could jeopardize vehicle control. Failure to adhere to these precautions could lead to serious personal injury and vehicle damage.

Caution
Refer to Brake Dust Caution in Cautions and Notices.
Burnishing the brake pads and brake rotors is necessary in order to ensure that the braking surfaces are properly prepared after service has been performed on the disc brake system. This procedure should be performed whenever the disc brake rotors have been refinished or replaced,
and/or whenever the disc brake pads have been replaced.

1. Select a smooth road with little or no traffic.

2. Accelerate the vehicle to 48 km/h (30 mph).

Important: Use care to avoid overheating the brakes while performing this step.

3. Using moderate to firm pressure, apply the brakes to bring the vehicle to a stop. Do not allow the brakes to lock.

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until approximately 20 stops have been completed. Allow sufficient cooling periods between stops in order to properly burnish the brake pads and rotors.

[Tom92SCm]

^^^^Hmmmm..... sounds vastly familiar to the procedure I've been shouting from the rooftops over the years. Lately I've been getting tired of repeating myself over and over though.

[far2grumpy]

^^^^Hmmmm..... sounds vastly familiar to the procedure I've been shouting from the rooftops over the years. Lately I've been getting tired of repeating myself over and over though.

I agree ... you've said it every way it can be said ... break the freaking disc's and pads in for maximum longevity.

[newbievueowner]

NBVO - did you bed your brakes? Experts (I'm not one) insist new rotors and pads should be broken in ... regardless of component costs ... or money is wasted.

I have no doubt special rotors and pads would be beneficial if involved in motor-sports or coming down a mountain with a loaded Vue ... or in other cases where brake-fade increases with heavy use.

However, if you're tooling around the city and need to slow quickly or make a panic stop, ABS will eliminate many of advantages of the expensive brakes as its not possible to "lock" the wheels.
I bedded the pads as per the instructions on the Hawk box. As far as stopping, there is a big difference. With the old pads and rotors the brakes would fade and not stop that well when pressed hard (I could feel the brakes not grabbing that well near the end of a stop from say 60 or 70 MPH). With the new combo this is not an issue, and they are cheaper than the OEM parts and have a good warranty.

Even though the company that makes the ATE rotors is based in the USA, there are 3 little words that are very important - 'made in China'. This means that quality/material can sometimes be suspect. I hope this second set lasts longer than 8 months though. If not, it's back to Canada Trash again for another warranty replacement.

[far2grumpy]

I bedded the pads as per the instructions on the Hawk box. As far as stopping, there is a big difference. With the old pads and rotors the brakes would fade and not stop that well when pressed hard (I could feel the brakes not grabbing that well near the end of a stop from say 60 or 70 MPH).

Reasonable people can disagree.

I have 40K miles on my 05 Vue - with original brakes. I just wrapped up a 2000 mile jaunt from my home city to hills of Arkansas, north to Omaha, going and coming through Kansas City, and then back to Cedar Rapids.

I don't think you can do that route without wearing a layer of rubber off the brake pedal ... not to mention a goodly portion of the brake pucks ... I had two close calls in Council Bluffs, Iowa alone ... and I can promise you the brakes on my Vue are as solid as any I've had on the 33 -- and counting --vehicles I've owned.

Now don't get me started on how bad the brakes were on my brand new 1963 Corvair Monza Spyder convertible with turbocharged 150 HP engine. That little rag-top would scat like a scared deer but the stopping distance was criminal.

[newbievueowner]

I guess we can agree to disagree??

I had the opportunity to try both (the pads/rotors that came with the vehicle when I bought it used & the ATE/Hawk combo) and I can tell you that in my instance there was no comparison. The ATE/Hawk are that much better IMHO.

.....and I'm not saying the Vue brakes are terrible, just that I think the combination that I listed is better at stopping that's all.

[Tom92SCm]

My VUE's brakes have been good, but I'm looking forward to replacing them with better pads. I've used EBC Greenstuff pads on other cars and absolutely LOVE how they bite and their ability to haul a vehicle down from speed. I am strongly considering getting a set for my VUE.