Brake rotors?

[Scootertrash]

We have a 2003 Impala and just picked up a 2000 Monte Carlo SS. Looking for some decently priced brake rotors that won't warp in a month like the cheapo NAPA/OReilly rotors. Yes, I retorqued the lug nuts. I'm thinking maybe something drilled and slotted to help cooling?

Anyone got any suggestions based on experience and what they used and had good luck with? Hoping for something in the middle price range of 50-75.00 (?)

TIA!

[Mosh]

Raybestos and Napa sell upgraded rotors withe better material and a 2 year warranty for most models. But you are looking at 150$ for the set or more.

If you are warping rotors monthly few things can and will cause that besides nut torque.

Rear rotors not grabbing over loading the fronts..
The hub flanges of your front bearings are very rusty and making mating surface unregular..clean or replace the hubs..
Loose front wheel bearings or suspension parts..tie rods,a- arm bushing etc...
Front breaks hanging up. Pads not sliding in brackets easy , bad hoses or calipers.

Always replace the parts as a matching set. Dont use old or used pads on new rotors..

We could do that on 78 chevys with 40 lb rotors..this new stuff is built so thin it won't take the heat.

[JayBone]

Try Autoanything.com. They have a good stuff in stock and sometimes the better quality items cheap!

[Scootertrash]

Raybestos and Napa sell upgraded rotors withe better material and a 2 year warranty for most models. But you are looking at 150$ for the set or more.

It was only one set on the Impala, but the Monte has a slight pulsing right now, I want to correct it right away since we just bought the car. Both cars have about 80,000 on them. The pads I used on the Impala were NAPA's cheapest pads, that why I want to upgrade a step or two. I figure it can't hurt.

If you are warping rotors monthly few things can and will cause that besides nut torque.
I may have been a little sarcastic when I said a month, but they did warp quickly. I typically torque them on install then re-torque after one trip to work and back, 40-80 miles. I use a clicker torque wrench
Rear rotors not grabbing over loading the fronts..
I'm pretty sure the rears are grabbing fine, but I will verify to be sure.
The hub flanges of your front bearings are very rusty and making mating surface unregular..clean or replace the hubs.
I always use a wire brush to clean the hub surface when I replace the rotors, but it's very possible I did not do a thorough enough job. I will check the hubs out better this time
Loose front wheel bearings or suspension parts..tie rods,a- arm bushing etc...
I will inspect all of the front suspension/steering components when I replace the rotors
Front breaks hanging up. Pads not sliding in brackets easy , bad hoses or calipers.
This could be a possibility. Although neither my wife or I smell brakes when we drive, it's possible there is still friction if the pads or calipers aren't moving freely.



Always replace the parts as a matching set. Dont use old or used pads on new rotors..
Already got this covered ;)

We could do that on 78 chevys with 40 lb rotors..this new stuff is built so thin it won't take the heat.

Thanks Mosh!

[LastFoolerInVA]

The factory (GM) rotors on my car always warped after about a year- went through like 3 sets before I got the slotted... they just dont last long... I live out in the boon docks (my town has 1 stoplight)... so when deer, dogs, cats, raccoons, turtles, trees, mailboxes etc. jump out in front & I have to brake from 65+ to almost zero... plus the 1 stupid stop light they put in is the 60mph zone.... add that to god 'ol 2 lane back curvy ass roads.... all that is hell on brakes (and tires)... I got a set of the slotted rotors (I didn't get cross drilled, I heard they like to crack).. they lasted for about 5 or 6 years... they still ended up warping... but I think I got my money out of them.... I believe they were "Powerslot" rotors- just make sure you get the all ceramic pads they sell with it- those slots will chew up a set of oem brake pads... & the ceramic pads will take a while to get used to... they dont grab like the oem pads do however; they have a lot less fade

[Mosh]

I worked for GM in the dealers from 92-2004 and have been independent ever since.
GM had issues with the Malibu's, Impala's and W platforms in general. So much so, they were drawn into some buy backs for brake issues.
They had us go through a 1 hour procedure for hub face run-out measurements.. Any variance on the hub flange more than .002" would result in upwards of .030" of rotor deflection at the outer edge once torqued down. The pulsation would not show up for a few months after the repairs. GM made us shim the low spots on the hub flanges. IT DID NOT WORK.

Even a small tiny piece of rust that would fall between the flange and rotor hat, during installation would cause too much run-out and pulsations. In my experience, every Hub flange I see in this region is overcome with rust. A wire brush will not remove the issues. In some cases, a needle scaler works well, without damaging the hub flange..Most mechanics grind the hub flange with a die grinder to remove the rust..This again creates low spots in the hub flange. It is no good, and creates issues down the road and die grinders do not get close enough to the studs which leaves high spots. (Probably what you may have going on).

The rear brakes are a huge issue on the Impala. If your rear rotors have any delamination (rusty craters in the shiny surface of pad contact) or rusty spots in the rotors, your pads are not gripping and you are over heating the front rotors. The front control arm bushings on 85% of the W bodies I see, are pulled through the A -Arm mount, and the arm is banging on the sub frame and that creates vibration and control arm shifting on bumps, that coupled with brake application creates a vibration that transmits to a hot brake rotor and bends it over time.

I use cheap rotors all the time on cars. They cost 30$ a piece in most cases. As long as the hub flanges are nice, they never come back pulsating. If the hub flanges are trashed with rust, I try to sell the customer new bearings, to avoid premature pulsations. While there are rotors that are made with better materials and have more improved cooling, for an escalated price, they still will fall prey to a warped hub flange. If your hub flanges are very rusty, save the money on the Hi-dollar rotors, and get regular rotors and new bearings and don't let anyone with a die grinder near them. Also do not apply any greases between the hub flange and rotor and make sure you do not have corrosion on the mounting flange of your wheels if aluminum. Lastly some cheap rotors, do not have the proper bevel cut in them where they rest on the hub crown. be sure that whatever rotor you use, does not have the bevel bottoming out on the crown before the rotor flushes with the hub face.

[Scootertrash]

OK, I got super busy and dropped the ball on this, but I'm gonna finish out this thread in case any other members may have this problem and do a search.
I drove the car a couple times since I started this thread so I could gather more intel on the issues this car has. It was the wife's car, but since we bought the Monte SS I will soon be driving the Impala for work to save fuel. I came to the conclusion that I need to investigate some of the other potential issues Mosh mentioned.

I removed the front wheels and rotors on the 03 Impala this afternoon, the car has about 80,000 miles on it. Here is what I found:

The hubs don't look bad at all, no heavy rust. I think they can be cleaned. The passenger side control arm front bushing rubber is starting to separate from it's mount. Drivers side is the same, although the front bushing isn't as bad.

I think I'm gonna either completely re-bush the control arms or just buy new control arms with new bushings and a new ball joint already installed. I need to check out the price of those options and compare it to the time I'd spend replacing the bushings.

I'll try cleaning the hubs, if they don't clean up easily I'll replace them. then it will be on to the rear brakes.