Aftermarket rotors
02-25-14, 04:53 PM
#16
Last time I got an LS I had them road force the tires before I bought the car(this was the only blemish I saw on the car) They road forced, front end shimmy gone, and they did a full mechanical inspection for nothing.
02-25-14, 08:13 PM
#18
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
What I find strange about my front end braking shudder is that it is never consistent. Cold I don't get it. After driving for awhile, parking it and then starting off, I get it badly, and after a number of brakings, it goes away again. One thing is certain, it's there and does get progressively worse over time. I always thought that out of round rotors will always give you a steering wheel shudder ALL THE TIME upon braking.
02-26-14, 04:05 AM
#19
I would say the rotors are warped. The shudder gets worse with warped rotors once they are heated up. Same thing happened to me in my last (2001) LS430. Went and got them resurfaced and it cured the problem. Make sure they measure the rotor thickness however, to ensure they are in spec range before doing the resurface.
02-26-14, 05:18 AM
#20
hi oem pads critical made not to warp the rotor and fronts don't cut buy online and put new ones on for performance, if you don't care about the stopping power cut them once, i had major issues with warping cutting them and replaced oem and its been a night and day difference the back rotors i cut twice
02-26-14, 06:05 AM
#21
What I find strange about my front end braking shudder is that it is never consistent. Cold I don't get it. After driving for awhile, parking it and then starting off, I get it badly, and after a number of brakings, it goes away again. One thing is certain, it's there and does get progressively worse over time. I always thought that out of round rotors will always give you a steering wheel shudder ALL THE TIME upon braking.
http://www.zeckhausen.com/bedding_in_brakes.htm
Last edited by Lavrishevo; 02-26-14 at 06:21 AM.
02-26-14, 07:53 AM
#22
02-26-14, 09:14 AM
#23
I have Akebono ProACT ceramic disc pads on my 2006 LS430 and they seem to work great. I have used them on other cars and have always had great success with them. Great thing is, you don't have to bed them in... I have them with stock OEM rotors.
02-26-14, 09:58 AM
#24
Instructor
I had vibration in my original front 2 rotors at 85000kms / 8 years in service, using OEM pads. The car had 1 previous owner, and I don't know what his braking or cleaning regimen was like. Replaced with OEM rotors, now it's 39000kms later, no problems so far.
Some steps you can take to ensure long rotor life are:
* bedding in the rotors properly, or braking in such a way as to not leave a thick layer of deposits at one location, but rather distribute the pad material evenly. I personally did not follow any bedding-in process, just braked extra gently for the first few months.
* always braking very gently and over a greater distance vs braking harder over a shorter distance
* use the least amount of pressure on the brake pedal as possible when you need to stop the car
* if you have to brake hard and you know your pads/rotors are going to be super hot after, ease off the brakes as much as safely possible after
* always torque your lugs to 76 ft.lbs, never over-torque the lugs or blast them on with an air tool as many lower-end tire shops do
* use OEM pads (Akebono is the OEM manufacturer, part # ACT870 fronts, ACT871 rears)
* wash the rotors once every week or 2 in the winter if you drive on salted roads
* never wash the rotors when they are hot
I recommend using OEM rotors, and my opinion is that slotted and/or drilled rotors will not last very long and will drastically reduce longevity of the pads. On parts.com, OEM front rotors are $65.78USD and rear rotors are $85.59.
In my opinion, there is no point spending more on aftermarket rotors when you don't do racetrack driving, and buying aftermarket rotors that are much cheaper than that will likely get you a product that won't last very long.
Some steps you can take to ensure long rotor life are:
* bedding in the rotors properly, or braking in such a way as to not leave a thick layer of deposits at one location, but rather distribute the pad material evenly. I personally did not follow any bedding-in process, just braked extra gently for the first few months.
* always braking very gently and over a greater distance vs braking harder over a shorter distance
* use the least amount of pressure on the brake pedal as possible when you need to stop the car
* if you have to brake hard and you know your pads/rotors are going to be super hot after, ease off the brakes as much as safely possible after
* always torque your lugs to 76 ft.lbs, never over-torque the lugs or blast them on with an air tool as many lower-end tire shops do
* use OEM pads (Akebono is the OEM manufacturer, part # ACT870 fronts, ACT871 rears)
* wash the rotors once every week or 2 in the winter if you drive on salted roads
* never wash the rotors when they are hot
I recommend using OEM rotors, and my opinion is that slotted and/or drilled rotors will not last very long and will drastically reduce longevity of the pads. On parts.com, OEM front rotors are $65.78USD and rear rotors are $85.59.
In my opinion, there is no point spending more on aftermarket rotors when you don't do racetrack driving, and buying aftermarket rotors that are much cheaper than that will likely get you a product that won't last very long.
02-26-14, 02:01 PM
#25
What I find strange about my front end braking shudder is that it is never consistent. Cold I don't get it. After driving for awhile, parking it and then starting off, I get it badly, and after a number of brakings, it goes away again. One thing is certain, it's there and does get progressively worse over time. I always thought that out of round rotors will always give you a steering wheel shudder ALL THE TIME upon braking.
03-25-14, 10:17 PM
#28
Duralast Pads & Rotors
My 01 LS has 170K, it moves a 100 miles a day. I had a bad pulse during braking. Replaced the front pads, turned front rotors, 75% improvement. Replaced the rear pads and rotors, rotors were too thin to turn. All braking vibrations now gone and like a new ride. Used Duralast Gold Cmax Ceramic (Lifetime Warranty) pads and Duralast rotors. Pads were worn on the front and back about the same, they had over 1/3 life left in the pad before hitting the sensor. Parts cost $180 plus $40 for turning the front rotors.
2 Questions:
1.) The old pads were OEM, can these pads go 170K or did the previous owner have the brakes done?
2.) I did not put the shims back in on the front as the new pads had vibrations shims incorporated to the pads. Any thoughts or facts out there on leaving the shims out when new pads had a shim incorporated?
You never realize how bad it gets as it happens so gradually. Yes, I should have, could have went OEM, 80 one way mile drive for parts, the purest in here will cringe, AutoZone was just down the street.…. I will post back on how the Duralast rotors and pads perform.
I have done many brake jobs over the years and this was by far the easiest, around 15 minutes a wheel not counting the Corona. For those of you worried about doing it, if you know which end of the screw driver to hold at least take the wheel off and look at it, read the post (there are some really good write ups in here) on how to. You could easily save yourself several hundreds of $$$$$$ for a very easy DYI job.
2 Questions:
1.) The old pads were OEM, can these pads go 170K or did the previous owner have the brakes done?
2.) I did not put the shims back in on the front as the new pads had vibrations shims incorporated to the pads. Any thoughts or facts out there on leaving the shims out when new pads had a shim incorporated?
You never realize how bad it gets as it happens so gradually. Yes, I should have, could have went OEM, 80 one way mile drive for parts, the purest in here will cringe, AutoZone was just down the street.…. I will post back on how the Duralast rotors and pads perform.
I have done many brake jobs over the years and this was by far the easiest, around 15 minutes a wheel not counting the Corona. For those of you worried about doing it, if you know which end of the screw driver to hold at least take the wheel off and look at it, read the post (there are some really good write ups in here) on how to. You could easily save yourself several hundreds of $$$$$$ for a very easy DYI job.
03-25-14, 10:23 PM
#29
Lol I'm a frugal **** as we'll but even I wouldn't run the Chinese autozone brake components no way. The factory rotors aren't that expensive if out buy em online from a vendor (I have the luxury of friends that work at lexus so I get employe price) but even then, there are few parts I prefer oem over anything else and brakes is once of them.