Aren’t they harder on the rotors though? The whole idea behind brake pads is they’re significantly softer than the rotor, so you can go through many pads before changing the rotors.
No, a so called “transfer film” forms on the surface of the disk that reduces the overall wear and resulting brake dust.
Though it should be noted that you shouldn’t just slap on ceramic pads without also changing to new rotors as the pattern of wear from the pads is different.
Does it matter - I’ve never seen rotors not need replacing when doing a breakjob. Once I was able to resurface the existing rotors but it cost almost as much as new rotors and broght them to the minimuns.
If you grind your brakes all the way down to the backing plate then yeah you’re going to mess up the rotors. If you change your brakes around 2mm when it starts hitting the squealer tab you can usually get 3 or even 4 brake changes out of a set of rotors though. It’s not a sure thing but it’s true more often than it isn’t.
Do you live somewhere that you get a lot of snow and therefore a lot of salt in the roads? Rotors can rust and that can make you need to change them more often.
If you don’t live somewhere that rust problems are common though, you might want to have somebody inspect your calipers, or try a new mechanic. You really shouldn’t be having to change rotors every time. That’s a lot of money.
I swap my body panels more often than my rotors (thanks, salt). You should not be replacing the rotors on every pad replacement even in salty conditions.
You need to refinish them on every pad change, and that is the same cost as a new rotor. You can sometimes get by with putting pads on, but if you measure the rotors they are likely out of spec. (not many home shops have a proper micrometer to measure with)
My Nissan needed new rotors every time the brakes starting squeaking, about every 6 months. I’ve never had any other car need the rotors replaced, maybe because I tend to drive smaller cars.
Aren’t they harder on the rotors though? The whole idea behind brake pads is they’re significantly softer than the rotor, so you can go through many pads before changing the rotors.
No, a so called “transfer film” forms on the surface of the disk that reduces the overall wear and resulting brake dust.
Though it should be noted that you shouldn’t just slap on ceramic pads without also changing to new rotors as the pattern of wear from the pads is different.
Does it matter - I’ve never seen rotors not need replacing when doing a breakjob. Once I was able to resurface the existing rotors but it cost almost as much as new rotors and broght them to the minimuns.
Wat. I replaced the rotors once in my life, on a car that had like 400000km on it
If you grind your brakes all the way down to the backing plate then yeah you’re going to mess up the rotors. If you change your brakes around 2mm when it starts hitting the squealer tab you can usually get 3 or even 4 brake changes out of a set of rotors though. It’s not a sure thing but it’s true more often than it isn’t.
your experinece is different than mine I guess.
Do you live somewhere that you get a lot of snow and therefore a lot of salt in the roads? Rotors can rust and that can make you need to change them more often.
If you don’t live somewhere that rust problems are common though, you might want to have somebody inspect your calipers, or try a new mechanic. You really shouldn’t be having to change rotors every time. That’s a lot of money.
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I do live in such a place. That may well be a factor.
I swap my body panels more often than my rotors (thanks, salt). You should not be replacing the rotors on every pad replacement even in salty conditions.
You need to refinish them on every pad change, and that is the same cost as a new rotor. You can sometimes get by with putting pads on, but if you measure the rotors they are likely out of spec. (not many home shops have a proper micrometer to measure with)
My Nissan needed new rotors every time the brakes starting squeaking, about every 6 months. I’ve never had any other car need the rotors replaced, maybe because I tend to drive smaller cars.