Rotors that won't warp?

Hi, I own a 2012 5.7L double cab, ~120k miles

I am sick and tired of my warped rotors! My OEM rotors began warping a little, so a couple years ago i replaced them with some random ones from Amazon. Those ended up warping even worse after a couple months, and I put the OEM ones back on. Now the OEM's are warped just as badly as the others and the vibration and shaking annoys the hell out of me whenever I have to brake over 50-60 MPH. I am a very reasonable "braker"....rarely smash the brake pedal, i don't ride the brakes down hills, etc. No reason to have multiple sets of these things warped as bad as they are.

I am not looking for any kind of high-performance stopping, drilled/slotted gimmicks, or fancy materials. I am just want some plain old rotors that won't warp for a reasonable price. Any suggestions or brands that you've had success with? Thanks

 

Always had good luck with EBC.

 

I had the same problem with OEM. I switched to Centric rotors and have not had any issues.

 

I've read most people recommend stop tech.... I'm looking into them as well... I think my OEM rotors have warped within a year... get strong vibration at low speeds though below 20mph...

 

I’m planning to put these on when the time comes.
http://dirtydeedsindustries.com/product/ebc-yellow-stuff-stoptech-rear-front-bundle/

 

Warped rotors is a constant concern for our customers. We've found OEM typically warps around 20K mi depending on driving habits. Cheap rotor and brake kits warp even sooner. Our solution has been to replace the rotors with either High carbon content rotors.

Currently I'm running the duralast GT rotors with GT pads. 60K mi on them with towing, off roading, mostly city stop and go, and a wife that drives it half the time riding the brakes. No warping, no brake noise, but the only down side so far is the reduced braking power. I've been fairly impressed with the results so far but i wont have a final review on them until they reach 3mm thickness on the pads or the rotors warp.

 

Rotors don't warp. Sometimes they wear unevenly. What we perceive as warp is uneven transfer of pad material to the rotor that causes excess friction.
Here's some articles, but don't believe me. Use Google.

https://www.mechanic.com.au/news/solved-the-mystery-of-warped-brake-rotors

https://www.hansonsubaru.com/servic... Warp From Heat,brake rotor warps and deforms.

https://www.brakeandfrontend.com/warped-rotors-myth/

Hit your old rotors with some 80 grit and bed the pads appropriately. Good as new.

 

You might have a sticky caliper

 

With the current cheap rotors out and about from china, warping is definitely a possibility. When you get one on a brake lathe and measure run out, no amount of sanding will fix that. Get quality rotors and quality pads.

 

Poorly cast rotors will have hard spots and soft spots in the metal. The soft spots squeeze together and the 2 sides rotor are no longer parallel.

Anyone who has mounted a rotor on a lathe and run the bits in will know that rotors can indeed warp. When those bits start cutting, that is metal coming off, not brake pad material

 

Agree to disagree.

 

Wearing un-parallel is not warped. Its un-parallel.

 

"wearing" would be if the metal was shaving off, like a brake pad or a pencil eraser

If metal gets hot and moves, thats warpage

 

Nope. It's not. Your entire truck is made of metal and by your logic, the entire thing would warp under the summer sun. Sorry.

 

If you want OEM pads and rotors search up Advics brake. They make toyotas brake pads.

LOL

 

But brake rotors get hotter than your roof under the summer sun.

Poorly cast rotors.. or.. rotors that are subject to more heat than normal (like a sticky caliper) can't stand up to the heat. The metal moves.


Why do you think they invented brake lathes, to remove stuck-on pad material? Those things are designed to cut metal that is no longer straight


The point is, BOTH conditions exist. Pad material transfer is a thing, metal warping under heat and stress is a thing. They can both result in the same pulsation feeling through the pedal or steering wheel so its easy to get the two confused

 

You're a mechanic?????
You've never heard of lateral runout?!!!!

https://www.brakepartsinc.com/dam/j...d6c9f6838f14/Brake Peedal Pulsation Cause.pdf

 

I’m using stop tech cryo treated rotors. They advertise them as lasting at least five times longer than standard rotors. It’s Weird your OEM rotors warped because mine lasted about 80000 miles with no issue with about 15000 miles with a travel trailer being towed. Haven’t got too many miles on the stoptech but they bite pretty hard compared to OEM.

 

Uneven doesn't = warp. It = uneven. Warp has a very finite definition. The pic is out of shape due to wear. Wobble also has a finite definition. It is possible for something to wobble without being warped. I'm not trying to be a dick here. While I will concede that not every perceived steering wheel wobble can be fixed with sandpaper, I'm on my second 3rd gen Tundra now. Both got a steering wheel shake on low miles, during prolonged braking, but not during simple stops (I live in the mountains). Both were cured with a sanding, and the pad properly bedded, at least for now. I'm at about 40k now. This started around 8k. Maybe it's not a cure all, but if you have the means, and Google to back me up, it's worth a try.

 

There are tons of theories why brakes pulsate and vibrate. Warped rotors, uneven wear, etc. the links posted by @deptrai are a good start. I’m by far an expert. The best thing with my old F-150 were the OEM brakes - lasted 105,000 miles. I replaced them just because but I probably could have gotten another 5-10k miles.

One interesting theory is lug nuts too tight which makes sense as different thermal expansion / contraction of the rotor and wheel could cause deformation.

 

Frozen rotors on mine and I’m on 37s and full armor, winch, Bed rack and RTT and no issues. Not cheap, but worth every penny. I like how my yellow stuff pads work with the rotors, but they get my wheels really dirty in a day or two after washing the wheels. I’m going to try hawk HPS pads and frozen rotors on my gx460 in a week or two. Hawk HPS Claim 20-40 percent more stopping power with low dust. We’ll see about the dust issue, but I know the rotors are legit. If the dust is better with the hawks I’m going to switch the tundras pads for those. Good luck

 

Buy one of these (link below) with new Toyota OEM rotors. Install your new rotors after cleaning the hub between studs thoroughly of any corrosion. Then re-install the wheels, applying 97 ft-lbs evenly to aluminum wheels, or 154 ft-lbs to steel wheels. Distribute the torque into three passes using a star pattern (move to the next stud across the wheel). Repeat the torqueing process anytime a wheel is removed and reinstalled. It's OCD, but maybe you'll get luckier.

$186 CDI 2503MFRPH Comfort Grip Dual Scale Micrometer Adjustable Click Style Torque Wrench - 1/2" Drive - 30 to 250 ft. lb. Torque Range

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KL4H80/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_3?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

 

Also not trying to be a dick, but it sounds like your body of experience dealing with brake pulsations is limited to 2 (low mileage) trucks. You experienced pulsation due to pad material transfer, you were able to remedy it with sandpaper, thats great. Just because you experienced situation A both times doesnt mean situation B is false

My experience dealing with pulsations is spread over hundreds of vehicles (large and small) and almost 20 yrs as a tech.

Trying to visualize and distinguish between warping/wearing/wobbling/etc can be misleading when you're just plunking questions into google. Put a customer's car on the lift, take a wheel off, and start trying to fix their problem. You'll see that its not all black and white

As I stated above, both conditions exist.

 

As another member said, almost all rotors are not warped, it's uneven pad material transfer. If high quality pads and rotors are yielding the same result is more than likely your braking style if a sticking caliper is ruled out. Overheating the brakes and then sitting on them during stops is a common cause of this.

 

Curious what kind of pads are being used? If ceramic they generate much more heat than traditional pads and need to be used with slotted and/or drilled rotors.
Learned this with an Expedition years ago. Wanted cleaner wheels, ceramic are much lower dusting but get much hotter thus warping the rotors.

 

OCD is checking with a dial indicator after mounting your rotors and using shims when they’re off. A lot of people don’t even know you can shim rotors (whether they work and remain in place is a different discussion).

 

Incorrect. I was raised working in a garage.

I was a mechanic at a Ford dealership, and at a independent shop before going to school and getting into IT, then eventually banking.

However, that didn't really teach me anything other than a lot of mechanics don't know what they're talking about. Mine still tries to sell me fuel system cleaner. Can you believe that shit?

 

I can believe it, and you won't find a bottle of fuel system cleaner in my shop.

The irony of yet another rotor warpage arguement is not lost on me, i just enjoy talking shop. This stuff could be better understood after hours at work with beers in hand. Enjoy your sunday