Deciding what brake pad to buy?

I'm using the following lubricants on brakes:

For contact surfaces, between pad back and shims, caliper, and caliper piston: Permatex Anti-Seize Lubricant
(sparingly)

For Caliper pins: Sil-Glyde Brake Lubricant
(sparing amount, full length of pins)

For piston and caliper pin boots, and bleed screw cap: Silicone Dielectric Compound
(sparingly, get in the creases)

 

Been putting new pads on "worn" rotors for about 35 years, no problems.

 

EBC is a very good option. And of course Brembo (they seem to be a little overpriced but give you a peace of mind).

 

This really isn't like a magic spell that goes wrong and makes goblins if you leave a syllable out.

The rotor needs to be smooth. (Not shiny-polished, but matte and smooth. If it's shiny-poished, reach for the sandpaper.)

If it is matte and smooth, put it back on with your new pads and go live your life.

If it isn't but it's close enough to get it there with a few minutes in your lap with some 150 grit wetordry and a sanding block, do that.

If it's too gnarly for that, take it to a shop with a lathe. If it's too gnarly to lathe without going under the minimum thickness, buy a replacement. That pretty much covers the cases.

If a lathe is needed, the gold standard is the kind that attaches to the car and turns the rotor in place on the axle. (Of course, you have to drive the car there, and the labor to take off the wheel and caliper is on their clock.) You end up with a cut perfectly perpendicular to the rotation axis, no wobble or brake pulsation.

It's still ok to take the rotor in to a shop with a regular lathe ... when you get it back, just don't skip the step of mounting it in all 4 or 5 possible positions on the hub and choosing the one with the least runout ... in my experience the runout at bad positions can be four or more times worse than at the best one, same rotor, same hub.

-Chap

 

I wonder, would your last paragraph also be good practice with any new rotor?

I'm just recalling: I took off the rear rotors for clean up, a while back. I neglected to mark their original position, just put them back on without paying attention. It all seems ok though.

 

Yes.

The real goal is to have the runout within the specified limit (something like .001" or .002" if I remember right, it's not in front of me), and with my existing rotors and hubs there only seems to be one position that meets that.

It's possible with spanking new rotors and hubs that the spec might be met at more than one position. But the best way to know is to check. If it's within spec at the first position you try there's certainly no need to poke the fire and measure the other four, but it doesn't take much time, either.

-Chap

 

Yeah, I have a dial indicator and magnetic stand, picked up about 30~35 years ago. Maybe in the spring when I'm taking snow tires off I'll check them all. But I think I dodged a bullet, not noticing any pulsing.

Thanks!