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C5 2001 Front Rotors

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Erinmist

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I've had both a 98 and now a 01 C5 coupe, and in both cars, after about 30K miles on the 98, and after only 18K miles on the 01, there is a noticable vibration coming through the steering wheel when braking. My guess is this is a case of a warped rotor(s). On both cars, the wheels never came off the car from the day they came from the factory, so this isn't a case of some mechanic overtorquing the lug nuts with a speed wrench. I do mostly hi-speed Interstate driving with a few rush hours thrown in for good measure, don't ride the brakes, don't do much trailbraking around corners, and in fact, don't really use the brakes anywhere near what they are capable of.

Has anyone else had a problem with their front rotors or heard of a problem with the factory 13" rotors?

Is there an aftermarket replacement (eg. Baer) that anyone has experience with that are going to be less likely to warp?

Thanks to all!
Michael
 
Warped Rotors

Hello Erinmist!

Rotors warpage is very common on the stock equipment. My 01' warped at around 13K, then again at 28K. The first time it warped, I took it too the dealer and made them touch up on it for free. The second time, I did it myself just to make sure it is done right.

I would advise you as others have advised me.... get rid of the stock and go with Eradispeed Plus package. If you are not familiar with them, they are cross drill, slotted and dipped. For around $800 for all four. Shop around the internet market place, will will find plenty. If you do a search on this forum or other Vette Forum, you will find plenty of warp rotors issue and how to fix GM short comming! :mad

Good luck to you.
 
I have not had this problem, but I have heard of other people with this problem. It is very common.
 
Erinmist, same thing on my 99MN6 coupe! But It normally happens at high speeds or hard braking. The OEM brake rotors and pads are not up to par with this car. The good news is there are plenty of better aftermarket braking systems designed for the C5. What I am going to do is let these wear down and when there cooked just toss them and get Baer's Eradispeed's.....
Herbie
 
I am waiting on my 2003 C5. I currently drive a 1999 Deville Concours. At 19,000 miles I had the rotors turned. Now at 38,000 miles I need it again. I get a pulsing in the brake pedal. The head technician at the Cadillac dealership said there is a GM problem across all lines on rotors. Their warranty cost on this issue is sky high. You might want to ask to have the rotors replaced.

Jim
 
Luckyj, I know what your sayin. Happened on my Tahoe as well.
The pulsating is essentially warped rotors. Even if the dealer decides to replace the rotors as soon as you heat them up again you still have the same problem again. The rotors aren't any good for this type of performance vehicle. Of course, alot depends upon your driving habits. I drive fast and aggressive and use my brakes alot, so I heat them up pretty good! I think also that the calipers should have at least been 4 piston in the front. GM has a supposedly high performance rotor, but I have not used them so I can't say. Has anybody used these rotors?
Herbie
 
Lateral Runout...

You might think that it's a poorly designed rotor, but the fact is that most lateral runout problems are caused by improper torquing of the lug nuts.

Ironically, a warped rotor wouldn't show up as a pulsing brake pedal if it's nominal thickness is uniform - only variations in the side-to side thickness would cause pulsation. Lateral runout problems are caused by non-uniform torque agains the hub, pulling a small portion of the disc toward the brake pad. Over time , the rubbing of the rotor against the pad removes enough disc material to cause variations in the thickness of the two parallel faces.

If you read the GM service books, they describe the problem in great detail. The fix is almost always to recut the disc and and retorque the lugnuts.

Third party discs may not be as susceptible to the torque problem due to 2-piece designs, unlike GMs one piece units.

I had the problem at 4000 miles, had the rotors resurfaced and the lugs torqued to the 100ft/lb spec. Since then, an additional 5000 miles have been put on the rotors and quite a few deliberate "stand-on-the-brakes/both-feet-on-the-brake-pedal" all-out ABS-invoking stops have been done, and lots of "threshold braking" to just above the skid point. No sign of any problems now and I'm quite happy with the performance of the stock rotors, all things considered.

Cheers
 
Macshee98, thanks for the tip. If I understand you correctly, improper torque of the lug-nuts causes the inside part of the disc/rotor to move toward the outside part of the hub causing the pad and disc to wear unevenly on that side? So what I am really feeling is the uneven wear or the loosness of the hub? My car has 20k miles on it and I cut the discs once already, at the dealer. I am assuming(maybe incorrectly) that the dealer knows the torque specs, ie 100lbs. And I still have the freakin problem!
What gives?
Herbie
 
hcolon said:
Macshee98, thanks for the tip. If I understand you correctly, improper torque of the lug-nuts causes the inside part of the disc/rotor to move toward the outside part of the hub causing the pad and disc to wear unevenly on that side? So what I am really feeling is the uneven wear or the loosness of the hub? My car has 20k miles on it and I cut the discs once already, at the dealer. I am assuming(maybe incorrectly) that the dealer knows the torque specs, ie 100lbs. And I still have the freakin problem!
What gives?
Herbie

I too had the rotors done by Chevy dealer as stated above but they didn't torque it down by hand to specs. That is why I did it myself the second time around. Always check it with a torque stick whenever someone else works on your wheels, pease of mind. :hb

:beer

:beer :beer
 
No, not looseness. Nothings loose, but, more than likely, too tight. What you're feeling in the brake pedal, the pulsing, is the variation in the rotors thickness - as the rotor momentarily widens against the caliper pistons, you feel it pushing and releasing against your brake foot - rapidly at speed, slowly as you come to a complete stop.

You should have a dealer check the torque, or do it yourself, to avoid this problem.

This problem can easily happen when the dealer performs wheel service and then uses an impact wrench to tighten the lugs. If thats the case, then a check would reveal wildly different torque values on each lug. Very bad for single piece rotors, ie stock rotors.

If it's happening to you again, then you could have the discs resurfaced again AND wheels properly retorqued, or if the discs are nearing their minimum thickness, consider an aftermarket rotor (you should do all four, not just an axle pair) thats a two piece design.

Just politely remind your dealer that the lug torque spec for the C5 is 100 ft/lbs, and that the lugs should be tightened in a star pattern at 25,50,75 and finally 100 ft/lbs.
 
Alrighty then! That's great info guys. I will check them myself individually. Can I resurface the rotors and put the same pads back on? Or should I replace them too? They only have about 5k miles on them I think. Or should I resurface all four and newpads.
I will make sure this time they torque them right as I will be watching them like a hawk!
Herbie
 
With only 5k on the existing pads, throwing them on the trash heap would waste a good chuck of $. The only time you would chuck 'em with low miles on 'em is if they were deeply scored (extremely damaged rotors) or were contaminated with a friction reducer, WD40, silicone, oil, etc.



Just have the rotors turned (do both axles), and the 5k pads reinstalled. Take it VERY, VERY easy on the brakes for the first 100 miles, VERY easy for the next 200 miles, etc., etc. After you've got 500 easy miles on them, you can slowly start to add some serious pedal pressure. Just avoid any heavy, emergency braking during the first 500miles by allowing ample distance between you and whatever it is you don't want to hit.

Get a good torque wrench, keep a light foot on the brakes early on, and have a blast drivin' the best car there out there, and the best braking car too!

Cheers
 
Thanks Macshee98. Will take your advice! Take care man.
Herbie
 

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