Brand new Stoptech rotors WARPED????

[SoCal Rebell]

After 22,000 miles on the stock brakes I decided to put on a Stoptech Big Brake kit because of all the road racing I was doing, I never had a problem with the stock system they were just lacking in stopping power.

I had them professionaly installed and bedded them in according to the instructions, 10 40-10 stops followed by 4 60-10 stops with moderate to hard pressure and a short cool down in between. I did notice a shutter but was told that was the pads bedding. I went to Willow Springs the next day for a weekend of road racing, I towed the Viper in my new trailer and raced for 2 days, I noticed the shutter again but it went away when the brakes heated up. I towed home and did not drive the car until I towed up to Thunderhill this past weekend for Viperdays.

Well my first session out the brake vibrated BAD through the brake pedal an I knew this was a serious problem. Archer racing was there to help and found out my front rotors were warped out 7/1000s and I had to replace them at a substantial cost. The Stoptech rep was there but could not give me a satisfactory reason why this occured. I am by no means ******* brakes so this is a mystery. Anybody have this happen? Anyone know why it might of happened? How can I avoid this in the future?

BTW after the new rotors where put on the car broke GREAT!

 

[RoyV101621]

Did you just change the front or all four?

 

[SoCal Rebell]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by RoyV101621:
Did you just change the front or all four?

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

ALL FOUR!!!!

 

[ElDiablo Viper]

What pads did you use? Do you have cooling ducts for the front brakes?

 

[Jay Lopez]

I've warped rotors before also. After I got off the track, I parked the Viper in the garage without properly running a cool down lap. Because the calipers were so hot, they warped the rotors right under the calipers. From that point on, I've made sure to run a good cool down lap, and moved the car every minute or so right after a particularly fast lapping session (or used large cooling fans on both sides of the car in the garage). I haven't had the problem since then. Hope this helps. ;-)

 

[SoCal Rebell]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ElDiablo Viper:
What pads did you use? Do you have cooling ducts for the front brakes?

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I have Brakeman 3 pads & Porsche air deflectors.


Jason, with the Brakeman 3 pads they are great for the street, they don't need to heat up like full race pads. What kind of mishap did you have?

 

[Brad Manhattan Beach]

Ron:

Which rotors warped? If the rears warped, my next question is did you set the parking brake in between sessions or come to a complete stop without cooling down the rotors? If so, these are the first thing that comes to mind on how to guarantee warping a rotor.

Whatever the cause for the problem, I am sure that Stop Tech will take care of you.

Brad

 

[Bob Weidenfeller]

Based on an article by Carroll Smith on the StopTech web site, you probably don't have warped rotors ... you have "...friction pad material transferred unevenly to the surface of the disc."

I've been poking around on this subject due to my own warped rotors ... uhhhh ... I mean FPMTUTTSOTD (you gotta have an acronym and that one just rolls off the tongue).

here's the page ...
http://www.stoptech.com/whitepapers/warped_rotors_myth.htm

 

[Gavin]

RON
These are must do's at the Track

1. You have to drive around in the paddock and cools the brakes off (I do atleast 5 minutes)

2. NEVER put the handbrake on after hot laps

3. Once you are stopped - roll the car a few feet every few minutes - do this for about 10 minutes

HOW TO AVOID HAVING TO DO THIS
1. Gotta get air to those capilers
2. Time for aftermarket rims that are designed to pull air thru the wheel
3. Sean Roe has some plexi deflectors that cause a "****" effect and pull air through the wheel well
4. Sean also has paint you put on the rotors to "read" what temp you are maxing out at.

After a track weekend you should be pulling the calipers of and inspecting them for seals failing - you will see fluid leaking out past the piston seals - I'm note talking about the dust seals - they are "cooked" after one day and most folks cut the remants off.

Stop Tech Rep - boy this guy was not on the job - these guys know what causes warping - I would call their shop for their opinion - I don't think they are at fault here though. This is part of the learning curve.

I have had warping and cracking issues - learned the hard way - have gone to a less agressive pad (it either that or add lots of cooling ducts) and currently run 13" stock rotors that have been cryogenically frozen (this stops the cracking)

I also have a set of 14" rotors from Sean Roe waiting in the wings for 18" wheel upgrade. My understanding is the 14" rotors hold up to the high temps much better than 13" - they don't have to work as hard to get the same braking effect.

Luck

 

[David Jenkins]

Bob's probably right. Believe it or not, you may not have got them hot enough during the bedding. If there wasn't any smoke, or major pedal fade, then for sure you didn't get them hot enough. I had the luxury of riding with a ST engineer during a bed in. I myself had been guilty of not getting them hot enough before then. dj