Cal Club Autocross Forums

Anyone knows where is a good place (with fast turnaround time) to have the brake rotors turned? Hopefully somewhere close to West Covina. Thanks.

Vincent Wong wrote:Anyone knows where is a good place (with fast turnaround time) to have the brake rotors turned? Hopefully somewhere close to West Covina. Thanks.

O'reilly Auto Parts, there everywhere. $15 ea. Usually a 1 hr turn around.

Couple of thoughts on turning rotors...

Many (most) newer sports type cars use relatively light rotors, which means less material to work with...many just can't be turned and those that theoretically can end up very compromised in their ability to dissapate heat with the loss of material mass.

In some instances, like my old Z06, new rotors from a place like Rock Auto were only about $10/corner more than turning.

If you think you need rotors because of shuddering or vibration under braking, you might try using a hand drill and a Scotch Brite attachment and cleaning up the brake pad transfer layer on your current rotors, then re-bed. Rotors don't actually warp, they build up uneven transfer layer...most commonly.

agree ... better to just buy inexpensive replacements. The Spec Miata racers just buy the cheapest ones that they can find at automotive chains

Ed's Auto Parts... Grand Ave & Covina Blvd

Vincent doesn't own a lotus, he'll be fine turning them. O'riley will let you know if they're too thin/worn. Before you comit to turning though, check how much OE replacements are.

Jay W

Always wondered how critical turning is. Once a pad is bedded, wouldn't all those hills and valleys actually increase the surface area?

Jayson Woodruff wrote:Vincent doesn't own a lotus, he'll be fine turning them. O'riley will let you know if they're too thin/worn. Before you comit to turning though, check how much OE replacements are.

Jay W

I've checked the OE replacements.

BMW = $538
Zimmermann = $313
Centric (from Tire Rack) = $282 (but I might be able to get them cheaper from my source)
turning rotors at Ed's (thanks Mike Sullivan) = $40 for the set

Rick Brown wrote:Always wondered how critical turning is. Once a pad is bedded, wouldn't all those hills and valleys actually increase the surface area?

I'm not sure, but I've read from a few sources that the Carbotech race pads need either new or resurfaced rotors to work properly, unless the previous pads used were also Carbotech.

Just lightly sand them yourself ... that's what I did when we went to carbotechs on Karen's track Miata. $40 isn't bad, but if you're going to have to pull the rotor's you could also just do the sanding yourself.

One sees the WRC rally mechanics hand sanding rotors during their "pit stops."

Which carbotechs are you going to? We're using 8's ... the non-ABS Spec Miata's typically use 10's

Mako to wrote:Which carbotechs are you going to? We're using 8's ... the non-ABS Spec Miata's typically use 10's

XP12 front, XP10 rear; that's what Emilio recommends.

We just take the 335 to the Dealer and they do the brakes under the maintenance agreement...

12/10 ... well your BMW is heavy ... let us know how they work on the street?!

Steve Ekstrand wrote:We just take the 335 to the Dealer and they do the brakes under the maintenance agreement...

How long did your OEM brakes last? I'm just under 21k, and the service message for the rear brake pads has been on for weeks. Now the service message for brake fluid is on.

I'm upgrading the brakes for track use.

Have you been tracking the Bimmer with oem brake components?

Mako to wrote:Have you been tracking the Bimmer with oem brake components?

So far,

Spring Mountain: 1x
AutoClub Speedway (Roval): 1x
SOW: 3x

The OEM brakes at SOW seem ok. At ACS, after a few 130-30 braking, the OEM brakes faded a bit.

Here's a video of my best lap at SOW.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZeUy37qfFw

You're going to love the Carbotechs! Are you getting steel braided lines also? SpeedBleeders would be nice.

Please email me about Spring Mountain. That's where our next Miata Challenge event is.

Mako to wrote:You're going to love the Carbotechs! Are you getting steel braided lines also? SpeedBleeders would be nice.

Please email me about Spring Mountain. That's where our next Miata Challenge event is.

Yeah...Goodridge SS lines, and ATE Super Blue brake fluid.

What are those things in your Profile Pix?

I think we had pads changed at about 28k. I have this vague memory that they replaced rotors on one at least one end.

Mako to wrote:What are those things in your Profile Pix?

Audi and BMW keys/key fobs.

? ... are they also smart phones/cameras ?

If you're going to a higher heat range pad and doing track days, the last thing I'd want to do is let some O'Reilly type "shop" take material off my rotors...can you say "radial cracking"?

For kind of a "Cliff's Notes" version of a bunch of brake science, the Stoptech web site has a number of white papers that are really good, if anyone's interested.

btw, I really like Carbotech pads and, you're right, they sometimes have a problem scraping the prior transfer layer to bed, but I don't think that will be problem if you were running oem pads. It happens more when going from one high heat range pad (particularly Hawks) to the Carbotechs, in my experience. The XP12/10 combo is really aggressive, if you plan on doing any street driving. Not only will they squeal and grind, they also may accelerate rotor wear.

Vincent Wong wrote:

Mako to wrote:What are those things in your Profile Pix?

Audi and BMW keys/key fobs.

Huh. I always thought they were phasers.