Hi Guys,

I'm completely new to the whole sports car scene and I've been delaying the replacement of my brakes for quite a while now. But now it has come to a point where I hear squeaking when I brake. And sometimes, when I brake slowly and it's quiet I can hear some sort of scrapping noise. The sound is similar to the sound of if your car is lowered and you're just scrapping it against concrete or something. It's a scary sound.

Anyways, I spent the whole morning calling up different places that supply parts...etc and I've been told a lot of different prices. They range from $50-$300. And I was also told by the stealerships that I HAVE TO replace the rotors because they cannot be machinable. I called Kal Tire and they quoted me $2100 for the front brakes (pads + rotors) and $2400 for the rear (pads + rotors).

I know my car is a sports luxury car but this is an insane amount of price to pay for brakes. At least that's what I'm thinking. Do any of you agree or disagree? The other thing I would like to know is, is it really necessary to replace the rotors or will I be able to make do without it for a little longer? Is there a way I can tell if the rotors require replacement other than measuring it (which I don't know how)?

I'd really like to just replace the brake pads as opposed to the rotors and the pads if possible. But ofcourse if it's not possible then it's not possible. Any advice on what I should do? If I have to pay $4500 for new brakes then I can almost buy some nice aftermarket stuff can't I?

 

have the width of the rotors measure and if they are wider than the minimum(not sure what the spec is) you may be able to machine them. Do not let the dealership do them unlesss you want to get ripped a new a55hole. if your rotors are not machineable, purchase an aftermarket set whether it be brembos or some other make. Changing the brakes are pretty easy and any good mechanic should be able to get it done without any problems.

 

Usually the squeaking noise is the noise made by a stopper on the pads letting you know that the pad has ran out and needs replacement. Now the grinding noise mean that the pad has long gone and that you are grinding the metal.

If you have ran out of pad and started grinding the steel plate against your rotors then you do need to replace them.

You can check that by simply looking at you rotors. If they have major grooves and cracks then you fvcked them up and need a new ones.


if you do it your self you can get good (slotted or drilled) rotors and pads under $700 for entire car

2k just for one axle is a bit too much.

 

there is a company in Richmond, BC

http://www.srautogroup.com/main.htm

they are authorized dealer for StopTech. Check the prices with them for a replacement rotors

 

^^^+1000 I upgrade/replaced all my rotors/pads for less than $500 but doing the install myself, granted the rotors i had gotten was a great deal on brembos and not the stoptech(drilled and slotted)

 

well the Stoptech slotted are only bout $100 each.

So with pads you should be right around $500+

 

call Z-Tune on the north shore. they should be able to help you. also Advance Automotive in richmond is good.

 

Hey JOKER,

Thanks for all the info! I was wondering, if I only hear the grinding noise every once in a while, what does that mean? I don't hear it all the time but every now and then I will hear it.

And thanks for the advice on SR Auto Group. I will give them a shout tomorrow and see if I can get a quote from them.

 

canucklehead,

Are you somehow related to the folks at SoundsGood Auto?

 

Just check you rotors.

If they are somewhat smooth to the touch and don't have any cracks then you might be alright.

But if the grooves are rough then you might gonna have to replace them.



or take a close up picture and post it so it'll be easier to see what's going on.

 

Hey JOKER,

The problem is, I'm still quite a n00b to the whole car scene altogether (especially with sports car) so I'm not even quite sure how to "check". In fact, besides having a very very general idea of where the rotor might be (behind the wheel - duh!) I don't even know where exactly to look or even how to look

I'll see if I can take a good close up picture tomorrow when it's bright and maybe you or somebody else can help shed some light as to whether or not I need new rotors. I've called around and almost everybody keeps saying they need to see as well as measure the rotors in order to tell me whether or not it needs replacing. But they say it usually does require replacement when your brakes are gone.

 

who? no, i'm not. never heard of them, don't know what they do. should i have?

 

Hey Guys,

Ok so as promised, here are some pics I took earlier this afternoon. I'm not sure if this is enough to show my rotors or not. Hell, I'm not even sure if these show the rotors. I just took a few shots of my wheels and some close-ups of what's behind the wheels. Hopefully somebody here (or JOKER) can decipher for me what is going on. Thanks!

PS. These first three pictures are from my front passenger side.

 

These next three pictures are from my front driver side.

 

Look okay to me but I didn't click for a larger view. You need someone to measure the thickness of the rotor to see if it's still within oem min thickness spec

You should also inspect the BACK of the rotor as often times the inner brake pad wears faster than the outher.