I have a 2010 g37 Sedan (100k miles) and I have had to replace my brakes THREE times in the last year because of excessive brake vibration. The first replacement was with slotted rotors from R1 Concepts, they lasted about 7 months before they started to jitter excessively. Then I tried some rotors from eBay, just OE replacement and those lasted maybe 5 months. I JUST replaced them with new rotors and pads from autozone and they started to vibrate like crazy only after a month.

It's VERY annoying and I am not sure what to do here. Anyone know of a fix for this? I was thinking maybe my calipers are bad. Anything else I should be looking for the next time I take these stupid brakes a part?

Thanks, I am very frustrated over this.

 

Are you an "aggressive" driver? Do you love to "canyon carve"? I have found the biggest contributor to brake "judder" is pad material transfer to the rotor when they are very hot. Say you have been really hoofin' it through a great piece of twisty canyon road. Your brakes are starting to smoke and fade is just starting. If you come to a complete stop and don't let up on the brakes at a stop sign or on the side of the road, you literally melt the pad compound and it "melds" into the rotor. This creates a spot on the rotor where the pad it more "grippy". Every time you pass over it, the car shakes. You MAY be contributing to the problem without realizing it.

See this White Paper by StopTech: http://www.stoptech.com/technical-su...nd-other-myths

 

Agreed.


I've had good luck with Centric rotors...and by that I mean they take the longest to "warp" out of any of the brands I've tried. I've also adjusted my driving style so that I don't rest my foot on the pedal after a hard stop. I usually stop short 10-15 feet and do a slow creeping roll to avoid giving the times for the hot pads and rotors to transfer materiel.

Its helped out somewhat. . I think I have 40K on the current rotors and they are still vibration free,

My OEM rotors warped within 10K miles

 

Oem rotors were trash. Mine warped after 11K and the second set was replaced at 20k (odo) because of cracking!

 

Brake rotors don't normally "warp" unless you are exposing them to significant abuse. 90% of the time the reason for the vibration are spots of baked on brake compound caused by hot stops. One of the best things you can do to prevent this is bed-in your new rotors properly.

The easiest way to fix the issue without having to constantly keep replacing rotors is to swap to an aggressive brake pad to take off the baked-on, uneven, but soft street pad compound from the rotor face. Something aggressive like Carbotech XP8 or XP10 pads will do. Throw them in for 50 or 100 miles to clean up the surface of the rotor and then swap back to your normal street pads and re-bed. Your brakes will no longer vibrate.

 

On my previous 06 G35 6 sp my original rotors were still on my vehicle as were the first set of replacement pads when I traded it in at 171796 miles. The pads were replaced at 85k miles and the rotors were turned at that time.
The work was done by the dealer and I had no further brake problems with that vehicle.
I'm currently at 63k miles on my current 2012 G37S and have had zero brake problems.
I suspect those having brake/rotor problems are related either to the driver/ and or inferior aftermarket parts or both?

Telcoman

 

I used to have the same issue. I made the switch to Cryogenically treated slotted rotors from stop tech and I got some akenbono performance pads. The difference is huge. I drive through western montana mountain passes on the regular and I immediately noticed way less fade and super smooth predictable breaking. Especially when coming down from 140+ mph compared to the stock rotors and pads.

 

also, don't use an impact wrench when tightening the lugs...They often become warped from the get go due to over tightening. Always use a torque wrench.

 

Old thread.

but

also make sure your brake calipers are in good working order - lubricate the pins and make sure everything moves freely.

 

That's something a lot of "first time" mechanics fail to do. Good call

 

I always pull and inspect the pistons, as I've had a history of bad pistons on almost every used vehicle I've owned.


I would also recommend using OEM stuff, as I went crazy trying to find a pad good for my street driving. Ceramics just wouldn't work on my 05-07 AT ALL. Practically ice.

When working with brake components make sure to remove grease from moving parts and re grease. Install all pads correctly.

 

I agree on the pads. I tried Hawk HPS (scare you to death in the cold and rain), EBC "Green Stuff" (eat rotors like candy, but great bite). I went back to OEM.

 

Since you live in SoCal there's zero issues with freezing cold temp bothering your pads or rotors! I'm on my second set of HAWK HPS pads in 50K miles and never had a stopping issue, and DBA rotors for the last 40K miles. I constantly do canyon runs, never had a vibration in my brakes! Having warped issues with my previous ride my wheels are never installed using anything but a torque wrench...Gary

 

The one thing most people don't do after installing new rotors and pads is break them in. It takes at 400 - 500 miles of normal daily driving to break them in. Unless the company you buy them from beds the rotors and pads before shipping them to you. If you don't break them in and start hard braking, they'll warp in no time at all.

 

Immediately after installing new rotors/pads doing the "Bed In" process (Search) which takes maximum of 15 minutes on the street will break in those new rotors with material from the new pads! The main cause of warped rotors is allowing anyone to install your wheels/tires using an impact gun! A torque wrench is the only way to keep from having your rotors warped!
Gary