Just put new Zimmerman crossed drilled rotors on. Took it out for a drive on the highway in heavy rain and when I tried to stop, I feel the brakes slipping like they hydroplaning a little before they grabbed and the car drifted a little to the right also. This seem really dangerous especially in heavy traffic.

Braking in city driving in the rain seem ok.

Anyone with thoughts on this?

 

Isnt there a break in point or something for rotors? Like you have to do a certain amount of stops at a certain speed a certain amount of times.

Thats probally wrong, but they might just need to be broken in a bit or something.

 

Hopefully you bedded in the brakes correctly before you drove in the rain at freeway speeds.

 

I thought I bedding them. They were the old pads and they had 80-90% left.

 

I dunno man...

 

Part of what the bedding process does is transfer pad material to the rotor... this allows better bonding and better stopping distances. I think that by doing your driving in the rain on the freeway you were not heating the rotor and pad sufficiently to lay down material.

Normally this process involves repeated stops from gradually increasing speeds. If you did not SMELL your pads heating up, they are likely not bedded in properly. There are myriad threads here on bedding pads to new rotors... do a search, go for another run tonight on some deserted dry roads, and you'll be fine.

Edit: Note I say bedding the pads, but in reality I am referring to the actual rotor being broken in, not the already used pads.

 

Last time I got new rotors on my truck, the guy at the brake shop said they, the rotors, are coated with something. Don't remember what he said it was. It takes awhile for the coating to wear off. Until it does they won't stop as good as they should. And they will smoke a little as well. That might be your problem.

 

new drilled rotors and old pads????

87951

 

I've been told you're supposed to wipe the rotors down really well w/alcohol, etc, before mounting them...? I had a prob in my 1st Gen Integra, years ago, b/c I did not do this- there was a film on the rotor surface- cleaned the hell out of them (on the car) w/brake parts cleaner, etc- took a few weeks to get them into shape- was really bad.

Bedding-in, as Eric mentioned, has to do w/the rotors too- check StopTech's site- they have a good explanation & how-to- everyone has their own methods, but I think the idea is to warm them up quickly over a few stops, gradually increasing speed & intensity- you don't want to OVER-heat them... This supposedly helps the frictional surfaces, etc... > insert sceintific explanation here < Anyway, if not bedded in properly, you can have offgassing & green-fade, etc- scary stuff when it happens as it dramatically reduces stopping ability/performance & also reduces the life of your brake parts...

Anyway, my point is, this very well could be your problem & one or more of the rotors might not be getting equal friction b/c of it & that could be what's making it pull more to one side, etc...

 

Actually, I have already driven the car for a month now. Just not in the rain and at highway speeds. So, I would imagine what ever coating should be long gone.

Should I try to bed the brakes again??

 

Did you remove the metal shield behind the rotor or install brake ducts when you installed the new rotors?

 

No, everything is stock.

 

My understanding is that IF the brakes were not bedded in well, that they will never be fully worn in correctly, unless rebedded in, b ut I may be wrong here... hopefully someone else will chime in on this one...

 

WTF is bedding

 

Check this out- it should help....

http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_bedintheory.shtml