2coupes

Just heard from my "friendly" mechanic who suggested over amonth ago that I should probably "do" the front brakes. So today it goes in and they call and say that the parts people sent them the wrong rotors, I say, the cars only got 28K original mannered miles,why does it need rotors??? They say that's what they usually do!! Will go back and see if they can shave 'em ?? Is it normal for the rotors to only last 30K miles on these cars?? ("87 Turbo.) Pads yes, but rotors??? Thanks for your input,in advance. Jim H

TaboII

I could see it is those 30 k miles where rough miles but not if the car was cared for... Unless the rotors are warped they should be able to "The proper term is turn not shave them" I might be a little conserned at this point. I dont think I would want a mechanic lathering up my rotors and using dad's old razor to try and clean them up with. That was a joke.

This is not a joke. I would not want them to take more than a 16th of an inch off the rotor serfice during the turing process. If so you can buy normal rotors for about 45 bucks each from paragon

Ask "skip" or go to there site. Sorry I dont have the url at this moment.

Good luck <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" /> <img src="graemlins/drink.gif" border="0" alt="[cherrsagai]" />

Doug Donsbach

The only reasons to replace rotors are:

1. Cracked.

2. Warped.

3. Too thin.

If yours don't have one of the above problems, they should leave them well enough alone *unless* they are borderline too thin, meaning you will be back in the shop in 5K miles or something if they don't replace them now.

Michael Stephenson

We (my wife and I) have had mechanics tell us that when you replace the pads you also need to replace the rotors so that the pads wear properly. While this may be somewhat true, I have changed the pads on many a car many a time without changing the rotors. Sometimes one pad wears faster than the others, but it has never been enough of a problem to justify new rotors.

I replaced the ones on my S2 at about 70,000 miles and they were still barely within the Porsche spec for rotor thickness. I had done a few DE and AutoX’s on the original rotors and who knows what torture the PO put the brakes thru. I have to admit that there was a very visible lip on the outside edge of the rotors and getting the pads out over this lip took some extra elbow grease.

I do prefer to replace the rotors if they are heavily scored, have a deep lip, cracked, or warped as opposed to turning them. Turning takes away some of the metal needed to dissipate the heat and I think that you are more likely to get brake fad or a warped rotor. I am not real sure if it makes all that much difference in reality, but the extra insurance is worth it to me.

MadMax

Jim,
It would not be completely out of the ordinary for the rotors to need to be replaced after 28K miles if it was mostly city driving or frequent DE's or AutoX's. But you said "mannered miles" I am assuming you mean "mild mannered" miles. If that is the case then they should not need to be replaced. Porsche specifically says NOT to TURN the rotors. Even for a regular Turbo the rotors are relatively cheap. If you have doubt about the rotors then just replace them. If you have VERY basic mechanical skills you could easily do it yourself. Brake rotors/pads is very basic and easy maintenance to perform. I would be very suspicious of your mechanic. Ask him what the thickness of your rotors are and what the limit is. If he can't give a relatively quick and simple answer then run away from him.

I can't recall what the rotor thickness limit is off of the top of my head but I am sure someone onf the board knows what it is for the normal Turbo/S2 rotors.

Regards,
Max

2coupes

Thanks for the info,they ended up turning them and said they were in "spec" at 1.038 and 1.045,but that they would not warrantee against warping which would occur from high heat. This is a garage queen and has never been driven hard,ie;de events,slaloms or auto-x,so we'll see what happens.I also found out they wanted $131-per rotor vs. $20- each for turning.Most parts places have them for half that. Again thanks. Jim

Z-man

[quote]Originally posted by Michael Stephenson:
<strong>We (my wife and I) have had mechanics tell us that when you replace the pads you also need to replace the rotors so that the pads wear properly. While this may be somewhat true, I have changed the pads on many a car many a time without changing the rotors. Sometimes one pad wears faster than the others, but it has never been enough of a problem to justify new rotors.
</strong><hr></blockquote>

Wow! That's crazy. Replace rotors so the pads wear properly? I don't think there is any truth in that! What a crock of bull! If your old rotors are in good shape, your pads will wear just fine. I'm glad to hear that you did not take that mechanic's advise: sounds like we use just trying to make some $$!

If you are upgrading your pads to a more metallic compound like the ones found in ultra-performance track pads, then you may have concerns regarding your rotors: the extra force generated by the pads cause extra heat on the rotors, and they may warp faster. It is important to make sure the pads and rotors work well together.

Just my $0.42.
-Z.