Front Rotors

[gmenor]

It's time to replace the front rotors - again. I guess warping is a trade mark of all Suburbans. My Burb is 2WD drive. Can anyone suggest a good after market replacement rotors? I have been using OEM rotors with not much success.

[matt-max]

get your wallet out.....

http://www.egrbrakes.com/Suburban%20parts%20list.htm

[Dvldog 8793]

Howdy
I used powerstop, they seem to work good. They are crossdrilled and seem like they are a little better quality than run of the mill stuff. Also, do you retorque your lugs on a REGULAR basis using a torque wrench? Untorqued lugs is probably the biggest cause of warped rotors.
Have fun and remember MONEY is no object! :D

[BuffaloGuy]

I have a theory that these new "last forever" brake pads are the cause of our rotors warping. It seems that when I switched to them (on all my vehicles) that's when I've had troubles. Any body got a thought about that?

[Kennedy]

If they are warping, they are heating excessively. Excessive heating would be caused by sticking (dragging) calipers, OR overworking them. I'd be most inclined to think that your rears aren't doing their job as they seldom do. There was a proportioning valve TSB out some time ago. This helped somewhat, but wasn't a total cure...

[jspringator]

There is a theory set forth on the v-mag Suburban forum that the superheating of the pad material, combined with grip of the pad while stopped, causes some of the pad material to transfer to the rotor, causing symptoms similar to warped rotors. I started putting on my e-brake when stopped at a light after a long grade while towing.

[rjschoolcraft]

I agree that the "last forever pads" are part of the problem. They are too hard and have low thermal conductivity. This forces more heat into the rotor causing it to overheat and warp. Kennedy's comment about sticking calipers is right on also. I've had that happen twice in 223,000 miles. The result... warped rotor.

[gmenor]

Thanks everyone. Matt Max you were right - pricey. What is the recommended brake pads I should be looking for? I did read a while back that it was not recommended to put on the emergency brakes on after a lot of stop and go traffic - might cause warping. This could be due to the heat transfer from the pads to the rotor. Issue still remains on the type of rotors everyone has had success with. JK, your recommendation is probably the next thing I upgrade.

[Chad Mac]

Very interesting! :confused: That sticking caliper issue has plagued me three times in the last 30,000 miles. :mad: What causes this? I'm told that because of my lift (6" suspension), there is not enough slack in my brake cables when turning and when extreme suspension travel is experienced. I would like to know what physically happens to the brake cable when these two conditions are experienced to make them stick the calipers and what can I do to prevent it. I'm getting tired of buying brake cables . . . at approximately $40 a set. Does anyone know if there are longer brake cables available aftermarket or if stock brake cables can be lengthened? I guess I'm lucky I haven't warped any rotors yet. :D

[Truenorth]

From my experience in racing cars, warped rotors 99% of the time are caused by improperly torqued lug nuts, as someone has already pointed out. I have had rotors glowing red and properly torqued and they did not warp. The other point I just want to confirm is that "yes" putting your parking break on extremely out rotors will cause them to warp.