OK, brakes again, gotta replace, but with what????

phils89sc

Registered User
I know this is redundant, but I have to do something. It seems like every ford vehicle I have ever owned (88 Mustang GT, 89 Mustang LX 5.0, 2 x 89 SC Tbird's, 90 Anniversary SC, and a 2001 Ford Ranger Edge), have ALL had the vibration from the front when the brakes were applied. I have tried avoiding the pitfalls of hitting water puddles, hard braking, ect. , but nothing has ever helped. The last time I did a brake job on any Ford I owned was on my ex-90 SC. I replaced the front rotors with Autozone replacements, new metallic pads, new caliper guide pins, boots, ect... only to have the rotors warp after about 2 months. I took everything back to Autozone and got a refund.

I am thinking about getting some good aftermarket cross-drilled rotors, or slotted, anything to cease, in my opinion is one of the most irritating things a car can do. I thought Ford addressed the whole NVH deal (Noise, Vibration and Harshness) starting in the late 80's. So much for that I guess.

If anyone can point me in the right direction her, that would be great.

Thanks

Philip Stocker
 
cross drilled!

When my brakes on my '95 needed replacing, due to pad wear and warping, I went with the KVR cross-drilled rotors all the way around.

I love them. Haven't had a problem since, either. Besides, I think they look cool, even with stock wheels. :)

Mike O.
 
supercoupeperformance.com has some brake kits you might want too check out?
joe
 
Probably the most important part of replacing the rotors is also the most overlooked. New rotors need to be "seasoned" in order to prevent warping. When you install the new rotors, drive the car and apply the brakes until the rotors have reached normal operating temperature. Once they have reached temp, park the car and let them cool completely (best case would be overnight). The initial heating and complete cooling will "temper" the rotors and help stop the warping. I don't know if it will help on turned rotors (if they weren't seasoned when new, it may be too late), but it may be worth a try.
 
Phil, the big issue with a lot of the Ford vehicles, the MN-12 cars in particular, is that the brakes are just too damn small !! Better pads and slotted rotors may help, but eventually, you will get a vibration problem again. The 10.9" rotors do not have the capacity to shed the heat generated by slowing down 4000 lbs. of car. If the SC is going to be a long-term keeper, consider getting a set of the 93-up spindles that you could bolt bigger brakes on to. Use the Mark 8 11.6" brakes if you need to keep the stock 16" wheels on the car, or the Cobra Mustang 13" stuff if you can go with 17" wheels or larger.


cheers
Ed Nicholson
SCCoO
 
Ed is right about them being too small. I think also what helps speed up this process is not using a torque wrench when putting the rims back on. Uneven torque will warp them as well.
 
Go to this site for an interesting take on warped rotors. I got it off of a Cadillac site that I frequent. www.coolrotor.com/whitepapers/warped_rotors_myth
This guy claims that warped rotors are a myth and that it all has to do with a transfer or material from the pads to the rotor and that with proper break in this can be eliminated. It is very interesting.

R910
 
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