[christianc16]

What's going on guys. So my early 14' ST needs new pads for sure but, I am not sure if I should shave the stock rotors or just go ahead and get slotted rotors from Stop Tech. Any suggestions on if I should use the stock rotors for another 30-40k miles after they get shaved? Thanks!

 

[UnfocusedST]

Most of the time you can get new rotors for the same price as getting them turned.

Sent from another garage.

 

[aaronc7]

I would reuse if thickness is good to go or buy new ones. I've never had issues swapping pads on rotors.

 

[Unfitproduct]

Stoptech rotors (slotted) are fantastic! I'd recommend them.

 

[mitch808]

Unless you have some uneven surfaces on the rotors (Called runout), you often do not need to do anything, other than a light scuffing with sandpaper, install new pads, and bed them in.

But moving to new Centric rotors, or even better than OEM is Centric Premium rotors, is so affordable these days...

I usually can go 2 pad changes before I need to change rotors, assuming street pads.

 

[GooseEye]

What's going on guys. So my early 14' ST needs new pads for sure but, I am not sure if I should shave the stock rotors or just go ahead and get slotted rotors from Stop Tech. Any suggestions on if I should use the stock rotors for another 30-40k miles after they get shaved? Thanks!

Since you have an early 14, have you thought about switching from 12.6" to 13.1" rotors? The caliper brackets and dust shields are about $60 plus the OEM rotors are about $50 each. Stoptech rotors are at least twice that amount, but the cost would be the same whether you went with 12.6 or 13.1. So actually, it would be about $60 extra to get the larger brakes with the better cooled rotor design.

Add Kevin's rear Frankenbrake upgrade for about $220 and you could have larger slotted Stoptech rotors all the way around. This is what I'm going to do to my early '14 when I need to change pads.

 

[wheelhopper]

If your rotors are within spec and aren't warped I'd stick with them or upgrade to a larger size. No need to go to a fancy brand for more $ over blanks at Advance. I use Advance Auto parts rotors on my TT car and when they crack I get them swapped under warranty, and they don't crack any sooner than expensive name brands I have used in the past.

 

[Ron Jeremy]

If you're not doing the brakes yourself, Considering how much money you'd be spending on replacing your rotors, which is about $200 for all 4 corners OEM, you could buy the Focus RS brake kit from Ford Racing and call it a day. It's more expensive, but those should last you YEARS of street use.

 

[GooseEye]

If you're not doing the brakes yourself, Considering how much money you'd be spending on replacing your rotors, which is about $200 for all 4 corners OEM, you could buy the Focus RS brake kit from Ford Racing and call it a day. It's more expensive, but those should last you YEARS of street use.

I checked out that RS kit on CJ Pony parts and it's $1440 for the front and $480 for the rear. And the stock wheels won't fit so you'll need spacers or new wheels. The 16" spare on the 13-early 14's might not even fit the rears anymore. So now you'd be looking at $2k plus new wheels if spacers won't work, and a larger spare tire or full size spare. I'm sure they're nice brakes but it would be way cheaper to just replace the rotors and pads, or go the bigger rotor route by changing out the caliper brackets.

 

[RoachRage]

Most of the time you can get new rotors for the same price as getting them turned.

Uh, no. You can get them turned for $10-15 each. You aren't going to get new ones for that, though most rotors can only be turned once. I highly recommend either turning them or replacing them with every pad replacement. All I can say about those of you that say it's OK to sand them lightly is maybe you don't care much about the long-term, or maybe you aren't as particular as I am. I have never paid for a brake job and have done the brakes on all my cars, including several with drum brakes. Additionally, I have had several long term cars, seven, eight, and even two cars eleven years, and one 16 years. My experience says that pads break in better and last longer when you take care with your rotors. Why would you go to the trouble of replacing your pads with Hawks, only to have them have issues after 10k miles because of uneven rotor wear?
Do the right thing; turn or replace your rotors when you replace your pads.

 

[mitch808]

Uh, no. You can get them turned for $10-15 each. You aren't going to get new ones for that, though most rotors can only be turned once. I highly recommend either turning them or replacing them with every pad replacement. All I can say about those of you that say it's OK to sand them lightly is maybe you don't care much about the long-term, or maybe you aren't as particular as I am. I have never paid for a brake job and have done the brakes on all my cars, including several with drum brakes. Additionally, I have had several long term cars, seven, eight, and even two cars eleven years, and one 16 years. My experience says that pads break in better and last longer when you take care with your rotors. Why would you go to the trouble of replacing your pads with Hawks, only to have them have issues after 10k miles because of uneven rotor wear?
Do the right thing; turn or replace your rotors when you replace your pads.

Under no circumstances do you resurface rotors, unless you have a run-out that is beyond spec. You've been tickled and blown into your ear for far too long. Thats cute that you have so many long term cars, but your knowledge is dated.

Do you believe too that Rotors warp? They really don't.

Pads usually leave an even deposit on the rotor, that when swapping just pads, you should remove that deposit, and let the new pads re-deposit a new layer, also called "bedding in rotors." This process makes braking smoother and improves braking performance. Thus, the recommendation to just sand/scuff the old rotor to remove the old pad deposits when possible.

Rotors only need two things. Be within minimum thickness, of which is when you actually replace them; and/or have an even run-out, of which perhaps you investigate re-surfacing, but as long as the first condition isn't met upon removing material. They don't warp, and certainly don't need to be replaced as you change pads each time.

So the proper recommendation is, meet minimum rotor thickness per OE spec.
If you have the means, measure run-out. (Not terribly important in many cases, and most don't have the means to do it properly anyways)
Replace pads only if your budget constrained, and the rotors meet minimum thickness. Sand to scuff and remove old pad material
Perform a proper bedding procedure, or drive easy with no hard stops for 500 miles.

 

[christianc16]

Thanks for all of the help guys! So i ordered the Hawks HPS pads and found the Stop Tech slotted Rotors for $55 each on the rear and $75 for the fronts on rockauto.com , I couldn't pass up that price for brand new rotors and figured this set up would last me a few years!

 

[RoachRage]

Under no circumstances do you resurface rotors, unless you have a run-out that is beyond spec. You've been tickled and blown into your ear for far too long. Thats cute that you have so many long term cars, but your knowledge is dated.

Do you believe too that Rotors warp? They really don't.

So the proper recommendation is, meet minimum rotor thickness per OE spec.
If you have the means, measure run-out. (Not terribly important in many cases, and most don't have the means to do it properly anyways)
Replace pads only if your budget constrained, and the rotors meet minimum thickness. Sand to scuff and remove old pad material
Perform a proper bedding procedure, or drive easy with no hard stops for 500 miles.

I have heard the theory that you speak of and I don't subscribe to it. The rotors DO get uneven/grooved and turning them fixes this and it doesn't affect appreciably the other aspects of the rotors. No shop will turn rotors that are too thin so there is no need to measure them yourself. If they are too thin, then you replace them. Additionally, if you have installed Hawk pads then you know that hard braking is part of the bedding/break-in. I fail to see how they can break in properly with grooved rotors. Even sanded grooved rotors. I have done a couple brake jobs with just sanding (under duress) and the results were not satisfactory. Thanks for your input. Nothing wrong with a good discussion.