Warped Rotors
 

i just noticed something while going through the back posts on this forum...
ppl are all too easy to dismiss uneven braking as warped rotors
it's not always actually warped rotors, rotors don't warp as much as ppl here seem to be so easy to accept
usually the uneven and vibrational breaking is not a result of deformation of the rotors, but because they brought the car to a stop when the rotors were hot, and when the car stops w/ hot rotors the pad melts onto the rotor, causing a deposit of brake pad material on the rotor, not only increasing the thickness of the rotor in that spot, but also changing the friction from one part of the rotor to another, this is usually why resurfacing works, and it would be just effective to 'lap' the rotors w/ some very high grade wet sand paper, very lightly, just to remove the brake pad deposits

so next time your car starts breaking unevenly and has shudder don't jump to the conclusion that the rotors are warped, check them for a faint outline of a brake pad on them, if you see it then just go over the rotor a couple times around it with some super ultra fine wet sand paper, very lightly, and see if it fixes the problem

Thanks for your tip, but the SVX really does suffer this problem. The rotors are of sufficient diameter to stop the car well, but they lack the required thickness to resist warping.

One of my buddies just bought a new Baja (much nicer in person than in photos). While checking it out I noticed they have some pretty sweet, beefy rotors on it. Nicely thick and ventilated. I'm curious if they would possibly fit on the SVX with little modification or at all. Anyone have thoughts on this?

again the bolt pattern is the wrong size

If you plan to fit it between the stock caliper and pads, then the rotor can't be much thicker, if any at all, than the original.

KuoH

If he's REALLY your buddy, he won't mind if you take a few parts off his new Baja just to see if they'll fit your SVX! :D :D :rolleyes:

Is there any chance that you could replace the hub with one from a Baja? Then you'd have the right bolt pattern for the rotor and wheel.

I always thought the rotors on my wife's svx were warped. The previous owner even bought new rotors and then had the new ones turned a few times. I put new pads on hoping to solve the problem and it did not. They even thumped after the first stop from low speeds.
A couple people posted here not too long ago that they torqued the lug nuts equally and their warping went away. I thought - no way - not a chance.
I got a torque wrench for christmas this year.
It fixed it.
It makes sense but I can't believe that it worked.