Hondas continue to enjoy the popularity earned by providing a good vehicle that will deliver many miles of trouble-free service to their owners. But all machines, even the good ones, require regular maintenance and, eventually, the replacement of consumable parts. Brakes certainly fit that description. What we'll look at in this article is not so much how to replace worn-out pads, but rather things to be on the lookout for that will ensure a quality job and eliminate comebacks. Keep in mind how the brake system has changed to keep up with forward-moving technology. Actually, the mechanical brake system hasn't changed a great deal, but with the advent of ABS and its integration into traction control and vehicle stability assist, good work habits when servicing the system are more important than ever. Honda and its well-dressed Acura sister line have used the simple and effective squeak-type mechanical brake sensor for years. I'm sure we're all familiar with the metal tab that makes contact with the rotor when the pads are reaching the end of their useful life. While we find the noise unmistakable, many customers still don't relate it to a brake warning. That's why it's important to inspect the pads on every car that comes in the shop. Give customers the heads up that brake service will soon be needed, and you'll be much more likely to get the work. Better yet, give them an appointment. It works for the dentist, and it will work for us. While heat is the most common cause of rotor warpage, not controlling the torque on the lug nuts is probably second - and shouldn't be. If you're still tightening wheels with an impact gun, you're part of the problem. Do us all a favor and stop it. The most basic and often-overlooked detail is a thorough inspection of the system. While the front pads may be the obvious problem that got the Civic on the lift, it's our responsibility, and opportunity, to inspect the entire system. Take a good look at the rear shoes; we've seen the friction material separate from the shoes on some older cars. The safety consequences of this problem are obvious. Also take a look at the hardware, including the self-adjustment and hand-brake mechanisms. Don't overlook the wheel cylinders; check them for leakage as well as free movement of the pistons. Hopefully, you recommended and sold a brake fluid flush along with the service. This is the time to be sure the bleeders will open and aren't plugged. At the same time, look at the brake hoses and the steel lines to confirm their condition. Honda uses the familiar turn back-type caliper with the rear disc brakes. What we're looking for here is even wear of the pads. Check the hand-brake system to make sure it's operating freely, and check the condition of the cables. Are the protective rubber boots still intact, or can you see the rust on the inner cable? If the cable looks good, unhook it from the caliper to confirm its condition as well as to check for binding in the mechanical part of the caliper. When it comes to replacing the pads, the same good habits apply to both the front and rear. By now, I'm sure we're all aware of the risk involved with simply pushing contaminated brake fluid backward through the ABS system. The risk of creating blockages in the ABS modulator is just too great to overlook. There's really no reason not to open the bleeders and slowly retract the pistons, catching the bad fluid in your bleeder bottle. You're going to bleed and flush the system as part of the service anyway, so you might as well get rid of the most abused fluid from the start. As the brake pads are being removed, it's important to look for anything that isn't moving freely. As mentioned earlier, we're also looking for pads that are worn evenly, otherwise the workload isn't being distributed evenly at best, and there's a good chance the pads are hanging up and putting the dreaded heat into the rotors. It's not unusual for the customer not to notice these problems since they tend to come on gradually. But all of them can feel the difference once the system is restored to its original condition. The system inspection continues as we start to replace pads. Open the bleeder and push back the pistons on the calipers. On the front, we use a C-clamp between the outer pad and the back of the caliper. It should take little effort to retract the piston and move the caliper away from the outer pad. If excessive effort is required, don't use force. Instead, look for an indication of what's binding and remove the caliper to investigate it further. If the slides are frozen, it will become evident when the caliper is removed. On some older models, the slides are part of the bolts, while on others the caliper bolts go into the slide. Either way, they should be removed, cleaned and lubricated. Be sure to check the condition of the rubber boots that protect the sliders from the elements. If you're working on a model where the boot is located on the inside diameter of the caliper bracket, carefully remove the boot to clean the rust off the housing and the boot to re-establish the proper clearance. Late-model cars use a seal on the slider part of the bolt that is much more effective and easier to service. Now with the caliper removed, the piston should easily return to the bottom of the bore; if not, a rebuilt is certainly in order. All of these warnings also apply to rear brakes equipped with discs, except, of course, using the C-clamp. Being equipped with a mechanical hand brake, it's necessary to turn the pistons as they're refracted. Again, we should all be familiar with the process and have the tools on hand to make it a simple one. Be careful when turning the piston so that the boot isn't torn. If the boot feels brittle, or is already torn, it's a good indication that overheating has taken place. Being equipped to handle both mechanical and hydraulic application, the rear calipers are twice as likely to have a problem. The last place to look will be the most obvious - the pads themselves being stuck in the bracket. Like the boots that tighten up by the buildup of rust behind them, remove the plated anti-rattle clips from the bracket and clean up the bracket where they sit. The final step is to use a high-quality lube on the slider hardware as well as any areas that make metal-to-metal contact, particularly where the pads mount into the bracket.

Press Fit Bearings Press fit wheel bearings can give you fits because they are pressed into the knuckle, making them much more difficult to replace. You have two alternatives here: remove the knuckle and use a hydraulic ram to push the bearings out of the knuckle, or buy some special wheel bearing service tools that can do the job with the knuckle in place. The latter can be a real time saver because you don't have to pull the knuckle. A puller kit can cut the job to about 20 minutes per wheel, and, depending on the application, can also eliminate the risk of damaging the lower ball joint or tie rod end if these parts don't have to be disconnected. Applications that typically require removing the knuckle or using a wheel bearing puller kit include older Japanese cars, such as 1986-91 Toyota Camry, 1986-94 Toyota Celica, 1987-94 Toyota Corolla, 1992-94 Lexus ES300, 1985-94 Nissans, 1988-94 Mazdas and 1986-94 Honda and Acura. Others include 1973-94 Audis (except 100LS), 1985-88 Chevy Nova, most 1979-90 Chrysler FWD cars, 1995 Chrysler Neon, 1991-94 Saturns, 1975-94 VWs, plus various Ford FWD cars. Captured Rotor Wheel Bearings The hardest ones to replace are typically the captured rotor wheel bearings. Most captured rotor applications can be serviced without removing the steering knuckle, as long as you have the right tools. Be sure to inspect the race and rotor and ensure you've got proper access to the bearing itself. Pressed-in captured rotor bearings, especially the multi-piece designs used in some applications, will require a hydraulic press. These types of bearings can be found in some 1970s and 1980s Chrysler vehicles, including some 1981-89 Dodge, Chrysler and Plymouth vehicles, as well as various GM vehicles from 1985 to the early 1990s. You can identify these bearings by the way they sit inside the rotor: the wheel bearing is housed inside the rotor, which is bolted onto the hub assembly. This requires you to remove the rotor, then press the bearing out of the assembly. When servicing the captured rotor, be sure to press the bearing assembly in exactly as the original assembly came out. If it is not installed correctly, you risk damaging the bearing or warping the rotor.

Some General Motors SUV owners may complain of a rattle noise coming from the front of the vehicle while driving at slow speeds over rough road surfaces - when the brake pedal is not applied. This condition may be caused by the interface of the front brake caliper guide pins and the front brake caliper bracket.
To isolate the brake caliper guide pins as a potential source of the noise, apply the brakes when the noise is apparent. If the noise stops when the brakes are applied and returns once released, then the caliper guide pin bushings are the most likely source of the concern.

Applicable Vehicles
2005-2006 Chevrolet Equinox
2006 Pontiac Torrent
2002-2006 Saturn VUE

Parts Information
2 x PIN 15824369, Bushing Front Brake Caliper Guide (comes in bag of 10)

Repair Procedure
Review safety procedures in ALL-DATA Repair before beginning.

Removal Procedure
1. Raise and support the vehicle.
2. Remove the wheel assembly.
3. Install and firmly hand tighten two wheel nuts to opposite wheel studs in order to retain the rotor to the hub.
4. Install a large C-clamp over the body of the brake caliper with the C-clamp ends against the rear of the caliper body and against the outboard brake pad.
5. Tighten the C-clamp evenly until the caliper piston is compressed into the caliper bore enough to allow the caliper to slide past the brake rotor.
6. Remove the C-clamp from the caliper.
7. Remove the brake caliper lower guide pin bolt.
Note: Support the brake caliper with heavy mechanic's wire, or equivalent.
8. Without disconnecting the hydraulic brake flexible hose, pivot the caliper upward and secure the caliper with heavy mechanic's wire, or equivalent.
9. Remove the lower caliper pin taking care not to damage the pin boot.
10. Remove the rubber bushing from the caliper pin.
11. Clean the pin and install a new bushing.
12. Lubricate the caliper pin and bushing assembly with a light coat of high temperature silicone brake lubricant and install in the caliper bracket.
13. Remove the support and rotate the brake caliper into position over the disc brake pads and to the caliper mounting bracket.
14. Repeat Steps 1-13 on opposite side brake assembly.

Installation Procedure
Note: Use the correct fastener in the correct location. Replacement fasteners must be the correct part number for that application. Fasteners requiring replacement or fasteners requiring the use of thread locking compound or sealant are identified in the service procedure. Do not use paints, lubricants or corrosion inhibitors on fasteners or fastener joint surfaces unless specified. These coatings affect fastener torque and joint clamping force and may damage the fastener. Use the correct tightening sequence and specifications when installing fasteners in order to avoid damage to parts and systems.

1. Install the lower brake caliper guide pin bolt. Tighten the bolt to 32 lb ft (44 N.m)
2. Remove the wheel nuts.
3. Install the wheel assembly.
4. Repeat Steps 1-3 on opposite side brake assembly.
5. Lower the vehicle.
6. With the engine OFF, gradually apply the brake pedal approximately 2/3 of its travel distance.
7. Slowly release the brake pedal.
8. Wait 15 seconds, then gradually apply the brake pedal approximately 2/3 of its travel distance again until a firm brake pedal apply is obtained. This will seat the brake caliper pistons and brake pads.
9. Drive the vehicle to confirm the noise is gone.

1. Ordering PartsFor 2004 Starting with the 2004 model year, Ford launched a new body style for the F150. The new body style truck is a new vehicle inside and out. However, not all of the 2004 F150s that you see will be the new body style. The 2004 F150 was also made available in the older body style pickup that came on the scene in 1996. The older body style F150 is called a "Heritage" edition. The newer body style is simply referred to as an 2004 "new" model. You do need to be aware of this for correct ordering of parts, and parts look up.

2. Valve Stems
On some 2007-2008 F150s, the OEM valve stems leaked due to design flaws and defects in the materials. Leaks usually developed at the base of the stem and might only leak while the vehicle is moving due to the centrifugal forces on the stems. To inspect the valve stems, apply light pressure to the valve stem cap with your finger and inspect the surface of the valve stem. Look for surface cracks at the base of the valve stem and listen for any slow air leak.

3. Lifting
On the "new" model F-Series trucks, be sure to fold the side view mirrors in when raising these trucks on a two-post lift. The mirrors are large enough that they have been crushed by the plate or cap found at the top of the lift posts.

4. Hoods
This one issue might seem excessively simple to talk about, but can be very embarrassing in front of the customer if you are not prepared. The secondary hood release handle has moved on the 2008 Super Duty. It is now below the inside lower corner of the right headlight.

5. Lathes
One significant design change is to the front rotors. On the 4x2 "NEW" F150, the front wheel bearings are now sealed bearings that are pressed into the rotors and secured with a snap ring. This design calls for a special adapter for your bench-style brake lathe or on-the-car lathe. The 4x4 is a hubless design rotor and requires no special bench lathe adapter beyond what is needed for any hubless rotor.

6. Stock Retaining Nuts
You need to be aware that the retaining nut for the rotor is not intended for reuse. For this reason, it may be wise for your shop to stock two retaining nuts for 2004-and-up F150 2WD.

7. Shudder Strategy: Count The Fins and Check the Rack
Some 2004/2005 F-150 trucks built before 11/29/2004 may exhibit front brake roughness and or shudder while braking. The full TSB is # 05-21-19. Vehicles built prior to 8/20/2003 require the replacement of the rack and pinion assembly if it has not been replaced.

To determine if the vehicle has the old- or new-style rotors (or even if the aftermarket rotors are well designed) count the number of fins. The new-style rotors have 47 fins.

8. Tire Shoulder Wear: Change Your Specs
Some 2004-2006 F-150 vehicles (excluding Heritage) built before 11/1/2005, equipped with only the following tires or the same replacement sizes, may exhibit rapid tire shoulder wear on the inside edge of the front tires:
Hankook P235170 R17 XL
General P255170 R17
Continental P255/65 R17
Ford recommends adjusting the alignment specs and rotation if possible only if the tread depth of the inside shoulder is worn more than 1/2 of the tread depth of other ribs if the tires are exhibiting inside shoulder (toe) wear. If this is the case, set the front total toe to 0.30 +/- 0.05 degrees, also check camber and caster angles are within specification limits, and perform 4-wheel alignment at a certified facility.

9. Rear Brake Adjusters
If the rear brakes need adjusting, perform a brake adjustment using the vehicle owner's manual as a guide. New vehicles might have auto-adjusters. A wheel alignment service can be helpful.

New hub units may exhibit rough feel when rotated by hand, a characteristic common with today's high performance products. SKF reports the rough or coarse feel of some new hub units if they are rotated by hand before installation and explains why these conditions are normal for technicians to experience.
In recent years there have been concerns about new hub bearings being rough or difficult to rotate. Many technicians inspect a new replacement hub bearing visually and by rotating the assembly once or twice by hand.

During the inspection process, it is not abnormal to feel a rough, coarse sensation as the two halves of the hub are rotated. This condition is not an indication of a defective bearing; these hub units should not be returned as suspected defective parts.

This condition is caused by the premium grease SKF uses in many of its bearings, especially in hub bearings. SKF uses GHG grease that provides a significant advantage over other standard greases.

SKF GHG contains many performance-enhancing additives, some of which are in the form of soft crystalline structures when the grease is new. These crystalline structures can create a rough, coarse feeling when the hub bearing is first turned by hand, before the bearing has experienced significant rotation.

These additives are important to optimum wheel bearing performance and include anti-brinelling and extreme pressure performance enhancers and solid lubricant components. This advanced technology grease chemistry improves bearing performance from many aspects, ranging from protecting against bearing damage during vehicle transport to maintaining proper lubrication conditions during high load/low speed operation to lubricant stability at elevated operating temperatures.

Even though the bearing may feel rough when it is initially rotated by hand, after rotating on the vehicle for a few minutes, the soft crystalline structures in the grease will break down into finer structures, and the bearing will rotate smoothly. There is no detrimental effect of the SKF GHG grease run-in. This is the normal and desired behavior of this type of grease.

Another item that may contribute to a hard turning hub bearing is the seal. In some hub bearings, the seals also have more interference with the bearing. Once the bearing is rotated for a few minutes, the bearing will gradually turn freely. This is a normal situation.

As a reminder, Generation 3 hub assemblies need to be fully preloaded/seated with the correct torque in order to operate properly. Without the proper bearing seating on a hub assembly, the bearing may have a feeling of roughness when turning it. The rough feel is more noticeable in bearings that are preloaded from the factory, as many of these newer generation hub units are preloaded. Always remember to follow the OE manufacturer's recommended torque specifications and procedures when installing the axle nut. This will create the correct preload for the hub assembly.

It's important to measure your brake rotor wear every 10,000 miles or at the very least every time you change your brake pads. You want to use a micro measuring caliper to determine your brake rotor thickness. For example, a new brake rotor with a thickness of 10mm is required to be replaced or turned at 9mm, meaning that your naked eye has to detect 1mm of rotor wear. Kinda impossible.

In order to get an accurate measurement for the amount of brake rotor wear we depend on our trusty micrometer. Prepare your car so you can remove the wheel.

With the wheel removed, you will have clear access to the rotor for you to make accurate measurements. There are several types of micrometers and measuring calipers so you want to make sure your caliper can measure to the tenth of a millimeter.

Next, you simply measure the thickness in at least three different spots of the brake rotor. Make sure to write down your measurements and you may get a few small variations. It helps to get at least 4-5 different measurements and to take the average of that.

Next, take a look at the brake rotor center hat. This is the portion that doesn't get exposed to the brake pad. You will normally find your minimum rotor thickness stamped there. It may be faint, but it's usually there. In some cases it may be located on the outer edge of the rotor.

Tip: Keep in mind that you want to avoid measuring too close to the inside/outside of the rotor, as the actual brake pad doesn't contact those edges. Also, for slotted rotors stay away from measuring the slots, as those will skew the results. Same goes with dimpled/cross-drilled rotors. Keep clear of measuring the holes.

Measuring Rotor Thickness
It's impossible to tell how much life is left on the brake rotors by simply looking at it. As a matter of fact, it's dangerously misleading! By simply looking at brake rotors, most rotors seem to be wearing fine unless there are cracks or huge chunks missing.
However, that is where the huge misconception lies.
Unlike brake pads, which show how much pad is left and have warning sensors, brake rotors have no such indicators. It's important for the safety and performance of your car to inspect these properly. We recommend inspecting your brake rotors every 10,000 miles to make sure they are within specs.
Follow our visual guide on how to inspect your brake rotors in just 6 steps. Make sure your rotors are cool prior to inspecting.
Note: If you observe any one of these 6 symptoms, it's recommended that you replace your brake rotors.

1. Visible Cracks
One of the most obvious ways to check when your rotors need to be replaced is through visible cracks. If you see a crack, it's time to replace your rotor. However, in certain cases small hairline cracks are normal if you race your car, such as track days and timed performance events. Keep in mind if you don't know the difference, it's better to be safe than sorry.

2. Grooves
 If you have an open-spoke wheel design, you can run your finger vertically down the brake rotor friction surface. If you can feel and see noticeable grooves, then it's time for new brake rotors.
For cars with hub caps that don't expose the rotor, you will need to remove your wheel to inspect your brake rotors.

3. Rotor Edge Lip
On worn brake rotors, if you follow the rotor to the edge you can usually feel/see a noticeable lip. This lip is created as the brake pads normally don't contact all of the rotor surface and therefore leaves an outer lip when the rotors are worn down.
Keep in mind that rotors reach their wear limit at only about 1mm. If there is an obvious lip, it's most likely near its wear limit or is wearing unevenly. Measure with calipers to double-check.

4. Heat Spots
Heat spots (Fig. x) are a telltale sign that your brake rotors have uneven brake pad deposits. How do they affect you? Heat spots will lead to brake harshness, vibration, and reduced structural integrity. Heat spots on brake rotors occur when brakes aren't broken in (bedded) properly and the brake pad deposits on the rotor accumulate and eventually turn into a compound known as cementite. You don't want Cementite on your brake rotors. Cementite is a compound that is very hard, overly abrasive, and doesn't allow the rotors to cool properly. As a result, Cementite heats up the local area around itself growing in size and reducing the cooling capacity of your brake rotors.
Prevention: Properly breaking/bedding in your new brake rotors is vital to the longevity of the rotor. See our Brake Rotor Bedding Guide.
If this is caught early on, you can possibly remedy it by bedding in your brakes with a more abrasive pad, or resurfacing your rotors. If the heat spots are extensive, you will need to replace your rotors.

5. Rust
There are two types of rust that occur on brake rotors. Surface rust and corrosive rust. Most of the rust on brake rotors is known as "surface rust". Just like it sounds, imagine surface rust on brake rotors as a thin top layer of rust. This doesn't affect braking performance and most of it wipes off when you apply your brakes. Although some of it remains, such as on the hub and rotor vents, it doesn't hinder performance but it can be unsightly.  Our zinc and e-coated rotors aid in preventing such rotor rust from forming and tarnishing your beautiful brake rotors.
Corrosive rust on the other hand is the evil twin brother. This is the rust you see when you live in harsh conditions where road salt (electrolytes) is often used. You don't want this type of rust. This rust often happens when you neglect your car and let it sit for extended periods of time without driving, allowing the rust to etch into your rotors. This affects the structural integrity of your rotors as well as effectiveness. If this happens, we recommend replacing your rotors.
BP Coated Rotors are specifically coated with a zinc coating to protect against surface rust.

6. Warped Rotors
Although the term "warped" rotors is very commonly used, it's in fact one of the least common causes of brake vibration. In fact, what happens in almost every case of a warped rotor is simply uneven pad deposits or heat spots. Uneven pad deposits happen from using incorrect break-in procedures. Follow our break-in guide (also known as "bedding your pads") to prevent vibration and premature rotor and pad failure.

Anytime you install new brake rotors, brake pads, or both, it's advantageous to bed in your new brakes. Bedding in your brakes is just an industry term to explain breaking in your new brakes.  Bedding in your brakes helps transfer an even layer of brake pad material onto the brake rotor which assists in smoother brake operation and improved braking power.

Having a uniform layer of pad material on the brake rotor is essential to minimizing brake squeal and vibration. For this procedure, you will need a good stretch of road and no traffic.

Use common sense and take precaution as BrakePerformance does not take responsibility for erratic driving, accidents, or damages done.  

Note: When using Brake Performance Zinc-Coated rotors, as soon as you start braking, the friction from the pads will strip the zinc from the pad surface, turning it Silver and leaving the holes, slots, and the rest of the rotor zinc coated in the color you selected.

• Perform 3-4 medium stops from 45mph. Slightly more aggressive than normal braking. You don't need to come to a complete stop for each pass. This brings the brake rotors up to temperature so they are not exposed to sudden thermal shock.

•  Make 8-10 aggressive stops from 60mph down to 15mph. For this set of semi-stops, you want to be firm and aggressive, but not to the point where ABS activates and the wheels lock up. It's important to note that you don't come to a complete stop but rather a semi-stop (~15mph). Accelerate back up to 60mph as soon as you slowed down to your semi-stop.

• The brake pads and brake rotors are extremely hot at this point and sitting on one point will imprint the pad material onto the surface unevenly. This can cause vibration and uneven braking.

•  You may notice that your brakes will start fading, and sometimes smoke, after the 6th or 7th pass. This fade will stabilize and will gradually recess once your brakes have cooled down to normal operating temperatures. Drive carefully as your brakes may feel softer for the next few minutes.

• Try not to come to a complete stop and find a stretch of road where you can coast for 5-10 minutes, preferably without using your brakes.

After the break-in procedure, there may be a light blue tint on your brake rotors as well as a gray film deposit. The blue tint shows that your rotor has reached the appropriate temperature during the bedding process, and the gray film is some of the pad transfer material.

Some cars and trucks require two cycles of the bedding in procedure. This may be the case if you are using old brake rotors with new brake pads, or new brake rotors with old pads. This may also be the case if you don't think you fully heated up the brakes in the initial bedding procedure. In any case, it's required that you wait at least 10-15 minutes between each cycle as you don't want them to overlap.

When you step on your brake pedal, it forces the small piston(s) inside your brake caliper to compress, squeezing your brake rotors and essentially slowing down your car. Although this is the simplest way to explain the concept, it doesn't factor in some of the details that allow this to happen. Because the brake pedal doesn't just magically connect to all four brake rotors, it relies on the use of brake lines to divert your single force acting on the brake pedal onto the four corners of the car. These lines are filled with a hydraulic fluid we call brake fluid.

Brake fluid works well because it's a non-compressible, hygroscopic fluid which allows all the energy that your foot releases onto your brake pedal to be converted into braking pressure that squeezes your brake rotors and slows them down. So why is brake fluid so vital, yet often overlooked when shopping for brake rotors?

When you apply your brakes it causes your brake pistons to compress and clamp the brake rotors. This friction creates heat, lots of it. This means your brake fluid needs to retain its incompressible nature without boiling or evaporating due to the temperature.

What happens when your brake fluid boils or overheats? It creates air bubbles in the system and air is compressible opposed to brake fluid. So in turn, when you press down on the brake pedal, instead of clamping the rotors and slowing down the car, the brake fluid compresses the air and the brakes are not doing their job. This also translates to the driver as a mushy or unresponsive feeling brake pedal.

Brake fluid is a hygroscopic fluid that starts absorbing water, making it less effective. We suggest flushing your brake fluid once a year, but it's also a good idea to bleed your fluid every 6 months if you do a lot of hard braking. Hard braking on the brake rotors accumulates a lot of heat in the brake system and "boils" the fluid, creating air bubbles. Bleeding your brake system helps get rid of those air bubbles in the system.

For both bleeding and flushing your brakes, it's recommended to have fresh brake fluid readily available. If the fluid in the reservoir runs low while bleeding/flushing, it will induce air into the system, rendering the entire process useless.

Make sure the brake fluid is fresh and hasn't been sitting on the shelf more than 2 weeks if the seal has been opened. This is important as opened brake fluid is going to contain moisture. Unlike other brake components such as brake rotors or brake pads, brake fluid is sensitive to shelf life, especially when opened.

Always wear safety glasses and use proper equipment. Use common sense and take precautions as BrakePerformance does not take responsibility for erratic driving, accidents, damages done, or personal injury.

1. On a level surface, set the car in gear and place a stop behind the tires to keep it from rolling.

2. Open the hood and locate the master cylinder. This is where the brake fluid is filled from. Open the master cylinder cap (brake fluid reservoir) and place an old rag around it as you may get some spillage. (Do not drip on the paint of the car as brake fluid will etch.)

3. Using a turkey baster, suck out all the fluid. Most likely 20% will remain and that's okay.

4. Refill the reservoir back up to the fill line using fresh brake fluid.

5. Check with your manufacturer and find out the order in which brake calipers should be bled first. Normally, it's always starting with the furthest brake caliper from the brake reservoir. For example, if your reservoir is located in the engine bay by the driver side, you would start with the rear passenger brake caliper, rear driver brake caliper, front passenger brake caliper, and then finally the driver side brake caliper. This is just a general example; make sure to verify with your manufacturer.

6. Once you figure out the order, you want to jack up that side of the car and remove the wheel to access the caliper that you are about to bleed.

7. Secure the car by using jack stands once you jack up the car and remove the wheel.

8. Locate the bleeder valve. It helps to attach a rubber hose over it so the brake fluid doesn't drip everywhere.

9. Using an assistant, have him/her pump the brakes about 4-5 times, and they should notice it get stiffer. While they are holding the brake pedal down, open up the bleeder valve and fluid will come out. The trick is that you want your assistant to notify you to close the valve right before they hit the bottom of the brake pedal.

10. Repeat this process until fresh brake fluid comes out. Usually, old fluid is darker, and you will notice the shift to a lighter fluid indicating the fresh fluid has filled that brake line.

11. Repeat the same process for the remainder of the brake calipers and make sure that the brake fluid never gets below the minimum marker on the master cylinder. If this happens, you risk getting air into the system again and having to redo the entire process.

12. Once all four corners are done, top off the fluid in the reservoir to the max line, torque the wheel bolts to the proper specification, and verify you have a solid brake pedal feel before driving.

Bleeding Brakes

The process of bleeding brakes is identical. The only difference is that when you are bleeding each individual brake caliper, you only need to open the bleeder valve once or twice until you don't see any air bubbles come out. You do not need to wait until you start seeing fresh fluid. It is still necessary to have fresh fluid as it may drain most of what's in the master cylinder.

Brake fluid is a hydraulic fluid used in your brake lines. It takes the force your foot exerts onto the brake pedal and transfers it into braking pressure that then clamps your brake rotors, effectively slowing your car down. We use brake fluid due to its hygroscopic nature and its ability to resist compression. Essentially, you transmit all your force from the pedal to the brake rotor without losing energy due to fluid compression.

Now, because the brake rotors and brake calipers exert a high amount of heat, brake fluid must have a high heat tolerance. Otherwise, it would simply vaporize inside your brake lines and negate the purpose of the brake fluid. This is dangerous and results in your brake system not functioning properly.

Boiling Point is the maximum temperature before your fluid starts to boil. To further complicate things, there is a Dry Boiling Point and a Wet Boiling Point. Wet simply means the boiling point of a fluid after it has absorbed a certain percentage of moisture* (remember, it's hygroscopic). Dry is fresh fluid from a canister that hasn't been opened.

Below, we have the quality standards for each of the fluid classes:

• DOT 3 205°C/401°F (Dry) 140°C/284°F (Wet)

• DOT 4 230°C/446°F (Dry) 155°C/311°F (Wet)

• DOT 5** 260°C/500°F (Dry) 180°C/356°F (Wet)

• DOT 5.1 270°C/518°F (Dry) 190°C/374°F (Wet)

It's always recommended to only stick with the DOT rating your car recommends.

Using a DOT rating other than what is recommended may cause improper brake operation or premature failure.

*Wet boiling point is defined as 3.7% water by volume.

**DOT 5 is a synthetic non-hygroscopic fluid and should only be used for designated cars that support DOT 5.

With all this talk about brake rotors, we haven't forgotten about those of us that still use brake drums! Depending on your vehicle make and year, you could have all four drum brakes, or it's also possible to have a combination of rotors and brakes (i.e. Rotors in the front, brake drums in the rear).
The drum brake is made up of a few components. The brake drum is what you will see on the outside, which houses the internal components. The brake shoe, parking brake, and adjusting mechanism are what makes up most of what's hidden behind the brake drum.

Most of the time, you will be replacing the brake drum and the brake shoes. Those are the two brake components that see the most day-to-day wear. The parking brake (if it's integrated into the rear brake drum) also needs to be replaced normally around 75,000 miles, but earlier if you use it frequently.

Lastly, the adjusting mechanism which generally consists of the cable, adjusting lever, star wheel adjuster, and automatic adjuster spring can also see wear with age. This is more prevalent in harsh weather conditions such as rain and snow. If you are driving a vehicle 10 years or older, it's recommended to change it out regardless due to age.

To inspect the brake shoes, most drum brakes have an inspection hole where you can see the brake shoe friction surface to give you an idea of how much life is left. The minimum wear thickness should be:

• Un-bonded: 0.8mm or 1/32 inch

• Bonded to backing plate: 1.6mm or 1/16 inch

Uneven and scoured brake wear also indicates that the brake shoes should be replaced

Adjusting Parking BrakeFollow your manufacturers instructions as these are general guidelines and not a complete how-to. Because of the wide variety of different e-brake setups, use this as a guide, and not a comprehensive step-by-step instructional.
It's recommended to change your e-brake at 75,000 miles or at least adjust it every 2 years, depending on how often you use it. If your e-brake feels loose, it's usually the wires that simply need to be re-adjusted.

Adjusting Parking Brake

Most mechanical e-brakes are activated using thin steel cables that run from your e-brake handle, down to your brake mechanism. Over time, these cables develop slack and need to be re-adjusted. This is as simple as removing your center console or e-brake boot and locating the steel cables. Most of the time, it's a pair of steel cables that connect to the rear rotors.

There are two parts to the process. One is the jam nut which secures and tightens the steel cables in place. You want to loosen the jam nut so the steel cable moves freely. Next, locate the adjusting mechanism that tightens and loosens the slack of the steel wires. Usually if your e-brake handle feels loose and doesn't feel like it's grabbing, you want to tighten it.

In other cases, the e-brake can feel like it's overtightened. This usually results in a very heavy e-brake handle that only allows 1-2 clicks before it's engaged. Usually you want around 3-4 clicks as the brake resistances ramps up with the amount of clicks. Check with the manufacturer for recommended e-brake clicks and adjust to that.

After it's adjusted to your specification, tighten the jam nut to secure the new adjustment in place.
Make sure to rotate the rear wheels in the air freely to ensure that the e-brake isn't binding with the rotors with the e-brake lever fully released. Also make sure that the e-brake is functioning correctly by applying the e-brake and making sure the brake is holding the vehicle properly.

When to replace parking brake

Cars with over 150,000 miles or older than 10 years usually need their parking brake shoes replaced. If your parking brake is not holding your vehicle properly, check with our selection of parking brake shoes.

With all the different types of rotors available today, it can be intimidating when you don't know which one fits your needs. We get multiple calls a day from customers asking if the slotted rotors are the right brake rotors for their needs. In short, there is nothing wrong with the way plain brake rotors function, as we assure that all of our rotors are made to meet and exceed the manufacturer's specs.

Let's get back on topic. As we all know, brakes are one of the most important components to your own safety and the car's safety as well. With every driver, there is a specific driving preference which is why there is such a variety of brake rotors available.

One of the most popular and versatile brake rotors would be our slotted rotors. Slotted rotors are brake rotors with slots etched onto the friction surface of the rotor. These slots help "wipe" the brake pad clean during each pass and help maintain even pad wear as well as performance. While even pad wear promotes longer brake pad life, the slots also help direct brake dust away from the face of the wheel, keeping your car cleaner as well as preventing severe debris build-up around your brake components.

Lastly, all BrakePerformance Slotted Rotors feature slots which extend all the way to the edge. This is especially helpful during wet driving conditions as the slots help direct water on the surface of the rotor away from the friction area, reducing wet braking distance.

Often viewed as performance rotors, slotted rotors offer benefits for everyone. Regardless if it's an SUV, or daily commuter, improved braking performance in all weather conditions and better brake pad life is a plus in anyone's book.

Just about every component that's part of the car's brake system is vital to the safety and performance of your vehicle. Along with making sure your brake rotors are properly wearing, your brake pads have enough pad life left, your brake fluid is not contaminated, now you also have to deal with ensuring that your brake lines are operating as they were designed to.

Not to worry, as we want to make sure you understand how your brake system works without having to be a professional automotive technician! In order to understand the role of the brake lines, let's quickly go over the overall layout and function of the brakes. This quick and dirty visualization leaves out a lot of detail for the purpose of understanding the place for brake lines.

When you press down on your brake pedal in your car, hydraulic fluid is being forced from that single pedal, to the master cylinder, and then to all four of your brakes. The master cylinder essentially takes the pressure of your foot on the pedal, and converts it into usable hydraulic pressure. This pressurized hydraulic fluid then travels down through brake lines to each of your four brake calipers. This same pressurized brake fluid then compresses the pistons inside your brake calipers, forcing your brake pads to squeeze together essentially slowing down your brake rotors.

So why is it essential to replace old brake lines? First, almost all of the factory brake lines are normally made out of rubber hoses. As we know, rubber becomes brittle and loses its inherent characteristics as it gets exposed to weather and age. Instead of pressurizing the piston inside the caliper, the brake lines will expand or crack. What does this mean? It means that all the energy your foot is exerting is not going into slowing the car down, but just expending the brake lines (think of a garden hose with the end capped off and the hose expanding).

Essentially, you are at risk of losing braking power or complete control of your brakes should any of the brake lines burst. It's important to inspect your brake lines during your routine inspections and every time you change your brake rotors or brake pads.

Lastly, there are also stainless steel braided brake lines, which offer a more consistent brake feel and much better longevity against bursting and cracking.

The beauty of modern cars is that they have a lot more technology built into them that allows the driver to be informed of what is happening with the car, at any given moment. One of the biggest benefits comes from knowing the status and condition of your brake system. This is important because the properly functioning brakes are the last thing that keeps you and your car safe in moments of sudden danger.

Enter brake sensors. Sure, they may not have always been your favorite feature of the car, and had a pesky habit of lighting up your dashboard on several occasions. But they did it for your safety. More importantly, that is the only thing they were designed for. The safety of knowing when your brakes are in need of maintenance before it's too late.

The traditional method of jacking up your car and removing your wheels one by one just to inspect your brake pads and brake rotors is tedious and not exactly convenient. Not every car is equipped with brake sensors, so to some this is still the only solution. For everyone else, this is the down and dirty on how brake sensors work.

The brake sensor is normally attached to the brake pad itself. Because brake rotors wear at a similar rate on the front two brake rotors, it's pretty common to only see one brake sensor. This is because if one side is wearing low, it's almost always the case that the other side is at the same wear thickness. The brake sensor itself is normally a wire that is encapsulated by a plastic compound. Once the compound wears down to what is considered a minimum wear level on the brake pads, the metal wire makes contact with the metal brake rotor, creating a light to display on the car's dash. This holds true for the rear brake pads and rotors, too.

Once your brake maintenance light triggers, you need to replace the brake sensor as they are only meant for one-time use. Re-using old brake sensors that have already been triggered will not work even with new pads as they will always show your brakes need replacement, even if you just replaced the brake pads.

With all the different types of brake rotors available, it's hard to keep up with the new features that are part of brake rotors.

Let's talk about dimpled rotors. Dimpled rotors are actually quite similar to the dimples on your face. No joke! The need for dimpled rotors arose because enthusiasts with heavier cars were looking for an improved rotor that had better cooling and brake pad outgassing properties than just a plain rotor.

What are dimpled rotors? Dimpled rotors are brake rotors that have a dimpled cavity. These indentations on the rotor's contact surface, round in nature, allow the brake pad to outgas properly. Its minimal depth doesn't affect the structural integrity of the rotor, thus it's also a great solution for heavier SUVs and trucks. As a matter of fact, heavier SUVs and trucks is one of the factors that stemmed the development of the dimpled rotor. The dimpled rotor is an evolution of the cross-drilled rotor designed for track and sport cars. Because SUVs and trucks exert a much higher load and stress on the brake rotors, the dimpled rotor is recommended due to the higher stress handling capacity.

Outgassing is important as it allows the brake pad to "breathe". This bit of extra breathing room is especially vital in situations of heavy load such as towing or instances of heavy brake use.

For lighter cars such as coupes and sedans, the cross-drilled rotors offer the same outgassing functions with a bit better cooling capacity.

Brake rotors aren't exactly known to be the cleanest part of the car. In fact, the brake rotors often become these ugly little gremlins that you are forced to accept as part of your car. But the truth is not all brake rotors have to be hideous. There is a reason brake rotors develop rust and start looking like ancient archeological dig items after a few months, but that's not something we have to live with in today's age.

Rust build up on brake rotors is not only unsightly, but it's detrimental to the brake rotors structural integrity as well as performance. Excess rust starts to eat away at the brake rotor, creating a brake rotor that has varying thicknesses and is exposed to heat cycles. This doesn't sound like a big deal, but let's take a closer look at it. When metal heats up, it expands.

Conversely, metal also shrinks when it cools down. Now picture a brake rotor that is heating up and cooling down, with varying thickness. That means each part of the rotor is expanding and shrinking at a different pace than its adjacent counterpart. This occurs at every heat cycle and can lead to premature wear, cracks and balancing issues.

We make sure to coat our brake rotors in a zinc coating in house. Because we control the zinc process ourselves, we offer the choice of two finishes on the zinc treatment on any performance BrakePerformance Rotor: Bright Silver and Stealth Black. Although the treatment isn't a guarantee against rust, it surely does help more than using an untreated rotor. Best of all, you reduce the unsightly rust that forms!

While we are normally familiar with the function of brake rotors and how brake pads work, the brake booster is often a foreign object only a few had the honor to tinker with. This mysterious, cylindrical, black object is usually located in the back of the engine bay near the firewall. If you were to visualize a flow chart of what happens after you press down your brake pedal, the brake booster would be the first major component that it would have to go through.

Let's visualize this. You are approaching a red light and step on your brake pedal. The force your foot exerts onto the brake pedal, let's say 100lbs, which then needs to be transferred and divided to each of the four brake calipers. That leaves us without much force to actually clamp the brake pads to slow down the brake rotors. Keep in mind most cars weigh 3-4 tons. Enter brake boosters. Their purpose is to reduce the effort required to stop the car, efficiently. In other words, they turn your human powers into superhuman powers that can stop a car.

The brake booster acts as part of the master cylinder setup and it uses the vacuum from the engine intake to boost its pressure exerted onto the brakes themselves, or sometimes it may use an external vacuum unit, in applications like diesel engines.

Possible Symptoms

Ensuring proper brake booster operation is vital to proper brake operation. The brake booster should not be leaking and you shouldn't be using excessive force trying to stop the car in normal driving situations. In most cars, the brake pedal should sink to the floor a little if you are pressing it down prior starting the engine.

Brake calipers are exposed to constant heat cycles, brake dust and various environmental substances all the time. Because of this, they have a notorious reputation for looking aged rather quickly. It's a good idea to refinish your calipers as you will not only have a chance to make them look new again, but you will be able to protect them against any further corrosion and rust.

First, we want to prepare the brake caliper for paint. With road dirt and grime, start by using a degreaser and a brush to clean the brake caliper.

To begin with, we want to make sure we have a clean surface so that the new coating will adhere to the brake caliper. If you have surface rust or corrosion, use a wire brush and or a light sanding paper of 500-1000 grit. Scuff up the surface of the brake caliper so it has a dull sheen to it.

Next step, using a brake cleaner, spray your calipers so get rid of any last bits of dirt, grime or grease that may still be left on the caliper.

Note: You can remove the calipers to paint them, but you can also paint the calipers while still installed. You will need to mask off everything around the caliper that isn't getting painted.

Using a high-temperature primer, apply 1-2 coats of primer. Light and even coats are the key to success here and you want to wait about 10 minutes between each coat.

Once the primer is applied, wait another 10 minutes and apply the paint you are going to use for the calipers. We suggest 3 coats evenly and lightly applied also with 10-minute intervals.

Finally, wait another 10 minutes after the last color coating, and apply 2 coats of high-temperature clear coating. This provides further protection to the paint and you also have the choice of a glossy finish or a satin variant to make your brake calipers more subtle.

1. Bedding in your brakes
Properly break in your new brake pads to your new brake rotors to ensure an even layer of pad deposits on the brake rotor which helps ensure quiet brakes.

2. Cool Down Period

Especially after just using the brakes aggressively, allow a 5-minute cool-down period where you can allow the brakes to cool. This reduces rotor warping and cracking from overheating.

3. Inspection and Maintenance

Regularly check your brake pads and brake rotors for excessive wear and tear, cracks, or any unusual behavior from your braking system.

4. Proper Brake Pad Material

Choosing the right brake pad material for your driving style helps prevent excess heat and wear. Choose either ceramic or semi-metallic pads, depending on your needs.

5. Smooth Brake Application

Avoid slamming on the brakes, as it can wear down your brake system prematurely. Always apply the brakes smoothly and gradually to reduce wear.

The naked eye alone is usually not able to tell if a brake rotor is warped or not. There are a multitude of reasons why you may believe your brake rotors are warped. It's important to narrow down your symptoms so you don't end up replacing the wrong components and wasting money.
Brake Pedal Vibration

Probably the most common sign of a warped brake rotor is the vibration through the brake pedals when pressure is applied on them. Sometimes you can feel it even when there is only a light amount of pedal pressure on the brakes. Other times, it can only be felt when slowing down drastically from higher speeds.

Steering Wheel Vibration

The brake rotors and brake calipers are attached to the same spindle that the wheels are attached to, so in certain cases vibrations from warped brake rotors will transmit through the brake calipers and then to the wheels and steering wheel.

Brake Noise

There are certain cases where you will hear noises emitted from your brake rotors during braking. This is due to the brake rotors contacting your brake pads at uneven intervals due to the rotor no longer having a flat surface. These noises can range from a lower pitched groaning hum to a rhythmic thumping.

Malfunctioning Brake Calipers

With the brake calipers squeezing the rotors together, a malfunctioning brake caliper may exert too much force, putting too much stress on an overheated brake rotor causing it to go off-balance, leading to warped brake rotors.

Damaged Wheel Bearing

If your wheels are not bent, but there seems to be a wobble, it is most likely due to a worn-out wheel bearing that has excessive play. This can also lead to warped rotors and inconsistent brake pad wear, along with more serious issues. If a damaged wheel bearing is the culprit, it should be replaced or it will continue to be a source of warped rotors and uneven brake pad wear.

Just like how the style of brake rotors matter depending on the driving style and type of vehicle it's going on, the brake pads are equally as important. Because everyone's situation is different, we aim to educate our customers so that they can make a choice that suits them.
Ceramic brake pads produce less brake dust compared to semi-metallic brake pads, and while ceramic brake pads are great for smaller cars, they can be noisy on heavy cars and trucks.

Semi-Metallic brake pads have better temperature fade resistance and a higher level of friction than ceramic brake pads. Semi-Metallic brake pads have the best stopping power in all weather conditions and are perfect for all light, medium, and heavy-duty Cars, Trucks, and SUVs.

Easy Tips to removing and installing new brake pads
Changing the brake pads is not as difficult as you may have imagined. Sure, the rotors look easier and it's often hard to imagine how to get those brake pads in and out of the calipers, but it's actually quite straightforward.

Nearly all cars require you to remove the two caliper mounting bolts in order for you to remove the brake pads. You will need a caliper spreader tool, or if you don't have access to that, a C-Clamp can also be used. This is helpful in pushing the caliper piston back in, so you can install the new brake pads and then slide them over the rotor.

You also want to have handy a packet or tube of brake grease. Apply this over the back of the brake pad, to prevent any small rattles from the brake shim plate.

Lastly, it's a good tip to have a can of brake cleaner to clean up the brake caliper contact points, such as the piston, piston seal area, and hardware.

With the abundance of rain we experience every season, the know-how to safely operate your brakes during wet weather is essential to your safety. The interaction between your tires, the road, and your brakes is much more sensitive to driver input during severe weather, and can easily turn into a hazardous situation if not handled with care.
A thin layer of water coats your tires surface as well as your brake rotors. This is important to visualize as it reduces the traction limit of your tires, and delays the response time of your brake system. With performance brake rotors such as slotted and dimpled rotors, you will reduce the water buildup on the rotors as it doesn't allow for a uniform layer to form.

It is important to remember that because of the reduced traction of your wet tires, it's much easier for them to slide and send your car into an uncontrolled skid. To minimize the chances of your tires losing traction on wet roads, it's important to modulate the brake pedal in a very gradual and smooth fashion. Don't panic and slam on the brakes. Even if that worked in normal, dry weather, brake rotors will lock up wet tires at a much faster rate.

Most people do not understand how important these small pieces of brake hardware can be and have discarded the little wire clips thinking that they did not provide any advantage. No amount of lubricant can make up for weak or rusted brake hardware. A fresh set of hardware can gain horsepower and fuel economy by reducing brake drag.
The constant heating and cooling of even normal driving will weaken your springs and anti-rattle clips over time. Weak hardware can result in excessive movement, binding, pulling, warping, uneven wear, noise, or other problems. Springs and clips may be difficult to install, but leaving them off is not an option.

Shims are usually secured to the brake pads with clips that clamp onto the sides of the backing plate. Some shims are staked to the pad or use adhesive to help prevent the shim from shifting or falling off.

Built up rust and corrosion on a floating caliper's slides or bushings can prevent the brake caliper from properly centering itself over the rotors. This will reduce effective braking force, increase stopping distance, and create uneven brake pad wear.

Soft parts such as dust boots, and grommets will need maintenance as well. Brake caliper insulators or shims around the mounting bolts can be flattened over time from the torque of the brakes. This can cause excessive movement and noise.

Months after a new installation of brake pads and brake rotors a pulsation in the pedal has slowly developed. There is very little wear, and there are no visual indicators of a problem. The brake pads are worn evenly, brake rotors look clean with no corrosion.
Measuring the lateral runout and disc thickness variation will give you a better idea of what is really happening. This runout can originate from improper brake hardware maintenance, corrosion and debris on the hub mounting flange, or even improperly tightening the lug nuts. The average maximum allowable runout is between 0.001" and 0.003" with some manufacturers specifying 0.000" of allowed runout. Runout can create thickness variations in the brake rotors which will lead to problems with uneven wear and pulsation. This type of problem is not to be confused with warping caused by heat distortion.

If a brake rotor has a high-spot of lateral runout, that point will circle past the calipers hundreds of times within just one mile, multiply this over thousands of miles, and that point will have scraped the brake pad millions of times. This seemingly small problem can cause enough of the rotor to be removed over time that a variation in thickness can be felt by the driver.

One of the most difficult aspects of brake maintenance is the topic of what causes noise, and what can be done to prevent it. Every grind and squeak starts from where the brake pad and brake rotor contact each other. Unfortunately you cannot just spray lubricant all over the brakes like a squeaky hinge.
Every aspect of the system including the brake rotor finish and brake pad formula play an important part of understanding what causes noise. As brake pads are pushed against the surface of a rotor, the entire brake system will vibrate, causing the air pressure to fluctuate at a frequency that is picked up by your ears as "noise". These vibrations will even change frequency with variations in torque, friction, and heat.

A brake pad with friction material that has stable friction across temperature and environmental conditions will likely create less noise, because it will have consistent torque and will cause less vibrational excitation at the friction coupling. Brake pads must also be properly bedded in to the rotors they will be used with to ensure that there is a smooth and even surface to prevent brake chattering. Brake rotors with a rough surface finish can also create noise.

The main benefit of loaded caliper assemblies is to restore the brakes to new condition. A loaded caliper will have a new brake pad pre-installed in a professionally re-manufactured caliper with matching hardware all included. This complete package reduces the risk of leaks, uneven brake pad wear, and many other potential problems.
Caliper hardware and piston seals do not last forever, and once a leak starts to develop, the caliper needs to be replaced or rebuilt. Brake fluid leaking from the caliper can contaminate the brake pads reducing performance or can even lead to a loss of hydraulic pressure that may cause the brakes to completely fail.

Internal rust can cause the caliper pistons to become sticky, jam, or even lock up. External corrosion of the bushings or slides can also become a problem by preventing normal movement resulting in uneven braking, dragging or pulling.

Attempting to rebuild an old caliper can be a messy and difficult job if not impossible if the old calipers pistons are stuck or badly corroded. After all the trouble of disassembling and replacing the seals and boots, the calipers may still leak if the caliper bore is corroded or damaged. Loaded calipers also reduce the chances of improperly fitting shims or clips. Everything that needs to be replaced is included!

Whenever a new caliper is installed the brake lines should be flushed and refilled with clean brake fluid. Caliper slides and bushings should also be lubricated with brake grease. All related brake components including brake rotors, brake lines, wheel cylinders, and the master cylinder should be inspected to be in good condition. Both calipers should be replaced at the same time on both sides of the vehicle, otherwise the mismatch of friction could cause uneven braking.

Some myths about brake systems make sense and seem to explain a problem, but they do not resolve the real issues. A lot of these myths are built from outdated history and should just go away. Here are seven myths about brake pads and brake rotors that can hinder efforts to solve brake problems.
MYTH: Heat is what determines the Minimum Thickness Specification of a Brake Rotor

Heat has nothing to do with this specification. The minimum thickness is based on how far the brake caliper piston will travel if the brake pads were worn all the way to the backing plates. If your brake pads or brake rotor were worn to below specification, the caliper piston could extend past the bore and start leaking.

MYTH: There are "Soft" and "Hard" Brake Pads

The average driver thinks of a "hard" brake pad as semi-metallic and a "soft" pad as typically an organic or ceramic. Both of types of friction materials can be the same in terms of compressibility. Calling one material soft and one hard is not accurate. Compressibility can influence pedal feel, but usually only when the brake pad is defective. What really influences pedal feel is the pad's coefficient of friction. Engineers measure compressibility as a quality control measurement and not as a performance measurement and it has very little to do with noise or rotor wear.

MYTH: Brake Line Damage Can Cause Brake Drag

All modern brake lines are usually composed of two or three layers with a stiff internal liner that is in contact with the fluid. The outer layers are typically a softer material designed to absorb impacts with road debris. If the brakes are stuck on just one wheel, a mechanic could assume that it is a restriction from inside the brake hose where the inner liner was damaged and created a flap that prevents the pressure from releasing the caliper. This could possibly be the cause, but usually if the brake line was damaged the entire liner would fail and the brake fluid pressure would make the hose bulge or burst. The restriction is more likely to be from stuck emergency brakes, caliper slides, brake booster, or valve problems.

MYTH: Wet Brakes Increase Stopping Distances

If you have drum brakes it might be a good idea to tap the brake pedal after you drove through a deep puddle to clear the water from the brakes, but with disc brakes this has become unnecessary. If the wheels are turning, water will be thrown away from the brake rotor by centrifugal force.

MYTH: Brake Pads are Regulated by the Government

There are no government regulations concerning the performance of aftermarket brake pads.

MYTH: Brake Pads Need to Warm Up

Most brake pads are designed to produce an even amount of brake torque across a wide spectrum of temperatures, including at very low heat. This is true for the exotics with carbon ceramic brakes as well as for standard everyday vehicles. The exception to this would be racing quality pads that require heat to generate its highest coefficient of friction. Manufacturers of these pads will specify these pads are only for off-highway racing purposes, and would not be something most mechanics would recommend.

MYTH: Brake Pads Are The Source of All Brake Noise

All brake pads produce vibrations when they are applied. But only if the vibrations are transferred to the vehicle, will a driver actually hear it. Typically, most high frequency noises come from the brake caliper, brake rotor or bracket. Low frequency sounds are usually caused more by the body structure of the vehicle. What usually causes brake pad noise is a change in the material due to heat. A more consistent friction material causes less vibrational excitation variation at the friction coupling by having consistent brake torque at environmental extremes of humidity and temperature. A few options to solve brake pad noise are to isolate the brake pads with lubricant, shims, and renewing the brake hardware.

Reliable brakes are an essential part of vehicle safety and often can get complaints of excessive dust, noise, vibration, lacking power, sensitivity, or rapid wearing. It's important to determine if these problems are because of improper installation or incorrect choice of friction materials. With a little extra time spent at installation you can ensure that your brake pads meet your expectations. Most brake performance complaints can be traced to one of these five basic installation errors.
Error #1: Not matching original equipment

Most brake pad performance complaints are caused by not matching the original equipment or the requirements of the vehicle. If the old pads were ceramic, then your replacement brake pads should also be ceramic to match your previous brake sensitivity. If a truck is used for heavy-duty towing then your brake friction should be semi-metallic to match those needs.

Error #2: Neglecting the hardware

The most common cause of noise complaints is from replacing the brake pad without also replacing the shims, anti-rattle clips and insulation parts needed to suppress noise. Premium brake pads have shims attached and also usually include brake caliper hardware. Lubricant can also be used to help inhibit noise and vibration. Less expensive pads don't include these additional pieces and so they are more likely to experience noise. Taking the extra few minutes to install new mounting hardware as well as cleaning and lubricating the brake calipers, you can prevent many brake pad complaints including pad glazing, excess wear, and pulling brakes.

Error #3: Ignoring the Rotors

Some auto manufacturers recommend that their brake rotors do not need be resurfaced unless it no longer meets thickness requirements. That recommendation has been controversial because many mechanics have experienced increased complaints when brake rotors aren't resurfaced or replaced. Rotors can also develop a wobble from incorrectly tightened lug nuts or from friction material transfer from the pad to the rotor. Most reputable dealers recommend that the brake rotors be resurfaced or replaced when changing the brake pads.

Error #4: Not Flushing Brake Hydraulics

Old brake fluid should be flushed out of the system when the brake pads are replaced. Brake fluid can actually draw moisture through a brake hose into the hydraulic system. Once inside, the moisture can cause damage, seizing anti-lock braking system valves and corroding the sensitive interior surfaces of brake calipers and wheel cylinders. Brake fluid can contain enough moisture to cause it to boil under severe conditions. Badly deteriorated brake fluid will also contain air which will make the brake pedal feel spongy or lack sensitivity.

Error #5: Skipping the Brake-In Procedure

The friction between brake pads and brake rotors is harsh on new brake pad installations. The contact surfaces between the brake pads and rotors must be smoothed by gently applying the brake 10-20 times to slow the vehicle from moderate speeds. The goal is to gently seat and conform the pad to the rotor to prevent uneven wear and premature performance loss.

By following these basic guidelines you can make sure your new brake pads work to their full potential.

Brake rotors will not last forever, they wear down a little bit every time the brake pedal is applied. How fast the rotors wear depends on a lot of variables including the type of brake pads, quality of the materials, how fast the rotors cool down, driving style, exposure to moisture and road salt.
Most original equipment brake rotors used to be designed with enough thickness to last at least two or more pad replacements. Most newer cars have thinner rotors to save weight and could be worn to the minimum by the first time the brake pads need to be replaced. Normally both rotors need to be replaced because they will usually have the same amount of wear. Even if one side is "good enough" it is wise to replace both brake rotors at the same time to maintain even braking as any difference in rotor thickness will cause the brakes to pull to one side.

If a brake rotor has minimal lateral runout it should wear evenly, otherwise the result will be thickness fluctuations which will create vibration. It only takes .001 inches of thickness variation to cause a noticeable pedal vibration. Excessive runout can be solved by installing tapered shims between the brake rotor and hub, or by resurfacing the rotor with an on-car brake lathe. Runout can also be corrected using a conventional bench lathe, but it is a much more difficult procedure. Cleaning the face of the hub and the inside of the rotor hat with a drill powered brush before installation will remove dirt, rust, or any particles that can create gaps between the rotor and hub. Rotor distortions can be caused by improper tightening of the lug nuts. Uneven torque between lugs can twist the rotor hat, causing the disc section of the rotor to wobble.

Friction from the brake pads against the brake rotors generates a lot of heat. Overheating brakes will shorten the life of both the pads and rotors. Vehicles that spend most of their time in stop-and-go traffic, pulling a trailer, or mountain driving will wear out the brakes much sooner than vehicles which are driven mostly in light traffic. Hard spots and discoloration can also develop from excessive heat. These hard spots yield uneven wear across the brake disc. Trying to shave them off by resurfacing will not cure the problem because hard spots extend below the surface, the only fix is rotor replacement.

If your brake rotors have sufficient metal remaining with no hard spots, cracks, severe grooving or rusting, then the rotors could be resurfaced. Some have the opinion that unless the brake rotors have surface issues needing to be fixed, the rotors should not be resurfaced every time the pads are replaced. If the brake discs are still smooth they may not need to be resurfaced, but most professional brake mechanics will not install new brake pads without resurfacing the rotors. Resurfacing restores a flat and even surface that minimizes vibrations and allows for maximum brake pad friction. Installing new pads on a grooved brake rotor will not allow the pads to make full contact with the brake disc, and eventually the pads will wear down and fully seat themselves into the contours of the brake discs, but this will only decrease the life of the brake pads.

As inexpensive as rotors are now, it is affordable enough to simply replace the rotors rather than paying to resurface them. New brake rotors should be ready to install right out of the box. There is no need to resurface them as this may actually produce runout and will reduce their service life. If your vehicle originally included brake rotors with a separate hub and disc (composite rotors) they can safely be replaced with cast iron brake rotors. Cast rotors are more rigid than composite rotors, but they may slightly affect steering and handling on some vehicles. For those customers who are interested in increased brake performance and safety, we recommend premium brake rotors over the standard replacement brake rotors.

Brake shims are thin metal or rubber adhesive pads that fit between the brake pad and the brake caliper to correct small differences that sometimes lead to noise. On most of the newer cars, these brake shims are mainly used to keep the noise down and any rattles to a minimum. Not all brake pads come with shims as they aren't required and function perfectly without needing them.

It is often misdiagnosed that the brake rotors themselves are the cause of excessive brake noise such as squeaking or squealing when using moderate brake pedal pressure. While we will save another dedicated article for all the possible causes and solutions, it is very common that the lack of brake shims is often the main reason for brake noise.

Brake pad shims come in a variety of styles to suit your driving style. For brake pads that did not come with any shims, we carry an application that you can apply to your non-shimmed brake pads to receive the same benefits of using brake pad shims. It's also recommended to apply a thin layer between the backing plate and the shim even if the shim is present, as it will prevent any further noise from the pad rattling against the shim.

There are also brake pads that will come with adhesive brake pad shims that require you stick on the shim to the brake pad backing plate. This doesn't require the use of disc brake lube, but you can still apply a thin coating on top of the brake backing plate. Lastly, there are also titanium brake pad shims which act as an improved thermal barrier. These are used for track use only as they reflect more heat than regular shims do. This results in less heat transfer from the pads to the caliper, lowering hydraulic fluid temperatures (brake fluid).