New Front Rotors

L

Lindyrect

:
2007 GT FWD, Bose/NAV
Got my new Centric front rotors in yesterday. I replaced the rear rotors and pads months ago and now I just have to do the fronts. I am sure that this will get rid of the pulsating feeling while braking. Next all I have to do is schedule time to take it in to the dealership in Alexandria VA to have the front clicking addressed (possible motor mount issue).

If you are going to order new front rotors be carefull as many online parts places are selling the wrong front rotor. Autopartswarehouse is still selling the wrong part even after I called them to tell them before returning the items and I even wrote them an email with the link to centric's website so they could see the correct part. Must be too difficult to do the right research or listen to customers. Anyway I found my front rotors for $80 at tirerack.
 
I had the same issue with warped rotors and I replaced them with aftermarket. Works really well and has more bite than the stockers, currently at over 1000mi. on the new set. I have a how-to replace rotors with pictures if you're interested. I can e-mail it to you but it's in word format. Good luck, be safe and enjoy the new brakes (2thumbs).
 
Only issue I had while changing my rear rotors was that I rounded out that stupid screwhead that holds the rotors on. I plan on greasing the bumper stops on my struts to get rid of the creeking.
 
Replaced the rotors and greased the parts on the strut. No creaking noise anymore when turning, but my rotor pulsates. I did not notice it while installing it, but I did after the pads started to conform to the rotor; the rotor was dropped in shipping and has a lip on the outer edge. i will go a bit to see if it lays down, but if not I will take it in to have that lip lathed off.
 
After how may miles did you notice the pulsing? Mine pulse about every 10,000 miles in between resurfacing.I have about 48k on my 07 GT.
 
I used both Centric rotors and ceramic pads. A lot of the muscle car guys, chargers and SRT owners etc. are using them. So far I have noticed negligible dust build-up as compared to the original pads. I first started noticing the pulsation after 8K.
 
Update: So I was going to bite the bullet and go have my new, dropped, rotor turned. I went to Mr. Tire the manager said he would not turn the one rotor, but needed to turn both front rotors to even the two out. Sounded fishy, but I bit and asked the price ($102). Damn I can get a whole new rotor for $80.

I decided to call Tirerack, where I originally purchased the rotors, and ask them what they could do. The sales associate asked me to take a picture and email it to her. I called back the next day and she said that their tech department had reviewed the picture and were going to comp me a new rotor. Problem is that they had no more in stock and they did not now when more would be in. The associate said she would work the issue. Low and behold one week later the nre rotor showed up directly from Centric billed to Tirerack. Needless to say I am impressed by their service.

I did a quick rotor pull and swap last night and wow, the car brakes so nice now. I kind of forgot how nice it was to drive and brake without getting an arm fat workout.
 
That's BS on the rotors, both the price and the fact that they can't turn just one.

We just bought a 2010 GT 6 days ago, and it stinks that this rotor warpage plagues this vehicle as well. It seems very common these days, with manufacturers making them so thin to save a few bucks, they are more susceptible to warping. It's almost not worth turning them, as that takes a thin rotor and makes it thinner, and thus even more prone to warping.
 
Lindyrect, do you have an update on how the new brakes are working out? Hard breaking and stopping ok? About how long did the rotor/pads change out take you? And what did you use for squeal stop?

Thx,
Craig
 
Brakes and rotors are doing fine. My pad on the left front is now fully seated after my prior rotor dent ate some out of it. Braking is much better than before, not sure on a percentage though. Vehicle seems to stop faster and even after repeated hard stabs at the brakes I do not experience rotor fade. As of yet I have not had any warping indication and I am paying strict attention to torque on the lugs in the future after rotations (95 Ft Lbs).

Regarding squeal stop, I went to AutoZone and bought some anti-squeal compound. I cannot remember the name, but it is red in color and squeezes out of a plastic bottle. I used the anti-squeal compound between the back of the pads and the shims. The compound hardens into a rubbery form and stops any shifting between the pads and shims to eliminate chatter or squeal. Might not be necessary, but since I was there why not.

I would estimate to do a thorough job 30-45 minutes a wheel is about right. It gives you enough time to pull the tire, the caliper & hang it, pull the brake carriage, clean the parts with brake cleaner, pull the rotors, and reverse the whole process.

Things to do: Do use anti seize grease on all bolts. The screws for the rotors are very important to grease if you need to get the rotors off again in the future. Buy a plastic shot-weighted maul to beat on the rotor before removing the screws. This will help to un-seize the screws so as not to round off the heads and will also help get the rotor of the hub as they tend to rust on. Make sure to grease the bolts going back into the floating brake carriage, longer bolt goes on top. Before removing the rotor, if you are going to use anti-squeal compound apply it to the back of the pads and shims. This will give you some time for the compound to semi-harden. Also do make sure to clean your new rotors very well as they come with oil sealant.

If you are going to do the rear rotors remember that the parking brake system resides there. You will need to have some small tool, thin common screw driver for me, to turn the dial to retract the drum brake pads. If you do not do this you will be pissed if you pull a parking brake pad of the backing. Each rear rotor has a rubber pop out grommet. Pop it out and rotate the rotor until you see the dial. You might have to play with it until you find out the proper direction to turn. When tightening do it until you get some form of good contact when turning the rotor by hand.
 
With anything, the more you cut off of it i.e. the less it is like original, the higher the price. Just kidding, must have something to do with the process they use to manufacture them???
 
Just FYI Guys,

On my other cars (I have had three), over tightening the lug nuts caused permanent rotor warpage within several days if left over torqued. Just thought this could be something to think about.(thinkbeer(thinkbeer
 
Just replaced my front brake pads and rotors last Sunday morning.

2-Mazda Genuine Factory Rotors
1-Mazda Factory Value-Line Brake Pads

$230 including CA tax (9%)

I also took the opportunity to re-grease my bump stops to avoid the annoying squeak.
 
No such thing as a warped brake rotor

Contrary to very popular belief, there is no such thing as a "warped" rotor thick or thin caused by normal use. Even tightening the lug nuts past spec will only cause the rotor to conform to the shape of the wheel assuming it's the stronger element of the two.

Check out this article from a company involved in racing for more detals: http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_warped_brakedisk.shtml

To summarize, brake judder/shudder is caused by physical changes in the surface of the brake rotor due to heat experienced in normal stop and go driving. The more agressive you are with sudden stops, the faster these changes can occur. Particles of cementite are formed in the surface of the rotor that are harder and result in less friction. Because the particles are not formed uniformly over the surface, you wind up with uneven friction and the characterstic pulsating effect.

Before replacing your rotors or pads, try this procedure known as bedding the brakes (you should also do this for new brake installs):

Locate a long stretch of road several miles long.
During a period of little traffic (late night) on this road, get up to 60 mph and brake medium hard down to below 40 mph, then go back up to 60.
Repeat this process 6 times without stopping. It's important to never stop.
Yes, your brakes will get very hot, stink, and maybe even smoke. They will probably fade too, so be careful. Keep in mind that older brake fluid may boil under these conditions and chemically change. If fade continues, get the fluid replaced.

Once done, drive without braking at speed for at least a minute or two to cool everything off.

What you're trying to do is to burn off the cementite or at least create a uniformity of deposits to eliminate the judder. I have routinely used this procedure on all my vehicles for 20+ years with good results. I have never had to have a rotor turned to eliminate judder though one can understand that shaving off a layer of metal would also get rid of the cementite deposits.

As always your mileage may vary.
 
Last edited:
Lindyrect said:
Got my new Centric front rotors in yesterday. I replaced the rear rotors and pads months ago and now I just have to do the fronts. I am sure that this will get rid of the pulsating feeling while braking. Next all I have to do is schedule time to take it in to the dealership in Alexandria VA to have the front clicking addressed (possible motor mount issue).

If you are going to order new front rotors be carefull as many online parts places are selling the wrong front rotor. Autopartswarehouse is still selling the wrong part even after I called them to tell them before returning the items and I even wrote them an email with the link to centric's website so they could see the correct part. Must be too difficult to do the right research or listen to customers. Anyway I found my front rotors for $80 at tirerack.
Click to expand...

Do you happen to know the correct part number and the wrong number that a lot of places are selling?

Just wondering because I was looking at both TireRack and R1Concepts. The front rotors that Tire Rack lists are all variations on a 45080 number, while R1Concepts seems to list all variations on a 45045 number. The rear rotor and front and rear pad numbers all seem to agree between the sites, so I was wondering which front rotor number is correct. I'm guessing that the 45045 number is wrong, since it seems too cheap, and is also listed as the rotor for various 626, 929, and protoge models. And I'd hope that the Cx-9 uses bigger front rotors than a 626, since it probably weighs 1000 lbs. more.

Also, it looks like Tire Rack just got Power Slot rotors for the Cx-9, but holy crap are they expensive.
 
Last edited:
Please log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
Parking Brake Adjustment question (2013 CX-9)
Replies
4
Views
788
rowlands57
R
S
Cost to replace brake pads and rotors on 2011 CX-9
2 3
Replies
46
Views
7K
damaster
D
D
2009 CX-9 GT - Poor brake performance
Replies
15
Views
3K
delucat2
D

Latest posts

Back