jschmidt

If you need to, you can use a few washers for this. A pretty good dial indicator can be had for about $80.00.

Pinky

How about just putting the car up on jacks and spinning the front tires to see if there is a hard to turn then a gap area. You know what I mean! Its easy to spin and then gets hard........meaning that there is a warp on the rotor. This at high speed while braking will cause extra hard patches of braking causing all kinds of issues. A. I feel my ABS kicking in more often than it should B. Car shakes at high speed braking and lurches comming to stops.

Testut

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Pinky
[B]How about just putting the car up on jacks and spinning the front tires to see if there is a hard to turn then a gap area.

Pinky

Maybe I am feeling the bad roads! Is there a way to tell if the rotors are warped by driving.

On my way home from work I tried doing some constant pressure rolling stops to see if the car lunged at all. It didn't seem to. Would putting the brakes on while doing some high speed runs show any shaking? I guess I just dont want to go spend the $$$ to change the rotors only for them to be true!

Then if I do feel something how do I tell if its fronts or rears?!
I put my car up on a jack and turned the wheels individually with the brakes on light enough to make contact with the rotor but didn't feel any consistancy in where they were tight and loose.

Thanks for all your info guys.

MacGyver

As a modification of Testut's setup, stick a nail through one end of a ruler and hold the ruler against the bumper. Adjust the nail so that it is just touching the rotor and spin the rotor. No need for a jig or a lift...if you see space appear and disappear between the nail and rotor, it's warped.

Testut...you could actually find the amount of warpage from your setup, especially if the jig is not too long. You have the jig height, and with a ??? you could get the angle the jig moves by. Using basic trig will get you the answer you're looking for (although I'll skip the equation). [Subliminal message] Warpage = Test jig length * sin(angle) [/Subliminal message]

jschmidt

Have you checked your air pressure yet. Have you looked for a tire bubble. Are your treads cupped? Are your tires missing any balance weights? All could possibly be the cause of your symptoms too.

Warped rotors aren't transient. It is often easiest to tell during a lower speed light braking stop. Try it with and without the clutch in. There is a slight chance you've got a driveshaft problem.

Rotors are probably the most likely cause.

Triple-H

IMHO all brake pads should be bedded in before they are used hard. Track pads absolutely must be bedded in before going out on the track, not doing so is down right dangerous.

I have run Hawk Blue for years on my CRX-Si (the '02 S2 is on order) on the track. In general terms I will brake moderately from 60mph to 5 giving a one-mile rest between slow downs. I will do this maybe 5 times until I know the pads are getting warm because I just sort of smell them. Then I will brake hard from 80mph to 5, pushing as hard as I can on the pedal for the last part. I will do this a couple of times until those front pads start smoking slightly! I will then drive the car for several, several miles not using the brakes at all until I know they are cooled down. The pads are then bedded in and ready for the track and they feel so much better once they have been bedded in, they also last longer.

Testut

[QUOTE]Originally posted by MacGyver
[B]Testut...you could actually find the amount of warpage from your setup, especially if the jig is not too long.

Triple-H

Oh yea that will work Testut, because there are so many of us active members in Upstate New York....

Testut

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Triple-H
[B]Oh yea that will work Testut, because there are so many of us active members in Upstate New York....