Disc brake's poor condition

[SimonM]

I took the wheels off on the weekend and found the disc brakes in pretty poor condition especially the front which has some very noticeable grooves in the face of it. The outside edge of the discs also looks pretty ordinary with very rough edges and looks rust like.

What are my options?

[Tombie]

If in spec for thickness and enough left then just get them machined.

Otherwise it's replacement!

For replacement go RDA or DBA

[isuzurover]

They probably just need machining. IRC the minimum thickness for solid rotors is ~10 mm.

[Nera Donna]

Totally agree with measure before you machine. Any reputable brake service center will advise the same thing. The rust on the outer edges are of no real concern. Rust, damage, cracks, hot spots, groves, tapering of the disc on the contact surfaces would be of concern. The disc looks glazed up a bit from the photo, but appears to be OK. Know your OEM minimum disc thickness requirement when you go into have them checked. There are some unscrupulous operators out there that will try and ‘pull the wool over your eyes’ and try and sell you new discs (not all, just some).
I’d like to open up a question here on this subject, if people done mind? I personally subscribe to the theory, to buy a non metal type disc pad that will wear quicker but save wear on the rotor. Ie. Change the pads more often, but save the rotors from getting chewed up?
I haven’t worked in the car industry for over 20yrs and technology has advanced leaps and bounds. Does my theory still hold true?

[roverrescue]

Meh,
that aint groovy...
Set of new pads like OEM or Mintex or Bendix and they will self 'machine'

Dont sweat the petty things - or you could buy new rotors and convince yourself the braking is improved!

(ooops this is a public forum)

S

[isuzurover]

Meh,
that aint groovy...
Set of new pads like OEM or Mintex or Bendix and they will self 'machine'

Dont sweat the petty things - or you could buy new rotors and convince yourself the braking is improved!

(ooops this is a public forum)

S

Exactly... Many people get far too anal about these things.

I had to change my rear pads in Kununurra (had to get them sent from Perth) after the inner pad on each side had worn down to the metal between halls ck and kunners (the pads were 1/3 worn when I left Perth, but the sandy mud on the canning made short work of them).

I haven't yet had a chance to machine the rotors, but the new pads have almost made the rotors smooth as new - and I never noticed any problems (if anything it improved braking!!!)

I have wrecked a couple of countys that looked like the discs were never machined (2-3 mm lip on the outer edge of the disc - each side!). Surprisingly they weren't too badly grooved and the brakes worked fine.

[Scallops]

X3 - they look perfectly normal to me. The real test is running your finger across the disc in a radial direction. If you feel a strong groove then there may be an issue but most times apparent grooves are in reality quite smooth.

[SimonM]

X3 - they look perfectly normal to me. The real test is running your finger across the disc in a radial direction. If you feel a strong groove then there may be an issue but most times apparent grooves are in reality quite smooth.

There are distinct ridges when you run your hand across whereas the other discs are smooth. I don't know a lot about the condition of discs in the past I have just taken the car to a mechanic and trusted what they tell me. I am enjoying taking more responsibility for this stuff.

the brakes feel good and the discs have plenty of room of meat left on them so might just keep an eye on them for now.

[slug_burner]

There are distinct ridges when you run your hand across whereas the other discs are smooth. I don't know a lot about the condition of discs in the past I have just taken the car to a mechanic and trusted what they tell me. I am enjoying taking more responsibility for this stuff.

the brakes feel good and the discs have plenty of room of meat left on them so might just keep an eye on them for now.

good course of action