Hey there,


I have a 2004 S which is all stock. I bought the car with 50k in the odo and have since put around 15k on the car. Awesome car, fun to work on and even more fun to drive.

Ok so when I first bought the car I noticed a shake at the steering wheel at freeway speeds upon braking. The dealership had the rotors turned (i think they should have been replaced) because they were pretty new and brake pads had about 80% left. So all was well for a few weeks until the shake came back. I figured that it had to do with the rotors being turned, perhaps the dealer was giving me bs and they were too thin so I bought new Zimmerman rotors and Bosch rotors for the front. Installation was smooth and the car ran fine...for a few weeks then the shake at freeway speeds came back. So I took everything apart.

The passenger side outer pad had more wear than the rest, even clumps of pad. I thought maybe sticky caliper and since it was the outer pad I though slide pins. I took the pin out and cleaned them and the boot, lubed the crap out of it and repeated on the other side. Now the passenger side rotor did have some warping due to the heat produced by the dragging pad. I had them turned, bled the brakes, checked the dust boot cover, and put it all together. Now a few weeks later I am beginning to get vibration at freeway speeds!!

I'm at my wits end! I know the car is due for bushings and I am getting to those but what perplexes me is why the car runs fine and smooth for a few weeks. If my bushings were really shot (which they aren't) the problem would always be there right? Any ideas on what could be causing this? I have not yet checked the rotors or pads this time and the shake is very gradual now but that's how it starts. Could it be the quality of the rotor? I ruled out the dust boot not retracting because it was the outer pad with the extra wear not the inner pad, am I wrong?

Thanks for your help guys and gals!

 

no such thing as warped rotors.. what happens is uneven brake pad build up - that is caused by overheating the pads, they get hot and transfer uneven. read the myth behind warped rotors on http://www.stoptech.com/technical-su...l-white-papers

couple things you can do
1. why are they overheating? the brakes are a weak point on the mini.. normal commuting\driving is ok, but if you start pushing it, you will cook the brakes - are you aggressive on your brakes? it sounds so.. I ran into it on the track - on the road I don't slow down really quick over and over. are your brakes fading? that would be the fluid getting too hot, but you can cook the pads before you cook the fluid.
2. pad compound - this could be your first step.. go with something with a higher heat rating - I ran the Ferrodo 2500's for a while
3. Big brake kit - this is the real, only way to get more heat through the system - you need to add metal to hold the heat. everything else is just a patch solution (from my experience).. I went with a wildwood BBK kit - there is an initial cost, but the rotors and pads are cheaper than OEM, so you will make up the investment in the long run.. and then you can really use your brakes

phil.

 

Thanks for the reply and link, good info in there! I commute about 80 miles a day with the car, some traffic. I get on a gas occasionally, how can you not?

I think my break in was correct, followed the same procedure but did have a hard time getting the car to 60 as I was working on the car in SF. No brake fade so far, the brakes are grabby and feel good. Ill try to switch pads, I am using metallic OEM pads (Bosch) maybe ceramic pads and a good cleaning of the rotors will correct the issue. Followed by a good break in of course.