Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Suspension shaking under braking

The pads aren't supposed to be removing heat from the rotors, that's the rotor's job. Yes, heat does transfer from rotor to pad but that's not the likely cause of your "warping".

UNderstand that almost all "warped" rotors aren't warped at all, but they do have DTV (Disc Thickness Variation) due to hard spots that turn into high spots. Hard spots can come from [censored] material but they can also come from uneven pad material deposits on the rotor, to the point that friction varies from place to place around the rotor. More friction = more heat and it can be enough to cause localized changes in the material of the rotor. There's the hard spots. Those hard spots are self-perpetuating to the point that they cause DTV and then brake pulsing.

Turning a rotor rarely removes the hard spots. It just levels them...temporarily. They will return.

To avoid this issue otherwise known as "warping", you MUST season the rotors properly and you MUST bed the pads in properly so they don't smear or leave uneven deposits of material.

I realize that pads are not supposed to absorb any heat, but reality is that they do. I am on my second set of Raybestos rotors and find it hard to believe that they would use worse material than what comes from Ford. I have had warping problems with both sets of Raybestos rotors, but they are a known company that to my knowledge creates reasonable quality equipment. I realize that they are not top end, but they are far from cheap crap also.

What rotor and brake equipment would you suggest to prevent future problems?

You managed to miss most of the point. I'm not saying your rotors are [censored]. I'm not saying your pads are [censored]. I'm saying the reason rotors "warp" is most often due to uneven pad material transfer.

I'm saying, to paraphrase and flesh out the picture, if you have "warped" discs, throw them out, because you can't permanently remove the problem. Then if you season the new rotors properly you avoid most metallurgical issues you might ever encounter. So season your new ones before hammering them.

Then if you bed the pads in properly you eliminate most of the reason for improper material transfer. So bed your new pads properly.

Then, treat them right...don't sit with your foot on the brake after a hard/long stop because that leads to material transfer issues. Don't overheat them because then the material can smear leading to transfer issues. And so on.