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Those little suckers rust
They are the only bolts I've ever stripped on a car
Especially on my e46 m3
For $1 or 2 worth have 1 or 2 just in case
They only locate the rotor but makes assembly easier
The lugs do all the work
When you get the new rotors, do yourself a favor and get them zinc plated before installing them. It will eliminate the possibility of the rotors rusting.
I would also replace the screws that hold the rotors on, they are cheap and you don't want to put rusty hardware back on new parts.
I zinc plated all of the rotors on my vehicles, I hate the look of rusty rotors behind nice looking wheels.
The trick for the rotor screws is to use an impact driver (like a chisel, you hit the back with a hammer and it imparts torque while the hammer drives it in). They usually come with a Philips tip though - need to find one that takes a Torx bit....
When you get the new rotors, do yourself a favor and get them zinc plated before installing them. It will eliminate the possibility of the rotors rusting.
I would also replace the screws that hold the rotors on, they are cheap and you don't want to put rusty hardware back on new parts.
I recently had my OEM wheels chrome plated and had the OEM rotors zinc plated. I zinc plated all of the rotors on my vehicles, I hate the look of rusty rotors behind nice looking wheels.
jrholt, the coated rotors look good
car looks great, the chrome looks good on black and is durable
I usually paint the edges/vanes with a zinc based cast iron colored heat resistant spray paint
as far as the hold down bolts
I hope they do not break, but it's not uncommon
if they do I hope you have one to replace it
spending an additional $5 on a $1000 job to avoid being down over a single screw seems prudent, maybe spring a few bucks more for the SS ones then corrosion will be less of an issue next time
I wonder how those zinc-plated rotors look after a while of use. The brake pads only grip on part of the surface, so I would expect a silver stripe and a zone with exposed steel where the pads rub. Any chance to get a picture of the rotors after use?
I wonder how those zinc-plated rotors look after a while of use. The brake pads only grip on part of the surface, so I would expect a silver stripe and a zone with exposed steel where the pads rub. Any chance to get a picture of the rotors after use?
Sure,
Here are some pictures of the C6 Z06 that I used to own that had zinc plated rotors on it. They had quite a few miles on them at this point and the zinc plating still looks great.
Do you take the rotors to a plating shop?
Are they dipped so inside the holes and vanes are coated also?
That is a slick idea...nice
Ball park cost for 4 rotors?
Thanks
Wow. That pic of the Z06 convinces me to give it a shot when i replace rotors. I wonder how it would work on floating rotors?
Probably ok
It's very thin (relatively speaking) and the expansion due to brake heating is strong...it would wear it off at the contact/friction surfaces quickly
Just like it does on the face of the rotor disc
On the z inside the vanes looks like new
No rust in the cross-drilled holes either
Do you take the rotors to a plating shop?
Are they dipped so inside the holes and vanes are coated also?
That is a slick idea...nice
Ball park cost for 4 rotors?
Thanks
Hey Ingenieur,
Thanks
Yes, I take it to a local plating company here: Gleco Plating.
They use an electroplating zinc process followed by a clear chromate conversion coating.
The 507 front rotors are dual cast rotors. The center section is aluminum and the outer braking surface is cast iron. It forms a one piece rotor so you cannot separate the aluminum from the cast iron.
Normally on two piece rotors I would just disassemble them and get the cast iron brake ring zinc plated but with these rotors that was impossible to do.
Before zinc plating they dip the parts in an acid to clean and etch the metal but the aluminum would not stand up to that so I had to get the front rotors for the 507 bead blasted. They ended up using glass beads to blast it and they came out great!
Since you cannot zinc plate bare aluminum he had to flash it with nickle first to create an even surface for the electroplating process.
The rear rotors are just one piece cast iron so they were able to clean and plate them as they normally do.
Here are some pics of the 507 front rotors after they were bead blasted. Notice the difference in color of the aluminum and the cast iron:
Cross section of dual cast rotor. Red is aluminum and silver is cast iron.
Front rotor after bead blast on the way to Gleco Plating.
Front rotor after bead blast on the way to Gleco Plating.
Rear rotor before the stripping and plating process. The original owner apparently spray painted them black.
RacingBrake 2-piece rotors are worth every freaking penny! Don't waste your money replacing with stock components. The racing brake rotors drop nearly 36lbs of unsprung rotating mass. At is a massive amount of unsprung rotating mass and will transform how the car behaves (especially on the street). The car will brake much better, have better steering response, accelerate quicker, and ride significantly smoother than ever before.
Racing brake rotors + Forgestar wheels on my ML63 dropped 90lbs of unsprung mass... It's was by far the best modification I have ever done to transform the way a car handles/performs.
10-13-2014, 08:12 PM
