- Nichols Auto Repair
Understanding Warped Rotors

Brakes are designed to convert
movement energy into heat in order
to slow and stop your vehicle.
The friction material on the brake
pads wears off over time, but
replacing brake pads alone is not
always enough to maintain efficient
braking. Here are three common
reasons why brake rotors also need to
be replaced:
With a worn brake rotor, heat can't be dispersed
effectively, leading to a loss in stopping power.

Worn pads or foreign objects can
cause damage to the disc surface.
Installing new pads on grooved discs
can result in accelerated pad wear
and increased squealing from the
brakes.
The friction of the brake pad against
the disc eventually causes the disc to
become thin.
An unevenly worn rotor can cause the steering
wheel to shake and the brake pedal to vibrate.
Efficient braking requires the disc to
dissipate the heat generated as
quickly as possible. With a thin disc,
the heat is unable to escape quickly
enough from the surface, causing
brakes to overheat and lose stopping
power
Under certain circumstances, such as
extreme braking followed by
prolonged pressure between the
brake pad and hot disc, some of the
friction material from the pad can
become embedded into the surface of
the disc. This causes the disc to have
uneven thickness.
The warped effect on the disc can
cause the steering wheel to shake
and the brake pedal to pulse -
especially under heavy braking.
Information Courtesy of Copyright Technet 2020 MotoVisuals