Grooves in rotors

[JeffJ]

I noticed that there are grooves in the rotors on the 02 nissan I'm working on. I looked at my 01 CC, and they had grooves in the rotors as well. It looks like a lot more work to have to pull the rotors. What do you guys recommend? I was just planning on changing the pads. Should I pull the rotors and have them resurfaced? Is resurfacing a waste of money? I'm not sure how much new rotors cost.

[jonbth]

It takes a lot of work to get the rotors out so get new ones. You don't want to do that job again anytime soon. it will also give you the chance to repack the wheel bearings.

If the grooves are deep you won't be able to get them out by resurfacing the rotors. Just changing pads without resurfacing the rotors would shorten the life of the new pads and possibly be a safety risk.

[BRUTAL]

whats more important is..what the min thickness? Most factory rotors are to thin to surface and have enough material remaining in the thickness to pass min thickness. I would just replace the pads, bed then in and they soon match the grooves perfectly. If theyre too thin, replace them

[kor0000]

If the grooves aren't too deep and there is no noticeable effect when braking
just slap on some new pads.

Low quality pads contain metals that damage the rotors. Buying high quality pads will reduce the wear on the rotors so don't skimp on the pads.

[Mountaineer]

well if you have grooves in your rotors, once you put those new pads on and go, the grooves will cut into your pads making your braking surface smaller.

If you pull them you can resurface them at a shop. Or get new ones for 80-100+.

do you have 4x4 or 4x2?

[BRUTAL]

Originally Posted by Mountaineer

well if you have grooves in your rotors, once you put those new pads on and go, the grooves will cut into your pads making your braking surface smaller.

If you pull them you can resurface them at a shop. Or get new ones for 80-100+.

do you have 4x4 or 4x2?

larger, a straight line is shorter, look at it this way, its shorter to cross over the Grand Canyon on a bridge than to walk down a path and up the other side. But that being said a larger surface area impacts less applied force per sq. inch than the same force applied over a smaller surface area. So youde have to get the engineers on here to calculate wether you end up with the same braking force

[WhistlerWzrd]

yup I agree, I am not a brake Tech, but going by the Math, small grooves will give you more surface braking area, also more heat to get rid of.

[JeffJ]

Originally Posted by Mountaineer

well if you have grooves in your rotors, once you put those new pads on and go, the grooves will cut into your pads making your braking surface smaller.

If you pull them you can resurface them at a shop. Or get new ones for 80-100+.

do you have 4x4 or 4x2?

4X2

I read online that Nissan uses semi-metallic pads for the Frontier, so they will always cut grooves into the rotors. Can anyone else look at the 1st gen frontier and see if there are grooves? I noticed grooves in my 01 frontier. I always buy OEM pads, so I don't know if there is a way around this. I'm not sure if this is true or not.

[Mountaineer]

Originally Posted by JeffJ

4X2

I read online that Nissan uses semi-metallic pads for the Frontier, so they will always cut grooves into the rotors. Can anyone else look at the 1st gen frontier and see if there are grooves? I noticed grooves in my 01 frontier. I always buy OEM pads, so I don't know if there is a way around this. I'm not sure if this is true or not.

My 04 rotors had small grooves, the left side rotor had serious grooves from a brake failure.

btw, if you have grooves, it won't increase surface area because the small grooves in the pads will be worn down and the ridges on your pads will eventually break off. So it decreases area and increases pad wear.

btw with 4x2, taking the rotors off won't be nearly as hard as it is with a 4x4!

[jonbth]

I just changed my pads in my 04. There were no grooves in my rotors. I used Nissan pads. The nissan pads make a lot less dust than the original ones.