02-13-2007, 07:05 PM
clearly this one is a lot more subjective and involved than anyone expected
turning rotors used to be a common practice - in fact, you had to do it before using them - not so much anymore
turning them does do one good thing though - it removes the deposits left there from the pads - this is extremely important - all pads leave deposits - they do this in specific ways - that is why the break in is so crucial - you should always start with clean metal - if you can't replace the rotors, then definitely at least turn them - it is not a good idea to do a "pad slap"
for most people i think a lot of the decision of which way to go is dependent on the type of car though (or at least its use) - what you would do to a toyota is not what you would do to a porsche (or at least shouldn't) - they are different animals - give the toyota kibble - sure - but give the porsche steak
to that point, within spec does not mean optimal capability - it means minimum acceptable capability - less material means less heat transfer - yes, the car will operate fine in commute traffic, and under nominal conditions - no, it will not do as well when pushed hard
i don't expect the kind of performance out of a toyota that i do out of a porsche - the car is driven harder purely because we can - the focus is performance - i think that parts should be chosen with that in mind - if you want a toyota, that's cool - buy one - it's kind of like tires - the tires i choose for the denali are different than the ones i choose for hte bimmer, adn different than the ones i choose for hte porsche - different cars - different uses - different needs
compared to other performance cars today, this car is big, heavy, sloshy, and slow - the only thing it really has going for it is its balance and its braking - do you really want to short change one of those by using less than perfect parts? i mean, why bother choosing performance pads if you're going to use less than perfect rotors?
as i said earlier in the thread, both porsche and bmw leave very little material for turning - i was quite stunned at this - i expected the rotors to be extra thick, so as to handle the heat better - what i found was that they are barely above spec brand new - i was used to being able to turn a rotor at least twice - that was the old days - the ones on the E30 bmw could not be turned at all, and the ones on the E46 just once, and it didn't take - neither had any grooves - the ones on the porsche are close, depending on how badly they are grooved
i don't think the recommendation porsche makes against turning is as macheavelian as it is liability driven - perhaps they indeed specced the part with very little extra material though, so as to insure replacement and not turning - wouldn't be the dumbest business decision i'd ever heard of
bottom line for me, i think of a car with thin rotors much like i think of a car on a spare - get me to where i can fix this right - until then, i will be careful about how i drive it, and not push it
turning rotors used to be a common practice - in fact, you had to do it before using them - not so much anymore
turning them does do one good thing though - it removes the deposits left there from the pads - this is extremely important - all pads leave deposits - they do this in specific ways - that is why the break in is so crucial - you should always start with clean metal - if you can't replace the rotors, then definitely at least turn them - it is not a good idea to do a "pad slap"
for most people i think a lot of the decision of which way to go is dependent on the type of car though (or at least its use) - what you would do to a toyota is not what you would do to a porsche (or at least shouldn't) - they are different animals - give the toyota kibble - sure - but give the porsche steak
to that point, within spec does not mean optimal capability - it means minimum acceptable capability - less material means less heat transfer - yes, the car will operate fine in commute traffic, and under nominal conditions - no, it will not do as well when pushed hard
i don't expect the kind of performance out of a toyota that i do out of a porsche - the car is driven harder purely because we can - the focus is performance - i think that parts should be chosen with that in mind - if you want a toyota, that's cool - buy one - it's kind of like tires - the tires i choose for the denali are different than the ones i choose for hte bimmer, adn different than the ones i choose for hte porsche - different cars - different uses - different needs
compared to other performance cars today, this car is big, heavy, sloshy, and slow - the only thing it really has going for it is its balance and its braking - do you really want to short change one of those by using less than perfect parts? i mean, why bother choosing performance pads if you're going to use less than perfect rotors?
as i said earlier in the thread, both porsche and bmw leave very little material for turning - i was quite stunned at this - i expected the rotors to be extra thick, so as to handle the heat better - what i found was that they are barely above spec brand new - i was used to being able to turn a rotor at least twice - that was the old days - the ones on the E30 bmw could not be turned at all, and the ones on the E46 just once, and it didn't take - neither had any grooves - the ones on the porsche are close, depending on how badly they are grooved
i don't think the recommendation porsche makes against turning is as macheavelian as it is liability driven - perhaps they indeed specced the part with very little extra material though, so as to insure replacement and not turning - wouldn't be the dumbest business decision i'd ever heard of
bottom line for me, i think of a car with thin rotors much like i think of a car on a spare - get me to where i can fix this right - until then, i will be careful about how i drive it, and not push it
94 Midnight Metallic Blue Cab Porsche 968 w/deviating cashmere/black interior and WAY too many mods to list - thanks to eric for creating www.968forums.com
"It isn't nearly as expensive to do it right as it is to do it wrong."
