The fronts on my 05 warped at 15k miles...they were replaced under warranty along with the calipers...since then, I have been replacing the rotors (both front and back) with the standard ones from O'Reilley's...they seem to last about 45k miles before warping. I also use their ceramic pads...Mine are warped now, and need to be changed...last time I did the fronts was about 3 years ago...probably about 40k miles or so...I just found that the replacement rotors were inexpensive, and easy to pull off and replace...

FWIW!

 

The best stopping pads I have used are the EBC Yellowstuff. The only drawback is they do make plenty of dust.

 

Having done a bit more research, I am leaning towards Blown's theory of pad transfer, although you all make good points.

As an experiment, I tried re-bedding the pads last night on my way home: 6 hard stops from 55 and 2 from 75, not to a complete stop but still rolling. Driving back to work this morning the warped feeling is still present, however it is probably 50% reduced which may get me to the point where my contract will cover new rotors and pads.

What makes me curious is I've had 3 Rangers prior to this F150 and have never had an issue with rotors until the big truck. I guess it's the extra weight and momentum I have to slow down?

 

People who do research believe rotors don't warp. People who resurface rotors know that they do warp.

 

It's not so much the rotors warping as the actual structure of the metal changes due to heating. This makes hard, brittle spots in the rotor that now wear less quickly than the surrounding areas. This leads to an uneven surface very similar to warped metal.

The absolute worst thing for rotors is a hard stop followed by prolonged contact with the pads.

 

I don't believe this is true at all. I was a mechanic and cut rotors, still do for most of the equipment at home as my Dad has a lathe on the farm.

When you cut rotors with pad transfer, it still appears to be warped. That is why my buddy showed me with a grinder to get the point across.

Can rotors warp in some cases, yes. Most of the time, it isn't the case.

http://www.mossmotors.com/SiteGraphi...ake_discs.html

 

Your grinder theory doesn't work. If you're comparing non wearing surface to a pad wear surface. You are likely seeing metal that has been "forged" aka repetitively heated and cooled vs non wear surface that doesn't see as much of the heat cycling

 

Once you read this thread, you won't want to touch an EBC product...


https://www.f150online.com/forums/wh...-brakes-4.html

 

Not sure what you are saying. It's not a theory, I watched as we hit a rotor with a grinder.

I had pretty severe pad transfer on my old truck, when we hit the rotor with the grinder, there was a pretty big difference in the color on different sections of the rotor. You only had to hold the grinder on an area where there was pad transfer for a short period before the color would become the same as other spots on the rotor. Maybe you are saying the only the surface on certain parts of a rotor would get tempered enough to make the difference?

We also surmised that it was pad transfer as when the rotor was on the lathe, the sections where the pad was in contact with the rotor were more out of wack than the outside or inside edges. If the rotor were truly warped, you would think that the outside edge would be the most out. Rust is always a factor where the pads don't make contact, but the difference was easily seen.

Even after doing a light pass with the Lathe, you could see what looked like a very, very faint crack on the surface. I would assume that is the edge of the pad transfer.

I like to challenge what I'm shown and in this case with my buddy, I did just that. We spent some time looking and came to this conclusion.

If you can to a difference conclusion, great.

Again, I do think that there are cases where rotors warp, but pad transfer is more prevalent.

 

I've used EBC brakes on three of my 4 F-150s and several motorcycles. One internet crybaby isn't going to change my opinion based on a lot of thousand miles of use. Every time I have switched to EBC pads my stopping distances go noticeably down. I have tried other brands of "performance" pads but always go back to EBC because they provide the best mix of price vs. performance.

 

So, if you use ceramic pads and the rotors "warp", is that because of metal transfer to the rotor?

 

I have the power stop z36 kit and it seems to work really well. my factory rotors were pretty warped from the previous owner so I just bought the whole kit. I've been happy with it.

http://www.powerstop.com/product/power-stop-z36-kit/

 

Ceramic pads forces the heat generated into the rotor, not into the pad. As you probably know, brakes turn forward motion into heat energy. Unless you are in a heavy brake usage, ceramics should be your last choice. The premium semi metallic are the best option for the average to aggressive street driver. For racing, the ceramics work better due to less fade. If using ceramic pads, it's highly recommended to use slotted and drilled rotors to unload the heat.

Patman, I had issues with rotors on the 2004 SCrew. Seems like just going down the hiway caused the rotors to warp with the surging brake pedal. I have a relative in the auto parts business, NAPA. He recommended NAPA premium rotors and put a personal guarantee on them that they would not warp and would solve the issue. They cost a lot, no doubt, but after 65,000 miles having them on the truck, I had zero issues after putting them on. I also had the NAPA Premium semi metallic pads put on at the same time. No brake dust and confident, straight stops from any speed. When I traded the truck in, the brakes were probably 30% or better left on the pads. YMMV.