[jimmuller]

What with this coronavirus thingy going around I'm not driving much. So while I've been healthy so far (knock on dashboard - oh wait, it's not a British car and the dashboard isn't wood), my brakes have become less so. During the first wave of don't-go-anywhere we had quite a bit of rain, so my brake disks got rusty. I'd drive and braking would be both noisy and unsteady. I try to drive some now and even drag the brakes a bit to clean them. So they aren't as noisy but they are still uneven. They used to be so smooth.

What's the best way to smooth them out? Take the car up to speed and stomp on the brakes? Drag them as lower speed for more contact movement but less instant heat generation? I don't want to pay for disk/pad replacement! I just want the brakes to be as smooth as they used to be, if possible.

Stay healthy, stay safe,
Jim

 

[MLJJ]

I'm not driving much either and brakes are rusted as well. However, after a few miles of stop-and-go everything seems to be fine. I haven't experienced what you are feeling.

 

[JazzCatGab]

I'd take her up to speed Jim and then put steady and firm pressure on them a few times. Mine were so orange after I washed them last week that I took her out on the lightly populated interstate and got very fast and then gently added pressure as above. Look and feel great now.

 

[GTS18BGTS]

Just drive normally and they'll be clear of oxidation by the time you get down the block.

 

[TK718]

Just chiming in to agree with everyone so far. Drive it, and it will fix itself.

If you really wanna get serious, find a safe stretch of road, and re-bed your pads with enough 60-10mph abs stops as it takes until you smell brakes/see puffs of smoke. (That's about 6 in my experience in this car.) Then drive gently for 10-15 minutes, braking minimally so the brakes can cool, and you'll be right as rain.

(Note, don't come to a complete stop until the brakes are cool if you can help it, because with the high temps you run the risk of transferring pad material onto the discs -typically called "warping" a rotor - and that WILL require new rotors to fix.)

 

[Scrounger]

Tip for you. After washing the car, drive it down the road and back. This will get rid of the waster on the discs/rotors. If you just want to get rid of the rust, as mentioned, drive it as normal and use the brakes as normal They will clear up after a couple of miles.

 

[OneTimeAccount]

Like everyone said above, I usually just drive around like normal and it goes away.

However, about an hour after washing my car yesterday I noticed a very loud high pitch squeak from only the left rear area, not sure if it is the brakes but it ended up going away after about an hour of driving. Link to video with the sound here. Its never done that before.

 

[Scrounger]

sounds like a rubbing brake. a couple of hard braking sessions should sort it.

 

[zagaone]

To get rid of this recurrent problem use a leaf blower after washing the car. It actually dry the car without scratching it. Wheels and rotors dry in no time, without rust and also there is no water dripping afterwards from the light assemblies or side mirrors. Worth the $100-$200 bucks.

 

[OneTimeAccount]

sounds like a rubbing brake. a couple of hard braking sessions should sort it.

I did that but didn't fix it completely. Went away for a day, came back a bit this evening. When I take a right-hand turn, no squeak. It almost always squeaks on a left-hand turn. Very VERY slight unpredictable squeak going straight. They didn't get wet or anything, it's been dry here. I'm not sure what would suddenly cause this after driving it for 3k miles. Also strange that it happen when going straight without braking.

 

[Scrounger]

Check the pads are free from the disc/rotor and also check that there isn't a small stone stuck in the pad or holes in the disc.

 

[RotorOver]

Doesn't answer your original question, but to help prevent rusting on wash days- after cleaning the wheels, spray the rotor disks with Hyde's Serum Rust Stopper. Most of the time this works. Usually when it doesn't its because the disc got hit with some iron remover. If that's the case, you have to clean off the residual chemical before applying the rust stopper.

 

[OneTimeAccount]

Check the pads are free from the disc/rotor and also check that there isn't a small stone stuck in the pad or holes in the disc.

Took it into the dealer yesterday and they discovered rock lodged somewhere in the brakes. They removed it and all is good!

 

[Nosmo]

What with this coronavirus thingy going around I'm not driving much. So while I've been healthy so far (knock on dashboard - oh wait, it's not a British car and the dashboard isn't wood), my brakes have become less so. During the first wave of don't-go-anywhere we had quite a bit of rain, so my brake disks got rusty. I'd drive and braking would be both noisy and unsteady. I try to drive some now and even drag the brakes a bit to clean them. So they aren't as noisy but they are still uneven. They used to be so smooth.

What's the best way to smooth them out? Take the car up to speed and stomp on the brakes? Drag them as lower speed for more contact movement but less instant heat generation? I don't want to pay for disk/pad replacement! I just want the brakes to be as smooth as they used to be, if possible.

Stay healthy, stay safe,
Jim

Hi Jim - after you have parked up and the brakes have cooled down. Spray the discs with Built Hamber Atom Mac. I swear by it. The link is here to the UK website. I'm sure you can get it in the US. It dilutes to either 5 or 10%. A small bottle last me a long long time. I also apply it pre and post wash - Rusty brakes no more

 

[jimmuller]

Hi Jim - after you have parked up and the brakes have cooled down. Spray the discs with Built Hamber Atom Mac. I swear by it. The link is here to the UK website. I'm sure you can get it in the US. It dilutes to either 5 or 10%. A small bottle last me a long long time. I also apply it pre and post wash - Rusty brakes no more

Thanks for the tip. Thanks to everyone else who responded.

FWIW, I stated early on that I had driven some, have been driving some. The noise goes away with a bit of distance, but the non-smoothnes has not gone away. The car stops well but there is still a slight shuddering in the steering and brake pedal as if the disks were not so smooth. It's not enough to make me take the car in for service.

 

[GregW]

Thanks for the tip. Thanks to everyone else who responded.

FWIW, I stated early on that I had driven some, have been driving some. The noise goes away with a bit of distance, but the non-smoothnes has not gone away. The car stops well but there is still a slight shuddering in the steering and brake pedal as if the disks were not so smooth. It's not enough to make me take the car in for service.

Hmmm. A couple of times after washing I've left the car overnight. The next day the pads were rusted to the disks (I assume) and it took a shock of throttle to break them loose. There were no after effects that I've been able to notice.

 

[dkmajm]

Hmmm. A couple of times after washing I've left the car overnight. The next day the pads were rusted to the disks (I assume) and it took a shock of throttle to break them loose. There were no after effects that I've been able to notice.

That happened every time with my FPV GT falcons (6 pot front 4 pot rear) overnight they weld themselves onto the rotors makes less than
A nice noise as you reverse out of the garage and they decouple, haven’t had that with the 718S yet...


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