I THINK that i have one or 2 warped rotors. MOney is tight, but I want to get them fixed. How long can I drive with them warped? One week? Two weeks? I don't want to drive on them like this for months, but I am strapped for cash until close to the first of the month. Can I go that long?

Also, please check these threads:
Brake noise from high speed...Help!
Ceramic or Metal Master Pads w/ Brembo CD rotors?

Thanks for the help, guys!

you'll be fine. just don't drive like a maniac and you won't do any damage. many people drive for years on warped rotors because they're ignorant of the vibrations (or the cause of it anyway) and don't have the car looked at until the car won't start anymore.

Why would it not start?

my point was that many people NEVER maintain their cars... all they do is put gas in it and drive. They drive them until they won't go anymore..

then they have it towed to a shop and spend $3000 in maintenance, then complain about how unreliable the car is because they didn't change the oil, coolant, brakes, tires, belts, etc etc etc..

I see. I should have picked up on your humor the first time!

So can I make it a month or so without doing damage to any OTHER components?

Actually, warped rotors have been linked to worn out calipers and bolts. Normally bolts wouldn't be an issue but in this case, if the bolts/calipers are badly worn, it could cause uneven movement and binding during brake application. Is this something that you need to be concerned about right now? No, but I wouldn't completely ignore it either. Rotors are cheap compared to having to replace rotors, calipers, and bolts.

I drove on warped front rotors for several thousand miles before I got cross drilled/slotted Brembos.
Just make sure you put new pads on with the new or re-cut rotors. You should have no damage or problems.

Thanks for the input, guys. I may just get a set of used OEM rotors for now, then upgrade this summer when I can replace the pads and rotors w/ good pads and brembos.

If the vibration is really bad, it would add extra stress to your ball joints/tie rod ends but this would only happen over a long period of time.

As everyone else said.. short term (couple weeks, a month or two) is no problem. after that, you will start having wear issues..


the slider pins on the caliper are the parts that will have the most problem. those guys should be checked when working on the brakes anyway.. as the rotor turns inside the caliper, the caliper floats on those pins.. if the rotor is warped, the caliper will "wobble" on those pins with the rotor. when you're driving 60, think of how fast those parts are moving around down there. It's reasonable to say they WILL wear out or cause problems with time, but for short term, it's nothing to worry about.


Your other option is to yank the rotors off on a saturday (or any other day for that matter) and take them to a parts store and have them turned. it'll cost about $20 and you'll be fine.. if the rotors are ready for replacement, tell them to turn them anyway so you can drive until you can get paid again and buy new rotors. they'll usually do it, but will whine and moan to you about safety.

You can get replacement rotors for $25-30 a piece from Autozone, Pepboys, etc. I've done this a few times while waiting for slotted rotors to come in if I had a race event prior to the arrival of my slotted rotors. At $25 a piece they are basically throw away equipment anyhow.

You can pick up new ones for fairly cheap at autozone like someone already mentioned. You could take them off and get them machined for about $10 each.

njmaxseltd offered me all 4 of his OEM rotors for a cheap price. They have less than 1/2 of the mileage that mine have, so I think I will go that route for now. When I get more money this summer I will do brembos. My wife offered to let me get the brembos now (no laughing!!!), but I am already in the hole because my struts are gone too, so I need to replace those. I can get by until summer on newer OEM rotors, so I think that that is the plan.

When i go to do the replacement, what do I need to go buy? A brake bleed kit, some emory cloth, new shims...what else?
Also, I have never worked on brakes before, but my father has replaced the brakes on his (original-owner) 1975 280Z, so I think that between the 2 we can figure it out.

Any tips?

You need some high temp grease and anti squeal goob. You can manual bleed if you have two people.

How would one know if the rotors are warped or not?

You'll feel the vibration through the steering wheel when you brake, and pretty much your whole car will shake if its bad. Usually it'll make a decent amount of noise also, like a pulsating humm.

Never thought about the rotors causing extra stress on the calipers. Good point.

Wow, holy thread ressurection...

wow 8 years?

I seem to disagree. Do not turn your rotors. this makes them even thinnner, and if the turn is a little out the rotors will continue to wobble, causing a vibration. You should go buy aftermarket rotors. Of high grade steel and never worry about them again.

We've had worse...