The ONLY Degreed Mechanical and Truck/Automotive Engineers on the net with 25 years experience specializing in engine, powertrain/chassis engineering, performance and synthetic motor oil lubrication and filtration.

Brought to you by highly experienced Truck and Automotive Engineers and Lubrication Specialists. We have 25 years experience engineering and testing cars, trucks, engines, chassis components and systems, powertains and lubricants and we will put our extensive knowledge to use for you.

We are also longstanding Professional Grade members of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). This prestigious position is ONLY granted to degreed engineers with documented work experience in the automotive engineering industry.

We have packed this website with useful information that will help you to make an informed decision regarding your choice of lubrication and filtration products for your vehicles and equipment. 

AMSOIL Regency Platinum 6 Star Direct Jobber, Mr. Dave Mann, has spent his entire career engineering and testing vehicles while employed at Ford Motor Company in Dearborn Mich. and  is available to assist you with all your detailed lubrication, filtration and vehicle engine, powertrain and chassis questions.

Automotive Braking Systems and Brake Linings and Roughness and Vibration Service and Corrective Procedures 

One of the most common brake system customer vehicle performance complaints is brake roughness, pulsation and vibration.  As common as this complaint is very few people, including many service technicians, actually understand the true cause of it and what to do to correct it permanently.  This leads to misdiagnosis, unnecessary repairs and parts replaced and the likely re-occurrence of the problem a short time later.  Brake roughness can be defined as vibration that is felt in the steering wheel, brake pedal and/or seat during vehicle braking.  This does not include the normal pulsation that occurs when anti-lock brakes are activated during a panic stop or when on wet, snow or ice covered roads, which can activate the anti-lock brakes. 

What typically happens is the customer experiences this type of vibration and pulsation and thinks something is wrong with their brakes and then takes their vehicle into a repair facility.  The customer explains the problem and the repair facility technician or service writer either takes the vehicle out for a test drive to confirm the symptoms or pulls it into the shop and starts right in on the brakes. Then they come out to the customer and inform them that their brake rotors are "warped" and they need new rotors and pads (and sometimes hubs), or they can machine the rotors on their bench lathe if there is enough rotor material remaining to meet the manufacturers minimum thickness requirements. 

The problem with this diagnosis and repair procedure is that first of all is that brake rotors do not warp. The second problem is that replacing a brake rotor with a new brake rotor or machining the rotor on a bench lathe will only fix the problem temporary.  The problem will almost always re-occur after a period of time, thus necessitating further repairs.   Brake rotor disc thickness variation or excessive lateral runout, as well as drums that are out of round can cause vibrations and pulsations in the brake pedal and/or steering wheel.  Brake lining material transfer onto the rotor can also have an effect on this as well.   

Here's what really occurs:  all brake rotors and hubs have an associated Lateral Runout (LRO). LRO occurs when two axes are not parallel to each other, such as the axes of the rotor and the hub or the spindle and the rotor/hub.  LRO may be caused by manufacturing tolerances,  improperly torqued wheel nuts (uneven or excessive torque), corrosion between the brake rotor and the hub, hub with excessive runout, worn or improperly adjusted wheel bearings or any damage or wear.  This is what is commonly referred to as "warped" rotors.  These so called "warped" rotors do not in and of themselves cause the vibrations and pulsations. Any machined component, such as brake rotors and hubs, are going to have manufacturing tolerances, which include runout. Typical original equipment new rotor runout specifications are in the range of 0.0015-0.002 in. while low quality aftermarket rotors can be significantly higher. In addition to excessive manufacturing tolerances, cheap, low quality aftermarket rotors can have increased impurities and porosity in the metallurgy. I recommend using either the OEM rotors or a high quality aftermarket rotor. 

New rotors and hubs are machined to precision tolerances from the auto manufacturers. Aftermarket rotors and hubs are usually not machined to the same tolerances, as the aftermarket manufacturers do not know the OEM specifications, although some are much better than others.  Auto manufacturers will either match mount the rotor and hubs or machine the rotor on the hub unit as an assembly. Match mounting is matching up the low spot on the brake rotor with the high spot on the hub.  This match mounting process minimizes the runout of the assembled components, but is only a production process.  A service technician cannot effectively determine where the high and low spots are in order to match mount the components. Machining the rotor on the hub (and/or spindle) with the proper on-vehicle machining equipment is the very best method and almost completely eliminates runout. But, if they do not effectively prevent rust and corrosion in the joint, over a period of time it will induce runout and eventually brake roughness. 

What can occur over a period of time is that whatever runout is in the system coupled with improperly torqued wheel nuts and/or misadjusted or loose wheel bearings and rust and corrosion forming between the rotor and hub surface leads to increases in runout.  As you drive your vehicle without using the brakes, such as on the highway, every rotation of the rotor high spot or multiple high spots contacts your brake linings in the caliper, even when you are not using the brakes and wears the high spot or multiple high spots off the rotor which causes a thin spot or multiple thin spots.  Over a period of time this repeated process causes what is called Disc Thickness Variation (DTV).  DTV is when the rotor thickness is not the same all the way around the rotor. DTV is typically caused by lateral runout.  DTV can only be measured with very specialized laboratory testing equipment or with special on vehicle capacitance probes.  

When you apply your brakes, and a brake rotor has DTV, the thick and thin spots on the rotor cause the brake pads to move in and out.  This in-and-out pad motion causes increases and decreases in brake system pressure, which the driver can feel in the brake pedal.  This in-and-out pad motion causes a varying brake force, which is passed to the steering wheel.  As the rotor gets hot, it is much more likely to increase thickness variation, thus increasing pedal pulsations as well as steering wheel and other vehicle vibrations. This phenomenon is what many technicians refer to as "warping", however they actually think the rotor warped and needs replacement.

Typical acceptable values for DTV are around 0.0004 in.  That's 4 ten thousandths of an inch! As DTV increases beyond 0.0004 in., brake pedal, steering wheel and vehicle vibrations and pulsations will almost always occur. 

Replacing a rotor with excessive DTV with another new rotor will only correct the problem temporarily, because eventually the associated LRO with the new rotor will lead to DTV over a period of time, and the problem repeats itself all over again.  Machining a rotor with excessive DTV on a bench lathe will only temporarily correct the problem because the rotor is being machined true to the bench lathes spindle and not the spindle on the car, plus the spindle on the bench lathe has its own runout. 

The correct method is to machine the brake rotor on the vehicle using an on-vehicle brake lathe.  For applications where the rotor is separate from the hub (loose rotor) make certain that both surfaces are free of rust and corrosion and be sure to put a thin layer of nickel anti-seize on the mating surfaces. This will prevent rust induced increases in LRO over a period of time. Rust can form in-between the mating surfaces and exert tremendous forces which will cause increases in tension of the wheel studs and resulting clamp load variation which creates LRO. The LRO will then eventually lead to DTV, brake roughness and vibration. For vehicles with adjustable wheel bearings, be certain to properly adjust the bearing preload prior to machining the rotor.

Brake drums still must be machined on bench lathes as there is no method to machine a drum on-vehicle. Drum brake systems are less sensitive in terms of tolerancing that can cause vibrations and pulsations. Most newer model vehicles these days have 4-wheel disc brake systems. Both front and rear rotors can be machined on-vehicle. Note that I recommend machining new rotors on vehicle as well.  That way you can be 100% assured that the entire assembly (rotor, hub and spindle) is a matched and perfectly machined rotating assembly. In addition, make sure the caliper slides freely on the caliper pins or slide mechanism, which will minimize off-brake contact of the brake pads with the rotor.

The on-vehicle brake rotor machining equipment that I recommend which performs the absolute best job is the Pro-Cut On-Vehicle Brake Lathe. It is simply the absolute best on-vehicle brake lathe on the market; the competition doesn't even come close to the results achieved with the Pro-Cut. The Pro-Cut is recommended and approved by Ford, GM and Daimler-Chrysler as well as many other car companies. 

I have measured finished LRO values of less than 0.0005 in. with the Pro-Cut, which is less than the tolerances on new rotors. In addition the Pro-Cut uses special cutting bits that produce the proper non-directional micro-finish.  The Pro-Cut lathe attaches to the hub and is computerized in order to measure runout of the entire system automatically and compensate for it prior to machining so that a perfect cut is achieved every time. Do not allow a caliper mounted brake lathe to be used on your vehicle. Caliper mounted brake lathes mount on the caliper mounts which are machined in different planes with different cutting tools, therefore a few thousandths difference at the caliper mount will produce a finished machined rotor with runout machined in which will eventually lead to DTV and brake roughness. 

Now you know what to do next time a repair facility or anyone else tells you your brake rotors are warped. You can explain to them that brake rotors do not warp and that you want your rotors machined with a Pro-Cut On Vehicle Brake Lathe. If they don't have one then call around to find a facility that has one, or contact Pro-Cut directly at 1-800-543-6618 and they will tell you where your nearest service center is that has a Pro-Cut. 

WHAT ABOUT BRAKE LININGS? 

How many times have you gone into the local auto parts store to purchase brake linings and have been confused by all the fancy high tech names and various cost differences? Or how about when you are having your brakes serviced and they rattle off all kinds of high tech brake lining names and various costs to go along with them?  Here is what you need to know about brake linings: 

There are all kinds of brake linings on the market.  If you look at the typical chemistry in brake linings it is clear that there is a little bit of everything in them, therefore the manufacturer can call them just about anything they want. Say a particular manufacturer made a brake lining containing: 

 20% BASO4 (Barytes)

15% oil modified phenolic resin

10% coarse synthetic graphite

10% fine natural graphite

10% steel fiber

10% aramid fiber (Kevlar)

10% vermiculite

5% copper fiber

4% reground rubber powder

3% ceramic fiber

1.5% carbon fiber

1% petroleum coke

0.5% fine silicon 

Based on the following ingredients is would be correct is the manufacturer called it a Non Asbestos Organic Friction Material (NAO) because it doesn’t have asbestos and it uses organic resin. 

Semi-Metallic friction material because it has 10% steel and a strong magnet might stick to it and it has a metallic shine. 

Low-Metallic friction material because it only has 10% steel and 10% doesn’t seem like very much. 

Cerami-Metallic friction material because it uses carbon fiber, graphite and steel 

Corrector Lining because it has silica to clean and true the rotor. 

Euro-Met because the term euro-metallic only vaguely refers to a bias for European performance and isn’t adequately defined. 

So as you can see the name that the manufacturer calls it doesn’t really mean a whole lot.  Often an aftermarket manufacturer will package brake linings and use the material description as a primary selling point.  I prefer to see actual performance data on the particular lining I am considering using. If the manufacturer cannot or will not provide me that data then I will run my own performance tests in order to select the best lining for the specific application.  

There is a wide variance in performance between various brake linings and formulations.  In general, I prefer to stick with major brand name brake linings that have a reputation for quality and performance.  Some of my personal favorites are Bosch and Bendix. In my opinion they produce excellent products and they are also a supplier for Original Equipment Manufacture (OEM) brake linings to the automotive manufacturers and must meet stringent manufacturers performance criteria as well as Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) and utilize the same knowledge and technology used for the OEM components that they use for the aftermarket.

Beware of low quality and low priced brake linings. This is not the place to attempt to save money and buy the lowest cost linings. Your vehicles braking performance and safety depend on them and they must function flawlessly and stop the vehicle effectively under all conditions. It is also important to note that although OEM supplied and installed brake linings must conform to strict FMVSS safety standards, aftermarket linings are not required to meet these specifications. That is just one more reason why I prefer to stick with major brand name brake linings manufactured by a company that supplies parts for production vehicles.  There are also other several other manufacturers that do make quality brake linings (as well as private label them), however I recommend that you do your research and comparisons before making a purchase. 

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