Hey guys,

I was looking at my rotors yesterday and I have noticed some circular pits and grooves. They're not scored, they just look like they have been worn down and they're on their last leg. The color of the rotor indicates that I am getting good bond between the pad and the rotor and I have no vibration in the pedal when I brake hard...but I did notice some pad inprinting. I do no tracking, just moderate, daily street driving. I have stock, non-brembo setup with metal matrix pads which I'd grade at medium aggressiveness when it comes to rotor wear.

So, I am wondering if inprinting might be an indication that I am overheating them because they're just worn and can't dissipate heat effectively anymore. I searched for min rotor thickness before they have to replaced and this is what I found:

front rotor thickness limit: 20.0 mm
rear rotor thickness limit: 8.0 mm

can you guys confirm these measurements before I measure and decide if it's time? Help is greatly appreciated. If I do have to replace, we can talk about my choices next

 

Just call your local Orelly they will look in the computer and tell you what it is...

If not, see if its in the FSM: http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/350Z/

In my experience the oem rotors can be turned only once at least.......
-J

 

Maximum rotor wear is 2mm.

 

WOW! Stock rotors on a 2003 are 24mm/16mm front/rear respectively. As pointed out before, the wear limits are 2mm. Your fronts are shot. Your rears are non-existant (assuming you made the measurement properly). I'm surprised you haven't burned them through to the inner fins.

You can get some good quality lifetime guaranteed rotors for under $100/pair at Oreilly, Autozone, Napa, etc. Note that lifetime doesn't mean they will last that long, it only means that for the life of the car, when you do wear them out, bring them back with a receipt and you'll get another pair for free.

 

Thanks for the info. Anytime I have a questions, you and David chime in quickly and give me the answers Much appreciated!

The numbers I posted above are not my absolute measurements. Those are the numbers I thought were the limit beyond which I should not go. I am going to go to Sears today or Home Depot (at lunch) and pick up a micrometer. One of few tools I don't own but now I have an excuse to pick one up. Thanks!

 

OK, I picked up a micrometer at Sears and the measurements are in:

FR: 0.879"
FL: 0.875"
RR: 0.615"
RL: 0.625

So, my rears are shot. My fronts are near the end of their life. Time for new rotors. The questions now is: should I consider going with slotted rotors?

 

I just ordered Centric slotted rotors from them --- http://www.zeckhausen.com/Nissan/350Z.htm
Centric = Stop-Tech= Great quality

 

Yup, I ended up getting StopTech fronts and rears from CVR Motorsports (vendor here), slotted. Baked them in over the weekend. Worked out very well. See my bake-in thread for results.

 

I know this is an old thread, but my brakes have been squeaking lately. The previous owner put on some hawk rotors and was wondering if I should go by the FSM thickness scale or not when determining wear level.

The rotors are drilled but not slotted. Non-brembo.

They've been squeaking for almost 2 months now. Was super busy with school, but now that finals are over and I have time to take a look.

 

Squeaking is usually the pads. A vibration would be the rotors. Either way measure both the pads and rotors to check them vs the FSM for too much wear. Despite them being aftermarket I assume they must be built (size-wise) to factory specs.