When should you replace your iron brake discs? Article inside.

[jritt@essex]

Gents,
I wrote a short article the other week on iron brake disc replacement. Our customers are constantly asking us this question. Please check it out on our blog. It has some nice pics of discs in various states of wear. Thanks.

When is it Time to Replace My Iron Brake Discs?

[roastbeef]

thanks for the good info. in the top picture, there is a little metal caught in the top of the J hook. is this indicative of needing replacement?

[bigjae1976]

I like the part where you mention to not forget about checking the backside of the disc. Especially if you retain the OE splash shield, I would think the rear side is subject to higher temps.

I learned my lesson on a set of PFC DD rotors. I was doing something else, removed the rotor disc and the backside of the disc looked absolutely terrible. I wouldn't have felt comfortable driving on the track with it. Never would have known if I did not pull the rotor off. Probably something to be aware of on calipers with removable bridges...need to crawl under and inspect the backside. I RARELY have an opportunity to pull the rotor off since I have the removable bridge.

I do think the front side will not look vastly different from the backside unless you have a problem. Probably not worth checking the backside of a relatively new rotor. But a periodic check early in its service life with more frequent checks as the rotor is used makes sense.

[SYT_Shadow]

Nice article, thanks for the information.

My rotors eventually look like 'arid ground' and sooner or later a crack will get to the 'jumbo' size and then I replace them