What are the factors that affect the performance of a GM Brake rotor?
A necessity for safe driving is good brakes. The rotor is a vital component of a disc brake. When the driver brakes, the calipers press the pads onto the rotor for creating friction and heat. The result is the conversion of the kinetic energy of motion to thermal energy. The rotors absorb and disperse the thermal energy to slow down the vehicle. Rotors that don’t absorb and disperse heat well increases the distance that a car travels before stopping. Moreover, inappropriate rotor cooling adds to the chance of brake fade from overheated brake pads. A possible result is a lesser life of the pads.
The metal used in rotors affect their performance
How good the metal used to make a GM rotor is has a significant. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
effect on rotor performance and lifespan. A rotor with better metallurgy will perform better on vehicles.
The cheapest scrap iron is typically used to make Economy GM Brake rotors. Quality can vary from a batch to another and from a rotor to another. A possible result is hard spots that cause distorting and pedal pulsation issues afterward with the wearing of the rotors.
- Too soft rotors could wear fast, and too hard rotors could boost pad wear or create noise
- Substandard castings without the right hardness and strength also have more chances of distorting or cracking at high temperature
The sad fact is that it’s impossible to judge how good a rotor is by its appearance alone. Economy rotors could look almost the same as premium-quality rotors. However, they often have very different metallurgy. Among the numerous grades of cast iron, some make significantly superior brake rotors compared to others. The definite metallurgy impacts a rotor’s sound qualities, hardness, and wear-resistance.
Economy rotors often have thinner facings and also save on their cooling fins
The objectives of thinner facings in some economy GM Brake rotors are reducing weight and price. The air gap amid the two rotor faces is widened to save the cast iron needed for casting. The result is a rotor that is less capable of absorbing and dispersing heat. Thus, there is more possibility of brake fade from rotor distorting, hard use, rotor failure, and cracking.
Economy rotors also save on the cooling fins amid the rotor faces. Engineers strive to design specific fin patterns for use in certain vehicles. How many fins are made and their orientation affects the rotor’s capacity for dispersing heat. Economy rotors could have lesser fins or unidirectional fins. On the other hand, a good number of premium GM Brake rotors abide by the original equipment blueprint. They have the equal number of fins and the same fin configuration.
Another factor that affects the performance of GM rotors
Several GM rotors have directional cooling vanes. Thus, the right rotor is different from the left rotor. The reason for directional rotors is to draw warm air off the hub while rotating forward. Using unidirectional and straight vane rotors instead of directional rotors could make the brakes and hub cool much less.