Well said^^^^

The brake job isn't done until the pads are burnished - and GM cars aren't the only ones that get pulsing brake pedals - happens to them all...

 

I too had that problem. Had a business turn the rotors. They didn't mount them in the lathe correctly so I had another business look at them. I bought new rotors,about 40.00 each, put in some performance pads and the car stops,rides and feels good. I think the metal n the factory rotors just heats up and cools,when the rotors are turned , you still have the same fatigued metal. get new rotors from someone other than Chevrolet.

 

After 65,000 miles, my front rotor's are warped also. Just ordered EBC Slotted and Dimpled Rotors and EBC Red Stuff Performance pads

 

I had to get my rotors turned my the dealer when i first got the car. the car had 5 miles on it. Now I have 21898 miles and will be replacing them.
I paid $150.00 got wearever ceramic pads and new rotors.
I just got my rotors and pads from advance auto parts and will be installing them next weekend .

 

They were not warped unless you over torqued them. Odds are you had Rotor Thickness Variation.

EBC is a good product and read the installation instructions. They will direct you in how to break in and seat the pads.

Note even EBC will tell you the Dimples are only for show and will not aid in braking. I own a set myself and they are cosmetic. The person who taught me the truth on Rotors was the head of EBC brakes. He told me they make money and that is why they sell them.

Note you will have some brake noise with the rotors and a little feel in the pedel. If you can not live with that just go with the solid rotor. Repeat the Dimples will not change a thing but looks.

The red pads are the best choice you will like them. They will still leave dust but it will be much less. Note during the break in coating they material will leave a odd dust on the rims but it will wash off.

Make sure to check hub runout and seat the pads as directed by the EBC instructions!

 

Unless they are cracked there is no metal fatigue to stock or aftermarket rotors. Generally the factory rotors are as good as any that you will buy. Unless you get some real off brand that the quality can not be identified [some times you just don't know what China sends t us] most rotor qualities are the same.

The only thing that cutting will hurt is the heat sink ability of the rotor to remove heat. This can make some pads fade reducing the stopping ability of the pad. The pad does the stopping and the rotor helps transfer most of the heat.

The whole concept of the rotor is to remove heat from the pads and absorbe the heat and transfer the heat out of the pads and calipers of system. Hot pads and calipers often fail to work and kill the stopping ability. A cut rotor just heats up faster since there is less metal and it absorbes less heat. They do not fatigue unless you really burn them up. By that point you will have some real bluing of the rotors and other related issues like pads that are killed. One seldom see's this on street in normal driving.

 

Ya know, I just replaced the rear brakes on our 2000 Olds Bravada today. We got 92,000 miles out of the original front pads and now 100,000 miles out of the original rear pads. These cars (as well as the S10 Blazer) were notorious for warped rotors. Yes, my rotors are original as well. I have always rotated my tires personally and used a torque stick to tighten the lugs (spec is 100 ft lbs). Never had a problem with warped rotors like many others have had with these cars.

I do the same with my HHR. I rotated the tires twice so far, and using the torque stick still have smooth braking at 14,800 miles.

 

I have never purchased a new car with this many service and repair issues. If a car is new and under warranty, hopefully the company that produced it can repair it. Unfortunately this is not the case here. Many suggest purchasing after market rotors and pads. Great Idea when the warranty is out, and the parts and labor responsibility is the owner. GM is paying for their "good enough for Chevrolet" attitude on the HHR. Yes, these things can happen to any vehicle, yet I have had over 20 in my life so far and have not even been close to the issues I have had with this car on any of the others. GM , with the HHR, has not learned from past problems and should take note to do a better job in the future. Computer engineering let them know the "chance" they were taking using front rotors too small for the weight of the vehicle, shame on them, my future auto dollars will be spent at another company. I have owned more GM products than any other and I am very sad.

 

The rotors are not too small. The real issues are service related. If one treats the problem as rotor related you will never solve the issue. The rotor are the symptom not the case.

If the rotor were the issue everyone would have poblems. Not all of us have any issues. Learnig the real case is the first step to solving the issue.

 

If the rotors were vented like they used to be the problem would be much less but they quit that (as did most manufacturers) because of the weight issue.

Thin rotors do warp faster than vented ones. It's a 2 fold problem. One they warp faster, two the dealers STILL jam the lug nuts on full bore with an air gun which is unacceptable because this warps thin rotors.

I have seen warped rotors with hand torqued lugs, it's definately less.