Bought Mintex brakes but may not put them please help.....

616 Views 5 Replies 5 Participants Last post by jhillyer, Jan 26, 2004

BoraBarn4

Discussion Starter · Jan 9, 2004

I was just talking to a shop about putting on four new Mintex Red Box brakes and he told me that he would have true all of the rotors and level them out and recalibrate everything and told me that I can't just put the brake pads on because they won't sit right with the existing rotors and they won't stop correctly. Is there any truth to this? I was thinking that I could just put on the brake pads without new rotors, but he was talking all kinds of high prices and told me I'd be better off just lubing up my existing brakes. Any comments or suggestions?

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MikekiM

· #2 · Jan 9, 2004

It's always recommended to either a) resurface your existing rotors, if there is enough material, or b) purchase new rotors, whenever you change your brake pads.
Having said that, it IS possible to simply slap on new pads without performing a or b. However, this can result in less than ideal braking, you might experience some noise, or shudder, since the rotors won't have a perfectly smooth surface, and the new pads would take some time to bed into the grooves on the existing rotors.
Replacement plain face rotors are relatively cheap these days, so we're not talking hundreds of dollars. Check some websites for OEM brake rotors. Look for quality parts from Brembo, Zimmermann or ATE.

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Vdubs

· #3 · Jan 9, 2004

Re: Bought Mintex brakes but may not put them please help..... (BoraBarn4)

If the rotors are worn or damaged they should be replaced, if not then there is no reason at all why they can't be used with new pads. All pads take time to bed-in and using a serviceable rotor wont make any difference to that.
If you doubt the advice given by your mechanic ask another one, a qualified mechanic should have been trained in the difference between a serviceable rotor and one that isn't.
You could even check out some rotor makers websites, some are bound to show pics of what is acceptable and what isn't.
What exactly did he mean by recalibrate everything and what was he thinking of lubing on your existing brakes? Sure sounds like sales crap to me. That's my opinion based on being a mechanic for 24+ years and my own shop for the last 16 years.

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spitpilot

· #4 · Jan 11, 2004

Re: Bought Mintex brakes but may not put them please help..... (Vdubs)

If you don't resurface the rotors its a good idea to scuff em up a bit with emery cloth to break the glaze on the surface so new pads will seat quicker. I also do this with flywheels during clutch changes (as long as clutch is changed B4 flywheel gets chewed up badly) with good results! http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif

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BoraBarn4

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jan 11, 2004

Re: Bought Mintex brakes but may not put them please help..... (spitpilot)

Thanks for the replies guys, I'm going to research some more places tomorrow and get some quotes. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif

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jhillyer

· #6 · Jan 26, 2004

Re: Bought Mintex brakes but may not put them please help..... (BoraBarn4)

Some good advice so far.
I'm saddened by the idea of grinding away new Mintex pads by roughening a used rotor. Sure, have the rotor turned true-flat, okay, but a "quick hand-job" is sloppy.

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