pads and squeak

[Wayne Cox]

At 11:42 AM 10/28/2002 -0600, you wrote:
>on my old b-13 GXE, I was getting a brake job and the mechanic told me
>that Nissan rotors were good for about 1-2 turnings. Nissan made them thin
>to cut weight and cost. Is this true?

That's a rumor I've heard from several old-school and/or redneck mechanics.

1970s cars I've owned or worked on usually had beefy, oversize brake rotors
that would usually survive a couple turnings.  This was partly because the
rotor was also the wheel hub & bearing carrier and had to be a lot heavier
construction.  They'd usually outlast the rest of the car (which was doing
good to last 100K miles back then.)

When cars started getting high-tech and economy conscious, engineers
started looking for places to shed mass.  Losing it anywhere was good for
fuel economy, but lowering un-sprung mass (like rotors, hubs and
wheels)  also helps handling, ride and acceleration.  At the same time, the
smaller more simply designed rotor was cheaper lowering the purchase price
of the car, as well as being closer to a "disposable" item when it wore.

But you'll find plenty of good ol' boy mechanics that will insist it's "so
them damn Japs can sell you more parts."  These are the same rocket
scientists that have half a dozen reasons why compact spare tires and EFI
are Evil Things.

    -Wayne  91 NK2k,  93 NX2k,  92 SE-R-Parts-Car