The one with the noisy rotors

So, in an effort to make the Intrepid more appealing to a buyer, I figured I should probably get rid of the sound of a G-65xtz warp drive winding down while braking. About 60,000 miles ago, I put on a set of cross-drilled and slotted rotors. They were a really big boost in braking performance, but as I came to find out, most of the performance gains were in the new pads I was using more than the upgraded rotors.

Back in January, my good friend Ben was up visiting from Uruguay and I let him borrow my car (...one of the extra 7 vehicles I have sitting around...). He called me the day after I dropped it off for him and commented saying that the brakes were totally worn out and down to metal on metal. I chuckled. "No, Ben, that's just the way those performance rotors sound when you get on 'em hard."

In all fairness, the noise has gotten significantly worse in the last year. When replacing them a few weeks ago, I realized that the slots had gotten packed with salty rusty goo. it filled them up and no longer allowed proper function of the slots (to excrete the build-up of gas during heavy braking - i.e. eliminating "fade"). It got so bad that there was enough consistent friction that it was heating up the entire disc, bearing, hub, through the wheel and into the tire. That's a lot of heat transfer... the last few times, it got the tires so warm, they smelled like burnt rubber. Not good. I'm amazed the rotors didn't warp under such extreme heat...

So, I was able to trade in a pair of old struts at NAPA that I bought about 4 years ago and exchanged for a new set of rotors for the front.

Here's the old (left) and standard new (right).


Ever wonder what the strut and arm assembly look like on the LH series of cars? Here you go. This is with the wheel, brake caliper, and brake rotor removed. The signs of 8 years in the salt belt are evident...


This is my "workspace," not my "office."


And the finished product... aren't they perrrrty? This was taken after "break in," involving numerous 60mph to 0mph hard stops in immediate succession.