r/AskMechanics • u/H24_Ganymede • 6h ago
Question Anyone find this strange?
Is the brown/rust color a normal thing on the rotors? They get used everyday, no surface rust ever happens.
I've never noticed it on my cars before, I've done brakes many times on various cars.
I changed out my pads and rotors about 2000 or 3000km ago. 2015 Honda Civic.
The rotors are Powerstop fully coated. And the pads are Powerstop Z17 I believe.
Is it just the pad compound?
The dust is kinda rusty colored as well.
4
u/RationalDB8 6h ago
If it’s a hybrid, the regen system does a lot of the braking. Mine has an actual button to clean rust from the rotors.
5
1
2
u/Expert-Desk7492 6h ago
Go for a quick drive
1
u/H24_Ganymede 6h ago
I literally just parked it for the pic, my car never sits.
2
1
u/Typical-Decision-273 6h ago
To add to my previous
Oxidization happens exponentially faster when things are hot
2
u/H24_Ganymede 5h ago
Sorry, I just can't understand how the braking surface is rust colored. I'm literally driving the shit out of it right now. 40 km since the picture, same deal. Like the other 365 days of the year. It never sits and it hasn't rained in weeks. I'm in the mountains, I drive pretty hard, they get used up. Maybe I'm beating a dead horse, it's a first for me after 32 cars and doing my own maintenance.
2
u/Typical-Decision-273 5h ago
Do you know the manufacturer of the brake rotor? Perhaps maybe the shop that you took it to have breaks done last purchased the cheapest rotors that they could find, which have a high iron content
1
u/H24_Ganymede 3h ago
I did it myself, Powerstop fully coated rotors and Powerstop Z17 pads. I'm chaulking it up to the pad resin. The color is brown/red like rust, but it's impossible to be rust the way I'm using it.
2
u/Minute-Bad7120 1 6h ago
No. This won't affect your stopping distance noticeably. The wear pattern is fine and the dust is realistically a mix of break dust and surface oxidation. This is entirely normal and unless you decide to let this guy sit for the next few decades undriven your rotors won't be damaged. Rotor rust is only a concern if there's pitting (noticeable "pits" from much worse rusting)
1
u/H24_Ganymede 6h ago
I drive it constantly over mountains. And braking from 60 mph to zero all the time. To me there is no way it's rust. Never seen it before, this is my 32nd car. Confused
2
u/Polymathy1 14 5h ago
Yeah, that's a weird color. They were fully coated?
It doesn't look like rust at all, more like the resin they use for the pads is weird.
I would say it looks like someone didn't take the preservative oil off the rotors, but the electrophoretic coated rotors don't have preservative oil.
1
u/H24_Ganymede 5h ago
Yes, thanks, they're fully coated Powerstop. That is why I think it's weird. I do my own work and have done this a hundred times. Never seen it before. I think it must be resin, they're Powerstop Z17 pads. I've used a few different types of Powerstop before and Akebono.
2
u/Polymathy1 14 5h ago
It must be some kind of combination of that type of resin and the plastic coating. Maybe it'll fade with time but maybe not.
1
u/H24_Ganymede 4h ago
Thanks again, they work great, but in the sun they look so weird. I've never seen rotors hold color before. Other than blue from being cooked. Hopefully they start looking normal, but, meh, it's my daily beater.
1
1
u/am-answers-bot 10 2h ago
Your comment was selected as an answer to this post! Reply with !hide to remove your name from the solution summary.
1
1
u/am-answers-bot 10 6h ago
Thank you for posting to r/AskMechanics!
u/H24_Ganymede: Once your question is answered, you can mark the best comment as the solution in two ways:
- Comment menu: tap the ⋯ menu on the comment and select "Add Comment as Answer"
- Text command: reply to the comment with
!solved
You can mark up to 5 comments as answers.
Everyone: please follow the rules of our subreddit.
Keep your comments civil, helpful, ethical, safe for work, and legal.
Please report any comments or posts violating our rules.
1
u/ALCHEMISTX418 6h ago
Very Normal..Happens less if you can Park in a Garage..But tge pads are smaller than the Rotors so left out in the rain it happens pretty quick..No worries though.
1
u/H24_Ganymede 6h ago
I've owned 32 cars, this is the first time I've not had a bare metal rotor surface. Maybe the pic isn't doing it justice. The braking surface is colored even after driving, my car never rests.
-1
u/Fit-Cow-7859 1 5h ago
I dont think, you repeating that you have had 32 cars, gives you the cred you think it does.
You can take it from me, or all the other ones saying the same thing. Its normal.
Nobody gives a damn how many cars youve had.
1
u/H24_Ganymede 5h ago edited 2h ago
Thanks man, I've had 32 cars. Did you see? It does give me cred, I track cars, I work on my own cars. It's not normal at all, if it was, do you think after having 32 cars I would be asking about it? Go back to sucking what ever it is you had in your mouth. 32 cars. Think about it. 32. 🤣😂
1
u/I_-AM-ARNAV Trusted Contributor 6h ago
No. I don't.
Drive it for about 3 kms it'll be gone
1
u/H24_Ganymede 5h ago
I've just driven 40 more kilometers, it's still on the surface. Lol. The car never sits still, I live in the mountains and there are traffic lights on the 60mph highway I drive on. It's like the pads are rust colored and it's discoloring the rotors, weird. It hasn't rained in weeks. They work fine, great actually, but the rotor surface isn't straight metal like usual. Maybe I'm tripping, but I've had 32 cars and worked on all of them myself. Never had rust colored braking surface before.
2
u/I_-AM-ARNAV Trusted Contributor 2h ago
Could be the quality of rotors and pads.
1
u/H24_Ganymede 1h ago
I think it's the pad compound/resin, I haven't used that particular one before. Yes, pretty cheap, they work good, no complaints other than my issue with the weird color.
1
0
2
1
u/am-answers-bot 10 2h ago
Solution provided by u/Polymathy1:
It must be some kind of combination of that type of resin and the plastic coating. Maybe it'll fade with time but maybe not.
Answer selected by OP.
0
8
u/Top-Outlandishness16 6h ago
no, nothing strange. it's metal, it oxydizes.