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Old 06-19-2018, 12:57 PM   #1
rumatt
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Join Date: Oct 2003
Carmudgeonly Ride: E46 330i, Chevy Colorado, Tesla Model 3
Location: NY
Posts: 17,475
Pulsing f*cking brake rotors

The E46 has been fantastic since getting it back from JV, except one thing. I'm still struggling with pulsing brake rotors. I put on new rotors and pads a while back and it was perfect - for about 2 weeks. Then it slowly came back.

How to fix it

I have bed them multiple times. It makes it better, but doesn't fix it entirely. I can still feel the pulsing ever so slightly (I have PTSD over this so I can feel it coming on well before most people ) and sure enough it gets worse and worse over time.

Am I not bedding them enough? I usually stop when I feel the brake pedal getting soft because I'm worried I'm going to boil the brake fluid. Am I supposed to keep going?

Zeckhausen recommends using race pads to remove a layer from your pads to start fresh. I might try this and then re-bed them with the stock pads... (or bed with the race ones?). I need to try something different this time so it's not more of the same.


How to prevent it

I do my best to avoid stopping with my foot on the brake, to the point of being obsessive. Maybe I'm doing it without realizing it? But I mean, how fragile should these things be? I have to be able to stop on a hill once in a while without needing to re-bed my brakes, right?

I also don't drive very aggressively any more or get them particularly hot. Maybe that's part of the problem? Maybe if I get them bed in properly once the problem will go away?

And this hasn't happened on the Cayman or the Colorado so I'm having a hard time blaming my driving. And with the auto in the truck I'm on the brake every time I stop to prevent the truck from pulling me forward. And at 3K miles the rotors are smooth as could be.

Last edited by rumatt; 06-19-2018 at 01:13 PM.
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