Frozen rotors: F250

[MiataSteve]

Its time for brakes on my 04 F250. The brake pedal pulsates (warped rotor?) and the truck shakes on hard braking. The rotors are glazed, rusty and scored. I have read that cryogenically treated rotors allegedly last longer, wear better, and perform better than non treated. The processing technique sounds reasonable based on what little I now of heat treatment.

Has anybody tried these rotors on or off the track? Are they the answer for my heavy foot and warped rotors, or a waste of money?


http://www.frozenrotors.com/products/frozen-rotors/

[Dave_G]

I've never heard of them, let alone used them. But as an exercise, I checked the price for a front rotor for my Miata. It costs five times (!) as much as the rotors I usually use. They claim that they'll last three times longer. Even if I were inclined to take them at their word, that doesn't sound like a good deal to me.

BTW, here's some interesting reading on "warped rotors": The "Warped" Brake Disc and Other Myths of the Braking System

(That oughta stir up the hive a little bit. )

[breakaway500]

For your application,cryo rotors will be a waste of money. Don't get me wrong,the procedure is what it claims to be. The problem is,your truck is not experiencing heat warpage.

99% of the time,rotors on the F series rust out and cause the pulsation. There is not a lot you can do to prevent this from happening short of moving to a more arid climate.

Trucks generally do not get used every day,and rust loves a dormant hunk of iron. Storing the truck indoors will help,and puting the truck away dry will help as well. Yes,I know it is almost impossible in our climate,but such is life in new england.

Use an economical replacement rotor and a good pad. Make sure the calipers are not tight and the sliding pins are well lubricated,to allow the caliper to move freely,and not cause drag. If the caliper pistons have excessive resistance when you collapse them,replace the caliper. (as a pair)

Make sure your rear brakes are functioning 100% as this will also affect how hard the front brakes have to work.

[MiataSteve]

Well, I dont have a dial indicator (should have done more shopping berfore I got laid off from GE...me never ). The "wisdom" of http://www.ford-trucks.com/ indicates that warped rotors on SuperDuties is a common problem.

Breakaway, your post came up while I was typing. You reasoning sounds right. I did have the rears rust so much that they where scraping on the calipers.

[breakaway500]

I do at least one brake job on a Superduty a week. The only time I have seen a warped rotor has been due to calipers becoming frozen and dragging.When this occurs,the pads are cooked and everything smells bad.Reminds me of my Dads old Gremlin clutch after a long weekend.(sorry Dad..) Like I have said,99% of the time,the pulsating you are experiencing is from the irregular surface generated by the rusting rotor surface. Brake pads like nice,parallel,smooth surfaces to grab. If they are not parallel due to rust "spots",the brakes will shake the truck. The "wisdom" found on many forums is questionable at best.

[Stynger]

This is off the net, but this guy knows a thing or two.

http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_wa ... disk.shtml

[Dave_G]

Is there an echo in here? (See the second post.)

[Stynger]

Is there an echo in here? (See the second post.)

Sorry Dave, I guess I missed that.

Still good info.