3Fiddy Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 Hi Chaps, I’ve had my 04 350Z for 8 months now and I love it however I’ve come across an issue I could do with some expert advice on. When I test drove it there was allot of vibration in the pedals while breaking, more exaggerated at slow speeds. After a bit of negotiation the dealer agreed to replace OEM front disks and pads FOC before sale. After 6 months of happy driving I’m now getting a similar judder under gentle breaking to a standstill. It’s slowly getting worse and to a passenger it feels like I can’t apply consistent pressure to the brake pedal. At higher speeds its not noticeable and it seems like it’s only happening when the pads are just applying pressure to the disks. Time for the subjective part... I don’t think that I drive the car particularly hard. I’ve only had the ABS kick in once on a wet greasy road and I push it harder under acceleration than under braking. My driving style hasn’t changed much and I’ve never had an issue like this either in a track or road car. Also since the vibration has started there is also a small squeak from the front right when the wheel is turned in while manoeuvring into a parking space at very low speed. An older wiser person has told me that it is impossible to warp a break disk and it is more likely asynchronous wear of the pads or compound sticking to the disk in an uneven pattern. I’ve booked it in at the dealer next week and would really appreciate any advice you might have. I suspect that the dealer will try and fob me off with the old “it’s a sports car and you drive it too hard†but this has obviously affected two separate owners of the same car. Many thanks, Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 Usually judder under braking is pad material deposited in lumps on the disc. Look for pad imprints on the disc, they are pretty noticable. You more knowledgable friend is quite correct in that it is indeed very hard to warp discs these days. Saying that, I'm not convinced that this is pad deposit. When I had it on my car you could notice it at most speeds, more so at slowing speeds (50-30MPH) but could still tell it was there at high speed too. Sure the more knowledgable members will be along shortly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M13KYF Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 did the dealers change all the pads on the front p.s. Got your signature pic to work for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanS Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 Sounds like the brakes arent getting up to full temperature very often. Suggest you may want to do a couple of high speed runs and firmly brake down to 10-15 miles per hour. Sort of like the brake bedding in process (have a search for guidance). In my experience this will clear any deposits on the pads / disks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3Fiddy Posted April 16, 2009 Author Share Posted April 16, 2009 Mike thanks very much for sorting the signature pic. Good point about the pads, I kinda took their word for it that they had but i’ll check their service record. I’ll give some high speed breaking a go and see if that clears the problem. Most of the miles i’ve done recently have been at average speeds with gradual breaking so that matches your description. I’ll let you know how i get on. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M13KYF Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 Mike thanks very much for sorting the signature pic. Good point about the pads, I kinda took their word for it that they had but i’ll check their service record. I’ll give some high speed breaking a go and see if that clears the problem. Most of the miles i’ve done recently have been at average speeds with gradual breaking so that matches your description. I’ll let you know how i get on. Cheers best way to check the pads would be to actually remove them rather than just going by a service record. They could put down anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3Fiddy Posted April 16, 2009 Author Share Posted April 16, 2009 Woohoo, 4 runs from 80 down to 10 has sorted it! Thanks for the advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletMagnet Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 I love happy endings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanS Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 Good result mate Cheaper than an trip to the Stealers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 Good result mate Cheaper than an trip to the Stealers Indeedy. Just make sure from now on that whenever the brakes are warm/hot you dont apply them to a standstill. I used to get this a bit, but now just brake until almost at a stop and then let the car roll to a stop. Obviously in traffic just leave a nice big gap so you dont have to stop dead. I also used to get it from parking with the handbrake on when the brakes were warm. Now park up with the car in gear and handbrake off when the brakes are warm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3Fiddy Posted April 17, 2009 Author Share Posted April 17, 2009 Cheers Chris, definitely going to take more care braking to a stop. My drive has a slope where I park which can’t be helping. Roughly how many miles has everyone been getting out of the OEM disks and pads? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M13KYF Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 Cheers Chris, definitely going to take more care braking to a stop. My drive has a slope where I park which can’t be helping. Roughly how many miles has everyone been getting out of the OEM disks and pads? Got 32k out of my discs on the front. Probably could of gone for another 6k but need to change pads on the back so did them all round and change the front discs to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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