Pads and rotors

[mbuskuhl]

Any brake experts able to offer some advice?

Is there any negative effects to remove pad brand A and put on a used set of pad brand B? I'm wondering if 1) the rotor should be turned, and 2) if used pads with plenty of life left are fine vs. new pads.

[Gary L]

I don't consider myself an expert, but having listened to those I consider qualified, I always have the previous pads' "glaze" taken off the rotors before putting in a different composition.

I have no opinion on used pads... I've never actually tried it.

[iambhooper]

shop around, rotors can usually be found reasonable. nopi.com is a source for many parts, even o'reillys has good prices on brembo's and such. as for pads, what would make the older set better thant the current? if they have more material, go with them... maybe shimmng would help.

rotors can be had reasonable enough, i would never turn them.

[mbuskuhl]

Thanks, I think I'll have the surface scratched on a brake lathe. The rotors in question are two piece, not your standard rotor, and NOT going on an IT car. Basically I picked up a set of used, but plenty of life left two piece rotors for a car, the current pads on the car are fine so I was going to use them.

[Prof. Chaos]

Like others, I'm no expert. I have, however, run different pads on the same rotors (I was trying out several different kinds of street pads to see if there was any difference...sounds like what you're doing). I asked around before I did it, and the answer I seemed to get was to scuff the rotor with sandpaper between pads. I did this and it worked fine. I never tried it without scuffing the rotors, however, so I don't know if anything bad would have happened.

[iambhooper]

sorry, yes if you are doing this for a street car or an autocross ride, then scuffing the rotors with sand paper or steel wool would be good enough... you may also want to scuff the pads as well... i used to rub them on the driveway to scuff them down a bit (i don't do this on the race car, or with any high dollar street pads),