stainless steel disc brakes

[bjp65stang]

anyone seen or put stainless steel disc brakes on their 'Z???

[bjp65stang]

I don't drive as much now as I will in the months to come and the rotors seem to rust up quite a bit. Any suggestions?

[TinTin]

drive more. it will scrape off the rotors, this is normal.

[Currently]

Stainless retains heat more than regular steel.

You want the disks to cool down faster as the hotter they get, the less effective they become. One can compensate with different brake pads but everything is a compromise.

The property is called thermal conductivity ... stainless is around 16 and carbon steel is 43.

[bjp65stang]

so when just driving more is not an option, how can one prevent the rusting?

[bizzybear]

it's surface rusting... it's not damaging them at all... EVERY car with steel rotors have this issue...

[bjp65stang]

ok. someone told me it'll freeze them up and damage rotors. thanks Bizz!

[TinTin]

Yea after like 5 years of sitting by the road or something. I had an old mercury topaz i got when i was 15 for doing hay at a neighbors place. The thing was a wreck but we got it started. The brakes were seized on that car tho. It had been sitting next to a field for a couple years. The thing was fun to rip around in tho. Beating the crap out of it siezed brakes and all.

[engineered2win]

Originally Posted by Currently

Stainless retains heat more than regular steel.

You want the disks to cool down faster as the hotter they get, the less effective they become. One can compensate with different brake pads but everything is a compromise.

The property is called thermal conductivity ... stainless is around 16 and carbon steel is 43.

Thermal conductivity is only part of the problem.

The main reason is that cast iron has a low thermal expansion coefficient (almost 40% lower), which is why it's used almost exclusively for brake rotors. Essentially it is more thermally stable. Stainless has a high thermal expansion coefficient, which is the reason it is difficult to weld without warping. Aftermarket performance rotors may have an aluminum or steel hat, but the rotor itself is cast iron or ceramic.

[lexicon]

You just have to drive it more and use them - I've had several sets of back disks (and a pair of calipers) in recent years because I "don't use them enough" according to various dealers. Bear in mind that I do about 500 miles a week BUT I'm really light on the brakes - now I make a conscious effort to brake firmly every so often to clean them up.