[m6-lt1]

I am having a really frustrating issue with my car (16 Camaro SS). I am on my 3rd set of rotors and pads in less than a year.

A year plus ago I started getting some shaking in the steering wheel while braking. Car had 45k miles on it and my favorite twisty road I would drive hard on it downhill so i figured I cooked the rotors from that plus they were getting worn out due to mileage. I changed the pads and rotors some time last August/September. I bought the exact OEM parts.

I did a track day in October and during my second session I started getting a violent shake in the steering wheel when braking above and around 60. I did not have the brake ducts installed but i did have new Dot 4 fluid in it. I didn't think not having the brake ducts installed would do this but I figured that + improper bedding/not bedding them hard enough messed them up. After the track day they started shaking from 60-20mph. They got worse when I tried rebedding them.

Flash forward to now. A month ago I installed new pads and rotors again but this time I went with Power stop standard OE style rotors and their track day pads. Shake was gone for a month and now it's back but it only shakes when braking lightly from 60-30.

I have done absolutely zero performance driving/braking since the install aside from the bedding procedure. I literally drove all the way out to the country to bed them because I did not want to risk having to come to a stop with hot brakes and I needed space to do the bedding as well. I'm pretty sure I applied the brakes hard enough as I learned my lesson from before. There is less than 1000 miles, maybe 500 miles on the new setup up front. I have the brake ducts installed as well.

I washed my car last weekend but I know not to get water on hot rotors (even though I only drove in a civil manner that morning to a C&C in light rain) and waited about 3 hours before washing my wheels. I did drive in some light rain but I don't think that would hurt my rotors since I was driving civil.

I did a search and saw people where getting their rotors replaced/cut under warranty with very little miles early on when these cars first came out. Does anyone know what the heck can cause shaking under braking aside from warped/uneven deposits on rotors? Does anyone know how to check for a sticky caliper?

I am getting frustrated with the car and I'm pretty close to dumping it over this issue as I don't want to be replacing brakes more often then I feel like I should be. Tires were recently balanced so I don't think that's it either. Again, ZERO hard driving aside from the bedding since the new setup.

[m6-lt1]

Here are what my front rotors look like.

[FlukeSS]

Alignment or maybe tire balancing? Caliper piston not squeezing evenly maybe?

Only things I can think of not related to the rotor or pads?

Unfortunately I am not mechanically inclined. I'm sure one of the other guys will comment on the sticky caliper.

[SS_Don]

Could be one caliper not engaging.

[cthulhucaller]

I would inspect the front brake linings to see if they are wearing evenly across all four. If so, I'd check the front suspension components for wear or damage.
Reading the pads can help diagnose a lot of brake issues, or at least let you know where to focus your efforts. You want them to be similarly worn, friction material still parallel to the metal when laid flat, and no spots of greater wear. Placing a rotor on a known very flat surface can also be diagnostic.

[dpevans]

You are not supposed to leave the ducts on for daily driving. You are watering down the rotors when it rains. Have you used a dial indicator on the rotors to see if they are warped, looks like 4 piston brembo have you check to see if all 4 pistons are working properly and not froze up, is the system bled properly have you even done a full flush with DOT4. Is there a build up of rust between the backside of the rotor and the wheel bearing surface causing a wheel balance problem. I have purchased rotors that were already warped so I check run out whenever I put a new set on any of my cars sometimes you just get cheap China junk no matter what it says on the box. i know we had an issue with my dad's car where it would shake violently when braking and it turned out to be a separated cord in a front tire and the only way to tell is to look inside the tire. good luck.

[m6-lt1]

Originally Posted by dpevans

You are not supposed to leave the ducts on for daily driving. You are watering down the rotors when it rains. Have you used a dial indicator on the rotors to see if they are warped, looks like 4 piston brembo have you check to see if all 4 pistons are working properly and not froze up, is the system bled properly have you even done a full flush with DOT4. Is there a build up of rust between the backside of the rotor and the wheel bearing surface causing a wheel balance problem. I have purchased rotors that were already warped so I check run out whenever I put a new set on any of my cars sometimes you just get cheap China junk no matter what it says on the box. i know we had an issue with my dad's car where it would shake violently when braking and it turned out to be a separated cord in a front tire and the only way to tell is to look inside the tire. good luck.

I only drove in a light drizzle once with the ducts installed. I’ve seen people say they’ve done track days in the rain with them on so I figured that 10 minute drive would have been okay. I didn’t go in any puddles and max speed was 45 mph so I dont think much water droplets came through the ducts. Also when we wash our wheels the rotors get hosed down pretty good so I don’t think water hurts them that much. I don’t daily/drive the car in rain aside from that one shirt trip so that’s why I have left the ducts on.

Interesting I never heard someone get bad rotors straight out of the box. Yes I did a flush of the braking system less than a year ago. I did clean the hub surface before mounting the rotor. Maybe I didn’t do a good enough job

I guess something I’m trying to figure out is how do I check if any of the pistons in the calipers have froze? I was able to push them back in before installing new pads. Would that mean it’s not frozen? I do not own a dial indicator so I haven’t tried that.

[m6-lt1]

Originally Posted by cthulhucaller

I would inspect the front brake linings to see if they are wearing evenly across all four. If so, I'd check the front suspension components for wear or damage.
Reading the pads can help diagnose a lot of brake issues, or at least let you know where to focus your efforts. You want them to be similarly worn, friction material still parallel to the metal when laid flat, and no spots of greater wear. Placing a rotor on a known very flat surface can also be diagnostic.

I was thinking of taking the pads out because these pads make a lot dust (I expected a decent amount but not this much). I was going to throw the last set I had in it (oem and plenty of meat left as they have like 3k on them). I guess it will be obvious if the pads aren’t wearing evenly across the surface?

[KirkH]

Uneven lug nut torques can cause shaking.

[Camaro fanboy]

Originally Posted by SS_Don

Could be one caliper not engaging.

yep. had this happen on a few cars in my lifetime. sticking piston in the caliper can cause this.
it's nearly always the rotor though. try removing them and making sure the mating surfaces are pristine clean.

[SomeGeoffGuy]

When you mount the wheel - sometimes there is light corrosion on the face of the hub, and the rotor and wheel won't seat right. I have seen some tire place hit the face with a light grinding disk to smooth it out.

-Geoff

[ctrlz]

Originally Posted by m6-lt1

I was thinking of taking the pads out because these pads make a lot dust...

I had bad luck with the stock setup. This is a daily driver and I don't track the car. I am not a hard braker or brake rider. I went through 2 sets of front rotors under warranty for what you describe. "Warped" rotor is technically disc thickness variation (DTV).
My opinion is the stock semi-metallic pads are too hard on the rotors. Hence all the dust and problems.
I switched my fronts to Power stop ceramic pads and am much happier with dust/vibration issues. I don't notice any loss in stopping power in daily use. I suspect the semi-metallics would be better in a demanding track situation.

[JamesNoBrakes]

Resonance/harmonics is another reason. Gen 5 camaros had "roller skate" weights on the brake pads to reduce vibration. Unfortunately, this kind of vibration is hard to solve, new pads might fix it, new rotors might fix it, but it's because the pads frequency is the same as the rotors and they vibrate back and forth and that back and forth just gets bigger and bigger, until it starts warping the rotors. This is a common issue with in automobiles, at least it's a well known issue. It just doesn't have a simple solution always. You have to do something to change the frequency and in rare situations, totally different calipers.

[95 imp]

Originally Posted by dpevans

You are not supposed to leave the ducts on for daily driving.

I think the reasoning is that you will "over cool" the rotors while street driving. There needs to be a certain amount of heat in the brake system to operate at maximum efficiency.

Originally Posted by dpevans

I have purchased rotors that were already warped so I check run out whenever I put a new set on any of my cars sometimes you just get cheap China junk no matter what it says on the box. i know we had an issue with my dad's car where it would shake violently when braking and it turned out to be a separated cord in a front tire and the only way to tell is to look inside the tire. good luck.

It should be done cold first. If excessive runout isn't seen, drive the car until it starts to shudder, then remeasure. The heat can cause the rotors to warp.

As far as an out of balance issue, It should shudder with the brakes or without.

It also could be a tire cord issue (extra force/weight shifted forward during braking), or caliper issue (one side dragging and heating up half the rotor)..