Steering wheel shakes/vibrates when braking at high speeds

[sip]

The steering wheel shakes left to right when braking at 120 kmh. I put new tires recently and the shop did not tell me that my brakes are bad. Could this be bad rotors or a tire balancing issue?

The steering wheel does not shake when braking at low speeds but slightly vibrates when going over imperfections on the road.

If the problem is with the rotors, should I fix it now, as I do not notice any braking problem when driving at normal speeds. What are reasonably priced rotors? For pads, I guess I will go with Hawk HPS, as they highly recommended in this forum.

[sip]

Sorry. Wrong section.

[omalak]

i'm no expert but i would guess rotors.

i would go with Hawk Pads and OEM rotors. i find OEMs don't rust, but if you pick up Aimico or any other generic brand, they tend to rust at around the hub. I'm not sure what the story is on cross drilled, looks good but some say they are more prone to warping than solid.

Either way Hawk pads and OEM rotors are my pick

[loosecannon]

i'm no expert but i would guess rotors.

i would go with Hawk Pads and OEM rotors. i find OEMs don't rust, but if you pick up Aimico or any other generic brand, they tend to rust at around the hub. I'm not sure what the story is on cross drilled, looks good but some say they are more prone to warping than solid.

Either way Hawk pads and OEM rotors are my pick

What? I heard blanks are more prone to warping over cross-drilled/slotted, due to the fact that the former don't dissipate heat as fast as the latter types.

[mazdaagain]

it's 100 % rotors - they are warped. M3 OEM rotors are too think to machine so you have to replace them.

[midnightfxgt]

Yup, rotors! Bad wheel balancing will not happen only during braking, it will happen all of the time.

The shop who did the tires would only do a visual inspection (at most) which wont show a warpped rotor.

-John

[krimsalt]

Yup, rotors! Bad wheel balancing will not happen only during braking, it will happen all of the time.

The shop who did the tires would only do a visual inspection (at most) which wont show a warpped rotor.

-John


it's 100 % rotors - they are warped. M3 OEM rotors are too think to machine so you have to replace them.

It's 99% your rotors. The vibrating steering wheel over slight imperfections is normal as the shocks absorb the impact.

[sip]

As I don't have this problem under normal driving and steering wheel vibrates only under high speed breaking, can I just driving without replacing the rotors. I feel doing a break job is a waste, as I have no issues for 99% of the time. What is the downside of delaying the repair?

How are Aimico rotors? I got a quote for $65, which seems expensive for non-OME? How are compared to Centric? Some say to put the cheapest rotors as they are a chuck of metal.

[SonicBoy]

Bad advice to go cheap. The rotors will just warp again if not sooner. You can see Omalak has stated not to go with Amico with his personal experience.

Going with cross drilled, you will here a slight hum when braking hard but should not get any vibrations if they are true.

If the runout is not too bad, some shops will turn the rotors to eliminate the warped surface but this will more than likely cause them to warp again as the material is now thinner.

I'd suggest getting OEM rotors from one of the sponsor dealerships here saving you some $$$.

There is a lot more on TM3 regarding this issue.

You will even see that someone will chime in about not torquing your wheels properly is causing the vibrations.

[krimsalt]

As I don't have this problem under normal driving and steering wheel vibrates only under high speed breaking, can I just driving without replacing the rotors. I feel doing a break job is a waste, as I have no issues for 99% of the time. What is the downside of delaying the repair?

If the rotors are warped, their always warped even if you don't feel it. This causes a constant in-and-out-pull on your drive train which will accelerate the wear on your wheel-bearings. You can also cause damage to your caliper's piston which is constantly being slid in and out rapidly as you drive/brake.