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Hi all, I purchased a Brilliant Black 2009 RX-8 R3 with ~100k miles about a year ago and have put 3k on it myself. I got it painted and ceramic coated so it looks pretty nice. I've done most of the stuff listed in the New and Potential Owners megathread "What should I address first?" section except for the motor mounts and bleeding the brakes which I'm gearing up to do.
The main reason for delaying is I want to clean up the whole braking system. I live in Southern California but the car isn't originally from here, and everything is rusty; the rotor edges, some of the calipers, all of the brake dust shields:
I want to keep the OEM brakes and rotors but I also want them to look nice and stay rust free. I'd also like something that would last a long time and I have no plans to track it. Sorry, time for a bunch of stupid questions:
Is it possible to clean off the rust off the rotors or will it immediately come back?
How likely is it I can clean and rebuild the calipers, and can I coat/paint them to prevent rust?
If I got new OEM rotors, would they just eventually rust like these ones?
Is there a good OEM-ish rotor/caliper I could replace things with to keep it looking nice?
Rotor rust will always come back, they're uncoated steel so there's not much you can do.. but what you can do is buy rotors that are coated. Most manufacturers have an option like that, Centric for example. My set was still coated when removed after track days and things. It's solid.
Unlike pads, track-oriented rotors are generally fine for the street as well, there's no downside except cost. Just don't get anything slotted/drilled/dimpled, etc. TireRack has good deals often.
R3 and most RX8s after 2006 are sports suspension/ rotors yes.
You can remove, rebuild and paint the calipers, it's a nice project, but without knowing your skill level, it's hard to say how likely that is to go well.
Thanks for replying! I'll start shopping for coated rotors and the stainless steel line kit.
I was curious about the caliper rebuild. I don't have a lot of experience working on cars to be honest, but I'm enjoying learning it as a hobby. Is there a rough estimate for how complicated is it and how long does it take?
I also found this when I was doing research before writing this post: https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tec...ebuild-184198/ The mention of rust inside the caliper / piston preventing the rebuild has me a bit worried since everything else is rusty....
Inside rust comes from water in the brake fluid, so it wouldn't have much to do with rust outside. If the previous owner did any brake fluid changes and didn't push the car too hard, it could well be fine. One way to find out
It's not complicated to rebuild if you're patient and thorough, the calipers are like any other car so any internet tutorial will give you a good foundation. You'll need a source of compressed air to push the pistons out.
I just recently purchased a 2011 RX-8 GT (to replace my 2005 GT). It very recently had new Magma cross-drilled/slotted rotors and Green Stuff pads installed. However it sat in damp conditions outdoors for a month or so and surface rust built up on the non-contact areas. I simply sanded them with a fine emery paper then gave them a good coat of silver paint.
For tougher rust I use an 80 grit flap wheel especially on the outside edge of the disc itself. Make sure you gently sand at a 45 degree angle as well to get the mushroomed edge off.
