zoomalot

I'd like to focus some discussion on the rear rotor rust. I refer to the rust that forms on the center portion of the rear rotor - the lug boss and up to the brake contact area.

Mazda has thus far refused to authorize my dealer to paint the rotors because I've had the car over 12 months. Mazda has paid for painting for some owners as a good will gesture, within the earlier of 12 months or 12K miles. Because mine is an early, pre-order car (8/03 delivery), I don't think I had a chance within 12 months to ask for this service because it's been only more recently that painting has been offered. If it's not warranty service, why should there be any time or mileage limit? I'd be interested learning the earliest anyone had the rotor paint paid by Mazda.

In looking at my rear rotors, I now think there's a problem with the alloy used for the rotor castings or the factory surface treatment. I think it's more than a good will issue for Mazda. It's not a safety issue, but these rear brakes look terrible on their flagship model.

It doesn't have to be this way. Mazda tried to tell me that it's normal for cars in the Northeast, what with winter road salt. Odd, though, that the front rotors on my car do not corrode in the same way. We all know that not all rotors do not rust the way our rears do. I also believe that the rust shows up in parts of the U.S. other than the Northeast. On mine, some spots on the rears are not rusted, so something isn't occurring as Mazda would like me to believe.

1. Is it expected that the rear rotors will rust? If so, how can there be areas free of rust?

2. Is it expected that the rear rotors will not rust? If so, why do we see any rust at all?

3. Is it also expected that the front rotors on a given car will rust? If so, why is no rust evident? (There is corrosion, but not of the same nature as on the rear.)

4. Which would look worse to you -- all rust, or some rusted areas along with some spots without rust?

5. Do later production parts (on, say, late 2004's and on 2005 cars) show the same strong tendency to rust?

I'd say that either the rear rotors should be replaced with the latest production parts, or they should be refinished. If paint will not be sufficient, then powder coating is what it will take.

I don't think owners should be so quick to paint the rotors themselves, unless you have a special color preference, because this is something Mazda should address, if only in their own interest in the appearance of their product.

foxman

You mean the hubs right? There has been a fair amount of discussion of rust on the hubs. Some dealers have fixed it. I painted mine myself. You could always try another dealer as I have found some will do things others won't, usually because of ignorance, imho. I got the same BS about the hubs being metal and rusting. Well look at other cars and see if they have rusting on the hubs? I can't find another car this new that has the same problem, and you are right, it is much worse on the rear than the front. I haven't painted the front yet but probably will when it gets warm again.

zoomalot

Yes, the hubs.

SilverStreak

I had the rear hub rust problem as well. But by the time I found out about the dealers offering to paint them I was also past 12 months (where they offer bumper to bumper on such stuff). I went to Griot's Garage (mail order, great car care products that i've used exclusively on my wife's 96 Miata) and bought a rust preventive coating that is gloss black and treated it myself over three months ago, no further rust. The reason you don't see the same on the front hubs is actually pretty simple...it is the brake dust that is more prevalent on the front wheels, it coats the hub as well so...no rust! I guess all of that front brake dust is good for something!

salituro64

Several people keep mentioning this hub rust issue and comparing it to other cars. I have looked at many cars with rims, and very few are designed in such a manner (cut really deep into the center like the 8) where you can see the hubs through the rims. Maybe this is why it is noticeable on the 8 and not many other cars.

philodox

Yes, the rear rotor hubs will rust because the pads aren't wide enough to cover the whole rotor face. So you'll have about 3/4" space between the pad and the inside of the rotor that will rust.

Gomez

You guys complain too much. It doesn't bother me.....

L8tr

Wow I didn't know they made copper brake rotors. Mine look very similar after washing, but not as shiny. Must have been your crome and the flash.

As for the inner hub part mine are starting to rust too. And I live in the NorthWest, so the road salt excuse is BS because we have none.

philodox

You haven't seen anything yet.. look at these rotors.. I snapped these pics at Flemington Mazda in NJ. This 8 has been sitting on the lot for 14 months. Some lady returned this because it was a lemon

Spin9k

I'll take a shot...

Are you meaning hubs? yes, looks like there is some coating or other, so it does not rust evenly.

our rotors will rust they are plain metal exposed. Hubs too. I think the calipers may only corode. Very unsightly. Notice most cars hide this area with wheel desgn.

not sure what you mean, I see rust, perhaps corrosion you see is caused by metal/water/brake dust?

yes!

yes from what I've seen

Again assuming hubs...Don't think that replacement will make a difference, except to start the cycle from the beginning again. Either good paint or powder coating - yes!

They should - it's embarassing! I wouldn't go painting the rotors, only the hubs and calipers. Only problem with this is if you wait for Mazda to offer, your hubs will rust first ! And would you trust your own careful work and expensive materials more than the dealers? I would.

My brake story - With 10K miles, even though I live in the rust belt and within 1/4 mile of ocean water, after 16 months my hubs were just very barely, and only very slightly starting to discolor, no rust per say. Why? My car rarely goes out in the rain (only by mistake or no choice), never in the snow. And yet I've seen horrible cases of rust on new cars at my dealers ? Is it some cars get salt spray coming over on the boat? Who knows?

Even though I'd put it off I figured if I waited longer to paint them . it would be a lot more work in rust removal than I wanted to do. Even still it wasn't much fun and stunk like hell, but what to do? So silver G2 on the hubs, red G2 on the calipers. Also silvered the dust shields as they were strting to rust.
But now no rust maybe ever again.

snap-on

Nice chrome wheels..

It still amazes me why these dealers simply don't fix this issue?

Remove lugs/ wire brush rust/ paint/ done

I think we have done 10 to date.

Go48

G2?

Spin9k

G2 = http://www.g2usa.com There's nothing else that does it this well.

Go48

Thanks Spin. I'll check it out. Did you purchase on line or locally?

Spin9k

Never could find it locally.. only this cheap spray can stuff...which besides making a mess... is nothing like three coats of epoxy paint. Also there was something about the paint only lasts 6 mo in the can... it needs to be fresh like eggs... I guess something to do with the epoxy stuff in the paint, so I got it at tirerack - figured they must got through it fairly fast.

Go48

Thanks. I found it on line for a reasonable price which included shipping. Will probably go for that.

zoomalot

Were the ones you've done paid for by the customer, or done as a courtesy to the customer? I certainly think dealers could step up and do this as a service to the customer for good will and support of the product. Mazda should cover it, though.

My dealer has changed stories. At one point, they quoted a price to paint the hubs, but later said anything they do wouldn't last anyway, and that they couldn't find the correct materials for the job. Not good for customer satisfaction.

zoomalot

Brake dust may be a good explanation for the difference in the front, although I think occasional road spray would wash most of it away. I think it's very possible that either the alloy or surface treatment is different for the front castings. Mazda Customer Assistance has not replied with any detail information about such differences between the parts.

zoomalot

Thanks for the comments, Spin9k. You wrote: "Again assuming hubs...Don't think that replacement will make a difference, except to start the cycle from the beginning again."

Right, replacement would make no difference if the new part is the same. I was thinking that a change in material may have been made by now. Not all cast irons are created equal.

For instance, I wonder how much bub rust there will be on Mazdaspeed models.

snap-on

I do them as a courtesy

SilverStreak

I think that it is brake dust on the front hub because I wiped the front hub down with a cloth, it mostly wiped off leaving the cloth coated. It looked almost like graphite on the cloth, very much like the dust I wiped from the inside of the wheels when I had them off. I clean my wheels about once a week but this was the first time that I had the wheels off the 8 when I treated the rear hubs. I thought that I would do the front hubs at the same time but they didn't have any rust, I suppose I should have cleaned them then treated them but I couldn't see the point as they would probably get covered again anyway. I don't have any info on whether the front hubs are of different alloy or surface treatment, just going with my observations at the time. Either way the treatment on the rear hubs is holding up very well, no rust at all (the Griot's Rust treatment bonds with the rust and creates a hard glossy black finish) and the fronts are not rusting.

downshift

This what I'm trying to do here: https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-multimedia-photo-gallery-6/rusted-rotor-hub-gallery-49027/#post677851
Bring awareness up on how embarrassing this could be for a car manufacturer that almost has every engineering detail done right except for the rotor hubs. If you have an issue with the rust, post a pic to that thread. Once we get a few pages rolling, we can send the link to MNAO or perhaps other automotive publications. If Mazda is not doing anything about it, at least we can make fun of this situation.