Hi all,
I am a relatively new owner of an RX8 (2nd owner). I searched the threads and looked at stickies and found nothing about this issue. If there is an old thread I missed someone please point me in the right direction.

Anyways, my brakes vibrate, more significantly at high speeds and more when they are hot. Enough that it effects car dynamics and I think myabe traction if I were to try really laying into them. My friend w/ an M3 says this happens on his and is somewhat normal for high-performance cars but to me it feels like warped discs. Any hints? Would warranty cover? Oh, car has 24k on it, smells of rich mahogany, and I keep many leather bound books in it.

 

I am not an expert but have a little experience and a thought.

I have had vibrations under braking at the end of two days of High Performance Driving which turned out to be from uneven brake pad deposits on my rotors. Once they cooled and I drove under more controlled fashion for a few weeks, the deposits went away and my brakes are back to smooth as glass.

Warped rotors are the obvious first culprit and in addition to uneven deposits, the only two potential solutions I can think of - short of seriously screwed up brake pads...installed incorrectly or something similar.

In your situation, if you haven't been on the track to reeeaaallly use your brakes, I would find it hard to believe that you have uneven deposts or warped rotors. You are unlikely to have generated enough heat to do it.

However, if it is deposits, you can try to 'bed' your pads. Having a pad with a little more bite than the OEM pads would help this.

Lastly, take it to the dealer - don't screw around with braking issues.

My$0.02

 

lets be smart about this i would hope for you and others on the roed you have a good friend or person at the dealership to check your brakes .there is nothing worst than hoping they will work when you need them the most!!brakes on the rx8 are great when will taken care of!you need to think of what might happen if you let this go and god forbid you have an accident in which you having these repaired would or will save lives!

thanks this is not to flame you but sometmes you don't get a second chance.plus warranty covers most of your problems at no charge to you.have fun and be safe!!

 

thanks for the advice guys. But what does "bedding" the brakes mean? I've seen that around a couple times but never learned what it was. Between warping, deposits, and pads I think it's time to get a pro to look at it. Oh, and the first owner did Auto-X it for a bit so there was the potential for heat generation. Just don't know up front the brake service history. The car is probably due for a turn-and-cough anyways

 

www.stoptech.com

These guys have lots of good FAQs regarding brakes and proper operation and terms. You should probably check them out.

 

I think you have warped rotors.

It's a used car and you don't know what the other driver did.

Get some ceramic pads at Porterfield http://www.porterfield-brakes.com/

 

i say just get after market rotors... i had problems with my stock ones back then too. it squeeks like hell and stuff, but after i changed it... nothing like that ever happened again!