-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
@DrComputer ...with the rattles from the brakes, read @Mark77a's post regarding one remedy of fixing the rattle: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/posts/1720573/
The CarboTech brake pads are designed to expand when heated and under heavy braking over the stock pads. A few things you can do to address rattles due to this design enhancement: 1) do what Mark did and re-tension the spring plate that's on top of the caliper. The one with the arrow on it. 2) put CRC red goo (brake quiet) that's not a spray on the back of the pad. Let it set in when applied. READ THE FOLLOW the INSTRUCTIONS!! I failed to do that and it, applied, installed and they began to rattle after a month. Thanks to @strider for pointing out you must read and follow the instructions for this to work as designed. 3) Buy brake pad buffers that go on the caliper, again its in the forums. You can do one of any 3, a pick and choose of some, or just one and that will fix the rattle. It typically comes from the front and you can tell its this if it goes away when you apply your brakes while its happening, it'll go away.
As for re-using your CarboTech brake pads, you ABSOLUTELY can do this. Don't waste them and people on the Lotus Elise group do sell their used high performance pads to others. Sand down the face which is always a good practice when their off using emery paper or sandpaper, then follow the standard brake pad to rotor break in instructions. Which you can google but you drive the car hard and do a bunch of hard braking at 65+ MPH. This puts a coat of brake material all over the mating surface of the rotor that is essential to get proper braking performance. I reused my AX6's and had put over 30k miles on the AX6's when I installed the CFR 2 piece rotors from Dave. No issue. I have about 25k on the Roadster with the combination of the used AX6s and Dave's CRF rotors and glad I do on every drive..
The CarboTech brake pads are designed to expand when heated and under heavy braking over the stock pads. A few things you can do to address rattles due to this design enhancement: 1) do what Mark did and re-tension the spring plate that's on top of the caliper. The one with the arrow on it. 2) put CRC red goo (brake quiet) that's not a spray on the back of the pad. Let it set in when applied. READ THE FOLLOW the INSTRUCTIONS!! I failed to do that and it, applied, installed and they began to rattle after a month. Thanks to @strider for pointing out you must read and follow the instructions for this to work as designed. 3) Buy brake pad buffers that go on the caliper, again its in the forums. You can do one of any 3, a pick and choose of some, or just one and that will fix the rattle. It typically comes from the front and you can tell its this if it goes away when you apply your brakes while its happening, it'll go away.
As for re-using your CarboTech brake pads, you ABSOLUTELY can do this. Don't waste them and people on the Lotus Elise group do sell their used high performance pads to others. Sand down the face which is always a good practice when their off using emery paper or sandpaper, then follow the standard brake pad to rotor break in instructions. Which you can google but you drive the car hard and do a bunch of hard braking at 65+ MPH. This puts a coat of brake material all over the mating surface of the rotor that is essential to get proper braking performance. I reused my AX6's and had put over 30k miles on the AX6's when I installed the CFR 2 piece rotors from Dave. No issue. I have about 25k on the Roadster with the combination of the used AX6s and Dave's CRF rotors and glad I do on every drive..
Last edited:
Quick update, only 6 more folks need to pay so I can get this going! Please arrange payment so I can get started and get the rotors to all of you as soon as possible! E-mail me if you have questions, [email protected].
Have a great weekend,
Dave
Have a great weekend,
Dave
shrink
Member
I apologize everybody. I meant to get my payment in the mail last week, but have been absolutely swamped.
Dave, I emailed you earlier this morning. I can get payment to you via PayPal tonight. I'll go with the AX6 pads, too.
shrink
Member
I just submitted my payment. Thanks for your patience, everybody.
I'm very excited. It's cooling off in Phoenix so unlike the rest of the country I'm about to take the hard top off and enjoy some cooler weather to me (and what the rest of you call "summer weather"). I can't wait to take test these rotors out with some spirited top down driving!
I'm very excited. It's cooling off in Phoenix so unlike the rest of the country I'm about to take the hard top off and enjoy some cooler weather to me (and what the rest of you call "summer weather"). I can't wait to take test these rotors out with some spirited top down driving!
Dave can chime in... but I can say Dave was kind enough to offer the rotors as the same price as the first run. Full details on price structure are further up the thread. Specs are going to be exactly the same as the first run.
I had no need to do 0-60 testing, I could feel the difference. You can hammer down on the brakes all you want it it'll hold tight. Pure confidence in the braking I have now. It got rid of the issue when I was on highway 17 pushing the Roadster hard and doing heavy braking when running the CarboTech's on the stock rotors. If you start pushing them harder and harder, you start seeing the braking performance start to diminish under continued stress. I could feel/tell it was the rotors. Also wanted to get away from those stupid drilled holes in the rotors that trapped the brake dust and really just made your braking even worse. You need big holes bored in your rotors to make that concept work. Drilled rotors also start to crack starting right at a drill point when they get heated/cooled/heated/etc. The slotted ones are the best in my opinion for wicking out the dust from under your pad and having it blow off before the next rotation. Also you won't have the crazy rusting the OEM rotors do after a rain or a wash with your car where and then taking the next drive, all to find out you're not able to stop due to the rust acting like little marbles. We did two metal treatments performed on the custom rotors, the base is the same process Chevy does on the Volts(FNC), the second is what EBC rotor's do as well as other manufacturers (Black Oxide).
If you want to see what they look like in person and find yourself in Sanat Cruz let me know, I'm happy to show them to you. Also @Msjulie lucked out and has them on her newly acquired 1.5 Roadster. That was Tesla940's old ride and he got in on the 1st group buy. So you could also ask if you can see her's as well since she's in Los Gatos closer to you.
It will be hard to do a test that reveals the most significant differences between rotors. To give an example, yesterday it rained and today I washed my car and got the rotors soaked. With the OEM rotors there are now 2 layers of rust. The first time you step on the brakes the pads will have to clean all that rust off, which will be hard because the pads (especially the OEM pads) will already be saturated with rust from the previous time you washed your car. The result is you won't stop very well.
By comparison, the aftermarket rotors are treated to resist rust, so not much ever builds up to begin with. Your pads won't be so saturated with rust all the time so they will bite better. The slotted rotors also help a little with venting dirt and rust out of the pads. And finally, they have less inertia which means you have less weight that has to slow down.
It's these compromised situations like the above example where the aftermarket rotors and pads really make a big difference. If you perform a hard braking test on the OEM rotors they will eventually get cleaned of dirt and rust and you won't notice as much of a difference. So performing your test will be tricky because it will be hard to duplicate the less-than-ideal braking conditions. So I recommend each of you wash your cars first, and don't use the mechanical brakes much on the way to the test.
1. Is it too late to sign up for a set?
2. Will they fit all varieties of the car? Especially a European car...
3. Will the SC fit non Tesla discs (rotors) or do I need to myself? If the latter, is there a simple guide Inc list of tools?
4. In the event that any of these fancy new components warps, if there is no stock we would have to bin the set and revert to OEM?
2. Will they fit all varieties of the car? Especially a European car...
3. Will the SC fit non Tesla discs (rotors) or do I need to myself? If the latter, is there a simple guide Inc list of tools?
4. In the event that any of these fancy new components warps, if there is no stock we would have to bin the set and revert to OEM?
1) It shouldn't be too late to sign up, but Dave is best to confirm that. Best is to shoot him an email.
2) Yes, they'll fit the Euro Roadster. The rotors are exactly the same as US models.
3) Most likely the SC won't install them, from what I've seen they want to stick to OEM for customer installs although it doesn't hurt to ask.
4) I wouldn't worry about the warping really. The stock rotors especially with the OEM brakes will warp due to their incapacity to stop which then turns to heat and stress on the rotor. My rotors with 15k on them look excellent, no grooves, no abnormal wear, and definitely no warping. The hats I'm sure won't warp and the rotors friction discs can be made up again if needed either by Dave or a 3rd party. I was thinking about picking up a set of friction disks as a spare, but looking at the wear, I don't think I'll need them for quite some time so I'm passing on that.
2) Yes, they'll fit the Euro Roadster. The rotors are exactly the same as US models.
3) Most likely the SC won't install them, from what I've seen they want to stick to OEM for customer installs although it doesn't hurt to ask.
4) I wouldn't worry about the warping really. The stock rotors especially with the OEM brakes will warp due to their incapacity to stop which then turns to heat and stress on the rotor. My rotors with 15k on them look excellent, no grooves, no abnormal wear, and definitely no warping. The hats I'm sure won't warp and the rotors friction discs can be made up again if needed either by Dave or a 3rd party. I was thinking about picking up a set of friction disks as a spare, but looking at the wear, I don't think I'll need them for quite some time so I'm passing on that.
I don't think so.
Yes. At least one EU Roadster purchased a set in the previous run.
Most SCs probably won't install them because of Tesla's strict non-OEM parts rule but they're easy to do yourself or by another shop.
One of the things I like about this upgrade is you can replace just the friction disks. And the disks alone are A LOT cheaper than what Tesla charges for their lower-quality rotors.
Hi folks,
Sorry I have been off the forum for a while, I broke my leg 1 1/2 week ago and have been moving at 10th speed with my leg up and icing...I'm back doing work. That said, only at 1/4 speed, but I'll happily accept that.
We have more than enough paid orders to hit all the minimums so I have started the order process. I have received payment for 25 sets of rotors, I have commitments for 3 more sets, awaiting payment. I will place orders to build 30 sets because there is always some one who gets excited right after we finish the buy process and it takes so long to get an order together.
simonog, you can get in with the group buy, please contact me via '[email protected]' to arrange payment.
At this time, once the 2 extra set of rotors have payment, I will replace the names on the committed list who's payment has not been received with and new members who are interested. You will be e-mailed to confirm receipt of payments.
Thanks everyone, I'm happy we can get the build going and move toward getting all of you on better brakes!
Dave
Sorry I have been off the forum for a while, I broke my leg 1 1/2 week ago and have been moving at 10th speed with my leg up and icing...I'm back doing work. That said, only at 1/4 speed, but I'll happily accept that.
We have more than enough paid orders to hit all the minimums so I have started the order process. I have received payment for 25 sets of rotors, I have commitments for 3 more sets, awaiting payment. I will place orders to build 30 sets because there is always some one who gets excited right after we finish the buy process and it takes so long to get an order together.
simonog, you can get in with the group buy, please contact me via '[email protected]' to arrange payment.
At this time, once the 2 extra set of rotors have payment, I will replace the names on the committed list who's payment has not been received with and new members who are interested. You will be e-mailed to confirm receipt of payments.
Thanks everyone, I'm happy we can get the build going and move toward getting all of you on better brakes!
Dave
This batch is the same as the first, complete interchangeability with the stock rotors and the friction discs will interchange between sets.
Stopping distance will be less than stock because the rotors have less mass so take less energy which is simple physics. The slots are helpful in breaking any glazing that can form on the surface of the brake pad and this can help decrease braking distances as well.
Congrats everyone in the 2nd group buy! You're going to love them once you put them on your car and a simple upgrade to help protect your passenger, you and your Roadster in the event you need to really get the car to stop!
One tip I want to pass on, which applies to any vehicle really, but learned this from Dave is that when its raining the temperature of the rotor and brake material has dropped and cooled substantially. Brakes work better when they're heated up, but not overheated! When they're cold the performance typically drops as well. Not only that, when the rotor / brake material is wet the brake system must wipe off that water between the brake pad and rotor, get rid of that water off the rotor it just wiped, begin drying the contact area, then it begins applying the brake material to the rotor in order to achieve optimal braking performance. Having slotted rotors helps with this wiping and expelling process. With that, if its raining out and I'm driving the Roadster I'll keep the Roadster moving but I'll start applying the brakes wiping down the rotor with that process I just described. You'll feel the brakes begin biting. During this process do a couple pumps / stops (not full stops), but I do activate my ABS sometimes which is ok, and then when you reach a good bite continue on your drive. You're braking performance will be improved during the drive. Every once and a while you can wipe / hold the brake pedal down to test them out or to do a quick wiping of the rotor/pad. With this ensure you do your wipes / applying the brakes on a straight road with nobody behind you for safety.
Enjoy your new rotors, waiting for them to be delivered is tough.... I know I was counting down the days!
By the way....Dave is really good with communication (and of course making racing products), I'm sure he'll either be posting here on this thread or via email on your order progress.
One tip I want to pass on, which applies to any vehicle really, but learned this from Dave is that when its raining the temperature of the rotor and brake material has dropped and cooled substantially. Brakes work better when they're heated up, but not overheated! When they're cold the performance typically drops as well. Not only that, when the rotor / brake material is wet the brake system must wipe off that water between the brake pad and rotor, get rid of that water off the rotor it just wiped, begin drying the contact area, then it begins applying the brake material to the rotor in order to achieve optimal braking performance. Having slotted rotors helps with this wiping and expelling process. With that, if its raining out and I'm driving the Roadster I'll keep the Roadster moving but I'll start applying the brakes wiping down the rotor with that process I just described. You'll feel the brakes begin biting. During this process do a couple pumps / stops (not full stops), but I do activate my ABS sometimes which is ok, and then when you reach a good bite continue on your drive. You're braking performance will be improved during the drive. Every once and a while you can wipe / hold the brake pedal down to test them out or to do a quick wiping of the rotor/pad. With this ensure you do your wipes / applying the brakes on a straight road with nobody behind you for safety.
Enjoy your new rotors, waiting for them to be delivered is tough.... I know I was counting down the days!
By the way....Dave is really good with communication (and of course making racing products), I'm sure he'll either be posting here on this thread or via email on your order progress.
A little update on the manufacturing process. The aluminum hats are in process, the CNC machine is making chips and we should have finished parts later this week. Once they are here, we will QC them, make sure all dimensions are in spec. Then it's off to nickel plating. I just spoke with the company that casts the iron rotors and our order has worked it's way through the back log and they are making them at this time.
More as things progress...
More as things progress...
