Recently we have gotten several questions about Citroen CX brakes. Most often it is a case of the person replacing the pads on their front brakes, but not having replaced the rotors.
Here is the situation with this and any other modern car out in the real world when getting brake work done today. If you don’t want your brakes to pulse or chatter after you replace the pads, you have to replace the rotors also.
The manufacturers really don’t give you much tolerance to work with to turn or resurface the brakes anymore, so this is the best thing to do if you want to eliminate the chance of brake pulsing after you go to the work of replacing the pads.
This issue sort of popped it’s head with the late U.S. speced Citroen DS cars. Brake squeal and pad glazing was a problem, so the pads were made out of a harder and more aggressive compound, and the rotors were made from a softer metal. This got rid of the squeal and glazing for the most part, but it meant that rotors wore out much faster. This problem continues with the Citorën CX models that are in this country.
What you have to remember, is that as that rotor gets thinner and it’s mass is less, it does not have the same capacity to shed off heat that is built up during braking. It therefore warps easier, and things just get worse from there.
Turning or resurfacing the the rotor usually has very short term benefits, especially if the rotor is fairly close to it’s specs recommended by the manufacturer. Plus, a lot of mechanics feel that the metal has a bit of a memory, and it is only a matter of time after resurfacing and the rotor will be back to it’s old ways.
I know it is an additional expense to replace the rotors when you replace the pads, but if you really want to enjoy the high power braking that these systems demonstrate, then reach into your pocket and grab the change for an extra set of rotors when you replace your brake pads