check out my off-centered NAPA rotors - Honda Prelude Forum

go pre · 01-21-2004, 05:08 PM

ok.. long story short. I did the 5-lug conversion, used legend rotors from NAPA for the fronts. When I finished the install I went out and tested the brakes, braking was great when stopping from over 40mph, but there was vibration almost immediately once I slowed under 40. I figured cheap napa rotors, probably warped out of the box, **** it. I let it go for a week and then find that my passenger side wheel bearing is shot, so I replace it. The next day I go in for an alignment, the new bearing is already worn worse than the last one. So I take it home and try to figure out what the problem is. I look at the rotor and it's loose as soon as I take the wheel off. then I notice the center opening is not centered with the stud holes. the rotor wasn't even seating properly because it was so far offcenter! take a look:

notice the gap between rotor and hub is bigger at the 12:00 position

so I'm thinking the stud holes must all be offcenter and that caused the vibration. since it wasn't seated against the hub either, the rotation of the rotor is out of whack, acting like a warped rotor.

edit: another possibility is the hub opening on legend rotors is too small to fit the 5th gen hub. has anyone used the legend rotors successfully on a 5th gen? then again, if that's the case then the other side should have the same problem but it doesn't.

4bidden · 01-21-2004, 05:37 PM

The rotor was immediately loose after taking your wheel off because you dont have the 2 screws that hold the rotor secure on there. Its not that big of a problem.

Also, if the rotor was off center it would not give the same feel as a warped rotor. If the rotor is off center it would cause vibrations as speed increased.

Take off both front wheels and put the front on jack stands. Start the car and run it a bit in gear while looking straight at the rotor and see if you can see up/down movement along the top edge of the rotor.

go pre · 01-21-2004, 06:48 PM

i actually tried to use the screws when I first put the rotor on, but I couldn't get the rotor flat against the hub with them, which I now realize is because the hub opening was off-center.

every other time I've replaced rotors and left the screws out, the rotor was fused on there the next time i removed the wheel.

it is also possible that the stud holes are centered correctly, but the hub opening isn't. in that case the rotor would be centered on the hub, but would not be fully seated against the hub surface. this is more likely the case here i think.

j_t_heilbrun · 01-21-2004, 06:56 PM

My family owns a few NAPA stores so I'm more than familiar with the product. Its possible they are drilled off center put unlikely. Did you get the cheapies or the premium rotors?

If you determine for sure the rotors are the problem take them back and exchange them for the premium United rotors (if thats not what you got).

If they give you any crap about it let me know and I'll take care of it for you.

Got any other questions just let me know one way or the other.

go pre · 01-22-2004, 03:52 PM

thanks for the help.. I went back to NAPA and they ordered me a new rotor and a new bearing, should be here tomorrow morning.

tonight I was able to take off the knuckle and do a further inspection. with it off the car, the rotor doesn't look off-center anymore. however, it is severely warped and untrue. since I felt the vibration the first time I applied the brakes, my conclusion is that the rotor was warped from the box, enough to cause damage to the wheel bearing. the driver's side looks ok just by looking at it, but you never know. should I order another rotor to replace both of them?

if anyone has any other ideas, let me know. the rotor is the only thing I can think of that would cause this. before the swap, my bearings were fine. the bearing on the 5th gen knuckle I bought was also in good shape. if my axle was shot, it would have caused problems before.

has anyone else actually used the legend rotor on a 5th gen hub? it might be that they are not compatible.

go pre · 01-22-2004, 03:53 PM

btw, they didn't have the premium rotors listed on their website for a legend. the only options were NAPA rotor for $35 and beck arnsley for over 100

TimeRacer · 01-22-2004, 06:40 PM

Legend rotors fit fine on the 5th gen hub. There's really no modifications needed to fit the entire Legend system onto the Prelude hub.

If those are your only options try cobalt-friction.com and see about their rotors. They're just as good if not better than Brembo's and cost a tad bit less than the blanks. Great deal esp if you buy pads at the same time.

MR.CLIFFORD · 01-22-2004, 07:28 PM

napa pads and rotors are awful.

I went through a set on my prelude in about 6k miles

j_t_heilbrun · 01-22-2004, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MR.CLIFFORD
napa pads and rotors are awful.

I went through a set on my prelude in about 6k miles

if you buy the cheap ones they suck

MR.CLIFFORD · 01-23-2004, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by j_t_heilbrun
if you buy the cheap ones they suck

I don't believe anything I bought for the prelude was cheap. They definitely weren't inexpensive.

Ludeykrus · 01-23-2004, 08:58 AM

Napa rotors have always been fine for me! And never had a problem w/ the pads, either.

go pre · 01-23-2004, 04:36 PM

well it seems my bad luck with the prelude never ends... I got the new bearing pressed in and put the new rotor on today. took a drive around the block and the same vibration is still there.

i'm about ready to give up