Hi all,

So recently I purchased a Power Stop brake kit to replace my front brakes & rotors. My first pair of rotors were warped or damaged in shipping. I experienced intense steering wheel vibration while braking from speeds over 60mph. I contacted Amazon and had them replaced. I watched my mechanic clean the hubs (to prevent lateral run out) and do the installation of the replacement brakes/rotors.

After breaking them in as the manufacturer suggested I used the brakes gingerly for the first 100 miles. Now the vibration under braking is gone for the most part. It only happens when braking at 65mph but the wheel also shakes regardless of the brakes being used. I believe the tires are out of balance and will be going to BJS to do a rotation and balancing later this week.

I’m hoping these rotors aren’t bad as well, but since the steering wheel vibrates all the time at any speed above 60mph, I’m thinking it has to be the wheel balance not rotors. When I brake from 75mph and fall into the 65mph range the steering wheel begins to shake, but only from 60-65. Also as a side note, I did some mild off roading due to some flooding in my area, I got up on the curb and drove on grass to avoid driving in deep water. It’s possible I bent one of my rims or lost a wheel weight, just wondering if anyone can help me figure this out?

-Thanks

 

Check front tires and rims for damage or unusual tire wear issues.

Swap front tires for rears and determine if this makes a difference in steering wheel shake during non-braking.

 

Ill have my mechanic check for any damage on Friday, then get rotation and balancing done. Also my first pair of rotors and pads caused my wheel to vibrate under light braking. Now the wheel only vibrates heavily while apply slightly more pressure. I doubt these rotors are bad too but they might be.

Could the vibration I feel on the wheel at highway speeds be unrelated to the vibration I feel when I brake? I'm curious if my tires are out of balance, and I apply the brakes on the high way, does that amplify the wheels being out of balance? Or could it mean something else?

-thanks again

 

Vibration of the steering wheel during braking is typically caused by brake issues. Find a long down hill grade requiring repeated braking to keep under the speed limit (say 40-50 mph). Determine if the vibration gets worse during this repeated braking.

Vibration making its way back to the steering wheel when not braking could be caused by tire imbalance, uneven tire wear or ply separation, bent rim, worn suspension parts, alignment.

Sometimes a bad tire or rim problem can be felt at very low speeds say 5 mph. The car may feel slightly strange as if unusual movement of the car.

Did you have the steering wheel vibration when braking when the original brake/pads were installed?

 

I did not experience any kind of vibration with my previous brakes & rotors (Autozone Duralast pads/rotors). But I did notice with that set up my brake pedal felt spongy and it took longer to slow down. Also my ABS system was overly sensitive even in dry road conditions.

I love the performance these new brakes provide, it feels like I have a lot more under my foot. The brake pedal is stiffer and offers more response. The previous brakes would slow me down but it felt like I had 2 option while braking, 10% brake application or 80%. It was always very hard to modulate braking in traffic.

I'll try braking down hill as you suggested and report back. After researching the problem I have come up with a list of potential reasons this is happening.

-Bad Rotors (Not sure this is possible since it happened with a new rotors and pads twice in a row)
-Bad Brake Caliper
-Worn out tie rod/s
-Front struts are worn out (Perhaps since the car never experienced this kind of brake force the front end never took as much abuse, but this is a long shot)
-Bent Rims
-Out of balance tires
-Broken steering column
- Any kind of broken suspension parts
-Bad tire

Either way its strange this is happening. Also could it be possible since I have steel rims with wheel covers, that the brakes can't cool fast enough? I suppose cooling is quicker on a car equipped with 18 inch rims.

Also I changed my tires about 1.5 years ago (Advantage T/A | BFGoodrich Tires), they have some 14,000 miles on them.

Sorry for the rant, this problem is really starting to bug me.

-Thanks for all the support

 

If no problems before the new brakes and pads then would be looking here.

Brakes might be stiffer because of new pads or a different material used in the pads.

If you have rear drums make sure these are adjusted. They are self adjusting which occurs when using the emergency brake.

Doubt if the brakes have a cooling issue due to rims, covers, etc.

If driving avoid going through water high enough it could splash onto the rotors when hot and warp them.

 

Ended up getting Duralast rotors and cmax brake pads. No vibration, I have no idea why PowerStop rotors gave me so much trouble but I'm glad its over.

 

Good you fixed the problem.