New brake rotors may mean fewer brake jobs
GM announced this week it has come up with a new manufacturing process that may well double the life of brake rotors and even eliminate brake dust that builds up on alloy wheels.
GM engineers extended the life of the rotors by changing the steel disc’s chemistry through a process known as Ferritic Nitro-Carburizing, or FNC. It makes the steel harder and adds a thin layer of nitrogen bonded to the steel. The process requires baking the rotors at 1,040 degrees for a day.
The new process means the rotors will last up to 80,000 miles instead of 40,000 before they need to be ground. They will still rust but at half the usual rate. Braking performance with the new rotors is as good as or better than existing rotors.
John Calabrese, GM’s vice president of global vehicle engineering, said warranty claims on brakes treated with FNC were down 70 percent. He said GM intends to have 80 percent of its lineup using these better discs by 2016. Analysts expect the rest of the industry to follow suit.
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