Preventing crummy brake rotors when parked outside? - Page 3

Rstb88 · 11-01-2007, 08:38 PM

Aluminum (either clad or throughout) seems rather expensive as does stainless steel. Its not a garage baby where you could put a dehumidifier next to it in the garage to reduce the inevitable humidity. The only cheap and somewhat time consuming would be to wrap the wheels up individually and find a way to create a vacuum or as close to one as you can to reduce the rust. Seeing as the diminutive size of the wheels it wouldn't be too complicated to cover them, but reducing the air you could use a small vacuum, and seal with duct tape.

MetroMPG · 11-01-2007, 08:46 PM

If I were, say, leaving the car parked for a known extended period - like while I sail the Caribbean for the winter (I wish!!) - I might consider doing something more drastic to keep the rust away...

But I'm not. Arrr.

CoyoteX · 11-01-2007, 09:22 PM

I would just ignore the noise and stuff. It isn't actually hurting anything and other than being annoying is not really that big of a deal.

You could oil the brakes down if you know it is going to be parked for a while. The pads will eventually become oil soaked if you do it often and will need to get hot enough to burn all the oil out of them either by driving like a nut or hitting the pads with a propane torch

Then again as little as you use the car you might want to oil soak the pads anyway, it will reduce rolling resistance and you don't hit them hard enough to worry about needing real strong brakes most of the time.

Danronian · 11-01-2007, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

If I were, say, leaving the car parked for a known extended period - like while I sail the Caribbean for the winter (I wish!!) - I might consider doing something more drastic to keep the rust away...

But I'm not. Arrr.

Na. The best thing to do would be to sand off the rust when you get back, before driving the car.

DRW · 11-01-2007, 10:08 PM

How about simply roll the car back by several cm to move the rust spots around every few days? A car like that should be easy to push, and you only have to move it by 1/2 turn of the wheels.

Or you could get a car cover and stick a dehumidifyer under it, but that would run off the grid and consume energy. OK how about a dehumidifyer running from a timer so it's on an hour or two per day? It might be practical if you're away for a few weeks.

brucepick · 11-02-2007, 12:27 AM

I like this idea:

Quote:

Originally Posted by DRW

How about simply roll the car back by several cm to move the rust spots around every few days? ...

I suspect the uneven rusting is due to where the pads/shoes are close to the disk/drum. Moving it a bit will change that spot.

We get the same on our Volvos (4-wheel disks) if we leave them parked during a rainy day. If 2-3 days they can sound pretty scary, but it scrubs off after just a couple stops.

GasSavers_bobski · 11-02-2007, 04:36 AM

Carbon fiber rotors? I'm pretty sure that's what F-1 and prototype cars and such use.

Silveredwings · 11-02-2007, 05:14 AM

You could brush them with a solution of Oxysolve and leave a film of zinc phosphate on them. This is usually done for the non-wearing parts but if periodically applied to the braking surfaces (especially since you use the brakes as a special occasion), it may help.