nc211

The rotors are on tight. I agree with how the rotors are held on the car. But, the "centering" screws are used to make sure the rotor is "center" and balanced when you put the wheel on the car. The two little screws do not actually provide the support to keep the rotor on the car...all they do is make sure the rotor is properly centered..aka...balanced correctly on the hub. So when the wheel spins, the rotor's weight is evenly distributed and not off balance. These rotors are heavy, so any slight off balancing during the installment will create the feeling of a tire being out of balance, when in reality, it's the rotor that is out of balance. Just hanging the rotors on the 5 wheel studs will not make them "centered". However, you are correct that they will be held in place by the wheel lug nuts. BUT, and I can testify on this, they are not LOCKED in place, because my rotors shift in that mm slack when I push the brakes..making them bang against the wheel studs. I use to think it was the pads shifting due to not having the shim kit on them. And they might be shifintg a little. But that banging noise is no doubt the rotor. I should have my rotors tomorrow and replaced this weekend. I'll post up the results when I'm done.

I actually rode in the backseat of mine for the first time ever over new years eve "too drunk to drive, had fiance' drive all 4 of us back home".. Man, I really liked riding in the back! Except "go figure" I could hear the top shock bumper squeeking. And of course I had to make the comment "damn, gotta fix that". I was almost throw out of a moving car! But anyway, my 2 cents worth. If they're anything like the ole' LS400's in terms of reliability, it'll be 2013 for my 2007. Hey John, make sure you take care of my future LS460 for me ok? ;)

falciott, i got the mountains from partsbin for $94 each. Thanks for that hook up man! They actually have a warehouse here in Raleigh, so I should have them tomorrow! Now that's convienent! The Brembo's for my car didn't have the set screw holes for some reason. i don't get it, why are all these aftermarket manufacturers making these rotors without those set holes? Of course larryp could very well be right about the stud holes being too big on the rotors now. Actually, he is right, they are too big. But I don't want to take the chance again with another set that don't have those set holes. My neighbors have begun to give me dirty looks when every weekend I've got the car up in the air, making noise with the pneumatic tools and being all redneck like. Bunch of snobs! hahahaha. I need a barn somewhere that's wired up so I can turn it into my own little garage! Now that would be awesome!

It's not that they're not on there tightly, it's that they're not properly centrifically Sp.? balanced on the wheel hub w/o those screws. When I grab the rotor, it's super easy to move them a few mm left,right,up,down etc... And when I put my foot on the brakes, you can hear the pads gripping the rotor, which makes it stop, but the wheel doesn't stop until the studs bang up against the side of the rotor holes. Does that make sense? you know me, i'm not the best in describing things. But without the two screws, the rotors won't balance correctly. I wouldn't think 1 or 2 mm of play would make that much of difference, but when we're talking about 20 + pounds out of wack, I can see where that would be a problem. you can definetly feel the problem in the front. The car not only hops, but it feels like it's missing too by hoping forward and backwards....but it's not missing..trust me. She runs perfectly. It looks Brembo for me. I called the dealership and asked them if they price matched. I found oem on lexuspartsonline.com for $106 each, + $20 shipping. The dealership came down from $145 ea to $125. I'd prefer oem, but I've got to start watching my pennies...got a honeymoon coming up in a few months.

Ohhhhhh...now that's just THE SH*T!! Give me give me give me give me give me! You're gonna bring back the NC Hammer ...... dooo duoo dadoo...can't touch this... I would take that car over any other..period, no doubt in my mind. I love the interior, espcially the front seating! I wonder how much it'll really cost out the door?

Hey guys, got a quick question. I posted this up in one of my other threads, but it's pretty buried under, so I thought I would start a fresh one. I did some searching, but couldn't come up with anything. I made the mistake of buy the wrong set of front rotors a few months ago. They do not have the two centering / balancing screw hold to make sure the rotor is balanced on the hub. My rotors move around the studs, creating a banging noise and offbalance hop in the front. So, before I shell out a pair of C' notes for oem, anyone have any recommendations for aftermarket "cheaper" rotors out there that do have the two centering screw holes? I've searched autozone, napa, advance and carquest, and all of them only have the 5 stud holes, unless you shell out $120+ for premium, of which I would rather buy oem instead. Obviously I prefer OEM on this part, but money is a little tight, and i'm such an easy going driver that I really don't demand much work from my brakes in general. The ones on there know grip great! The car will stop on a dime, and in a pinch. Thanks crew!

Well if you're asking a southerner, during hunting season for love advice...and taking into account your situation and all...how does "you'll always be in the crosshairs of my heart!" how's that sound? I've never earned acclaim for my romantic side...except for that diamond ring rock on her hand.

I...LOVE...IT!!! That is now my favorite car!

WOW!! You've replaced all of that and this is only your second post?? Well, welcome on the board amigo! Don't be a stranger my friend, you've got a ton of expertise to offer now! One thing I just replaced this past weekend that has made a very nice improvement was the weatherstripping around my front doors. Really killed the wind noise and put that "spring loaded" feel back into the doors. Man, you really went all out! I'm impressed!

Army, got your pm..I can't call this week as I am slammed right now with work and everything else, plus I'm on the road this weekend for a property inspection and hopefully, just hopefully, a day on the boat, 10 miles out with beer in one, screamin' king fish in the other. It's sheer cauos right now in my life as I'm 3 1/2 months out from my wedding, which has turned into a massive mess. Up to 180 people on the list...babies...idiots...dance lessons...meeting with preacher...yada yada yada. About the only free time I get is a few hours a week by myself to kick back with a beer and my laptop. or here at work in between meetings. So please don't take it personally! I'm just buried under at the moment. Man you should have seen me two weeks ago, trying to get every loan closed before the end of the year. I think I grew another bald spot from all the stress. Thank god for that case of beer on new years eve. Would you believe that I actually had people "work related" calling my cell phone at 8:30 on new years eve? I turned the motherf...... off so I would lose my cool. Do yourself a favor, if you are ever in a position that your empoyeer gives you a cell phone...don't take it. Or if you're forced to take it....break the SOB right away. Anyway...too much caffeine today. Guys, anyone know where I can get a set of front rotors that have the balancing screw holes in it for my car, without going oem, or having to order them and waiting for them? The stealership wants $145 ea. I can order them online for $90, but probably won't get them in time for this weekend "if not on boat, in garage. or if fish aren't biting, in garage." I was hoping to score some napa or autozones for like $50 each, but I can't find any that have the balancing holes. The ones on my car now are from Carquest. I went by there today to buy some new ones, looked at them and realized "oh snot, these are the ones on my car now....now I remember who made the mistake". Any suggestions amigos? PS....definately a huge improvement with all of those weights off the car!! The back is glass smooth. All I can feel now are the rotors moving around. A little bit of advice....if you get new tires, and your rims are NOT bent....clean the rims and take off all the weights. I used a fine grit sandpaper and some soap n' water this weekend to clean the insides of mine....not perfect looking...but a ton better! There is no way to bring them back to new looking status on the insides...just too old. But I don't really care.

Thanks Army...hey, I've learned what I know from this site and those on it! So I thank all ya'll for teaching me. Threadcutter, you are right...2 screws per rotor, not one as I had said earlier..my bad. The rear rotors are the same ones I put on a couple months ago, so all is well. I must have bought the wrong ones for the fronts and simply didn't know it because I didn't put them on myself "didn't have the capactiy or guts at the time." So, I will buy the correct ones this week, and fix this problem next weekend. God sakes fella's!! I'm SOOOO FREAKIN' EXCITED to put this thread to rest soon! I'm right there, on the very edge of total completion! I'm at like 98%, and I bet the proper rotors will finish it out completely. Oh, and I will be sending an email to the senior tech at the dealership who had the car for a week or so on what it turned out to be. Not in a mean way or anything, but as a "if you ever have a similiar complaint from someone else, might check the rotors for proper installment." The guy, and the dealership really went above and beyond for me, and for free!! Well, who's ready for the grand total weight count? I'm all done, pulled off all the weights from the indi shop. Can't stand it can ya'? Oh the anticipation is killing you...Come on NC, tell me, you bast*rd! Ok...the grand total of grams put on my wheels to make these brand new tires balanced, on undamaged rims was.....drum roll please..... 255 grams! I've attached a photo of all the weights laid out on my work bench. Un-freakin'-believable!! They were everywhere! On the insides, outsides, next to eachother, apart...everywhere! If anything, I should tell the indi shop to invest in a Hunter alignment and balancing machine. Hell, I'd even finance it for them, as they're always busy, so I know they're making money. But anyway, I'm now going to let the tires find their own balance for the next 100 miles or so, if they need it at all anyway. I'm gonna take her out for a spin in a few minutes and hit the highway. Oh, added a couple extra photos too; One of the tires I got, one of the front of the car pulled up to my workshop, one of my workshop "IF YOU DON'T HAVE A TV IN YOURS, GET ONE! GREAT FOR FOOTBALL", and some others of all my old control arms I've replaced. Some of the old stuff I don't have as they were just shot to hell and beyond keeping. But these are actually pretty good. The bushings seem ok. I'll finish this thread out guys when I know for sure it's all done. My money is on a set of the right kind of rotors will fix everything! EDIT: I think the pictures are too big, I can't get them to attach. I'll try again later.

sorry rf...i had to shift back to dubbya'. hamma' was a bit too much for full time work. but he'll always remain available when needed ;)

Thank you fellas! Ok ok...I shifted back to the Dubbya'. Although I am hunting for a better one of him. Yep, it's the rotors for sure. Thread, are you sure it's two screws and not just one? I did the rears myself and I only have one of those screws per rotor on mine. Yeah, I remember that thread about someone complaining about the price at the stealership per screw....it was me! Hahaha. I stripped those bast*rds so many times when doing the rears that I just went to the dealer, handed them a $20 bill and said fill the bag up with those screws. Now that I've had some sleep..I think the error is on my part for the mishap. I remember when the lazy side of me came out several months ago, bought some cheap rotors from Napa for the front "before I did the rears myself" and took the car to my indi shop for install. I did not know then what I know now about the rotors. The directional banging noise I get from the front is when the car shifts direction from forward to reverse to forward, the first time I press the brakes, I hear a loud bang in the front. Now knowing what I know, it's the pads grabbing the rotors and the wheel studs banging against the rotors. I now also know why I got that low grumble noise when coming to a slow stop, the pad to rotor noise is being transmitted directly through the wheel studs into the car. As Army "the man " undoubtably knows his stuff said, there is an unbalance problem with this set up, as there will be more of one side of the rotor on one side than the other, creating an uneven disbursement of weight around the circumfrence of the disc. Oh, and in now way are all of these weights not contributing to this too! Now that the front driver's side wheel is weight free, clean and new tires....that side of the car is glass smooth except for the rotor, of which now that I know it's loose, I can EASILY tell that is the only component out of balance up there. Well, back outside I go, to finish up removing the rest of the weights...I'm definelty on the right track here, thanks to you guys!! Well, as a wise hillbilly says "and is rich because of it"..time to Get r' Done!

Um...so...I pulled off my driver's side front wheel today to clean the inside of the rim and pull off the inside weights "up to 140 grams now"...but...when I was putting the rim back on, something caught my eye that didn't seem right. On the rotor, I did not see the tiny screw on the rotor that holds it in balance? Infact, I did not see a screw hole at all for the centering screw to be placed in?? I grabbed the rotor, and it bangs around on the five wheel mounting screws "studs". It's not centered. So, I'm wondering if this could be the cause of all the balancing problems? Don't the front rotors have that tiny screw in them like the back ones do? I could SWEAR I replaced the front one rotors recently with rotors that had that screw. But, I have also had the direction "bang" in the front brakes for quite some time "since i replaced the front pads last july with autozone pads". I always thought that directional change bang was due to the pads not having the shims on them. It's a moot point for me to try and figure out if 1) I made the mistake and purchased the wrong rotors..or 2) my indi shop made the error when putting them on and screwed me over with cheapos off their shelf. I'm basically going to have to buy them again...but this time put them on my self. Anyway...the point of the post....do you guys think those rotors having about 3mm of loose play would be the cause for this whole problem? I am STUNNED that the dealership did not catch this. I'm not ticked off that I had to get new tires...they were due anyway. But I'm not satisfied yet with the ride quality of the car. The more weights I pull off...the smoother it gets. But I think, as I posted in an earlier posting on this thread, that I'm not completly sold that it is just the old tires that were doing this...and now...seeing the rotors having that much play in them and not being securely attached to the hub other than being squished between the wheel and hub. so...what do you guys think? Don't the front rotors have that screw too? I'll if this has been the problem the whole time...and I and 5 other mechanics have missed it. PS, liking the new continential tires...good grip and quiet. pps...changed the weatherstipping on the front doors today...WOW what a difference in reduced wind noise. Blake was right, you have to slam the doors now to get them to close. You open them, and it's like auto opening...they got their spring back. I highly recommend this upgrade to the older cars here. Very easy and quick to do. PPPS: I'm pulling off the rear wheels tomorrow to get those weights off...If those rotors don't have the screws on them...I'm gonna go to the dealership with a baseball bat...because I KNOW those have them as I changed them myself 6 weeks ago! If they're not there...then I'll know for sure someone screwed me over...and I consider that stealing....you can lie to me, even cheat and I'll shrug it off with no problems...but you steal from me..and I really do just lose my composure.

Welcome to the club!

SWEET!!!!! THANKS BLAKE! Now we need Milli & Vanilli.

hahaha...man..sh*t..that really is funny!! Swo...help me out here man...how can i "or can i?" use an animated .gif as my avatar?

"We're going to start calling you "NC-HAMMER" from Rfeldes...... Haven't had a good laugh like that in a loooooong time!!! So..enjoy the new avatar... :D crap...i can't use this as my avatar....:cries: http://www.troutmaster.net/images/mcsaddam.gif hammertime.bmp

Hahahaha!!! 'cause i'm 2 legit...2 legit 2 quit......can't touch this.....stop...bam-it-time. some have said I have a case of dislexia....damn sure could of used these tools last year when trying to figure out those control arms and differential junk!

HAHAHAA!!! Ok, ok...I'll stop.. The air hammer is a handheld tool that has a piston in it that bangs a punch, chisel or anything like that at a high rate of speed...kind of sounds like a Sig Ep frat boy !Removed! star. We're probably on the same page as I think this little gadget would be great at scraping barnacles! Man guys..I stand next to the car now with a pneumatic impact wrench, air wrench and air hammer going "come on..break you little putz...I dare ya'! Who's your daddy now!" But I think I've already replaced everything that would require one of these tools.....guess I'm ready to add that 99' Chevy Tahoe to the inventory.....oh the wife's not gonna like this... <_<

I just pulled off 110 grams of weights from my wheels! Now, why in the world would a brand new set of tires, on a set of undamaged rims need that much weight?? I bet when I drive her tomorrow morning, she'll be much smoother. I am basing this theory on my former subaru and the fact that you don't see new cars sitting on the lots with all of these weights on them. they have undamaged rims and new tires on them..like mine now. I understand they're a lot cleaner, and I'm sure I've got enough dirt and grime on mine to add a little bit of weight..but 110 grams worth? That would be a drug dealer's dream. I think I'll polish up the rims this weekend, inside and out before I let another mechanic think about putting on another weight.

Hey blake....let's see that picture behind the data in your posting!! I spy one hell of a good looking LS400! ;)

Ahh, there ya' go! I think you're probably in need of some seafoam injector cleaner. Good answer 90! I would call your dealership and ask them what they recommend in terms of injector cleaner. I think mine says some sort of product called bf44?? that's not it, but close...i can't remember. I would also think she's probably due for a country road cobweb blow-out....if you get me drift..

the cetain downfall and national embarrassement of our culture. too much time on their hands matched by hollywood's bottom line profit model "s*x, violence and sinsationalism". I think as society in general starts to AVOID the news, someone will get the hint and clean it up. It's hard to tell what is National Enquire or CNN anymore. I don't trust them and I personally hate the fact that they're apart of my cable package in general. You know, it used to be the need to block HBO from your children's eyes. Now, it's Fox News, CNN, and so forth. If I had the V chip, i'd block out those news channels forever. In fact, it's so bad these days that I bet if someone started a new 24 hour news channel and based it on a format of primarily HAPPY and sucess stories...it'd blow the others away. I avoid the tv news in general. even the local channels. It sucks to wake up in the morning, all rested and feeling good, to turn on the tv and hear about murder, death, rape, robbery and all other negative things. I know that sounds very selfish, and I appologize. But at what point do you say "that's not my life" for the sake of those who are in your life, and depend on you to be there to teach, love, smile, laugh and be the type of persona that isn't completely bombarded subconsiously by all the negative, money making, ratings based news stories out there? Great thread dc! I admire your thought process and guts to ask the question..even if it's on our car site..

I recently uped' my tool inventory with a pheumatic setup. I got one of those air hammers that will hit at 5,000 wacks per minute. Would this thing be too much to use to get the solinoid off? I read on here about giving it a "good wack" to break it loose. How does a few thousand of them sound?