Bruce Nunnally Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 GM Creates Recipe for Brakes That Shine Wed, Nov 30 2011 DETROIT – A General Motors’ team of global brake experts is helping to make rusty brake rotors history by changing the chemical makeup of the components using a process that could double the life of rotors and save consumers hundreds of dollars. The engineers developed an exclusive corrosion protection process that super heats the rotors at 560 degrees Celsius for a day in an oven the size of a tour bus. Inside the nitrogen-rich atmosphere, nitrogen atoms bond to the surface of the steel rotor, hardening and strengthening the rotor. The name for the technology is Ferritic Nitro-Carburizing, or FNC, and it has most often been used to treat powertrain parts. Since its introduction on brake rotors in 2008, FNC has helped reduce warranty claims on brakes by 70 percent. This is significant because in a recent consumer study conducted by GM, four in 10 vehicle owners listed corrosion among the top three bothersome things about their cars. The same study showed brake components at the top of the list of customer concerns. More than 80 percent of U.S. vehicles are exposed to one or more environmental corrosion creators, such as acid rain, intense sunlight, snow and ice, and road salt. GM brake rotor technical expert Jim Webster and his team were confident that slowing the oxidation brought on by the environment was a problem material science could solve. Incorporating a unique surface treatment equivalent to one-tenth the width of a human hair, FNC creates sufficient friction and allows for effective braking performance while providing corrosion protection. With FNC, GM vehicles are free of brake pedal or steering wheel shudder caused by an uneven buildup of rust on the rotor that occurs over time. FNC rotors create less brake dust than non-FNC rotors. And for vehicles with large open-architecture wheels that show off wheel hardware, FNC helps keep rotors looking clean and rust-free longer. FNC rotor technology is featured on the Buick Lacrosse and Regal as well as on the Chevrolet Malibu, Impala and Volt in North America. It will be featured on more than 80 percent of GM’s U.S. vehicles by model year 2016. By avoiding rotor repair and replacement, FNC treatment could save customers more than $400 over 10 years. “Rotors aren’t a cheap thing to replace,” said Webster. “So doubling the average life expectancy of the brake rotors from 40,000 to 80,000 miles is something we think our customers will appreciate.” GM is the only company that has found a way to effectively treat brake rotors with the FNC process and has several patents pending on the technology, contributing to the company’s No.1 position among automotive and transportation innovators as tracked by the U.S. Patent Board. “GM engineers are pushing forward with innovative technologies that meet the demanding needs of our customers,” said John Calabrese, vice president of Global Vehicle Engineering. Bruce 2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing Follow me on: Twitter Instagram Youtube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Great Info, I appreciate the inside news of what is happening at GM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarrenJ Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Very interesting. Thanks Bruce! There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as the result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved. - Ludwig von Mises Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprucegoose Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Agreed! This is good news! I have been so disappointed in the newer OEM rotors lately. In particular the ones on my 08 HHR SS. I recently replaced them all with aftermarket drilled/slotted ones that are plated as well. Of course this plating has worn off the friction area, but even there I have next to no rust compared to the OEM ones. The rear ones in particular were so bad vertually every time I backed out of the garage I would have this grinding squealing sound as I braked the first several times I used tham going down the street! They pitting would never really clean up and it looked horrible. I approached the dealer on this while I was still unde the 3yr/36Kmi bumper/bumper warranty but they wouldn't do anything. He said "they are all like that, even the Cadillacs today" and I was stunned! I said I never had anything like this on all the GMs I've owned, especially on all my Cadillacs! Well, here is the new look of my upgraded brakes on that car with the new rotors, ceramic pads and painted calipers. Much, much better! '09 Cadillac CTS-4 3.6 direct injection, 128 K mi. '15 Chevy Tahoe LTZ, 5.3i V8, 125 K mi '70 Firebird Formula 400, Bored+.04, RAIII heads, M21 4spd., in-process restoration! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfangd Posted December 2, 2011 Report Share Posted December 2, 2011 that is the best info i have heard in a long time. rotors here rust right off. it is nasty. my deville got pads and rotos last year and they look worse than the originals already. I wouuld pay more per rotor to haave them last longer and not pulsate. around here the pads last longer than the rotors. it is nerly impossible to do a brake job without grinding or replacing the rotors GM FAN FOREVER Nice, clean, luxury= fine automobile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted December 2, 2011 Report Share Posted December 2, 2011 It is about time some manufacturer addressed rotor quality. Pulsating rotors, rotors that delaminate, etc. rarely used to be a problem but it seems like something in the metallurgical compound was cheapened up in the last 10 years or so that is the root of the problem. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterset Posted December 3, 2011 Report Share Posted December 3, 2011 that is the best info i have heard in a long time. rotors here rust right off. it is nasty. my deville got pads and rotos last year and they look worse than the originals already. I wouuld pay more per rotor to haave them last longer and not pulsate. around here the pads last longer than the rotors. it is nerly impossible to do a brake job without grinding or replacing the rotors Yep, When I was a kid I remember my dad dodging rotted exhaust systems in the middle of the New York City streets & in college I lost at least one on the road. Hopefully shiny brakes soon become as standard as stainless exhausts are today! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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