Hypermiling helped ruin my brakes. Toast after only 25k km / 15k miles

[Shawn D.]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

I think the bad idea is acting like you know for sure when you don't.

By your logic (sic), since none of you know for sure that putting Crisco on brakes is a bad idea, criticizing doing so would be the bad idea in this situation.

[captainslug]

Here's an idea: Use WD-40 for storage, then wipe off as much of it as you can before you drive it after having stored the vehicle.

Nobody said you had to apply it to the pads.
WD-40 is not a very good lubricant. It's a strong degreaser and water-displacer.

[tasdrouille]

WD-40 mostly dries off with time as it contains a lot of solvent, so there wouldn't be much to wipe off after a long period of time.

[Christ]

Originally Posted by tasdrouille

WD-40 mostly dries off with time as it contains a lot of solvent, so there wouldn't be much to wipe off after a long period of time.

Which is exactly why I suggested it.

WD-40 was not designed as a lubricant, at all... was designed as a water displacement formula. The oil in it dries into a thin film in a matter of less than a couple days, so if the car is being stored for more than a day, it's just not going to cause a problem...

That on top of the fact that when you get new rotors, they have oil all over them anyway... how many shops do you think actually use brake cleaner to get that stuff off? Sure, it's a liability if you wreck your car due to their negligence in not cleaning the light film of oil off the rotor before installing it, but the fact is, for many years, a large number of "mechanics" have been doing without this step... and there hasn't been any issues that have come to light about it, have there?

Shawn, do you have any anecdotes that suggest otherwise?

Schultz - It's obviously unsafe to lube your brakes... and many thanks to you for that story... actually was quite funny, although I can't figure out if the customer was joking when he asked for the application or not. I also can't figure out why in the world, if he had been joking, he wouldn't have noticed that the kid was doing something through his wheels to apply lubricant to his rotors and pads, but no matter... still a funny story.

[Shawn D.]

Originally Posted by Christ

That on top of the fact that when you get new rotors, they have oil all over them anyway... how many shops do you think actually use brake cleaner to get that stuff off? Sure, it's a liability if you wreck your car due to their negligence in not cleaning the light film of oil off the rotor before installing it, but the fact is, for many years, a large number of "mechanics" have been doing without this step... and there hasn't been any issues that have come to light about it, have there?

Shawn, do you have any anecdotes that suggest otherwise?

The local tire shop I worked in during college removed the shipping anticorrosion coatings, Pep Boys removed the anticorrosion coatings when I worked there after college, and I've always removed the anticorrosion coatings. All of the rotors I've bought lately were not coated with the oily stuff, though -- they were wrapped in anticorrosion paper which does not leave much behind (but which I cleaned off anyhow).

Anyhow, my anecdotes don't fit in with the zeitgeist here, which is "Don't question anything anybody says here, only provide 'attaboys' and cheerleeding" so why does it matter?

[Frank Lee]

Now you're just being (sic).

[Shawn D.]

Hmm... a specific product designed just for this situation AND designed to not contaminate the friction material.

[Frank Lee]

How do we put someone on "ignore"?

[Christ]

Originally Posted by Shawn D.

The local tire shop I worked in during college removed the shipping anticorrosion coatings, Pep Boys removed the anticorrosion coatings when I worked there after college, and I've always removed the anticorrosion coatings. All of the rotors I've bought lately were not coated with the oily stuff, though -- they were wrapped in anticorrosion paper which does not leave much behind (but which I cleaned off anyhow).

Anyhow, my anecdotes don't fit in with the zeitgeist here, which is "Don't question anything anybody says here, only provide 'attaboys' and cheerleeding" so why does it matter?

Shawn, if you knew about the product, why not have introduced it a few posts ago? Instead of appearing inflammatory, I mean.

As far as the bold part of the quote... Well, that's just feeling sorry for yourself. I'm sorry, but that's exactly what it is. Saying things like that will get nothing changed, and if you expect to change the way people react to you, that's not the way to do it. But who am I to tell you? You know, I'm sure.

Anecdotes, opinions, and "evidence" based in either situation are not generally accepted as fact. If people just accepted an anecdote as fact, without analyzing and deciding for themselves, I could just tell you that I'm 435 years old, and we know that's not true.

Regardless of what you were taught at any point in life, criticism works in both directions, and simply saying "hare-brained idea" or the like, is NOT constructive, no matter how it's put.

Constructive would be actually adding input, not disparaging the input of others. Saying something won't work can be considered constructive, if you include a reason why. Even if it's just opinion, it's still better than nothing.

[Shawn D.]

Originally Posted by Christ

Shawn, if you knew about the product, why not have introduced it a few posts ago? Instead of appearing inflammatory, I mean.

Well, you're assuming I knew about it and withheld the information intentionally for trolling purposes. I did not know about it until I Googled on multiple word combinations until it finally popped up.