Probably some dealer trained mechanic will argue the point, but I've never had a
set of rotors or drums turned. My pickup has 155,000 miles on it and is on it's
third set of front pads and its second set of rear shoes. The pickup has the
inside of one caliper a little groovy as that pad wore down to the backing
before I noticed the pad wear.
My TD has 135,000 miles on it without the drums being turned. It also has some
minor ridging.
The only thing turning of drums or rotors does is insure that you have full 100%
shoe/pad contact the minute you drive out of the brake shop. Therefore, you have
full 100% braking ability. As, there are a lot of non technical drivers out
there who don't understand such things, the government has decided to protect us
from our own ignorance. If you don't turn the shoes or drums, the brakes are
not as effective until the shoes/pads wear and match the rotor/drum's
irregularities. To save replacing expensive and sometimes irreplaceable
drums/rotors, I don't have them turned. After replacing shoes/pads I find a
safe place and drive a few miles gently riding the brakes, and make several hard
stops to help bed in the shoes/pads.
And --- I make it a habit to never ride the rear bumper of the car in front of
me. This gets difficult at times, as whenever I leave a safe distance between
myself and the vehicle in front, somebody decides to fill it. It reminds me of
a saying I learned in school: "Nature abhors a vacuum" which is used in
reference to earth with no plants on it and natures way of putting life into
it. When some vehicle fills the space in front of me, I conclude that there
must be a vacuum between the ears of the driver.
Blake
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