I posted this in the suspension/brake forum but didn't get a lot of interest.

In short, how much dragging is "normal" for pads on front brake rotors? When I remove a front wheel, it is difficult to turn the hub. Normal? Should I be able to spin it freely?

Are my pads dragging excessively on my rotors to blame potentially for rotor warping after track duty? I can't get through a track day without warping a set of rotors.

I'm looking to rebuilding my calipers and/or adjusting the brake pedal to free up the contact, but want to ensure I'm not wasting my time, i.e. ensuring that this friction is not normal.

Thanks!

 

I've never had either of my FD's on the track, but I have often noticed the vary slight difference in the brake peddle travel after I drive down the highway a few miles. The pads are obviously pushed back from the rotor some in this situation. I always assumed this was designed to reduce drag and increase fuel mileage. But when I rotate the tires every 5K miles, the rotors still have quite a bit of drag from the pads.

Have you pulled the pads to be sure that they’re not wearing funny and creating some binding or something? Or another thought, if your track activity has really worked the brakes hard you might find cooked caliper piston seals resulting in less pull-back action than normal.