I replaced the pads but not rotors, are my pads warped and no good?

Question

So long story-ish. I had been dealing with a wobble when it came to high speed braking, due to me not knowing much about cars I replaced the back brakes and rotors thinking that was the problem, since places had told me they were at 2-3mm and the fronts were at 4, they were recommending getting back brakes replaced. I still had the wobble, so changed the front brakes but only replaced the pads due to money. So my question is I've been driving around with the new pads but old warped rotors and was curious if at this point I should replaced the new pads when I replace the rotors? Would the pass be warped as well and no good? Or just replace rotors and tpads would flush out?? Literally any help would be appreciated, thanks.

Answer 1

So, a few things:

Thin pads will not cause a wobble, though if you're down to 2-3mm they should be replaced. I'd much rather replace them well before that.

A warped rotor may cause a wobble, but it depends on how bad it's warped.

Now, if you get a stuck caliper, or a pad that's got no material left, it can - and most likely will - generate enough heat at the pad/rotor interface to warp the rotor, in addition to providing an entertaining light show at night as it throws sparks everywhere.

You can re-use the pads as long as they've got sufficient material on them. Pads will wear to match the rotor. They won't "warp," per se - most likely they'd just wiggle in the caliper as the warped section comes into contact with the pad. You may have slightly reduced brake performance while the pad wears to match the rotor, but I wouldn't really worry about it.