I'm doing a brake upgrade on my car to the 2 Piston Calipers from the Coupe version of my car but I found out that I need to change my rotors too because the coupe has thicker rotors. These rotors are hard to find but I found a set of blanks for 100 dollars and some Cross Drilled / Slotted for 20 dollars more. Is it worth getting the cross drilled or just get the blanks.
Cross Drilled / Slotted Rotors
- Thread starter HiTek21
- Start date
Its just a daily driver, I don't plan on racing. I just want to get a little bit more stopping power.
ondarkness
Platinum Member
- Nov 10, 2004
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geno
Lifer
- Dec 26, 1999
- 25,074
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Yeah, stay away from drilled rotors, they're not only overkill for daily driving, but the drilling makes them weaker, I've heard of them cracking over a long period of use, but maybe I heard about the cheapies... who knows. Slotting is a safer way of airing out the gasses from the pads/disc surface, but the benefits you'd see from it wouldn't be huge.
Don't be afraid to get blank discs, slotted/drilled rotors are way overhyped nowadays, along with coilovers and strutbars.... It's a fad really (as far as street driving goes), you'll still get excelent results with a *good* set of pads, harder clamping calipers, and new rotors.
Don't get drilled/slotted rotors. The cheap ones break, and the expensive ones are more than you want to pay unless you're SERIOUSLY into racing.
Just get some normal rotors from Napa or wherever. They usually have decent stuff.
Just get some normal rotors from Napa or wherever. They usually have decent stuff.
Cross-drilled/slotted are not for better stopping power, it's for prolonged stopping power. If you want shorter stops then get BIGGER brakes.
More stopping power? Are you saying that you can't lock your tires or activate ABS with full brake force?
mooncancook
Platinum Member
- May 28, 2003
- 2,874
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if you want the looks, get drilled/slotted. If all you want is reliability and practicality then a regular blank one will be better.
as far as i know, drilled/slotted rotors don't last as long because they can crack. their stopping power is no better due to less contacting surface. The main advantage is that they cool better, and that's only important in race because in a race the rotors can get so hot it can literally burn the breakpads. For ordinary blank rotors are still the best. it's ok to use drilled rotors for looks, but just be prepared to check them more often and replace them more often.
as far as i know, drilled/slotted rotors don't last as long because they can crack. their stopping power is no better due to less contacting surface. The main advantage is that they cool better, and that's only important in race because in a race the rotors can get so hot it can literally burn the breakpads. For ordinary blank rotors are still the best. it's ok to use drilled rotors for looks, but just be prepared to check them more often and replace them more often.
the "cross/drilled slotted" rotors on ebay are just the brembo blanks that the company buys and drills holes into. i don't know about you, but i don't want someone drilling a hole in a rotor that isn't supposed to be there.
the GENUINE cross drilled and slotted ones that brembo actually makes are much more expensive.
the GENUINE cross drilled and slotted ones that brembo actually makes are much more expensive.
Spikesoldier
Diamond Member
- Oct 15, 2001
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iirc the slots make the pad bite more into the rotor, making a shorter stop. this comes at the cost of more brake pad wear, more brake dust, and most of all, more heat.
the cross drilled are the ones for prolonged stopping power, since they have worse performance in theory (less friction area) as opposed to a blank or a slotted rotor, they however cool off quicker than those rotors, allowing for more dramatic braking without overheating or brake fade in autocross/rally style racing.
again if its a daily driver, theres no need for it unless youre doing serious racing where you should pick up a quality set - period.
it was my understanding that the slots in the rotors help the gas escape so the pad isnt 'floating' over the rotor on a pocket of gas
What car (nm I'm assuming the one in your sig) and are your current rotors within the wear limit of the new calipers? Are they a larger diameter also?
Oh and don't use slotted/ cross drilled rotors.
Oh and don't use slotted/ cross drilled rotors.
Bartman39
Elite Member | For Sale/Trade
- Jul 4, 2000
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I do brakes for a living and the use of drilled or slotted rotors for the street is a comlete waste of money... A good quality rotor with a good quality pad will work better and last longer (you get what you pay for)... I prefer Wagner Thermo-quiet pads and their life time rotors... They also make an Extreme durability version of the pads which we use mostly on State trooper cars... BTW the trooper cars do not use drilled or slotted rotors but most of the newer (2003 and up) have larger thicker rotors...
The holes and slots are for cooling which decreases fade which of course is not good in racing (fade that is)...
High performace apps also use DOT 5 brake fluid which has a higher boiling point and is silicon based and not a polymer such as reg DOT 3 or 4...
Brakes rotors only last so long, they are designed to be wear items as well as the pads and a good even trade off between the two makes for long life... Over heating and glazing which used to occur with the older organic material pads was almost eliminated with the newer semi-metalic type pads but better compounds and curing has made them even better...
So unless you auto-cross every weekend at Sears point or Watkins Glen your daily driver will be just fine with stock good quality parts (much cheaper too)
The holes and slots are for cooling which decreases fade which of course is not good in racing (fade that is)...
High performace apps also use DOT 5 brake fluid which has a higher boiling point and is silicon based and not a polymer such as reg DOT 3 or 4...Brakes rotors only last so long, they are designed to be wear items as well as the pads and a good even trade off between the two makes for long life... Over heating and glazing which used to occur with the older organic material pads was almost eliminated with the newer semi-metalic type pads but better compounds and curing has made them even better...
So unless you auto-cross every weekend at Sears point or Watkins Glen your daily driver will be just fine with stock good quality parts (much cheaper too)
Aharami
Lifer
- Aug 31, 2001
- 21,205
- 165
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ok i'll chime in since i have cross-drilled and slotted rotors on my car. I bought them not knowing anything about them other than they look cool as hell.
braking power is the same. the x-drilled/slotted rotors weigh a little less (mine weighs like a pound less than non x-drilled/slotted versions) and since and reduction in unsprung weight makes such a big difference (i read somewhere that 1lb unsprung = 10 lbs sprung), i do notice my car a bit faster off the line than b4. But the down side is that I get a lot of brake dust, and my pads wear really quick!! installed new pads less than a year ago and my pads are alredy squealing slightly.
so if u want the look, but are willing to change pads every year, get x-drilled/slotted rotors. if not, get normal ones
braking power is the same. the x-drilled/slotted rotors weigh a little less (mine weighs like a pound less than non x-drilled/slotted versions) and since and reduction in unsprung weight makes such a big difference (i read somewhere that 1lb unsprung = 10 lbs sprung), i do notice my car a bit faster off the line than b4. But the down side is that I get a lot of brake dust, and my pads wear really quick!! installed new pads less than a year ago and my pads are alredy squealing slightly.
so if u want the look, but are willing to change pads every year, get x-drilled/slotted rotors. if not, get normal ones
He is right.... and most of todays high perf pads don't create those gases anymore..
Even on a hard street driven car they are a waste.....
StageLeft
No Lifer
- Sep 29, 2000
- 70,150
- 5
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People always talk about stopping power, oblivious to the fact that all but the absolute sh*tiest brake systems can indeed lock up tires, so it's really money down the crapper, but hey people continue to do it!
The limiting factor on brake performance for almost everybody is tire grip. You want better braking, buy better tires. Sure the "feel" of stock brakes may not be great, but when you lock abs who gives a crap, and unless you're racing it then fade is not an issue PERIOD.
I had powerslot rotors w/ neuspeed stainless brake lines..
did not see any major difference except a lighter wallet...
had it for about 1 year (~22,000 miles), till brake pads wore out, took the slotted rotors off and went back to stock...
not worth the $$ having bigger brake are better.
did not see any major difference except a lighter wallet...
had it for about 1 year (~22,000 miles), till brake pads wore out, took the slotted rotors off and went back to stock...
not worth the $$ having bigger brake are better.
Vic
Elite Member
- Jun 12, 2001
- 50,422
- 14,337
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Not at all Skoorb. Better brakes provide better modulation of stopping power without locking up. That's the whole idea of them. Even the crappiest of brakes can lock up, true. But they'll go straight from poor stopping power to locking up with nothing in between and little ability to control the difference. Getting more stopping power before lock up and a better ability to control that stopping power is why people upgrade their brake systems.
And then there are the advantages of reduced fade, etc.
Don'tk now about you guys. but its happend to be often, that my breaks heated up so much I had my foot to the ground and the car wasn't stopping because they got so hot. I don't race with my car either. I've had many other people tell me the same thing. So its not just my car.
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