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Drilled and/or slotted brake rotor questions Login/Join 
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posted
Questions for anyone who has upgraded their brake rotors to the drilled and/or slotted type.

Did you notice an improved braking experience?
Notice any major wear issues?
Brand preferences?

Would you recommend or purchase them again?

*Vehicle use, daily driver, hauling and towing.




 
Posts: 10045 | Registered: October 15, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Just because you can,
doesn't mean you should
posted Hide Post
In most cases this is done for marketing reasons, not performance.
Bright red calipers have roughly equal performance benefits.
Holes remove surface area and cause cracks eventually.


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Posts: 9446 | Location: NE GA | Registered: August 22, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Not sure if widespread but have seen comments about cracking associated with cross-drilled rotors.

Had them, OE, on my Mercedes with no issues. But, only put about 40k on it.




The Enemy's gate is down.
 
Posts: 15136 | Location: Spring, TX | Registered: July 11, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of Rick Lee
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They don't matter for street use. They can matter a lot for track use. On the track heat is your enemy, and anything - a hole, a slot, a larger caliper - helps keep those temps down. When you're barreling toward a concrete wall at 140mph and your pedal gets soft, believe me, you want every tiny advantage you can get, which means larger calipers, fresh brake fluid, aggressive pads and rotors that promote cooling.
 
Posts: 3491 | Location: Cave Creek, AZ | Registered: October 24, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Spread the Disease
Picture of flesheatingvirus
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High quality pads made of decent material are much more important for street cars.


________________________________________

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Posts: 17242 | Location: New Mexico | Registered: October 14, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Drove my father's car once and was shocked how horrendous the stock brakes were. Stopping power was very poor and brake fade was scary. Replace them with These:

Z23 Carbon-Fiber Ceramic Brake Pads
Upgraded braking performance designed for every-day cars, trucks and SUVs
Dual-Layer Rubberized Shims
Better noise insulator for virtually silent braking
Drilled, Slotted & Zinc Plated Rotors
Provide maximum cooling and helps protect against rust and corrosion
Premium Stainless-Steel Hardware
Hi-Temp Brake Lubricant

braking went from scary poor to some of the best I've ever experienced
 
Posts: 3529 | Registered: August 19, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of Lunasee
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The purpose of the slots or drilling is to relieve the gases built up between the pad and rotor during heavy braking. This leads to better pad/rotor contact. Drilled rotors tend to cracking. I use slotted rotors on the track.
 
Posts: 514 | Location: Hillsboro, OR | Registered: January 09, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
For real?
Picture of Chowser
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I did slotted rotors once and for some reason it was noisy. I tried changing pad material and I would always hear a hum. I just turned the radio up. I sold the car before seeing if it lasted as long as regular ones.

I haven't bothered to try again.



Not minority enough!
 
Posts: 7990 | Location: Cleveland, OH | Registered: August 09, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Savor the limelight
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by nasig:
Drove my father's car once and was shocked how horrendous the stock brakes were. Stopping power was very poor and brake fade was scary. Replace them with These:

Z23 Carbon-Fiber Ceramic Brake Pads
Upgraded braking performance designed for every-day cars, trucks and SUVs
Dual-Layer Rubberized Shims
Better noise insulator for virtually silent braking
Drilled, Slotted & Zinc Plated Rotors
Provide maximum cooling and helps protect against rust and corrosion
Premium Stainless-Steel Hardware
Hi-Temp Brake Lubricant

braking went from scary poor to some of the best I've ever experienced

That's a Powerstop kit which is what put on my truck except the Z36 pads. The biggest difference over stock on my F350 is way less dust and it's really quiet. They changed the braking feel a bit. There's a little more initial grab, the brakes are a bit easier to modulate, and they seem to require a little less pedal pressure for a given amount of stopping force. That all went away when the pads started separating from the backing plate. Those were replaced under warranty.

I don't think the truck stops any shorter though. No mater how hard I hit the brakes, I've never been able to get the anti-lock system to activate on dry pavement either before or after the change. That seems weird to me especially that the rears don't. In my mind, if they aren't locking up, there's braking performance being left on the table.

It really bugs me that the fronts wear out every 60,000 miles and the rears look new. With my fifth wheel hitched, there is much rear to front weight transfer happening and the rear brake should be contributing more to the braking.

As for fade, they seem to fade about the same as stock as well. They're good for one panic stop. I'm going to try the Ford Severe Duty pads next.
 
Posts: 10803 | Location: SWFL | Registered: October 10, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Yew got a spider
on yo head
Picture of DoctorSolo
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by Rick Lee:
They don't matter for street use. They can matter a lot for track use. On the track heat is your enemy, and anything - a hole, a slot, a larger caliper - helps keep those temps down. When you're barreling toward a concrete wall at 140mph and your pedal gets soft, believe me, you want every tiny advantage you can get, which means larger calipers, fresh brake fluid, aggressive pads and rotors that promote cooling.


For serious track use, you absolutely want more heat capacity and less thermal stress points, and that means NON drilled or slotted rotors. Even on my MX-5, I'll never run drilled or slotted rotors. They are not safe for me because I can destroy them, even operating the car in a comfortable envelope.

If you are seeing fade, you need different pads and brake fluid, and probably brake ducts.

The only drilled or slotted rotors I trust are made by Porsche. The drilled and slotted power-stop/centric crap is junk.
 
Posts: 5096 | Location: Colorado Springs | Registered: April 12, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Just because you can,
doesn't mean you should
posted Hide Post
^^
Finding quality rotors for most cars now is difficult.
All cast iron isn't the same. Most rotors are made in China or some other third world country and you can't tell the quality just by looking at them.
My preferred brand of brake pads, if they make them for your application, is Performance Friction.


___________________________
Avoid buying ChiCom/CCP products whenever possible.
 
Posts: 9446 | Location: NE GA | Registered: August 22, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of smlsig
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by DoctorSolo:
quote:
Originally posted by Rick Lee:
They don't matter for street use. They can matter a lot for track use. On the track heat is your enemy, and anything - a hole, a slot, a larger caliper - helps keep those temps down. When you're barreling toward a concrete wall at 140mph and your pedal gets soft, believe me, you want every tiny advantage you can get, which means larger calipers, fresh brake fluid, aggressive pads and rotors that promote cooling.


For serious track use, you absolutely want more heat capacity and less thermal stress points, and that means NON drilled or slotted rotors. Even on my MX-5, I'll never run drilled or slotted rotors. They are not safe for me because I can destroy them, even operating the car in a comfortable envelope.

If you are seeing fade, you need different pads and brake fluid, and probably brake ducts.

The only drilled or slotted rotors I trust are made by Porsche. The drilled and slotted power-stop/centric crap is junk.


Close but not quite right. You will not find drilled rotors any any race car. Period. Most if not all race cars that are raced on road courses or endurance races have slotted rotors to aid in dissipating the gasses that “can” build up under very heavy (I.e. threshold) braking.

If I understand the OP he is asking about what to use on his trucks that will also be towing etc. We have used Cryoed Rotors for our trucks and also my Porsche race car as they will last longer than regular rotors.

The other major player is of course, the pads. Depending on how much initial “bite” you want in your brake application this will vary but which pad might be best suited for you is another discussion in its own right…


------------------
Eddie

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Posts: 6309 | Location: In transit | Registered: February 19, 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Just for the
hell of it
Picture of comet24
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My question would be what are you trying to get out of them?

I would stay away from drilled rotors.

I have used slotted/dimpled EBC rotors. Used them on an older Acura TL I had bought used. Had some problems with the front brakes, rusted slidder pins, and wrapped rotors. This was a common problem with those cars and I wanted o fix it once and never worry or deal with it again.

I went with EBC ones because I was looking for high-quality rotors. Wasn't really looking for slotted but the EBC slotted ones were well-made and just junk. Never had a problem and they worked very well. I also paired them with dual-piston calibers and Hawk HPS pads. Like I said I never wanted a problem again and have always felt you can't go wrong upgrading your brakes.


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Posts: 16375 | Registered: March 27, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Alienator
Picture of SIG4EVA
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DO NOT buy cross drilled rotors unless you are doing it just for looks for a show car or something. Any serious breaking and they develop cracks and will eventually fail.

Slotted rotors are good as they give a place for gas to escape and scrape down your pads. For towing, you'll be just fine with solid properly vented blanks.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: SIG4EVA,


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Posts: 7054 | Location: NC | Registered: March 16, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
thin skin can't win
Picture of Georgeair
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I've got drilled rotors that came as OEM items on two cars. I've probably pushed them hard enough for this to be needed a handful of times, and maybe not even that.

I agree with the recommendation for spending the money on really good and possibly slotted rotors and good pads. I used that setup to good result on a Suburban and Yukon, with occasional towing in addition to stopping the 3 tons all day every day.

With as long as pads last now, I do generally like to just replace rotors at same time. The thickness of those is what matters, and fresh is better if you can afford it.

Also don't discount OEM in some cases. I've had "good" aftermarket rear rotors/pads on a Mercedes SUV get chewed up in 30K. OEM ones have lasted 50-70K. Hell, I just replaced the front rotors/pads on that and was looking back through records since I didn't recall ever doing that. Nope, first time. 155K!!!

Damn right I put the exact same thing back on no matter what the cost was.



You only have integrity once. - imprezaguy02

 
Posts: 12345 | Location: Madison, MS | Registered: December 10, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
3° that never cooled
Picture of rock185
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I have an early Tundra that had the "Shakin-on-Brakin" problem caused by the front rotors warping. I had the problem addressed by Toyota. The fix lasted for less than a hundred miles. Checked with Toyota to see if there were upgraded rotors I could buy. Nope.

Finally took a chance and installed slotted and cryo-treated rotors. No difference in breaking action, just more resistance to warping.


NRA Life
 
Posts: 1561 | Location: Under the Tonto Rim | Registered: August 18, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of P250UA5
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by smlsig:
Close but not quite right. You will not find drilled rotors any any race car. Period. Most if not all race cars that are raced on road courses or endurance races have slotted rotors to aid in dissipating the gasses that “can” build up under very heavy (I.e. threshold) braking.

If I understand the OP he is asking about what to use on his trucks that will also be towing etc. We have used Cryoed Rotors for our trucks and also my Porsche race car as they will last longer than regular rotors.

The other major player is of course, the pads. Depending on how much initial “bite” you want in your brake application this will vary but which pad might be best suited for you is another discussion in its own right…


Case in point, F1 cars use solid faced rotors & they're pulling from 215 down to sub-100mph speeds




The Enemy's gate is down.
 
Posts: 15136 | Location: Spring, TX | Registered: July 11, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
delicately calloused
Picture of darthfuster
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My first gen Tundra had really bad brakes. I could put new factory rotors on with Toyota brand pads and the rotors would get warped within 3000 miles. I know why. The rear brakes should take a greater percentage of the duty than they do. This happens because the rear brakes do not adjust as they should so before long, the fronts are doing 90% of the duty. That's no bueno. After I gave up on Toyota for a long term resolution, I rolled the dice and bought some drilled/slotted rotors. That brought the brake service life up to normal. I can't explain the science, but I know drilled/slotted worked for my problem.



You’re a lying dog-faced pony soldier
 
Posts: 29597 | Location: Highland, Ut. | Registered: May 07, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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It depends on the application.
If what you have works then drilled/slotted probably won't see much benefit.

I went a few rounds trying to get my 91 Landcruiser sorted out with it's brakes.
Brake fade trying to slow it down going down a hill was my biggest problem.
New master and wheel cylinders, new rotors and drums, new lines, different pads/shoes, etc.
I put a set of drilled and slotted rotors with the pads that came with them on it and they hold now.
I put them on over 10 years ago (25,000 miles) and they are holding up fine so far.
 
Posts: 1469 | Location: Portland Oregon | Registered: October 01, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
My other Sig
is a Steyr.
Picture of .38supersig
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I have 14 1/2 inch rotors on mine with four piston calipers and cooling ducts.

No slots or cross drilling for me. I haven't found Laguna Seca on the way to work.




 
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