rotors and brake pads
10-24-2008, 04:44 PM
#1
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Location: temple,tx
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rotors and brake pads
next year i am going to replace my rotors and brake pads for performance use. but i am having a hard time which rotor style i want.
i heard that if i get drill rotors. they well crack.
but i also heard that sloted rotors don't give me that much grip from the stock one.
what get me the most is that i don't heard about the rotors of the sloted and drill rotors. are their good to have since their two in one rotor.
i and i know what kind of pads i going to get! the hawk performance's!
i heard that if i get drill rotors. they well crack.
but i also heard that sloted rotors don't give me that much grip from the stock one.
what get me the most is that i don't heard about the rotors of the sloted and drill rotors. are their good to have since their two in one rotor.
i and i know what kind of pads i going to get! the hawk performance's!
10-27-2008, 01:55 AM
#3
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Location: Tucson, AZ
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Slotted and/or cross drilled are mostly for looks. In theory, because they have less surface area they will actually provide less braking performance. Good quality slotted and/or cross drilled rotors work just fine if you like the look.
Last edited by TW95Z; 10-27-2008 at 01:57 AM.
10-28-2008, 08:08 AM
#5
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drilled can crack
slots are for looks
from a purely physics standpoint, the reduced surface are of the slots (or drilled for that matter) should have no effect on braking force.
force of friction = (coefficient of friction)x(normal force)
normal force = mass x gravity
normal force in the case of brakes would be clamping pressure i would think.
no place in those equations does surface area come into play
however, the reduction in mass could affect the ability of the rotor to dissipate heat...which can change the coefficient of friction. which could affect stopping power.
ok...enough babble...sorry
bottom line.....quality pads and quality rotors will stop better than cheap pads and fancy rotors.
slots are for looks
from a purely physics standpoint, the reduced surface are of the slots (or drilled for that matter) should have no effect on braking force.
force of friction = (coefficient of friction)x(normal force)
normal force = mass x gravity
normal force in the case of brakes would be clamping pressure i would think.
no place in those equations does surface area come into play
however, the reduction in mass could affect the ability of the rotor to dissipate heat...which can change the coefficient of friction. which could affect stopping power.
ok...enough babble...sorry
bottom line.....quality pads and quality rotors will stop better than cheap pads and fancy rotors.
10-29-2008, 08:11 AM
#7
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Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Central Florida
Posts: 69
When I bought my Camaro, the brakes were pretty bad. I need the rotors turned and new pads. I got summit's crossdrilled and slotted rotors and semi-metalic brake pads. I've had this set up for over a year now and have had no problems. You could also go with a LS1 front brake conversion. I see them for sale all the time on ebay, craiglist and the Camaro forums.
10-29-2008, 12:39 PM
#9
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Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Okemos, MI
Posts: 9,495
When I upgrade my brakes, I'm getting Baer's Track Plus setup.
http://www.baer.com/products/complete/track.php
http://www.baer.com/products/complete/track.php
10-29-2008, 01:27 PM
#10
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Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Richmond B.C.
Posts: 2,002
drilled can crack
slots are for looks
from a purely physics standpoint, the reduced surface are of the slots (or drilled for that matter) should have no effect on braking force.
force of friction = (coefficient of friction)x(normal force)
normal force = mass x gravity
normal force in the case of brakes would be clamping pressure i would think.
no place in those equations does surface area come into play
however, the reduction in mass could affect the ability of the rotor to dissipate heat...which can change the coefficient of friction. which could affect stopping power.
ok...enough babble...sorry
bottom line.....quality pads and quality rotors will stop better than cheap pads and fancy rotors.
slots are for looks
from a purely physics standpoint, the reduced surface are of the slots (or drilled for that matter) should have no effect on braking force.
force of friction = (coefficient of friction)x(normal force)
normal force = mass x gravity
normal force in the case of brakes would be clamping pressure i would think.
no place in those equations does surface area come into play
however, the reduction in mass could affect the ability of the rotor to dissipate heat...which can change the coefficient of friction. which could affect stopping power.
ok...enough babble...sorry
bottom line.....quality pads and quality rotors will stop better than cheap pads and fancy rotors.
"Excessive heat can cause resins in your brake pad to vaporize or "outgas." As the brake pad wears, the used friction material turns into a fine dust. This boundary layer of heat, gas and dust builds up between the pad and rotor surfaces and inhibits performance."
10-29-2008, 02:08 PM
#11
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Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Okemos, MI
Posts: 9,495
However, a better way to address that problem is to get rotors and pads that dissipate heat better, so that there's no outgassing in the first place.
11-03-2008, 01:10 AM
#12
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Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Tampa
Posts: 78
I know this thread is old but i couldn't help my self....lol. Drilled and slotted rotors are not for looks....lmfao. Although they do look nice i will agree (they look sweet on my car) the purpose of the drilled holes is to help the rotor cool, and the slots are to keep the pads cleaned and free from glazing. When your pads get overheated they get whats called glazed then they basically don't work worth a crap, the holes are to help prevent glazing by helping to cool the rotors by allowing air to pass through the rotor and the slots wipe off the pads keeping them dirt, dust and glaze free, therefore....your brakes should always work good. And they stop much much better because they are cooler and cleaner, especially if used with a good performance pad like hawk hps's. Ceramic do not dissipate heat well, the ferro-carbon are the way to go.
Just for looks and less stopping power? good grief.....rofl.
Just for looks and less stopping power? good grief.....rofl.
Last edited by SpeedZ28; 11-03-2008 at 01:15 AM.
11-03-2008, 12:55 PM
#13
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Location: Richmond B.C.
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some good points, but if you dont increase your rotor diameter and add all sorts of holes and slots, you have less surface area to work with then originally. the key to braking is to keep them clean and cool, anything more you are trading off surface area to cooling, the key is to find the happy medium so its not to the point of diminishing returns in the tradeoff. thats why i like slotted only rotors personally, and find they work the best all around. drilled rotors tend to crack also, which is no good.
11-03-2008, 01:06 PM
#14
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Location: Brookville, PA
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Drilled rotors are for one reason, and one reason only. To save weight. You can spin it any way you like, but they do not cool better. In fact they cool worse because there is less mass to absorb and dissapate the heat and the holes disrupt the air moving through the vanes of the rotor (which is the primary way vented rotors are cooled). If you were to look at most any real race car, very, very few run drilled rotors.
Slotted rotors are better than drilled as you do not cause the structural integrity issues that drilling does. And you don't lose nearly as much swept area. Outgassing and cleaning the pads are things you need and want on race compound pads. Street pads do not create the gases 1000+ degree race pads do, and street cars also have power brakes where race cars don't. You can't afford a gas boundry layer on race cars, where as a street car has no issues because you don't generate the gases and the mechanical advantage of power brakes makes it a non-issue even if you did.
Anytime you start cutting on the fact of a normal rotor you weaken it. And anytime you have corners, you induced a stress riser. Slotted rotors tend to have straight slots which means they have corners. Those corners are stress risers.
The only slotted rotors I will sell are ATE PremiumOne's largely because the slots are in a elliptical pattern that has no corners, and does not run to the very edge of the rotor. Also the slots are shallow. In fact they are wear indicators. When the slots disappear, the rotor is worn out and down to minimum service thickness.
Pads fade, rotors don't. Rotors pull heat from the pads, and the better the rotor cools the less fade prone the pads are. I do prefer Hawk pads in most cases, but cannot say I prefer any drilled rotors at all over a blank. And only one Slotted rotor I find to be equal to a blank.
Basically, I really only sell 3 rotors. Best Brand Rotors which are inexpensive but not junk replacements. Brembo Blanks which are premium replacements w/o the holes or slots (Brembo does make the others which only modified versions of this same rotor, and I don't sell it), and the ATE PremiumOne's because the slotting method is superior to other seemingly similar slotted rotors.
Slotted rotors are better than drilled as you do not cause the structural integrity issues that drilling does. And you don't lose nearly as much swept area. Outgassing and cleaning the pads are things you need and want on race compound pads. Street pads do not create the gases 1000+ degree race pads do, and street cars also have power brakes where race cars don't. You can't afford a gas boundry layer on race cars, where as a street car has no issues because you don't generate the gases and the mechanical advantage of power brakes makes it a non-issue even if you did.
Anytime you start cutting on the fact of a normal rotor you weaken it. And anytime you have corners, you induced a stress riser. Slotted rotors tend to have straight slots which means they have corners. Those corners are stress risers.
The only slotted rotors I will sell are ATE PremiumOne's largely because the slots are in a elliptical pattern that has no corners, and does not run to the very edge of the rotor. Also the slots are shallow. In fact they are wear indicators. When the slots disappear, the rotor is worn out and down to minimum service thickness.
Pads fade, rotors don't. Rotors pull heat from the pads, and the better the rotor cools the less fade prone the pads are. I do prefer Hawk pads in most cases, but cannot say I prefer any drilled rotors at all over a blank. And only one Slotted rotor I find to be equal to a blank.
Basically, I really only sell 3 rotors. Best Brand Rotors which are inexpensive but not junk replacements. Brembo Blanks which are premium replacements w/o the holes or slots (Brembo does make the others which only modified versions of this same rotor, and I don't sell it), and the ATE PremiumOne's because the slotting method is superior to other seemingly similar slotted rotors.
11-04-2008, 08:53 PM
#15
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Location: Tampa
Posts: 78
I do alot of long term back road runs with several car groups, I wont say whom and where for obvious reasons but I can tell you my brakes have gotten so hot that braking at some points was non-existent on factory rotors and pads, in fact it almost cost me one day when i had to off road at 100 mph to avoid an accident. I now run powerstop evolution drilled and slotted discs, and hps pads and have never had this problem again. They are not drilled like swiss cheese, just enough to help COOL is how they are stated, I can only say from experience they work very well. Whether they last as long as the stock ones or not.....that might be true....I haven't had them long enough to argue that.