Rotor upgrades

[Roob]

I agree about the OEM rotors. I've had this setup for about two winters. No sign of rust or any degradation in performance. When I started to look at the types available,I found this setup had worked well for a number of people with the same issues I had with OEM. Sometimes you can go cheaper and get lucky with how the parts perform, I just didn't want to take the risk especially where brakes are concerned. The EBC rotors are known for being very durable and reliable, plus they are a British company and that's a big plus for me!

Cheers.

 

[Roob]

You never know. As I still have the OEM rotors I may have to temporarily switch over to them and try this out.
I do think though that the slotted rotors ability to sling water off the rotor would be a definite advantage.
I'll let you know if I do the switch and what I find.

Cheers.

 

[Roob]

Originally Posted By: randomhero439
Originally Posted By: tig1
None for the average car and driver.


+1

If your racing slotted and drilled rotors help with heat disappation and dust removal. Doubt youll notice a difference on the street unless you mash the pedal at 80-10mph a few times in a row.


The situation you describe is a daily occurrence on the 401 and my new setup proves its worth every time.
It resolved an issue I was having, but its not for everyone. I'm happy and believe me I'm no fun when unhappy!

Cheers.

 

[Astro14]

The slotted rotors (Powerslot) on my Volvo have a quicker/more responsive bite in wet weather...otherwise, the only noticeable change is the slight resonance/hum from the slots under heavy braking. I'm using Akebono Ceramic pads and the life of both (pad and rotor) has been outstanding. Over 50K and the pads are still more than 1/2 thickness.

My Mercedes S600 comes with drilled rotors from the factory - big rotors, big multipiston calipers, designed to stop a 4,500 lb car from autobahn speed...but the rotors are part of an overall system design to accomplish that high performance braking. I doubt that just adding same size (small on most cars) rotors with holes in them would really make any difference in performance, except, perhaps, in wet weather...

 

[metalboy]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
My car sports factory slotteds, but it was merely a band aid fix for over aggressive pads.

Drilled work great if you have excess braking capacity, otherwise avoid them as you are removing mass from a heat sink! Noises and vibe are another reason to be cautious. The number one issue I encounter is people mistake a pad problem for a rotor problem.

That Stoptech site is the bomb! My good friend Dave Zeckhausen is a dealer for them and they (Carroll Smith) have forgotten more than most will ever know about high performance braking.


Carroll hasn't been with us, sad to say, in a number of years. He definitely knew more about race car engineering than almost anybody, and he wasn't afraid to let you know, either! I used to run into him back when I worked on an Atlantic car in the early '80s. Truly wonderful man.

His books are excellent reads if you're even slightly interested in the topic, although they are dated now.

On topic: I've found slotted rotors to be a way to crutch pads that can't handle the load I'm asking of them. Drilled rotors just crack faster for no measurable improvement. I wouldn't bother putting either on a street car. They look 'racy' but you're paying more for less product.

 

[cat843]

Originally Posted By: metalboy
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
My car sports factory slotteds, but it was merely a band aid fix for over aggressive pads.

Drilled work great if you have excess braking capacity, otherwise avoid them as you are removing mass from a heat sink! Noises and vibe are another reason to be cautious. The number one issue I encounter is people mistake a pad problem for a rotor problem.

That Stoptech site is the bomb! My good friend Dave Zeckhausen is a dealer for them and they (Carroll Smith) have forgotten more than most will ever know about high performance braking.


Carroll hasn't been with us, sad to say, in a number of years. He definitely knew more about race car engineering than almost anybody, and he wasn't afraid to let you know, either! I used to run into him back when I worked on an Atlantic car in the early '80s. Truly wonderful man.

His books are excellent reads if you're even slightly interested in the topic, although they are dated now.

On topic: I've found slotted rotors to be a way to crutch pads that can't handle the load I'm asking of them. Drilled rotors just crack faster for no measurable improvement. I wouldn't bother putting either on a street car. They look 'racy' but you're paying more for less product.


I am thinking the front braking system on a Jeep Grand Cherokee is marginal at best. Even with Akebono calipers. So maybe slotted only (not drilled) rotors would help??

 

[metalboy]

Originally Posted By: cat843
Originally Posted By: metalboy
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
My car sports factory slotteds, but it was merely a band aid fix for over aggressive pads.

Drilled work great if you have excess braking capacity, otherwise avoid them as you are removing mass from a heat sink! Noises and vibe are another reason to be cautious. The number one issue I encounter is people mistake a pad problem for a rotor problem.

That Stoptech site is the bomb! My good friend Dave Zeckhausen is a dealer for them and they (Carroll Smith) have forgotten more than most will ever know about high performance braking.


Carroll hasn't been with us, sad to say, in a number of years. He definitely knew more about race car engineering than almost anybody, and he wasn't afraid to let you know, either! I used to run into him back when I worked on an Atlantic car in the early '80s. Truly wonderful man.

His books are excellent reads if you're even slightly interested in the topic, although they are dated now.

On topic: I've found slotted rotors to be a way to crutch pads that can't handle the load I'm asking of them. Drilled rotors just crack faster for no measurable improvement. I wouldn't bother putting either on a street car. They look 'racy' but you're paying more for less product.


I am thinking the front braking system on a Jeep Grand Cherokee is marginal at best. Even with Akebono calipers. So maybe slotted only (not drilled) rotors would help??


Quality pads should be your first stop. Why do you say it's "marginal?"

I think standards have improved so much that most people don't even know what "marginal" brakes feel like. If you can panic-stop from 70mph and have the ABS pulsing all the way down, that's as much as your typical street car will EVER need. If you want to stop harder, get stickier tires. If you can make the ABS pulse on dry tarmac, you are braking as hard as your car can brake on that rubber.

 

[SHOZ]

I just use AutoZone rotors. No drilled or slotted.

FWIW NASCAR uses dimpled rotors.

 

[metalboy]

Originally Posted By: SHOZ
I just use AutoZone rotors. No drilled or slotted.

FWIW NASCAR uses dimpled rotors.


NASCAR is about as extreme as anyone has ever gone with iron rotors, and whether they are slotted or dimpled varies from car to car. They don't use drilled rotors because they're too thick and the internal vanes are too complicated.

 

[cat843]

Originally Posted By: metalboy
Originally Posted By: cat843
Originally Posted By: metalboy
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
My car sports factory slotteds, but it was merely a band aid fix for over aggressive pads.

Drilled work great if you have excess braking capacity, otherwise avoid them as you are removing mass from a heat sink! Noises and vibe are another reason to be cautious. The number one issue I encounter is people mistake a pad problem for a rotor problem.

That Stoptech site is the bomb! My good friend Dave Zeckhausen is a dealer for them and they (Carroll Smith) have forgotten more than most will ever know about high performance braking.


Carroll hasn't been with us, sad to say, in a number of years. He definitely knew more about race car engineering than almost anybody, and he wasn't afraid to let you know, either! I used to run into him back when I worked on an Atlantic car in the early '80s. Truly wonderful man.

His books are excellent reads if you're even slightly interested in the topic, although they are dated now.

On topic: I've found slotted rotors to be a way to crutch pads that can't handle the load I'm asking of them. Drilled rotors just crack faster for no measurable improvement. I wouldn't bother putting either on a street car. They look 'racy' but you're paying more for less product.


I am thinking the front braking system on a Jeep Grand Cherokee is marginal at best. Even with Akebono calipers. So maybe slotted only (not drilled) rotors would help??


Quality pads should be your first stop. Why do you say it's "marginal?"

I think standards have improved so much that most people don't even know what "marginal" brakes feel like. If you can panic-stop from 70mph and have the ABS pulsing all the way down, that's as much as your typical street car will EVER need. If you want to stop harder, get stickier tires. If you can make the ABS pulse on dry tarmac, you are braking as hard as your car can brake on that rubber.


By marginal I mean the braking system on my Jeep develops pulsation a few thousand miles after new pads and rotors. The Teves caliper was not big enough and that is why it was replaced with a Akebono. The current brakes are the pads from Jeep that came with the Akebono caliper upgrade kit along with the Centric rotors that are coated. I just bought some Wagner ceramic TQ pads (rebate).

I am thinking the brakes are not really big enough to do the job and often get too hot. I do not drive aggressively.

 

[cat843]

OK, so it seems people are saying if its not a racing vehicle, then plain non slotted/drilled/dimpled are best and will be the strongest and last the longest.

So why are 75% of the rotors for my vehicle on Amazon either slotted or drilled or dimpled?

I would not consider a Jeep a racing vehicle.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Simple version: Drilled is for bling. tend to crack at the drilled holes if used hard.

Slotted is for pad issues. Dimples are new and also address pad issues.

Plain faced work well for almost any car/truck. But slotted/drilled/dimpled adds a lot of bling if you want it.

Be careful buying rotors to address issues, as many confuse a pad problem with a rotor problem.

 

[GC4lunch]

Originally Posted By: Astro14
My Mercedes S600 comes with drilled rotors from the factory - big rotors, big multipiston calipers, designed to stop a 4,500 lb car from autobahn speed...but the rotors are part of an overall system design to accomplish that high performance braking. I doubt that just adding same size (small on most cars) rotors with holes in them would really make any difference in performance, except, perhaps, in wet weather...

I think that the "drilled" OEM rotors for the Mercedes S600 are actually cast with the holes in them. Drilling after casting disturbs the crystalline structure of cast iron, so cast-with-holes rotors have greater structural integrity than drilled-after-casting rotors.

 

[RiceCake]

Drilled rotors make your car go faster, boring regular rotors that have worked perfectly on cars for decades and are often cheaper anyhow are for sensible chumps.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: Donald

1) drilled
2) dimple drilled
3) slotted
4) curved slotted


1) More bling
2) More bling
3) More bling
4) More bling

Hey, when you spend $100k on an SLK, you got to get some bling to show off to justify right? That's why the calipers are painted and with fancy letters and brands, and the rotors are pretty.

 

[Johnny2Bad]

The only time I would consider slotted rotors on a DD truck is if you are towing / hauling in hill country, where the slotted rotors might mitigate brake fade. For 1-stop performance they are (or should be) unnecessary, but if you're on the brakes hard for the 10th time in a half hour, maybe you see fade which can be very scary; it basically feels like no brakes at all.

But, I would explore every other option to reduce gassing first; for example pad choice, before I would go slotted.

That said, you really need to do your due diligence when it comes to slotted rotors; if for example you are looking at rotors that started out as plain and [someone] then machined the slots, which is common on inexpensive slotted rotors, you might have issues with durability / runout. It's even more likely with drilled rotors.

In the case of a Jeep, I would also be concerned about water which can lead to runout if there is shock cooling. In order of resistance to this problem, it's plain (best); slotted (more likely) and drilled (often terrible).

I would say that if your application can get by with plain rotors, then use them.

Only choose slotted for a good reason (ie rectifying a known braking performance problem), and buy quality variants. Drilled rotors probably do not belong on any truck and most street-driven cars, but if you insist, then you pretty much have to pay the big bucks for ones that have a hope of lasting, and everything in the installation has to be just so or all bets are off.