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Anyone have drilled/slotted rotors?

  • Thread starter Thread starter 1Phat5Liter
  • Start date Start date Dec 7, 2007
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1Phat5Liter

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Jul 22, 2007
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Dec 7, 2007
#1
  • Dec 7, 2007
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Pics?
 

2000fordstanggt

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Dec 7, 2007
#2
  • Dec 7, 2007
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1Phat5Liter said:
Pics?
Click to expand...

i do, and about the only good thing about them is looks. they eat pads like no other. so i would think about the 13'' brake upgrade. sorry i dont have any pics though.

+some tracks wont let you run with them. since one breaking would obviously be to say the least..bad.
 

2000fordstanggt

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oops..double post
 

Romeo46LV8

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the_tool_man

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#5
  • Dec 7, 2007
  • #5
Here you go:



I drilled mine on an Explorer Sport I used to have. It had brakes that were too small to begin with, so they would fade after a few hard stops. After drilling them, the difference in braking performance was very noticable. They would still fade a bit, but it took a lot longer. They did not wear any faster, or wear out pads any faster than before. I drilled them in 2003, and 4 years later, they're still on the vehicle (though I don't own it any more).

I've got a set to go on my Cobra, but don't have any pics (yet).

Regards,
John.
 

1Phat5Liter

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#6
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Looks good.

Yeah i bought a couple cross drilled rotors for the fronts today and EBC green pads. I'm gonna try em' out and see how i like them. Then i'll do the rears. I need new rotors, but i'm doing the drilled rotors mainly for looks.

Thanks guys.
 

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell
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#7
  • Dec 7, 2007
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the_tool_man said:
I drilled mine on an Explorer Sport I used to have. It had brakes that were too small to begin with, so they would fade after a few hard stops. After drilling them, the difference in braking performance was very noticable. They would still fade a bit, but it took a lot longer. They did not wear any faster, or wear out pads any faster than before. I drilled them in 2003, and 4 years later, they're still on the vehicle (though I don't own it any more)..
Click to expand...


You drilled them yourself?
 

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell
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#8
  • Dec 7, 2007
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2000fordstanggt said:
i do, and about the only good thing about them is looks. they eat pads like no other. so i would think about the 13'' brake upgrade. sorry i dont have any pics though.

+some tracks wont let you run with them. since one breaking would obviously be to say the least..bad.
Click to expand...


Chevy has actually run some tests on the new Corvette and found that their drilled rotor option did increase braking force at speeds above 100MPH. For some reason the drilled rotors had more bite. However, under 100, the standard plain faced rotors outperformed the drilled rotors.

Drilling rotors does NOTHING for performance. A lot of guys claim they helped dramatically but the fact is you can go to Autozone, buy some $10 rotors and slap them on and notice a difference over worn out rotors. Does that mean the $10 rotors are better? No, it just means you have new rotors. Over time, they will suck.

Crossdrilling is for the exotic race cars which have exotic pads that release gas under hard braking. Modern street cars you buy at a normal dealer do not have these pads, so there is no need. The holes are drilled perpendicular to the flow of air so there is zero airflow through them anyway. All the cooling comes from the center vanes of the rotor drawing air from the hat area and flinging it outwards.

Under hard braking, say 100-0MPH, a solid faced rotor will outperform a crossdrilled rotor. Reason is mass. The solid rotor can absorb more heat and has more surface area to contact that pad. That's it. That's the physics behind braking.

Slotted rotors do help "wipe" brake dust away, but they also do nothing for cooling.



With that said, i think they look badass. Since the everyday normal street would probably never see extreme abusive braking, they are fine. I have autocrossed my car and that is the ultimate test of brakes. I've never gotten my brakes as hot on the street as i did at the autocross, and i ran my plain-faced 13" brembos while my friend ran some drilled 13" rotors. His cracked and are in the trash after a day of abuse while mine performed lovely all day long.

I also would never run cross-drilled on a truck. You definitely want to rotor to have as much mass as possible to absorb the heat generated from braking. Heavy trucks make a LOT of heat
 

forum155pl

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Mustang5L5 said:
Chevy has actually run some tests on the new Corvette and found that their drilled rotor option did increase braking force at speeds above 100MPH. For some reason the drilled rotors had more bite. However, under 100, the standard plain faced rotors outperformed the drilled rotors.

Drilling rotors does NOTHING for performance. A lot of guys claim they helped dramatically but the fact is you can go to Autozone, buy some $10 rotors and slap them on and notice a difference over worn out rotors. Does that mean the $10 rotors are better? No, it just means you have new rotors. Over time, they will suck.

Crossdrilling is for the exotic race cars which have exotic pads that release gas under hard braking. Modern street cars you buy at a normal dealer do not have these pads, so there is no need. The holes are drilled perpendicular to the flow of air so there is zero airflow through them anyway. All the cooling comes from the center vanes of the rotor drawing air from the hat area and flinging it outwards.

Under hard braking, say 100-0MPH, a solid faced rotor will outperform a crossdrilled rotor. Reason is mass. The solid rotor can absorb more heat and has more surface area to contact that pad. That's it. That's the physics behind braking.

Slotted rotors do help "wipe" brake dust away, but they also do nothing for cooling.



With that said, i think they look badass. Since the everyday normal street would probably never see extreme abusive braking, they are fine. I have autocrossed my car and that is the ultimate test of brakes. I've never gotten my brakes as hot on the street as i did at the autocross, and i ran my plain-faced 13" brembos while my friend ran some drilled 13" rotors. His cracked and are in the trash after a day of abuse while mine performed lovely all day long.

I also would never run cross-drilled on a truck. You definitely want to rotor to have as much mass as possible to absorb the heat generated from braking. Heavy trucks make a LOT of heat
Click to expand...

damn.. thats what i was going to say....

are rotors at autozone really $10??
 

Mustang5L5

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forum155pl said:
are rotors at autozone really $10??
Click to expand...

I think the cheapest are like $35 or so


Never really checked. I either go Ford OEM or Brembo blanks when i do rotors
 

tomustang

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They're really like 30-60/piece depending on applications


But yeah to sum it up

drilled rotors crack but provide venting for the heat
slotted chew pads up but cleans the surface

Blanks that are "Vented" work the best overall; last longer, perform great, less brake fade yada yada

and if anyone forgot what Vented is here's a pic



They are fins between each surface
 

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell
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tomustang said:
drilled rotors crack but provide venting for the heat
Click to expand...


They do nothing for heat. They are for gaseous vapors emmitted by the pads under braking...which modern street pads do not do.
 

geoffsgt

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Dec 8, 2007
#13
  • Dec 8, 2007
  • #13
Good cross drilled rotors aren't drilled anyway. They're cast with the holes in them. Drilling weakens the area around the hole. If you buy cheap or from a random company off ebay, you're probably getting Brembo blanks drilled by someone else.

Also, if the edges of the holes aren't shaped right, it causes more stress and makes them more prone to cracking.

The only pads that create gases are organic compound pads, which nobody uses. I'm pretty sure high performance pads aren't even organic.
 

EPIK

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Dec 9, 2007
#14
  • Dec 9, 2007
  • #14
I run SSBC slotted rotors & hawk street pads...They feel better than stock, but honestly I couldnt tell u if it was the pads or the rotors that made it better???

i got them mainly because they look good & I got a great deal on them...

 

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03ghoststang

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yup have them up front:

 

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97speedster

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#16
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I have them front and rear on mine. I noticed a huge difference but of course I went from standard to 13" so I kind of expected that.



 

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Mustang5L5

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03ghoststang said:
yup have them up front:

Click to expand...



WHat brand are those? Those look damn good
 

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03ghoststang

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Dec 9, 2007
#18
  • Dec 9, 2007
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the rotors i got from rotorpros i have a friend who knows the owner so i got hooked up with the pair...........
 

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell
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Feb 18, 2001
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#19
  • Dec 9, 2007
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I need to get me a set from them. Their's are a decent price and has the best looking finish in my opinion.
 

the_tool_man

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Dec 9, 2007
#20
  • Dec 9, 2007
  • #20
Mustang5L5 said:
Drilling rotors does NOTHING for performance.
Click to expand...

Lots of people like to debate about this, but rather than make sweeping generalizations, I prefer to stick to the facts.

On my Explorer, I went to my favorite test road with a buddy, and made several consecutive stops using the same point for brake application. After two stops from 60mph to 10mph, the stopping distance started to increase noticably.

After driving it to the shop, I took the stock, vented rotors off the vehicle, and checked them for proper thickness, runout, and dish. They were good, so I marked and drilled them, taking care to do it properly, and chamfering the hole edges correctly. I put them back on with the same pads. I did not face the rotors, bleed the brakes or anything else that would have had an effect on the braking performance. Total elapsed time about 2 hours, including letting the rotors cool before removing them.

I repeated the above test, and noticed that while my stopping distance didn't decrease measurably from the first test, it stayed the same after four stops. In my opinion, that is a significant improvement in braking performance. Satisfied, I didn't try any more. My buddy, who was skeptical of drilling before, was convinced that it helped.

Later, with better pads and tires, braking distances improved, as you might expect. Pad wear, rotor wear and balance did not degrade at all.

I have since sold the Explorer, but I know the current owner. Those drilled rotors are still on with no cracks whatsoever after four years.

Now, does that apply to every vehicle on the road? Probably not. But on at least one vehicle, it helped noticably with no detrimental side effects.

Regards,
John.
 
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