Does anyone have any info. on the performance of regular cheapo brake pads with cross drilled and slotted rotors? Do they work? Do they work well? How do they work compared to performance brake pads with cross drilled and slotted rotors and how do they perform compared to a completely stock brake system?

 

Upgrading to drilled rotors really isn't worthwhile. Generally you increase your overall stopping distance vs blank rotors. Only advantage is they cool down faster. If you want to stop faster, get performance pads and new blank rotors. I've still got a set of EBC RedStuff pads for sale for S/SI's

 

I've heard that regular economy pads with drilled/slotted rotors actually causes a decrease in perfomance over stock because of the mismatched materials. Is this true?

 

Drilled/slotted rotors will crack. I had a picture of mine, but can't find it at the moment.

 

Your best option is to get some Axxis Ultimate pads or another pad along those lines and use the OEM rotor.

 

Do they crack from use of the cheapo pads or from rapid heating and cooling from rain/snow, etc.? Or... do they just crack because they suck?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Unidentified &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Do they crack from use of the cheapo pads or from rapid heating and cooling from rain/snow, etc.? Or... do they just crack because they suck?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Mostly they crack because people buy cheap unknown brands, or from unknown sources. Buy from trusted brand like Brembo, Powerslot, AEM... I'm running Brembo cross drilled for more than 2 years now with Axxis Ultimate ceramic, daily driving to work, school, going out..., CRACK what??? Not only me, but 2 of my friends have same Brembo rotors for a long time too. This is just an example, many people don't know what they are getting. You go on ebay you will see a ton of Brembo cross drilled and slotted for sale. Brembo don't make cross drilled and slotted, they only make either cross drilled or slotted. Third party buys Brembo blank rotors and have them cross drilled and slotted. You already know what will happen next. People buy these and they fail, then saying because they are cross drilled, slotted, not blank. With the proper heat treatment, the structural integrity will not reduce. You got to be very careful what you're buying out there guys.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by del_parker &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Drilled/slotted rotors will crack. I had a picture of mine, but can't find it at the moment.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I like to know what brand you got?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by xbn83 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I like to know what brand you got?</TD></TR></TABLE>

bembo and neuspeed

they both cracked

I'm now using $20 oem replacement rotors from Advance Auto Parts. The pads are what make the difference.

Slam on brakes a few times from 100+ with each type of rotor and see if you notice any difference.

 

"The Working of Brakes"

Over the past several years I have seen many myths perpetrated by the main stream. The purpose of this article is to dispel some of those myths while explaining basic concepts. Through the course of this article you will learn about how brakes work. You will also learn the advantages and disadvantages of cross-drilled, slotted, and vented rotors. Lastly, you will learn about brake bias.

There is a common fallacy out there that increasing your brake pad size in terms of swept area will increase the stopping power of your car through greater friction. From a standpoint ignoring operating temperatures this is in fact false. The force of friction is determined by physics as the force down on the object times the coefficient of friction. As such there is no surface area in the friction equation. However, the temperature of the pad varies throughout its use changing the coefficient of friction at each point along its temperature slope in a non-linear/non-progressive manner. As such it is possible that a larger pad will change the friction force favorably given pad makeup. It certainly will change the amount of time before the brakes enter the proper range and when they leave the range. It will also influence when and how long it is at the peak performance point. Meanwhile, modifying the pad material can change this operating range. As such the affect of increase in pad size on braking friction would depend on the makeup of the pad. Also note that the only way to modify the force down is to change the brake piston force (by size changes or number for example).

This does not mean that a larger brake pad does not help braking! The benefit of a large brake pad comes into effect when you consider thermal dissipation. The larger the pad the more this thermal temperature (created by the interaction between the pad and rotor) is spread amongst a pad. This means less temperature is concentrated at one point on the pad and the rotor absorbs more heat. This decreases the likelihood that the pad itself will heat beyond operating temperature. If the pad were to go beyond operating temperature it would glaze over resulting in brake fade. Furthermore, a larger pad results in a longer service life of the pad since there is more pad material to consume.

**Note: This is not to say that a huge pad is the way to go. I am simply telling you the benefits of a bigger pad. Do not. I repeat do not buy a huge pad thinking that will be the end all. However, consider a pad with a better material makeup for a large difference.

Advantages

So what do cross drilled and slotted rotors accomplish? The main original purpose of slotted and cross-drilled rotors was to vent gases that buildup between the pads and the rotors. However, this reasoning is no longer valid. As the years have gone by pads have been designed that produce very little gas. Furthermore many pads come with groves in themselves that allow for the removal of any minor gas that is created. A slotted or drilled rotor always decreases the rotors capability to dissipate heat amongst itself. A slotted or drilled rotor will also clean off the brake pad as it passes the slots at the expense of faster pad wear. As such there are benefits for rally and dirt tracks. Furthermore, the slots or holes themselves can serve to wipe off the top layer of glaze that tends to appear on your brake pads. Some racers say this last part is beneficial while others question whether the slots will fill before the deglaze affect is ever helpful. I have yet to determine the answer to this question.

The answer of slotted and cross-drilled rotor usefulness seems to lie with whether the benefit of cleaning the pads outstrips the loss in heat dissipation. In terms of cross drilling there are so many costs that nothing is accomplished beyond perhaps giving you a certain bling look. In a motorcycle or other extremely light vehicle the decrease in rotational inertia and unsprung mass might perhaps be useful (once other more efficient avenues are exhausted). However, in a street car or race car the speeds and weight of such vehicles will make the relatively miniscule decrease be outweighed by the need for more heat dissipation. Slotted rotors, meanwhile, share the positives of cross drilling but notably are slightly less subject to the costs. They do not impede airflow through the rotors vanes, nor do they have as large an affect on structural rigidity. Therefore, the need for slotting depends on your application.

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