looking for the best vented brakes....

[Chevy Lovah]

what is the best brand of vented rotors and pads. and where can i get them? front brakes are almost gone, and need to replace soon to get inspected. thanks.

[RallyRed 98]

pretty much all brake components are going to run you the same amount of money unless you step up to baer or another premier brand like that. most people on this site that use slotted rotors get the powerslot versions; they are about the same price as factory replacements. i (and most people on this board) would personally stay away from slotted or cross-drilled rotors for a few reasons.

[j_downey50]

don't wanna hijack the thread or anything, but why stay away from them?

[Dan Vincent]

Originally posted by j_downey50:
don't wanna hijack the thread or anything, but why stay away from them?

They don't really do anything for you. I got suckered into slots, but for a street car, solid blanks work the best.

[ABH]

From the Mod Encyclopedia


As for the face of the rotors, there are several designs to choose from. Stock F-Bodies come with flat faced, vented rotors. While these are good for dissipating heat, cross-drilled or slotted are even better. Cross-drilled rotors consist of a regular rotor with drill holes lining the face. The holes allow much more heat to be dispersed, and also allow gases and brake dust a means of escaping from the rotor surface. Cross-drilled rotors are not perfect, however. Where the drilled hole meets the flat surface is a stress region that contributes to weakness in the rotor and can lead to cracking. Some companies chamfer the edges of the holes (grind them down to round the edges off) which aids in reducing the stress, but it is still present to a reduced effect. Cross-drilled rotors are, all other things being equal, more likely to crack than flat faced rotors are.

Slotted, or grooved, rotors arose as a response to the problems of cracking with cross-drilled sets. Slotted rotors feature long grooves that are machined into the face of the rotor, giving gas and dust a means of escape. They also dissipate heat much better than standard flat rotors. Because the edges of the grooves are chamfered, no sharp edges arise which can crack. The fault with slotted rotors, however, is that the metal of the rotor is very thin at the site of the groove, leading to problems with them cracking there.

[Dan Vincent]

Slotted and cross-drilled rotors do NOT dissipate heat better, they're made to channel away brake gasses which we haven't had a problem with since Asbestos pads. Slotted/drilled are marketing these days. Get good blanks and pocket the difference to put towards good ceramic pads.

[ABH]

I use ceramic pads myself. But not everyone does.

A friend of mine put cross drilled on his Probe.
I asked him "If the Viper doesn't come with them, why would you need them?"

I guess the encyclopeida should be updated then?
But I think the one poster was more interested in WHY you would not use them.

[speedy-v6-camaro]

I use ceramic pads on my slotted/cross-drilled rotors. I noticed a huge difference when stepping up from the stock rotors. If you get drilled you should know how the maker makes them...make sure they are cast drilled and not drilled afterward, this will cause stress and will eventually crack.

[chas]

cross-drilled will have less mass and that's probably the only good about them with modern friction materials.

some of the people on ls1tech seem to think the $35 autozone rotors work pretty well. i need some new rotors so i just might try those.

[nikon]

Originally posted by Dan Vincent:
Slotted and cross-drilled rotors do NOT dissipate heat better, they're made to channel away brake gasses which we haven't had a problem with since Asbestos pads. Slotted/drilled are marketing these days. Get good blanks and pocket the difference to put towards good ceramic pads.

well, actually ya they do....if you take an ice cube set it on a counter top, then take the same size ice cube, and cut it in half which one will melt quicker? the one cut in half obviously because it has more surface area....same principle applies to your brakes, the greater the surface area the better it will displace heat, for there is more area for air to get to, to cool it off....however, the problem that arises in this aspect is that your need surface area, and friction to stop a car, with no heat, your car wouldnt stop, you need SOME heat....the less surface area that your brake pad touches, means DEcreased braking ability....some people may upgrade to slotted/drilled rotors and tell you there brakes work 100% better, but most of this has to do with a more aggresive brake pad....if your having a problem with warped rotors, or brake fade, the slotted/drilled rotors are the way to go, if not it would be much wiser to stick to a blank....I have a set of drilled rotors...the braking power stayed just about the same, because I stepped up to a much more aggresive semi-metallic pad....I have virtually no brakes in the rain or if there is any water on my discs at all, its just ONE of the downsides.....now if you wanna do it for the looks....then go right ahead, you should have no problem....however if you do warp your rotors, it is very difficult to find a shop that can turn them, for you need an on-car brake lathe to do the job correctly ;)

[Dan Vincent]

Originally posted by nikon:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Dan Vincent:
Slotted and cross-drilled rotors do NOT dissipate heat better, they're made to channel away brake gasses which we haven't had a problem with since Asbestos pads. Slotted/drilled are marketing these days. Get good blanks and pocket the difference to put towards good ceramic pads.

well, actually ya they do....if you take an ice cube set it on a counter top, then take the same size ice cube, and cut it in half which one will melt quicker? the one cut in half obviously because it has more surface area....same principle applies to your brakes, the greater the surface area the better it will displace heat, for there is more area for air to get to, to cool it off....however, the problem that arises in this aspect is that your need surface area, and friction to stop a car, with no heat, your car wouldnt stop, you need SOME heat....the less surface area that your brake pad touches, means DEcreased braking ability....some people may upgrade to slotted/drilled rotors and tell you there brakes work 100% better, but most of this has to do with a more aggresive brake pad....if your having a problem with warped rotors, or brake fade, the slotted/drilled rotors are the way to go, if not it would be much wiser to stick to a blank....I have a set of drilled rotors...the braking power stayed just about the same, because I stepped up to a much more aggresive semi-metallic pad....I have virtually no brakes in the rain or if there is any water on my discs at all, its just ONE of the downsides.....now if you wanna do it for the looks....then go right ahead, you should have no problem....however if you do warp your rotors, it is very difficult to find a shop that can turn them, for you need an on-car brake lathe to do the job correctly ;) </font>[/QUOTE]I think we're agreeing here?

And if you have a problem with warping rotors, slotted/drilled won't solve that - bigger/thicker rotors (and generally beefed up brakes) will. Most slotted/drilled motors are made better than OEM blanks - but (most) aftermarket blanks are also very good.

Brake fade can also be caused by several other factors, one of which modern friction materials don't have to worry about is outgassing, and most of the time pad material determines brake fade.

[BLUE]

Wow. Nice input. I learn new things here everyday. I love this messageboard. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[nikon]

your right the warping of the rotors can be fixed my thicker brakes....like you said most aftermarket ones are thicker, thats what I went for with my brakes.....so, eh sure were in aggrement ;)

[Turbo V6 Camaro]

you dont need drilled but sloted have proven many time over to stop you faster, i personally can;t say how i like the cross drill/sloted, me i ****ing hate break fade

[93camaro_zzz]

I just used ceramic pads all the way around. My car will stop on a dime. Only thing is one day when I was braking pretty hard, regularly I felt some brake fade. Eventually I will just step up to a LS1 front brake system. Not slotted or drilled of course. Also, one time, to test out an experiment after seeing the 24 hours of lemans. I drove down the last street of my house, with the brakes on, and then pulled in my drive, and then lit a cigarette off my rotor. :D Always wanted to know that after seeing those brake rotors glow in lemans.