I've been doing much research trying to figure out if slotted would be worth twice the price of smooth rotors. I drive an hour each way to work 4 days a week so I do quite a bit of driving. Half on interstate half on country roads. I do tend to have a bit more fun once I hit the country roads as its 5:30am on my way home so not much traffic. Any opinions and why's would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
I have drilled and slotted rotors on the front with Hawk HPS all around. My rotors are stock size Brembo that have been drilled and slotted. I found them on Fleabay for $100 a pair. I've had them about 2 years. I got them for autocross and when I go to the Dragon. They only help if you do enough hard driving to really heat up your brakes. Are they worth it? I'm not sure but I like them. But some good street performance brake pads like the Hawks are worth every dollar.
For track use drilled rotors have the propensity to crack, that's why you'll see more guys running smooth or slotted rotors. slotted rotors have been said to help release gasses caused by braking and also help clean off the pad. Of course the main reason people go for anything other than smooth is to keep the brakes cool or to look cool. I use slotted as do most of the guys in my car club. They have been excellent for hard stops especially. However much to do about braking is about the pad and you'll get a bunch of opinions on here but carbotech for me has been great and I drive about 90 miles a day like you half country and half interstate.
The rotors I have will need to be replaced with the next set of pads. I will go with just slotted ones next. I have heard of the drilled ones cracking but I have been lucky. I have found if you don't use your brakes they last longer and don't heat up. :arf:
Very true! some folks burn through their brakes & others don't, it's all driving style dependent. Drilled rotors are fine on a street driven car.
This year before the dragon I put in new slotted rotors and Hawk HPS pads.. they're great! I heard about the drilled rotors cracking, that's why I was recommended to go with slotted rotors from Detroit Tuned.
I use the Zimmerman rotors. They are an outstanding product. Mine are drilled and slotted, have been on my car for appx. 20k and I have no abnormal signs of wear or destruction.
As has been mentioned unless your doing a track event or VERY hard twisty driving you don't really need drilled or slotted rotors. They look cool, but will wear your pads alittle quicker as well. Even at the standard Auto X event with a 45-60 second run your not on the brakes enough to really benefit I don't think, considering your usually only in 2nd gear so not going but so fast compared to a full out track event.. Also been mentioned it comes down to your pad more so then the rotor.. I run a cheap Centric rotor which is the same thing Ian Stewart has run and won championships with in the past..
I liked the look of slotted rotors. Perhaps they were a bit better on hard braking for track work (100mph to 20 mph as quickly as you can), but I have no quantitative evidence. The idea of having a slot to off-gas under hard braking and wipe the pad surface clean seems to make some sense to me (plus it looks sporty, which is really the primary benefit, IMHO). The slotted ones weren't that much more expensive than the quality solid ones. Solid rotors are quieter (no whip-whip-whip of the slots passing the brake pad surface). Drilled rotors can provide a similar benefit to slotted rotors, but (according to my internet research... take it for what that's worth) they can crack if not heat treated and peened appropriately, which generally only happens to very expensive drilled rotors (and probably not even made for our cars... think Ferrari and the like). I don't think that it would have been an issue for street use, so if you like the look of drilled rotors on your daily driver, go for it. The only failure of drilled rotors I ever saw was on heavily tracked cars in the hands of well-skilled (not me) drivers who were pushing the car hard.
Get slotted rotors if you like the look and styling, but they won't give you any performance benefit. Street driving doesn't involve the frequent hard braking scenarios that slotted rotors are intended to benefit.
Thank you everyone for all your input thus far (more are always welcome) as some of you mentioned slotted are more for ppl that brake hard and such. When I mentioned driving more fun ok the country roads what I meant was I drive the hell out of the Black Pearl on the country roads lol. At this point I'm leaning toward slotted. What about pads? Metallic or ceramic?
Metallic or Ceramic? How hard do you use your brakes? Don't forget to flush the brake fluid with high quality stuff. Many varying opinions on that too. I use a ceramic pad with slotted rotors, love the lower dust. For me they work very well. Driving style makes a big difference, you need to evaluate your needs. I tend to not use my brakes that hard. I'm the kind of driver who likes to maintain momentum, & I'm not one of the late brakers. Exit speed not entrance speed.
Go with the slotted if you like the looks, no real world benefit for a daily driver. Pads will be the biggest performance choice. I have been running the Cool Carbon pads for some time now and love them. Tried the Hawk HPS and found them to be junk for my driving style.
Very spirited. I have a nice canyon-type drive that can really push the brakes. It had the Hawks fading badly about halfway thru it.