Thinking about upgrading to Drilled and slotted Rotors. Worth or not?

[10SpeedDemon]

I need a little more stopping power for my 18' GT (w/ 8k miles). I noticed my car has a hard time braking at high speeds. I'm unsure whether upgrade my rotors or to Brembo brakes for the front.

Also I've heard that drilled rotor crack easily not sure how true that is

Any suggestions?

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[Norm Peterson]

Unless your braking from high speeds is happening on a road course during HPDE sessions, all you really need is a pad upgrade to something with a bit more initial 'bite'. Something like Carbotech 1521 or G-loc GS-1, but no higher than AX-6 (Carbo) or R6 (G-loc).

If you are tracking this car, you'll want to go straight to rotors that draw cooling air from the inside (IOW, PP rotors) rather than from the wheel side (standard GT rotors).


Norm

 

[NightmareMoon]

Can you explain ‘hard time braking’? Usuallly braking is limited by your tire grip (abs kicks in when you run out of tire grip). Nearly all braking systems are designed to at least be able to lock up the tires.

If repeated hard stops (or slowdowns) are required in quick sucession, then heat builds up and you can get solt squishy brake pedal (boiled brake fluid, air in the lines) or firm brakes without good stopping force (pad fade). It would be unusual to get enough heat to fade the pads driving on the street, but quick sprints up to 80-100 and braking back down to 40 a bunch of times in a row would do it.

 

[jacknifetoaswan]

Drilled and slotted rotors look nice, but they're hell on your pads, and unless they're good quality, they are definitely subject to cracking. My wife's Mercedes has them, and I don't mind them, as they're quality parts, but I dread replacing them at $226/rotor.

I agree on tires, though. Get better tires, and if you still need better braking, upgrade your fluid and pads. Of course, your best bet would be to do tires and Brembos with braided brake lines, upgraded fluid, and upgraded pads, but that can get pricey.

JR

 

[Hivel]

I second JR’s recommendation. The PP1 Brembo’s are plenty for a street car. Use the factory pads for the street.

Don’t buy drilled rotors. They were dropped from the GT350 for good reason.

I like slotted rotors; because, they wipe the detritus off the pads and keep it from embedding into the rotor faces. I run two piece rotors for 1 reason. The alloy hat is a decent heat break. They reduce the heat transferred from the rotors into the hubs. Although it only matters on track.

Cheers,

 

[Chef jpd]

As for increased stopping ability, the drilled and slotted I installed on my ST, and my ecoPP mustang made no noticeable difference in stopping power.
The GT PP Brembos I installed with the factory rotors made a very noticeable increase in stopping power. And that is with the stock pads.

 

[jacknifetoaswan]

And that is with the stock pads.

I'll also say this - the stock pads are good, very good. They have huge initial bite, soak up heat very well, and offer good fade resistance, but...

They dust like crazy. I'd wash my car on a Friday night, drive three miles on Saturday morning to Cars and Coffee, and they were already filthy. I swapped for Power Stop Z23s when I painted my calipers, and I'm super happy with them. The Z26s are the same compound with a different backing plate, so they'll offer the same performance, perhaps a little better fade resistance due to the backing plate, but will likely chatter or squeal a little more, again, due to the backing plate. Initial bite isn't as firm as the stock PP pads, but it allows for more pedal travel for heel/toe, and overall braking performance, in my experience, is just as good as the stock pads, with very little dusting. I can drive a couple weeks before the wheels are dirty.

JR

 

[BmacIL]

I'd encourage anyone that entertains track use to get the GLOC GS1 pads for the street so that you can easily switch to their R10/R12 without having to clean up the rotor. They are much lower dust than the stock Ferodo Brembo pads and have similar bite characteristics, though not as high a temp range (street pad).

 

[tom_sprecher]

Look into adding the OEM Brembo package to you car. While I have not tracked my car I have done a bit of downhill twisties up in the mountains and never had a problem with fade. The big rotors and calipers on that package do a great job. They do dust it up a bit.

 

[drbrian722]

I wouldn't recommend drilled rotors for all the reasons stated above. Upgrade the pads and fluid and you should be more than fine for the street. If you're still on OEM all season rubber, ditch that too. The brakes can only stop the car as well as the rubber can hold the road.
I did the complete Brembo swap and while it certainly is an upgrade, I don't think most people would see a real difference on the street (if they kept to legal limits)

 

[Roadway 5.0]

Better braking courses of action from least expensive to most expensive:

1) Get better pads

2) Get Brembos w/better pads and blank or slotted rotors.

3) Get #2 along with stickier, wider tires

4) Get #3 along with some lightweight carbon ceramic rotors $$$

I wouldn’t recommend drilled rotors in any instance. There are some reputable drilled pieces out there, but I just don’t see the point of the extra expense/risk when compared to slotted or blank units.

 

[jacknifetoaswan]

4) Get #3 along with some lightweight carbon ceramic rotors $$$

For the low, low price of $5600!!!

JR

 

[BmacIL]

Better braking courses of action from least expensive to most expensive:

1) Get better pads

2) Get Brembos w/better pads and blank or slotted rotors.

3) Get #2 along with stickier, wider tires

4) Get #3 along with some lightweight carbon ceramic rotors $$$

I wouldn’t recommend drilled rotors in any instance. There are some reputable drilled pieces out there, but I just don’t see the point of the extra expense/risk when compared to slotted or blank units.

Order isn't right for better braking performance. Maybe for feel. For performance:

1) stickier tires
2) pads with more friction (track pad or track oriented pad)
3) Brembo upgrade (includes a better pad)
4) even more aggressive pads for brembos

Rotors are not going to significantly improve braking performance unless you shed A LOT of mass and 1) and 2) or 1) and 3) are already done.

 

[Roadway 5.0]

Order isn't right for better braking performance. Maybe for feel. For performance:

1) stickier tires
2) pads with more friction (track pad or track oriented pad)
3) Brembo upgrade (includes a better pad)
4) even more aggressive pads for brembos

Rotors are not going to significantly improve braking performance unless you shed A LOT of mass and 1) and 2) or 1) and 3) are already done.

I went by order of cost . Agreed that rotors are not really a performance factor; I was just keeping with the OP’s initial curiosity.

 

[Allentown]

Drilled has some utility for hot brakes in the rain (per my limited understanding) providing an outlet for the steam. That is why some of the higher end brembo/willwoods offer them on the street kits. Can find zero use for them on the track.

Someone above was complaining about $275 ring replacements.

On my RCF a factory disc/pad replacement was $600 per wheel...all the way around.

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