# Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled



## SuperMonkey (Aug 2, 2001)

What are the Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled? And your recommendations.


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## ButchHusky (Feb 23, 2000)

*Re: Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled (SuperMonkey)*

I don't auto-x or take my Corrado on the track so to me anything besides OEM rotors doesn't make sense.
Brian


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## f1forkvr6 (Jun 10, 2002)

*Re: Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled (SuperMonkey)*

Recommendations for what purpose? Braking performance on the street? Performance on the track? The show car circuit?


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## SuperMonkey (Aug 2, 2001)

*Re: Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled (f1forkvr6)*

street.


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## f1forkvr6 (Jun 10, 2002)

*Re: Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled (SuperMonkey)*

OEM rotors, cheap and probably more effective on the street that slotted or drilled. Combine with a good STREET pad and fresh fluid and you'll have more brakes than you'll ever need.
Plain gets my vote for your needs.


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## Cheshire_Cat (Jan 12, 2002)

*Re: Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled (SuperMonkey)*

If you're heating your brakes up enough on the street to need something like cross drilled or slotted, then a judge is probably going to be taking your license pretty soon anyway. 
Stick with stock!


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## tim frame (Aug 1, 2002)

*Re: Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled (Cheshire_Cat)*

I know that I do not need slotted and or drilled rotors for my car that is solely for street use as of now. But, I think slotted/drilled rotors look sick. And the prices that ECS has on them and especially in the group buy are pretty reasonable. So my question is, are there any downside to buying their slot/drilled rotors, other than the slight increase in price? Also are ECS rotors prone to cracking, or wear faster than stock? Thanks


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## f1forkvr6 (Jun 10, 2002)

*Re: Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled (tim frame)*

If you like the look - get them. You won't be happy with anything else. That said, any time you reduce the mass of rotors (drilling) or increase stress points (drilling/slotting) you increase the possibility of cracks and warping. On the street, I don't think you'll have anything to worry about. Cross Drilled/Slotted rotors will increase the rate of pad wear, but again, on the street I doubt you'd notice any significant difference in wear. Note that my experience is mostly with the ATE Powerdisc (never warped one of these), and OE - the rest is anecdotal information collected from a variety of sources. YMMV.


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## tim frame (Aug 1, 2002)

*Re: Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled (f1forkvr6)*

thanks f1forkvr6 for the input. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif Will keep all of that in mind. My main concern is the quality and longevity of the ECS rotors, can anyone vouch for them?
At those prices it seems to me to be quite a deal compared to other brands.


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## tim frame (Aug 1, 2002)

*Re: Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled (tim frame)*

HOLLA UP TOP


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## racerxek9 (Aug 12, 2002)

*Re: Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled (tim frame)*

Some of the same questions I have....bump http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## GT17V (Aug 7, 2001)

*Re: Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled (Cheshire_Cat)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Cheshire_Cat* »_If you're heating your brakes up enough on the street to need something like cross drilled or slotted, then a judge is probably going to be taking your license pretty soon anyway. 
Stick with stock!


heavy stop and go driving can heat up your brakes pretty bad, where slots or holes can make sense


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## f1forkvr6 (Jun 10, 2002)

*Re: Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled (converted_vw)*


_Quote, originally posted by *converted_vw* »_heavy stop and go driving can heat up your brakes pretty bad, where slots or holes can make sense 

I respectfully, but wholeheartedly, disagree. You will not cause pads to out-gas in stop and go driving (the main reason for holes and slots). The only thing slots and holes do in this situation is remove mass that can be better used to absorb heat.


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## GT17V (Aug 7, 2001)

*Re: Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled (f1forkvr6)*

Me personally, when I lived in Philly and DC...have done it, and a near miss to boot.


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## f1forkvr6 (Jun 10, 2002)

*Re: Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled (converted_vw)*

Pad fade (hard pedal) or fluid fade (pedal to the floor)?


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## GT17V (Aug 7, 2001)

*Re: Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled (f1forkvr6)*

pad fade


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## f1forkvr6 (Jun 10, 2002)

*Re: Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled (converted_vw)*

What pad compound were you running? Either the rotors didn't have enough material to effectively absorb the heat from stop and go traffic (VW _generally_ has sufficient rotor size for every day driving - even heavy stop and go traffic or the occasional canyon run) or the pad's friction levels just took a nosedive due to excessive heat. My bet is a higher temp compound would have solved the problem.


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## GT17V (Aug 7, 2001)

*Re: Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled (f1forkvr6)*

This was back on my old car, with Toyota pads and rotors all around.


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## GapingWareme (Sep 9, 2003)

*Re: Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled (SuperMonkey)*

There is not a need for both. Unless the rotor is grossly oversized you will lose surface area, thus making pedal modulation feel worse than before. On average usually four to six straight slots do the trick while maintaining surface area. By keeping the original surface area and diameter, and allowing gases to escape, one can cut down on the un-sprung weight and inertia at each wheel. Cross-drilled rotors eventually cause problems under certain conditions. It would be advisable to purchase slotted rotors whenever possible. If the rotors are vented, slots will be more than adequate. 
The only time it might be justifiable to use an oversized rotor and aftermarket piston is when street radials will no longer be used. (car show guys, please dont flame me... Dont get me wrong it LO_OKS great.)
btw: companies usually resort to over sized rotors (i.e. 13" Brembo GT kit) to replace the surface area removed by their Wisconsin Swiss cheese products.


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## yoav (Apr 4, 2002)

*Re: Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled (GapingWareme)*

Does any one know how much weight can be saved by using uprated rotors? What is the VR6 OE rotors weight anyway (288 mm)?


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## JoeFriday (Jul 12, 2001)

*Re: Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled (yoav)*

how about them there new dimpled rotors? you get the sick look of cross-drilled, but without the problems of cracking
I believe EBC makes them


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## scolen2 (Jan 16, 2002)

*Re: Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled (JoeFriday)*

1. You want more mass in your rotor. More mass will be able to deal with more heat, after all how a brake works is to convert mechanical energy into heat energy. There are situations where you can have too much mass, and that would be if your rotors can't maintain optimum temps for your pads.
2. It is true that there is more braking surface with solid rotors, but if you do "use" your brakes a sloted or drilled rotor will benifit you in consitant braking performance dealing with out gassing etc. "btw: F1 brakes are solid since the Carbon rotor and carbon pads don't out gas, they are vented and have a turbine pumping air though them to despence with the heat BTW2: it's not only the pad that out gasses...
3. No matter what anyone says, if you drill or slot a rotor you are incresing the potential or cracking. To prevent this the ideal rotor is forged with the holes or slots, then the face is machined in it. this way the metal retains it's structure. I'm believe this is how Porche rotors are made, but I'm not sure. Rounding over the holes will help to reduce the cracking potential...
My Two cence: For the most part sloted is the way to go, it's somewhere in the middle of the good and bad. Also, check out Stoptech website, they have the best explanations of brakes I have ever seen.


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## sparty (Jun 14, 2002)

*Re: Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled (Cheshire_Cat)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Cheshire_Cat* »_If you're heating your brakes up enough on the street to need something like cross drilled or slotted, then a judge is probably going to be taking your license pretty soon anyway. 
Stick with stock!

I just made a couple of notch runs two days ago (including some rather spirited driving and some stop-go driving on steep, hairpin roads) and it's definitely possible to get noticable hard-pedal fade with the stock rotors on my GTI. Mine's the white one waaay too close to the A3 Jetta in front of it:
http://homepage.mac.com/george...7.jpg
And that's one example of where I really, really wished I had slotted or drilled (probably slotted) rotors. For everyday driving, they're not necessary, but throw in a couple of big hills (I've also had fade issues when hauling stuff to/from my parents house / my house / school on Rt 2), and things can get quite hairy. I do downshift for bigger hills (and yes, I rev-match, too) but sometimes that's not enough...


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## f1forkvr6 (Jun 10, 2002)

*Re: Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled (sparty)*


_Quote, originally posted by *sparty* »_
I just made a couple of notch runs two days ago (including some rather spirited driving and some stop-go driving on steep, hairpin roads) and it's definitely possible to get noticable hard-pedal fade with the stock rotors on my GTI. ...
And that's one example of where I really, really wished I had slotted or drilled (probably slotted) rotors....

If you had slotted rotors, and the same pad compound, you still would have had "hard pedal" fade. The problem is the pads, not the rotors.


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## FatSean (Jul 23, 1999)

*Re: Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled (f1forkvr6)*

Slots/holes are BS to me, you're loosing valuable heat abosrbing mass. The only brake upgrade I would consider is larger rotors and better calipers. Oh yeah and of course better pads.


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## GT17V (Aug 7, 2001)

Carroll Smith....despite the cons of cracking...recommends cross-drilled rotors over slotted. According to him, they are better in evaculating the dust than slotted. (Tune to Win)

Who is Carroll Smith? He was a well respected figure in the Society of Automotive Engineers (great person, very knowledgeable, very nice person to deal with), and was very involved in Formula SAE.
His "To win" books are considered to be bibles in racecar design
http://www.carrollsmith.com


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## FatSean (Jul 23, 1999)

*Re: (GT17V)*


_Quote, originally posted by *GT17V* »_Carroll Smith....despite the cons of cracking...recommends cross-drilled rotors over slotted. According to him, they are better in evaculating the dust than slotted. (Tune to Win)

Who is Carroll Smith? He was a well respected figure in the Society of Automotive Engineers (great person, very knowledgeable, very nice person to deal with), and was very involved in Formula SAE.
His "To win" books are considered to be bibles in racecar design
http://www.carrollsmith.com

Yeah on a race car where you inspect such things after every race. I wouldn't want to deal with that on my street car.


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## GT17V (Aug 7, 2001)

....which leads to the question....how often do you actually heat stress your rotors enough to cause it to crack on the street?


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## FatSean (Jul 23, 1999)

*Re: (GT17V)*

I dunno...can you give me temperatures and cycle times so I can determine that? I haven't seen any tests that show the slotted/drilled rotors would reduce my stopping distance, and fade is practically not a factor on the street for me. Therefore, I don't believe the benefits out weigh the risks.


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## GT17V (Aug 7, 2001)

*Re: (FatSean)*

...thus stock is the best for general use. It gives you the most bang for the buck.
I just have cross-drilled because it looks kewl, which is the reason I usually tell people. Yeah, I do some rallying....but the overkill ECU prevents me from getting the rotors glowing red.


_Modified by GT17V at 1:09 PM 10-6-2003_


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## mdt (Nov 22, 2001)

*Re: (GT17V)*

Good thread guys.
Please answer this question for me.
I'm going back to stock rotors. It's a long story, but here's the reason why if you're interested: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1052171
My question is: do I get the stock rotors cross drilled by my workshop? I will be using Hawk Blue pads which apparently eat through rotors like there's no tomorrow, but I can't afford to have pads exploding on me again. It's just too dangerous.
I want performance above all else. And I am anally retentive about rolling my car after a run to dissipate heat, so cracking "shouldn't" be an issue.








YAHOO!










_Modified by mdt at 8:44 AM 10-11-2003_


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## alexb75 (Dec 29, 2002)

*Re: Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled (f1forkvr6)*


_Quote, originally posted by *f1forkvr6* »_If you like the look - get them. You won't be happy with anything else. That said, any time you reduce the mass of rotors (drilling) or increase stress points (drilling/slotting) you increase the possibility of cracks and warping. On the street, I don't think you'll have anything to worry about. Cross Drilled/Slotted rotors will increase the rate of pad wear, but again, on the street I doubt you'd notice any significant difference in wear. Note that my experience is mostly with the ATE Powerdisc (never warped one of these), and OE - the rest is anecdotal information collected from a variety of sources. YMMV.

Interesting. A race shop here that I go to, told me to get slotted or cross drilled to minimize the chance of warping. I warped my stock rotor after resurfacing them, getting them hot and then hitting a puddle in rain. According to them the holes or slots causes heat to disspate easier and if I had those I wouldn't have warped my rotors the way I did my stock ones. Are they BSing me?


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## GT17V (Aug 7, 2001)

It's just the fact you turned them and used them again.
My buddy and his WRX.....new pads, turned the rotors....same exact thing happened. His dash vibrated like crazy everytime you hit the brakes.
Of course he blamed "Cheap Subaru parts" until he realized the there isn't much room for wear.
Replacing rotors is a couple extra pennies, if you get the stock plain ones. X-drilled and/or slotted....costs more to replace (usually), so you may be more reluctant to replace them


_Modified by GT17V at 8:45 AM 10-16-2003_


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## f1forkvr6 (Jun 10, 2002)

*Re: (GT17V)*


_Quote, originally posted by *GT17V* »_It's just the fact you turned them and used them again.

Makes sense to me ... VW rotors are usually on the hairy edge of minimum thickness when the pads are toast. Go beyond minimum spec and the likelihood of warping your rotors has increased.


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## CorradoAbaTurbo (Aug 30, 2003)

*Re: (f1forkvr6)*

I have four Brembo rotors on my Cabriolet(16v brakes) and never had any problem. They wont fade like stock rotors.


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## f1forkvr6 (Jun 10, 2002)

*Re: (CorradoAbaTurbo)*


_Quote, originally posted by *CorradoAbaTurbo* »_I have four Brembo rotors on my Cabriolet(16v brakes) and never had any problem. They wont fade like stock rotors.

If they are stock size, with no slots/holes, there should be very little noticeable difference, with respect to fade, between OE Brembo and OE ATE disks. Rotors are not _magic circles of power and invincibility_ (okay, a little over the top, but you catch my drift







). They all convert kinetic energy to heat energy - if they are the same size, they will have very similar thermal capacities.


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## alexb75 (Dec 29, 2002)

*Re: (f1forkvr6)*


_Quote, originally posted by *f1forkvr6* »_
If they are stock size, with no slots/holes, there should be very little noticeable difference, with respect to fade, between OE Brembo and OE ATE disks. Rotors are not _magic circles of power and invincibility_ (okay, a little over the top, but you catch my drift







). They all convert kinetic energy to heat energy - if they are the same size, they will have very similar thermal capacities.

What about the material used? Doesn't some material dissipate heat better than others? What about the construction and the way the ventilated discs work? Aren't some better than others (Brembo I think has grooves between the two sides acting like a heatsink (like for CPUs).


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## f1forkvr6 (Jun 10, 2002)

*Re: (alexb75)*


_Quote, originally posted by *alexb75* »_What about the material used? ... What about the construction and the way the ventilated discs work? 

Sure ... that's why I compared OE Brembo, to OE ATE - IIRC both are OEM suppliers to VAG. The post I referenced made no distinction as to if the rotors being compared were even the same size, let alone the same design.


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## EDV (Feb 15, 2003)

*Re: (f1forkvr6)*

Cross drilled rotors can still warp. I had 4 wheel disks on my A1 2.0 Rabbit and I have 10.1" fronts, 8.9" rears. Rotors had so many holes in them, I got them cause they looked cool. I got them from RPI when Ron still owned it. I never cracked them, they did warp but I used them for track use too. Pads were Repco Metal Masters back in the old days....


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## 46_and_2 (Apr 25, 2003)

*Re: Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled (tim frame)*


_Quote, originally posted by *tim frame* »_And the prices that ECS has on them and especially in the group buy are pretty reasonable. So my question is, are there any downside to buying their slot/drilled rotors, other than the slight increase in price? Also are ECS rotors prone to cracking, or wear faster than stock? Thanks

I haven't used them on my Dub, but I can give you my experience with EBC slotted rotors on my Mazda. At first, I was pretty happy with them. I had them on all four wheels, and couldn't complain about braking performance. However, after about a year and a half or so, the rears were severely warped, and this car was used for nothing but street driving. Obviously, I was pretty disappointed in their longevity. The odd thing was that the fronts were still fine, which you would think the opposite since the front sees more of the braking duty than rear. Now, I did have hawk HPS pads on the front vs oem pads on the rear. So maybe the cheap pads on the rears were not a good combo in terms of temperature of operation, etc with the EBC rotors. However this is what a REPRESENTATIVE OF EBC recommended. I was prepared to buy EBC pads and he told me not to buy his own pad (or any other performance pad) for the rears as they wouldn't heat up to the proper operating temperature in street use and that cheap oem replacements from autozone would actually be better and last longer. 
So, go figure. EBC typically has a good reputation, but their slotted rotors get a http://****************.com/smile/emthdown.gif from me in terms of longevity.
I know EBC and ECS are completely separate entities and I'm not making any implications about ECS slotted rotors. Just giving my experience with slotted rotors in general.


_Modified by 46_and_2 at 8:00 PM 10-21-2003_


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## alexb75 (Dec 29, 2002)

*Re: (CorradoAbaTurbo)*

Here's an interesting article:
*Brakes: CROSS DRILLED, SLOTTED, VENTED ROTORS; An article by Paul Gasparola* (Race driver/instructor)
While there are many rumors and home made theories about the benefits of different rotors, lets try to dispel them and deliver some facts. Cross drilled rotors have long been the subject of ridicule and blame. For years so called racers have been blaming poor old cross drilled rotors for failures that were not directly related to them. Cross drilled rotors were designed with the intent that cool air would pass through the rotor to help reduce the heat deflection through the rotor. 
An interesting fact about (all)"vented" rotors is that they pull air from the center of the rotors and allow it to pass in an outward direction. By cross drilling the rotors, you can achieve more cool swept area of the rotor and pad while sweeping the pad and rotor surface at the same time. This is very beneficial for performance and daily driving. The cross drilling also makes the rotor surface more aggressive to give a better initial bite under heavy breaking. Many wanna be "Racers" believe that all cross drilled rotors are prone to cracking. One of the things that they don't understand is that all rotors are prone to crack given wrong or extreme conditions. The difference is the heat threshold that each of these rotors will allow.

A slotted rotor will have a higher thermal thresh hold but can still fail. One of the most overlooked reasons for brake failure is mismatched pads and rotor combination. With out the correct combination, your performance level could really be at risk as well as your safety.

Just because a rotor is cross drilled does not mean that it is at risk to fail or crack. Many manufacture's use different methods to help prevent rotor failure. One such method is to radial chamfer each gun drilled hole in the rotor surface. This as you may recall from physics class makes the edge stronger. (a curved surface is stronger than a flat one). By doing this you also make the rotor more aggressive with out making them more abusive toward the pads. This also allows for more air surface for cooling.

Slotting the rotors is generally intended to pick up where cross drilled rotors leave off. They tend to have a higher thresh hold to heat there for enabling the brakes to function at much higher temperatures. By slotting the rotors you create "sweep" for the pads. At high temps cross drilling becomes non effective. Rotors can't pull air through after extreme temps. The rotor actually becomes a heat sink. As the cross drills become non effective, the slots can sweep the gas pocket out. For a real world example, look at "real race" cars. Mainly, road race cars such as Trans Am, IMSA, and CART will exclusively run slotted rotors with very aggressive pads. While many teams have their particular love of brand, they all have the same basic function. One must also realize that when operating a performance system, there will be a trade off in the system some where. Generally performance street systems are designed to compromise the pads life with added braking ability. By doing this, one can expect certain "better" braking while not sacrificing the life of the rotor.

As you move up in pad compound, you must realize that it takes more heat to get these brakes working at optimum standards. The trade off here is accelerated rotor wear.(Here's were combination playing can pay off / or not). Ideally, you would want to run a new pad on a used rotor and vise versa when seating new components. Depending on the track conditions and characteristics of the particular car, bypass stagger (brake ballast) in conjunction with pad and rotor combo can be the deciding factor in longevity
and performance.

For most import and domestic applications, there should be little more than a need for basic cross drilled or slotted rotors with carbon based pads and steel braided lines. Not all big brake kits are practical for each application. They may not even be available for your car or truck. The last important factor is to take into consideration is driver charctoristic's. Late braker's will generate more heat cycles than a "two footed" driver. The dreaded "two foot" driver will just eat brakes period. Please consult your local brake professional for your particular application and available parts and equipment.


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## mdt (Nov 22, 2001)

*Re: (alexb75)*


_Quote, originally posted by *alexb75* »_The dreaded "two foot" driver will just eat brakes period. Please consult your local brake professional for your particular application and available parts and equipment.


WTF! Are you telling me you only use one pedal at a time???








No wonder I'm eatin' through my brakes like cookies.
Hehe.







Nice post BTW, keep them comin' http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## MoTown-VW (Oct 8, 2002)

*Re: (alexb75)*


_Quote, originally posted by *alexb75* »_ What about the material used? Doesn't some material dissipate heat better than others? What about the construction and the way the ventilated discs work? Aren't some better than others (Brembo I think has grooves between the two sides acting like a heatsink (like for CPUs). 

Good questions. I'll try to add a little bit of basic rotor characteristics that I have learned.
The vast majority of rotors use grade G3000 cast gray iron. There are a few that use FC150 or G1800 cast iron, but the differences are primarily in noise characteristics, not cooling.
Ther thermal mass of a rotor is most significant in the first few stops where the brakes are increasing in temperature. This is probably 95% of your daily driving. The vent configuration comes into play to try to cool off hot brakes from the inside - like when you're constantly on the brakes going down a mountain. There's a trade-off point between thicker brake plates (more thermal mass) and wider vents (better high temperature cooling). Each company has its own proprietary thoughts for that.
I will say for sure that slots do not help with cooling. I don't have the experience to comment on their reaction with the pads. Cross drilled rotors will certainly remove thermal mass, but that can be compensated for by re-designing the vent area. I also don't have the experience to say whether or not the holes really help in high speed cooling, but I suspect there is a small increase in cooling.
I hope that is somewhat helpful.


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## vintage empire (Jan 11, 2002)

*Re: (alexb75)*


_Quote, originally posted by *alexb75* »_Here's an interesting article:
Ideally, you would want to run a new pad on a used rotor and vise versa when seating new components. 


So putting new pads with new rotors is not good for seating purposes? 
I'm doing the DE brake conversion on my SLC, I'll be running new pads and rotors, and want to make sure I seat them properly. I 'm in the process of choosing rotors, the thread is good info http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## mdt (Nov 22, 2001)

*Re: (vw vintage empire)*


_Quote, originally posted by *vw vintage empire* »_
So putting new pads with new rotors is not good for seating purposes? 
I'm doing the DE brake conversion on my SLC, I'll be running new pads and rotors, and want to make sure I seat them properly. I 'm in the process of choosing rotors, the thread is good info http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif 

On their material in their box of pads, Hawk tell you to do the exact opposite. Namely, they tell you to seat the pads in with the disk that you intend to run them with.


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## jhillyer (Feb 17, 2002)

*Re: Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled (SuperMonkey)*

Following my remarks about backward brakes.
I stated slots should be swept to clean the rotor face and carry wear byproducts outward. Rotors mounted so the slots are backward out-to-in is poor. But when using angled/spiral vanes, holes cast/drilled in a pattern so adacent holes enter separate vane channels, seems cooling would be improved, rather than several holes in the same channel. Just [email protected] on my mind after a good sleep.


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## GoStumpy (Jul 14, 2000)

_Quote »_The cross drilling also makes the rotor surface more aggressive to give a better initial bite under heavy breaking. 

Did he even proofread his article first?


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## Red GTi VR6 (Mar 5, 2002)

*Re: (lil' Stumpy)*

Ok - so after reading hte past two pages...
I'm gathering that there is still no definitative answer one way or the other...
For someone who drives mostly on the street (and aggressively on the back roads and occasionally on the track and the auto-cross course) what's the best set-up?
Also, what's the biggest rotor size you can go with ona 16" wheel? I understand that bigger isn't always better, but I'd like to know just to know when I'm looking.
So slotted only? or what?
Great thread BTW! Keep it coming! http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## f1forkvr6 (Jun 10, 2002)

*Re: (Red GTi VR6)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Red GTi VR6* »_Ok - so after reading hte past two pages...
I'm gathering that there is still no definitative answer one way or the other...
For someone who drives mostly on the street (and aggressively on the back roads and occasionally on the track and the auto-cross course) what's the best set-up?


_Quote, originally posted by *f1forkvr6* »_OEM rotors, cheap and probably more effective on the street that slotted or drilled. Combine with a good STREET pad and fresh fluid and you'll have more brakes than you'll ever need.


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## Red GTi VR6 (Mar 5, 2002)

*Re: (f1forkvr6)*

thanks!
What do ya'll think about doing the Audi TT rotor upgrade?
I just hate the way the rears are so small - especially compared to the front. When it comes time to get wheels I don't want to have a donut sized rear rotor, so would going with the TT set be worth it (ignore price - than can be taken care of)? 
Also - what's the biggest rotor you can go with on a 16" wheel? http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## mdt (Nov 22, 2001)

*Re: (Red GTi VR6)*

For what it is worth, yesterday I used the ATE rotors with Hawk Blue pads, not cross drilled. Braking performance was no different with the cross drilled rotors I used last week, but I get the impression that the driving was easier on the pads. Yesterday, I experienced no fade on a track with two 185km/h to 80 km/h stops. It's given me the impression that cross drilling is not particularly necessary for any but the most extreme of situations.


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## bobqzzi (Sep 24, 2003)

*Re: (mdt)*

cross drilling street car rotors is a really, really bad idea. You are assuring yourself of prematurely cracked and rusted rotors.


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## MJM Autohaus (Oct 20, 2003)

*Re: Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled (f1forkvr6)*

Per Brembo...
"_A crossdrilled/slotted rotor serves no purpose other than cosmetics."_


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## f1forkvr6 (Jun 10, 2002)

*Re: Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled (M.J.M.)*


_Quote, originally posted by *M.J.M.* »_Per Brembo...
"_A crossdrilled/slotted rotor serves no purpose other than cosmetics."_

You're preaching to the choir


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## DubsterGTI (Apr 5, 2002)

*Re: Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled (f1forkvr6)*

I too have read both pages and found no defnitive answer, so i think it just comes down to tiral and error...
As for my experience, I'll admit I went with the cross drill/slotted brembo rotor for my front and rear brakes mostly for looks, the front was converted to 12.3 as well(all mintex red box)...and I must say that there was a huge difference and after the intial break-in period i went flying around the streets on the local highway (sturrow drive) and was so impressed with the way they functioned i would recommend them to anyone. I do drive like a maniac so the stock setup faded whenever i pushed my car, with the new setup i have experienced no fading after 30 minutes of spirited driving and they stopped just as well as when i first turned the ignition...the only thing that has me worried is the crackign and the warping as i have not had them long enough to do significant damage to them, also the fact that i am up in boston and after heating and cooling the brakes in the winter...who knows if they may crack or not...don't break out the flamethrower or anything this is just my experience


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## genxguy (May 26, 2002)

If you won't be autoxing/tracking your car (and by track, I mean road course), then upgrading your pads and/or brake fluid/lines will be more than sufficient. Even spirited 'canyon carving' won't tax your brakes to the point where the rotors will fail. Under street conditions, any fade or abnormal feeling when braking is due to failing pads/expanding lines/heated fluid, NOT overheated rotors.
That's the bottom line.


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## 89 gli (Sep 13, 2002)

*Re: Pros and Cons of Plain, Slotted, Drilled, Slotted/Drilled (genxguy)*

I recently installed 4 crossdrilled Zimmerman rotors on my 16v jetta... with crappy soft pads (not to damage my inexpensive rotors







)
I feel really no difference, though I'm sure if I replaced the pads to something good, braking would be improved... I have noticed one thing though:
I always get off the freeway at my house pretty fast and apply the brakes hard just for the fun of it... I have noticed pedal fade is better, though it shouldn't cause of my crappy pads, always wondered if rotors have any play in this.
point being that I love the look, am not fooled by false promises of improved braking performance due to "better" rotors, but am happy with my choice.


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## ATS (Jan 19, 2002)

*Re: (CorradoAbaTurbo)*

I use Stock in front and drilled (zimmerman) in the rear, no warping and no breaks in the drilled ones either , I use Mintex Red Pads...
could be because people use competition pads that require more "heat" to grip and grip harder ????


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