Author Topic: what brand of brake rotors and pads do you use?  (Read 2969 times)

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Makman

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Re: what brand of brake rotors and pads do you use?
« on: May 19, 2006, 10:04:02 PM »
X4 NAPA for a decent quality rotor.

As for whether or not drilled and slotted are worth it, that is a subjective question.  Drilled and slotted rotors have Pros and Cons like anything else so it comes down to what you want.  The following is my understanding of this issue.

Pros:  Good looks, decreased inertia for acceleration/deceleration, decreased unsprung weight for suspension performance, improved offgassing (venting) of the brake pads under hard use, better feel (pad release)

Cons: Stress concentrations at cross-drilled holes leading to premature cracking, decreased thermal mass, added expense for a quality rotor.  Note that thermal stresses are huge when you consider that your rotor may cycle up and down hundreds of degrees every time you jam the brakes going into a corner.  The brake system is designed to turn momentum into heat.  The formula for momentum is M=1/2mv^2 where m = mass and v = velocity.  Obviously the velocity term is the killer but vehicle mass and tire diameter are also very significant when it comes to braking performance.

My opinion is that D&S rotors are not worth it due the potential decrease in service life although the big players in the market are split on the issue when you look at their marketing literature (keep in mind that it is marketing literature and not the actual engineering test results so interpretation is applied to best serve their purpose).  The minor performance gains are most applicable to sports cars, not trucks with solid axles and oversize mud tires mounted on steel wheels.  Besides, I have more lead weights balancing my tires than I stand to shave in rotor weight by drilling them.  Another concern regarding low cost D&S rotors is that they may not be quality...the phrase "lipstick on a pig" comes to mind.  That's just my two cents.  Whatever you get, they'll probably stop the truck just fine.
If it never breaks, people can only speculate how much it was overbuilt.

 
 
 
 
 

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