Drilled/Slotted Rotors - NJFBOA - Home of New Jersey's Camaros and Firebirds

Tsar · 03-25-2006, 01:23 PM

I was thinking about replacing my rotors and i found some drilled/slotted rotors in the WS6Store. back in the dsm days i've always heard ****** things about drilled rotors, i know of several people that cracked them at the track - therefor i always stayed away from them. Heres the question, do any of you have it or heard anything bad about them? should i just buy slotted rotors? My car is pretty much a DD so im not gonna go nuts and go autoxing the piss out of it but who knows maybe some day...plus what pads would you recommend?

Thanks,
Space Station

JSPERFORMANCE · 03-25-2006, 05:34 PM

I have them on my firebird and my truck... Never gave me any problems...

ins0mnia24 · 03-25-2006, 05:53 PM

The slotted rotors wear out the pad's alot faster, Unless it's for cosmetic purpose's but i would just get a set of oem rotor's and Hawk pad's
My buddy has them on his stang and i can't tell the difference while stopping with the oem's or the slotted but he got them because he thinks they look cool.

camaro2you · 03-25-2006, 05:54 PM

i believe the slots are to help the gases get out easier to improve brakeing.

ins0mnia24 · 03-25-2006, 06:06 PM

the drilled rotors are supossed to release the gas's and supossedly cool down the rotors faster
The slotted rotor's are supossed to grab the brake pad better
Either or both version's i think are pointless unless you are a pro rally driver or road course driver that can afford to swap your rotor's out before each race.
Or unless you can afford the Baer's or Wildwood's ect.. but the cheaper $100-200 rotors are crap
If you want better braking your better off going with a larger disk and caliper

Tsar · 03-25-2006, 06:15 PM

well i need a replacements for stock ones, i dont care if it improves my braking or not, thats not what im looking for. I was simply looking for not so expensive rotors to replace the stockers...that is all. i bet the stock ones will be more then 170 bucks so f that.

ins0mnia24 · 03-25-2006, 06:44 PM

Brembo blanks Oem replacement with Hawk pad's is probably your best bet
And definitely be alot cheaper than the over rated drilled/slotted rotor's

ar0ck · 03-25-2006, 08:13 PM

I went with power-slot rotors & hawks pads. They were a great upgrade, I love the way they feel, alot of stoping power. My rear is comming up soon for brakes, and Im upgrading to a 98+ system with Power-Slot Rotors & Hawks pads again.

coldkilla · 03-25-2006, 09:06 PM

you do not need drilled/slotted rotors. just check baers website and they even tell you they are just cosmetic. with the advent of ceramic pads, slotted rotors are obsolete. older, organic compound brake pads used to give off a lot of gases and slots were necessary but todays pads do not give off much gas so you dont need slots. drilled rotors WILL crack, its just a matter of when, and anyone who thinks that drilled holes help cool the rotor, they are wrong. mass is the only thing taking away heat from that rotor besides some brake ducting. those holes lessen the mass and effectively lower the rotors ability to transfer energy into heat. for some really good info on brakes, check out www.frrax.com

JSPERFORMANCE · 03-26-2006, 12:57 AM

So I guess the fact that my rotors have been on for over 3 years on both my vehicles and that the braking efficency of both was greatly increased with no adverse effects is just in my head? Please enlighten me.... I used to go through 1 set of rotors per year in my truck from towing through the hills on the way to maple grove, then I switched to the drilled and slotted rotors and I havent had a problem with warpage ever since.. I guess I just got lucky huh??

BigAls87Z28 · 03-26-2006, 01:29 AM

You probably have either an organic or semimetalic pad, not a ceramic pad.
Cross drilled rotors do crack, and unless you are racing with the car, and I dont mean street racing, they are pretty useless. What matters is surface area. Larger surface to surface contact will shorten stopping distance.
Want to stop shorter? Get a ceramic brake pad and one of Baer's Eradaspeed rotors which I belive are a little larger, but still clear stock calipers.

JSPERFORMANCE · 03-26-2006, 02:20 AM

I always ran ceramics on my truck.. Wanna try again?

coldkilla · 03-26-2006, 05:35 AM

Big Al is right, its the surface area that greatly improves braking, not holes or slots. the more surface area you have the more mass there is to turn energy into heat. I never mentioned anything about warpage. what brand rotors are you using now. if you are using a good quality brand, and not some ebay cheapo QC rejects that cost 100 bucks for a set of rotors, then that is why you are not getting warped rotors. quality aftermarket rotors are much better than the stock rotors you kept warping. it comes down to build quality, not worthless holes and slots. seriously, this isnt my "opinion", its really just a plain fact. check out any racing site for all kinds of info on brakes from qualified individuals, im just repeating what i learned.

JSPERFORMANCE · 03-26-2006, 09:53 AM

I never use "cheap" parts on my vehicles. I went from the NAPA brand O.E. replacement to the NAPA brand drilled and slotted rotors. The truck used to warp the solid rotors after one season of towing up and down the turnpike and now this will be my third season of towing with the same drilled and slotted rotors and still they have no problems. Now the fact that the warpage has been eliminated tells me that the holes and slots are contributing to an increased capability to dissipate heat. These are real world results not someone elses opinion on a web site.

Tsar · 03-26-2006, 11:48 AM

no need to argue people. i was simply asking for an opinion. i found those rotors for like 170 for all four of them and right now its looking pretty good cuz i dont alot of money to spend plus like i said the car is a DD and pretty much just goes up and down the highway...here they are.

Firehawk 526 · 03-27-2006, 02:50 PM

Should have ordered from WS6, but stay away from WSD (Wholesale Direct).

Ordered them on LS1tech, and they not only sent me the wrong rotors, but the fronts were NOT properly zinc-plated. Sent back, 7 days later, had to call and locate. Claimed they went out the day before I called. (2) weeks later FedEx returned to sender as unscannable.

This is now going on the 5th week, and still unresolved!

Apparently, I am not the only one having issues.

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=466084

Tsar · 03-27-2006, 08:11 PM

ok good to know! thanks!

rgaynor85 · 04-20-2006, 01:42 PM

ok man, i got those rotorworks drilled/slotted rotors on ws6store the ones that are 180 bucks, they are nice as hell. i put them on with the hawk hps pads and they are quiet smooth and i stop on a dime. have had numerous hard stops with no warping or problems like the stockers which shook the hole car when they warped lol , also the zinc coating is good they havent rusted at all yet oh and yes my car is my daily up and down rt287 in traffic to and from work if your ever at the trucks or sumthin soon ill show u

Injuneer · 04-20-2006, 02:20 PM

Interesting photos of Baer cross-drilled rotors on a 1996 WS6..... cryo treating was required to extend ther life from 4,000 miles to 19,000 miles:

http://www.ws6.com/cryo.htm

He raced in the 150MPH Silver State Classic with those, I guess.

I've had the Baer slotted, cross-drilled, zinc-washed rotors on the rear brakes on my Formula for about 6 years and there's no sign of cracking, but I doubt they have much more than about 10K mles on them.

johnjzjz · 04-20-2006, 04:51 PM

the holes or slots take away from the braking serface ( reduce the friction area ) a higher quality pad will work better on drilled or slotted but for the street the best deal is a solid rotor jz

rgaynor85 · 04-20-2006, 05:27 PM

well i like the idea of them keeping cooler and not warping warped rotors suck ass and for 180 bucks why not

Tru2Chevy · 04-20-2006, 06:13 PM

With less surface area on the rotor, you will have to apply more braking force to slow the car at the same rate, which creates more heat. More surface area will dissipate heat faster than holes/slots.

- Justin

JSPERFORMANCE · 04-20-2006, 09:12 PM

you people can try to rationalize your theories all you want but you cant argue with real world results... drilled and slotted rotors are more resistant to warpage and glazing without adversly affecting braking efficiency............ period. And if you havent owned a set of these rotors or at least even driven a car or truck with them there is no need for you to reply.. thanks

rgaynor85 · 04-20-2006, 09:35 PM

sounds right to me, if they didnt keep the brakes cooler and working better then why would 99% of race cars use them im sure they dont want more heat building up or they loose the race when therebrakes go out

curt86iroc · 04-20-2006, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coldkilla

you do not need drilled/slotted rotors. just check baers website and they even tell you they are just cosmetic. with the advent of ceramic pads, slotted rotors are obsolete. older, organic compound brake pads used to give off a lot of gases and slots were necessary but todays pads do not give off much gas so you dont need slots. drilled rotors WILL crack, its just a matter of when, and anyone who thinks that drilled holes help cool the rotor, they are wrong. mass is the only thing taking away heat from that rotor besides some brake ducting. those holes lessen the mass and effectively lower the rotors ability to transfer energy into heat. for some really good info on brakes, check out www.frrax.com

FYI, mass does not transfer heat. the surface area of the pad and the material properties are the deciding factors in the heat transfer. that being said, drilled rotors will cool better because they allow forced convection via turbulent air flow to exist between the rotor and the pad. the holes cause the air flow around the rotor to "trip" turbulent. turbulent flow will always transfer more heat than laminar.