cross drilled VS slotted brakes

[hondatool]

hey i dont know much about brakes but my rotors are gonna need some replacing soon so i figured i'd get some good ones...whats the difference between slotted and cross drilled?..whats better...and whats a good brand and some good brake pads to go with it?...are brembo good?
thanks peeps!

[jocalucas]

Originally posted by hondatool
hey i dont know much about brakes but my rotors are gonna need some replacing soon so i figured i'd get some good ones...whats the difference between slotted and cross drilled?..whats better...and whats a good brand and some good brake pads to go with it?...are brembo good?
thanks peeps!

ROTORS
--------------------
I saw too many bad stories about cross drilled rotors to insist on them. They have a tendency to develop cracks around the holes even on top makes like Brembo.

Stay away from cross drilled rotors. They are beautiful but not reliable.

Buy instead, plain or slotted rotors from manufacturers like Brembo etc.

BRAKE PADS
---------------------
IMHO Hawk HP Plus are one of the best daily driving/light race pads. They are amazing. You will love them. Lots of braking power. Comparing to stock pads is like night and day.

HTH

jocalucas

[Someguy]

If your slotting or cross drilling your brakes make sure you don't forget the calipers and brake lines. Its good for some unsprung weight reduction.... Kidding, kidding!

Really slotting or cross drilled is for looks with a street or even dual purpose (road/track) brake pad. You only need slotted when you get up to something like a Hawk Blue, which is seriously, don't even think about it because they don't well until heated to about 400 F, unstreetable. Crossed drilled don't have any real non-pimp factor purpose with modern brake pads.

As far as the difference between slotted and cross drilled:

Slotted:



Cross Drilled:





As far as pads I'm a big fan of Hawk. Hawk HP, or Hawk HP+s for extra tempature range if you don't mind cleaning your wheels off a bit more often. A lot of people like the "green stuff" around here, so I'm sure some one will mention that.

[Someguy]

Or if you get real crazy you can go with a two-piece rotor:



But that will cost you. I think AEM has some cheaper, but that rotor pictured runs about $600 a pop. Youch.

[hondatool]

hey thanks guys...i really needed that info...i think im gonna go for slotted rotors by brembo and pads i'm not real sure of as of yet

[jocalucas]

Originally posted by hondatool
hey thanks guys...i really needed that info...i think im gonna go for slotted rotors by brembo and pads i'm not real sure of as of yet

Hey hondatool.

I've been participating in a lot of discussions about pads in other forums.

What I can tell from those discussions is, GET HAWK HP PLUS if you wanna one of the best brake pads for street/light race available. You will not regret.

I even decided myself on buying Hawk HP Plus after those reviews and I'm very happy. They work great. A lot of power braking(which I miss before with my stock pads).

Just for you to know, I saw a number of real bad reviews about EBC Green Stuff and AEM pads.

Concerning EBC, A LOT OF PEOPLE SAY they EAT ROTORS and FADE when driving aggressively.

Concerning AEM pads there are a lot of complains concerning FADE.

DISCLAIM: The reviews about EBC and AEM pads are not my own, but opinions from others in other forums.

HTH

jocalucas

[fritz_269]

I've generally heard very good things about:
Porterfield R4-S
EBC Green Stuff
AEM/Nissan Semi-Metallic

Hawk High Performance Plus (HPP) is a fantastic pad, and has a low tempco so it will work well on the street, but they dust a lot and are somewhat harsh on the rotors. (Even Hawk warns about this.) IMHO, they're more ideal for people who auto-x or run track days in their street car and don't want to swap pads every weekend.

Hawk: http://www.hawkbrake.com/product_features.cfm
EBC: http://ebc-brakes.com/autopads.htm
Portefield: http://www.porterfield-brakes.com/
AEM: http://aempower.com/brake_pads.htm

Note about EBC: they entirely changed their automotive Green Stuff formulation sometime in 1999. Previous to that there were some problems, but now they seem top-notch. If you go that way, make sure that the pads you buy are the new style (and haven't been sitting on the shelf in some distribution warehouse for 4 years.)

Note about Porterfield: They also make the both the Hawk and the Performance Friction pads.

IMHO, the Porterfield R4-S is probably the best high-performance street pad in the bunch, but they're also the most expensive and they do dust a fair amount.

And another note: always, ALWAYS, bed the new pads precisely according to the mfgs recommendations. This is the most common cause of complaints about "bad pads" - they'll squeal and brake unevenly for a long time if you don't treat them right to begin with! Also, do not use high-performance pads on rotors that have been turned, that the wheel hub and mating surface are very clean, and the lug nuts are properly torqued. Most hi-po pads are insulated to keep the heat in the rotor and out of the brake fluid - thin rotors with no way for the heat to get out will warp in no time flat.

I'd highly suggest you move to a performance brake fluid too. ATE Super Blue would be a good choice. See: http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/t20982.html

[texan]

Originally posted by fritz_269
AEM/Nissan Semi-Metallic

That Nissin, not Nissan

[fritz_269]

Originally posted by texan
That Nissin, not Nissan

Duh! Typo.

[hondatool]

thanks for the info..it helped alot...i think im gonna go with brembo slotted rotors and ebc green stuff pads...i heard they don't build up a lot of dust...and the i also heard the new ones are good..all this should go on my stock caliper right?

[jocalucas]

Originally posted by hondatool
thanks for the info..it helped alot...i think im gonna go with brembo slotted rotors and ebc green stuff pads...i heard they don't build up a lot of dust...and the i also heard the new ones are good..all this should go on my stock caliper right?

If I were you I would stick with Brembo slotted rotors but concerning the pads I would buy:

Hawk HPS (for street only) - Excelent - low dust, easy on rotors etc.
http://www.nipponpower.com

or

Porterfield R4S - also excelent.
http://www.porterfield-brakes.com/

jocalucas

[hondatool]

thanks guys...the info helped alot