Question about brakes

[bumpinkicker04]

I need info on the pros and cons of brake setups. Ie drilled vs slotted, or both, rotors on a everyday driver. I am looking for of course better braking but i don't want to replace my pads constantly. I have heard different things about both from many sources and i just want to seperate the b/s from the truth.

[drdisque]

unless you race on a real track regular, you don't need any special rotors. Cross drilling only makes the rotors weaker and rotors don't have anything to do with pad life.

drilled or slotted rotors don't offer any better braking performance, they just resist heat-induced fade better, which if you never go on a track, you'll never experience.

[bumpinkicker04]

slotted rotors kind of shave the brake pads which causes them to wear faster

[curtis73]

drilled/slotted rotors also tend to be more noisy. The idea behind them is this: When you apply brakes, the heat vaporizes the surface of the pads on some level. The gasses on a flat rotor don't have an escape path and they can make a barrier between the pad and rotor reducing the brakes effective friction. For the most part it isn't noticable on the street unless you get the brakes really hot and there is a lot of outgassing from the pads.

Although the slots and holes in the rotor reduce the surface area of the disc, it is more than offset by the greater friction available from better contact. They do offer cooling like Drdisque said, but that is not their main reason for being there. The main reason for being there is to increase the brake friction available between the pads and rotors.

I have some on a street car and I don't like them. Too easy to make noise and the pads get chewed.