slotted rotors

[tipota]

i was just wondering, can you turn stock rotors into cross drilled rotors just by drilling hoesl in them with a big enough bit? i know itll be a bitch to drill through, but would it work?

[kcg795]

No.

[beyondloadedSE]

no, and good luck trying to drill holes in that. Youll be there for days.

btw, cross drilled and slotted rotors are purely aesthetic and really serve no purpose other than looks.

[curtis73]

Originally Posted by beyondloadedSE

no, and good luck trying to drill holes in that. Youll be there for days.

btw, cross drilled and slotted rotors are purely aesthetic and really serve no purpose other than looks.

I agree with the drilling for days part, but they serve a lot more purpose than looks. They vent pad gasses allowing more friction energy between the pad and rotor. They're also noisy

[kcg795]

I'm not sure what car you have and whether it has ABS or not. But if you can lock up your tires, the only thing you need to improve is your traction. Your brakes are fine. If you can lock your tires, then you need to work on improving the friction between the tire and the road. If you do have ABS, then improving the tires will also make the ABS work better. Your stopping distance will definently be decreased.

[drdisque]

almost every modern pad manufacturer claims that their pads don't outgas anymore so the whole gas thing is allegedly a non-issue now.

[beyondloadedSE]

Originally Posted by drdisque

almost every modern pad manufacturer claims that their pads don't outgas anymore so the whole gas thing is allegedly a non-issue now.

correct.

btw, i pulled this directly off Baer Brake's website

What are the benefits to cross-drilling, slotting, and zinc-washing my rotors?

In years past, cross-drilling and/or slotting the rotor for racing purposes was beneficial by providing a way to expel the gasses created when the bonding agents employed to manufacture the pads began to break down at extreme temperatures. This condition is often referred to as "green pad fade" or "outgassing". When it does occur, the driver still has a good firm brake pedal, but simply little or no friction. Since this normally happens only at temperatures witnessed in racing, this can be very exciting!

However, with today´s race pad technology, ´outgassing´ is no longer much of a concern. When shopping for races pads, or even ultra-high performance road pads, look for the phrases, "dynamic surface treatment", "race ready", and/or, "pre-burnished". When these or similar statements are made by the pad manufacturer, the pad in question will likely have little or no problem with ´outgassing´. Ironically more pedestrian pads used on most streetcars will still exhibit ´outgassing´, but only when used at temperatures normally only encountered on the racetrack.

Although crossdrilling and/or slotting will provide a welcome path to expend any gasses when and if they develop, it is primarily a visual enhancement behind today’s often wide-open wheel designs.

Crossdrilling offers the greatest gas relief pathway, but creates potential "stress risers" from which cracks can occur. Baer´s rotors are cast with crossdrilling in mind, from the material specified, to curved vanes, behind which the holes are placed to minimize potential crack migration. Slotted surfaces are what Baer recommends for track only use. Slotted only rotors are offered as an option for any of Baer’s offerings.

[curtis73]

Very true.. on the street, outgassing is never a problem. Autocross street/strip cars might notice a slight benefit, but usually they only add noise and pad wear to a street car.

[TheSilentChamber]

Yeah, I'm running slotted rotors but only for auto cross purposes, little added brake bite. No benifits for street use really, no benifit for drilled with either.

[E38_Charger]

fair enough with the cross drilled scenerio, but with slotted rotors there can be a couple benifits, one being aiding in the removal of brake dust. There is also a down side though, you are not suposed to machine either of them, but it can be done if you know someone, or you have a brake lathe your self.

[SnoopisTDI]

So if you get the pads that don't gas, are they race pads that take some heat before they work well, or do they work like normal pads, with added benefit that they won't gas when they get really hot? It would suck to get some of these pads only to find out they don't work for crap the first time you nail the brakes.

If they do need heat before they grab well, then they're probably not too good for a daily driver where you might need that instant grab for a panic stop while cruising on the highway(but want a little extra fade resistance for the mountains, or auto-x). In that situation, would the slotted rotors with normal pads be a better option?

[E38_Charger]

Originally Posted by SnoopisTDI

So if you get the pads that don't gas, are they race pads that take some heat before they work well, or do they work like normal pads, with added benefit that they won't gas when they get really hot? It would suck to get some of these pads only to find out they don't work for crap the first time you nail the brakes.

If they do need heat before they grab well, then they're probably not too good for a daily driver where you might need that instant grab for a panic stop while cruising on the highway(but want a little extra fade resistance for the mountains, or auto-x). In that situation, would the slotted rotors with normal pads be a better option?

I dont Know what type of pads are the best for you guys in the US but, in AU (Australia) QFMs are the best. There are others that are good and more popular but not as good. It also depends on the compound you run (harder/softer), the harder the pad the longer it takes to heat up and also the harder the pad the more rotor wear there will be.

[E38_Charger]

Originally Posted by SnoopisTDI

In that situation, would the slotted rotors with normal pads be a better option?

NO cos most standard pads will still suffer from outgassing, you should run a compisite pad (medium) or gold (medium/hard) for best results.
The compisite will give you a little better pad under heavy conditions without compromising rotor wear (but if you like to go hard still sufers from brake fade), while the gold is very good with virtually no brake fade but does chew in to your rotors a little bit. Trial and error personally, you have to get a pad that suits your driving. Hard compound pads (gold plus) are the full race pads you are talking about which have no brake fade but lots of rotor wear.

[drdisque]

I have Hawk HPS pads which offer near-race performance at heat and don't seem to need to heat up very much to perform well. Their only downside is that they are the loudest brake pads I've ever heard, my 3300 lb car sounds like a 2 ton truck towing a trailer while stopping.

[v10_viper]

If you had a miniature light saber it would be much quicker than a drill bit. I'm not guaranteeing it being any safer though.