Rotor opinions

[hi-revs]

This is being used with stock Brembo calipers.

Do you think rotor brands specifically, make a difference?
I wanted to try out powerslots but theyre more expensive. Then i found some Centric high carbon cryo treated rotors on tirerack for a fraction of the price.

I know that good sticky tires ultimately make the car stop faster than any brake part can offer. But what about rotors?

Do you think the centric high carbon rotors would hold up under normal driving conditions. My car is my DD with spirited driving from time to time.

Pls share your opinions regarding rotor choice.

edit: My question is: do the "higher end" rotors offer anything more than what the generic OEM replacements has to offer? Or am i just paying more for brand and the bling look of slotted/drilled?

[marksport]

Powerslot is a division of Centric Parts. Haven't used the High carbon yet nor the Powerslot in many years. I would think both would be about the same.

[MindBomber]

I have slotted cryo treated powerslot rotors on my car, I felt a very minimal difference in braking performance when daily driving after upgrading from Brembo blanks. I actually wouldn't have opted for them, but I found a brand new set on craigslist for a steal.

To my knowledge, the purpose of upgrading the rotors is primarily to reduce brake fade and that's not a significant issue for the vast majority of street driving. I'm not all that knowledgeable about brakes though..

[hi-revs]

im not exactly looking for which has better stopping power. Just which one would last long for street driving.

ie. 4 powerslots for $600 would most likely be more than enough for street driving vs 4 "generic" OEM replacements for around $400 or less.

My question is: do the "higher end" rotors offer anything more than what the generic OEM replacements has to offer? Or am i just paying more for brand and the bling look of slotted/drilled?

Could the generic ones warp easier? crack easier?
Really though, theyre all just metals, right?

[asian_XL]

Tried drilled disc and performance pads once and I would never use them again, not ideal for daily driving. Then bought some power slots + green stuff 2000 series, slightly better braking than OEM, but I would not say it's because of the power slots.

Do it if you need to replace your worn out brakes anyway.


EDIT: My drilled brake disc warped 3 months after installation. No good.

[bcrdukes]

Stock.

[s300ae]

i tried out the brembo OE from importreplacementparts.com
super good price and they were awesome for the one month i had them on


RIP is300

[Rich Sandor]

If you aren't doing track days, don't waste your money. You OEM rotors are probably more than enough for 'spirited driving' - unless you are driving too fast and have a 5-series sized sedan with toyota yaris rotors.

Having stickier tires will give you better braking.

Put new OEM rotors and pads in there, and MOST importantly, FLUSH or at the very least BLEED your brake fluid, to give you a nice firm, hard, pedal.

PS most rotor 'warping' is not warping at all, but high spots of pad deposit that cause a vibration when passing under the pads. It's due to either incorrect or inadequate pad bedding procedures, or prolonged pad pressure on the surface of rotors which have been overheated.

actual 'warping' of a rotor is rare, as is cracking of a rotor, although I have seen both.. these usually result from extreme overdriving of a vehicle combine with piss-poor quality aftermarket hardware.

[Leopold Stotch]

if its for street i would get regular stuff. i wouldnt spend the extra money for the power slogs over the centrics unless you like the slotted look.


on g35driver alot of people with brembos opted for centrics as the stock material was too soft. they also recommended R1Concept which is what i went for, got slotted rotors and ceramic pads front and rear for under $400 shipped.

edit: the r1concepts arent as light as stock though

[FerrariEnzo]

like others have said,

OEM or blanks...

[OTG-ZR2]

Originally Posted by MindBomber

I have slotted cryo treated powerslot rotors on my car, I felt a very minimal difference in braking performance when daily driving after upgrading from Brembo blanks.

I spoke with the Raybestos sales rep about cryo treating rotors. One of his customers, who does maintenance on ambulances, noticed a big improvement on rotor life after cryoing a set. That was for a commercial application, much harder on equipment than DD'ing.

There is a difference.

[hi-revs]

when people say "blank" rotors, what does that exactly mean?
Generic brand blanks? or is there something else im missing?

[MindBomber]

Originally Posted by OTG-ZR2

I spoke with the Raybestos sales rep about cryo treating rotors. One of his customers, who does maintenance on ambulances, noticed a big improvement on rotor life after cryoing a set. That was for a commercial application, much harder on equipment than DD'ing.

There is a difference.

I realize the purpose and results of cryo treating rotors, however, as I stated in my initial post there is no significant benefit in terms of braking performance on a daily driver. Cryo treating is a benefit on brakes that see extremely heavy use and resulting temperatures. I can think of very few instances where a good driver could abuse a rotor severely enough to cause them to warp driving like a sane person on the street. Cryo treating rotors would be a benefit on an emergency vehicle, because they are driven much harder than any DD ever would be and can benefit from the treatment.

The Raybestos salesmen is an idiot to compare an emergency vehicle and a DD.

Originally Posted by hi-revs

when people say "blank" rotors, what does that exactly mean?
Generic brand blanks? or is there something else im missing?

The surface of the rotor is blank, no cross drilling or slotting.

[Adrenaline Rush]

Centric bought out Powerslot and uses there blanks as the basis for their Powerslot line, so you're essentially paying more for the slotting.

POWERSLOT - Faster Stops Made Easier

I went with the Centrics when it came time to replace my Brembos and have been happy with the result. The cost difference was immense ($300 vs $1000+ for OEM) and the performance difference I couldn't even feel. If you want better bite, brake pads are the more important part of the equation than rotors.

I got the rotors from rockauto.com FWIW

[Expresso]

Get the cheapest blanks you can find like Lordco, Napa, Rockauto etc.. In the end any differences will be negligible. You're gonna chuck them once your done with them anyways.

[some_punk]

ATE premium one when they are on sale at canadian tire are a great set of rotors, performs just as well as brembo blanks

[hi-revs]

Originally Posted by HachiSix

Get the cheapest blanks you can find like Lordco, Napa, Rockauto etc.. In the end any differences will be negligible. You're gonna chuck them once your done with them anyways.

Is this statement ACTUALLY true? Would the cheapest no-name-brand be the same as something like Centric?

I know rotors are all just a hunk of metal and preform the same job. But it scares me using some blanks from Canadian Tire.

[OTG-ZR2]

Originally Posted by HachiSix

Get the cheapest blanks you can find like Lordco, Napa, Rockauto etc.. In the end any differences will be negligible. You're gonna chuck them once your done with them anyways.

You get what you pay for. Difference between the cheap rotors and premium for my application were close to 2lbs each. More metal = less susceptible to warping.

[dee242]

get drilled rotors as they dissipate heat faster making breaking more effective

[Lomac]

Originally Posted by OTG-ZR2

You get what you pay for. Difference between the cheap rotors and premium for my application were close to 2lbs each. More metal = less susceptible to warping.

Weight difference applies more to those worried about unsprung weight. Rotor warping is also very, very rare... especially when you're dealing simply with DD's.

[bcrdukes]

Originally Posted by hi-revs

Is this statement ACTUALLY true? Would the cheapest no-name-brand be the same as something like Centric?

I know rotors are all just a hunk of metal and preform the same job. But it scares me using some blanks from Canadian Tire.

Originally Posted by dee242

get drilled rotors as they dissipate heat faster making breaking more effective

No point in buying cross drilled or slotted rotors if this is a daily driven car. The likelihood of you and I to really take advantage of slotted and/or cross drilled rotors are very unlikely unless you are driving your car on the street as if it were on the track. Even then, you'd have to be driving the car pretty hard to reach that point.

Bottom line is, we live in a stop-and-go environment. We'll likely never heat up our brakes to the point where heat dissipation will come in to play.

You are better off getting a set of good brake pads and tires as opposed to rotors.

[hi-revs]

^ Yes, but my pads still have good life and have good tires for snow and summer already.

My rotors are worn so i'll just need those.

Just wondering if theres a BIG difference btwn brand name and generic blanks!
Thats my main question here. Nothing about drilled/slotted or anything like that

[bcrdukes]

The simple answer is no.

[hk20000]

The other thing you might want to look into is that some brake pads chew up rotors, others don't.

For street driving, simply find ones that don't. Somehow it's the lowest performing pads that also seem to shave your rotor the fastest.

Exotic Japanese pads like Project Myu also seem to like to eat up rotors. But most aftermarket US / Aussie branded stuff I have come across have been gentle with the rotors.

[bcrdukes]

Whoa. Project Mu is hardcore track oriented. That's the kind of stuff I wouldn't use on the street unless I had access to Hyde's bank account.