didnt see a post about it yet so i figured i would clue some of you in. rotora finally has model specific front slotted rotors for our cars. i found them on hopupracing.com for 180 something.

 

I'm still deciding between cross drilled, slotted, or both. I heard that cross drilled wears out breaks faster. Any thoughts or help?

 

slotted would be better for everday driving but drilled helps with grabbing power and heat dispersion.

slotted=good for daily driving
drilled=good for the track.

my preference in rotor is a two piece slotted.

 

i agree with kelso.
though i have heard of drilled rotors cracking under hard use, even if they do stop better than slotted.

all the drilled rotors on tirerack have a disclaimer on this, but not for the slotted ones.

 

i really dont have much experience with performance brake upgrades so i cant shed to much wisdom on whats the business and whats not.

i do know that once you cut into a brake disc it loses alot of its structural integrity. the way i see it is the more holes and slots the rotor has the weaker it gets. i honestly dont think that your average every day driving situation will put any where near enough stress to crack a drilled and slotted rotor but i still wouldnt run that risk.

this is how i myself would think of a brake rotor...

solid flat surface=very strong, but heats up fast and is likely to warp, doesnt really dissipate heat well, also doesnt dissipate brake dust as well and can loose alot of its stopping power in very wet situations.

(if you look at after market performance rotors that have slots certain companies will make a slot that starts at the hub and goes completely over the rotor leaving a little ridge between the braking surface and the slot. kind of like a little canyon. and other companies make slots that dont touch the hub or the edge of the rotor so there is still solid untouched metal on the inner and outer edges of the rotor)

slotted with slots not touching any edges=not as strong as a solid rotor simply because of the slot but more than likely stronger than a slotted rotor that is completely slotted from the hub to the edge of the rotor. these slotted rotors will dissipate heat, water, and brake dust better than a solid rotor but probably not as well as a completely slotted rotor. they also help in de-glazing the brake pads. i read that slotted rotors are not prefered for average street driving because of how quickly they wear down the pad. slotted rotors are made to keep the brake pads soft and to stop vitrification which is basically when a solid material turns into a glass like solid when high levels of heat are added super duper fast. wikipedia says that many ceramics are formed this way... which leads into a whole new can of worms about pads, because alot of break pads are what??? CERAMIC!!! all in all any slotted rotor will perform better than solid disc well but will never be as strong and never last as long.

slotted completely from the hub to the edge=i would imagine that this rotor has all of the performance attributes of the above but performs a little better, i would also imagine that rotors slotted this way are weaker and more prone to breakage than the above due to the fact that more of the rotor is missing.

cross drilled=cross dilled rotors are not suitable for any form of racing because they are going to be weaker than any solid or slotted rotor. most drilled rotors will get stress cracks from the holes quickly due to high stress and/or poor manufacturing. i could go into my garage take a solid rotor, a vice grip and use my drill press to make my own cross drilled rotors (which im sure all of the 25$ bargain ebay rotors are made this way) they might look like performance rotors and may act like them but the will more than likely fail big time. i know that cross drilled rotors help alot in wet situations to avoid a film of water forming between the rotor and the pad. they also help to dissipate heat but probably dont yeild as many benefits as a slotted rotors does. after reading up on varieties of rotors on wiki the idea of a drilled rotor kind of seems dumb. when drilled rotors were introduced in racing cars in the 60's they were made to dissipate a layer of gas that would form from the brake pad, it is called outgassing. but modern day brake pads rarely outgas and when they do it is usually nothing serious enough to cause major brake failure.

cross drilled and slotted=im pretty sure if you have read all of this you can form the idea in your head that a cross drilled and slotted rotor does all of the above and does it better than a rotor that is only slotted or drilled. i would also guess that if it performs better than the rest it more than likely eats brake pads like a depressed uber menapausal woman jams ben and jerrys. once again this is just my opinion so dont be offended if you are that woman.
so youve got this rotor that performs amazingly and with the right set of pads and some stainless braided lines can prove to be a great addition to your canyon carver, but there is a price to pay for such a gem. it is going to require lots of attention to ensure that the massive loss of brake surface and all the hard carving you have been doing hasnt cracked your new found stopping power. you are also going to be replacing those pads more than you used to, not to mention that for the true enthusiast and in general a smart person, the oem pads just wont cut it so you are going to be paying mucho mas for those sweet red stuff pads that all the dudes in the magazines are rocking. above all for the budget tuner those jawsome drilled/slotted rotors are going to cost more than any drilled, slotted or solid rotors will and they are more likely to break on you (no pun intended) and crush your wallet.

so after this long drawn out voicing of my opinion i will dumb it down. in my opinion a rotor that is not completely slotted is the business. it still maintains alot of its structural integrity, dissipates heat, exhaust gas, brake dust, water and all of that funky junk that slows down the very things that slow you down. and if you read this whole post i respect you because this is a mouth full.

 

^ all of these statements are true.

it depends on the application. if you're going to be only driving on the street, stock "blank" rotors are great for everyday driving. offers the most surface area of rotor to brake pad. you won't generate enough heat to deteriorate the braking ability.
slotted rotors are good for moderate driving. when the brakes are applied heavily, the friction against the brake pad creates a gas which forms between the pad and rotor and can hurt performance, the slots move this gas away and move heat away to help braking under heavy conditions.
drilled and drilled/slotted rotors do the same as above, but offer even better cooling abilities. the problem is, there is less surfance area for the brake pad to grab on to. these are for more heavy duty calipers and heavy duty braking applications. in my opinion, strictly for track use. drilled rotors are lighter weight, but weaker due to less structural integrity when they are drilled.

of course there are always exceptions to this.... for example, spoon's drilled rotors are not actually drilled. they are made that way in the casting process so maintain a very strong rotor. but i don't think they have any of these applications for the Fit.

 

I'd have a hard time paying that much for rotors since they are $21 each from AutoZone. I doubt the quality is much different and bet any difference won't affect performance.

Do modern pads even outgas anymore?

 

modern pads rarely outgas and when they do it usually isnt bad enough to cause sever loss of performance.

im pretty sure the 21$ autozone rotors are oem replacement. these rotors are peformance. rotora is a company that has its focus on nothing other than performance brake upgrades. im also pretty sure that the rotors at autozone are made by duralast which is a generic part manufacturer who does not aim for performance and also IMHO produces parts of less quality than factory oem which is why they cost so much less. and everyone should know that in the auto world you get what you pay for.

im not sure if it is for a fit, but this is what the oem rotor for the fit looks like. it is a solid piece of metal.


this is what rotoras after market performance rotors looks like. notice the grooves (slots) in the disc. these help with cooling, and alot of other things. rotora discs are made to be a minimal thickness to save weight while still retaining strength, they are also mill balanced to prevent vibration and ensure perfect brake balance and are "e-coated" which i can only imagine meens that they are ceramic coated or cryo treated to improve life span and prevent corrosion, the coating usually helps keep heat down as well.

 

**** slotted and drilled or both.

for a street car, keep the stock rotors, or go with some brembo blank rotors.

 

If you want to save weight, getting rid of thermal mass is not the way to go. You lose weight with a 2-piece rotor with an aluminum hat, not by making your rotors thinner...unless your Fit is a drag car. I can understand that you're trying to bring light to some new Fit parts, but your post has more holes in it than a...drilled rotor Mill balanced to prevent vibration?? Do you really think Duralast/oem replacements aren't?

Just doing my public service and would hate to see any owners buying these expecting some sort of performance increase.

 

the usefulness of this post is off the charts.

 

ummm wat?!

stopping power? no wai!. less surface area = less stopping power

 

dude just be quiet on things you arent 100 percent sure about. resistance to brake fade + lower brake temperature + better brake dust dispersion= better stopping power

 

I had drilled rotors on my Mazda, I got them for free and had no idea what brand they were.
I put them on and my car had the worse fade of all time. I check the rotors 3 weeks later. They were cracked and pitted. But hey, they looked great.

I think they were from ebay.

 

did you upgrade your pads too ray?

 

No. Was I suppose to? Remember this was on my Mazda....
When my Fit needs brakes Im getting OEM pads and cutting the rotors.

The brakes are plenty fine for me.

 

not getting better pads with new rotors is like playing ps3/xbox on a non hdtv.

 

nice comparison

 

If anyone is interested, i've got a brand new AEM big brake rotor kit.

It comes with two 13" rotors, cross-drilled, extension brackets, all hardware and they fit with the original calipers.



PM for price.

 

also, i can get some cross-drilled and slotted rotors for cheap! Just ask Mugen_Dom. Super cheap!!! Made my "Power-Slot" but without the power-slot name and price! PM for prices!