3rd pair of cracked aftermarket rotors, any suggestions.

[Hotrodguru]

I'll try to make this post short. I have an 02' stage 2 WRX and am tired of going though rotors. The solution to my problem will be a big brake upgrade but unfortunately that won't come until the funds do.

As for now I'm replacing my 3rd pair of cracked rotors and need some suggestions. The first pair of aftermarket rotors to go were some Racing Brake rotors, believe they were their 1st versions out. These were cross-drilled and slotted. I'm aware that aftermarket rotors aren't meant for racing but I do punish them pretty hard. The Racing Brake rotors had about 2 hours of track time on them with a bit of high speed and then daily driven. I don't know too many people who are as hard on their brakes as me but that's what there for in my opinion. I drive fast everyday and well thats just that. These rotors developed cracks near the drilled holes after about a month and a half or so. I spoke to Ken at Racing Brakes and at the time they didn't have anything else to offer since I thought they were deffective or just not a good product. He told me to check back after a few months to see if anything new had come out. Fast forward about a year and now he says they have a slightly better rotor that is NOT drilled and believes it will work better for me. He's offering me a good deal and I'm thinking about trying these new ones out. Went back on his warranty agreement were he said he would replace them gladly at no cost. This is another topic all together but I think he's doing what he can and also understand I had them on a track, not for long but were on a track.

After these rotors cracked I had to look for something else. I then tried some powerslot (slotted not drilled) rotors. I am now on my 2nd pair of these and the same thing is occuring. Now these rotors haven't been used on a track but have been on a few high speed fun runs where big brakes would really be welcomed. I don't know how to explain how hard I am on rotors but I love to drive fast and find good roads to zip along on a daily basis. All these rotors have been used with Axxis Ultimate pads which also fade on me. I'm running Motul 600 brake fluid and SS lines FYI.

Now the time has come to replace this pair of cracked powerslots. I'm also going to go with the Hawk HPS pads, was going to go with the Hawk HP + but think the HPS will be a bit better for street use. So it's time for recommendations now. Should I go with the new rotors Ken at Racing Brake (www.racingbrake.com) is suggesting since he's giving me a fair deal in my opinion or try some other after market rotors??? DBA, Stoptech, etc....

Suggestions please

Hard on brakes and too poor to upgrade to big brakes now, Guru :(

[bs motorsports 2]

ok number one that was in no way short lol. but i would defently look into those stop techs or just quit abusing them and save the money until you get some bad ass ones then abuse those. as far as ken goes i dont know what he is offering and never delt w/ him b4 so i couldnt tell you wether or not to go w/ him but it seems like he isnt giving out very good quilty parts. stop tech are good rotors for the price and i would give them a try.

[appleburger]

get blanks.

[epic1si]

stoptech

[IIIVOVE]

what about STI Brembo's?

[Hotrodguru]

what about STI Brembo's?
Well I'm just going to get a big brake kit when funds allow so no need to spend the cash on STi Brembos.

[-=E36=-]

Solution = stop buying slotted or drilled rotors, they dont do anything but look nice. HP+ would be perfect.

Ryan

[appleburger]

Solution = stop buying slotted or drilled rotors, they dont do anything but look nice. HP+ would be perfect.

Ryan
get blanks.

[Dorian]

get blanks.
Fucking word. You don't need crossdrilled & slotted. Brembo blanks should do you just as good if not better. Ryan and I had a discussion about this long debated topic. Both of us agreed. If your really set on getting slotted and xdrilled rotors they are going to be just as expensive as if you were getting a big brake upgrade. Project Mu (stock size rotors), Endless, blah, bla, bl...

[Gooback]

stoptech, get um at lightspeed :idea:

[appleburger]

just out of curiousity, why do you buy drilled/slotted rotors? what do you think they are doing that a blank rotor can't? one of the main reasons these rotors became popular was because they let out the gases created by the brake pads when used aggresively. but modern brake pads don't give off gases, just dust. you could argue that they help cool, but even if they did, it wouldn't be enough to warrant spending more money on them and having them crack all the time. some will also argue that slotted rotors will in a sense shave your brake pad when you brake. getting any glazed parts off and helping you stop. also a bunch of bs! again, even if it did, its not enough of an advantage to replace rotors every month! more surface area = quicker braking. just like tires, slicks get the best traction on a flat, dry surface because they have more rubber touching the ground. if you took a tire that was made exactly the same, but one was treaded and one was slick, which would get traction the easiest? now apply that train of thought to your rotors.

[Hotrodguru]

just out of curiousity, why do you buy drilled/slotted rotors? what do you think they are doing that a blank rotor can't? one of the main reasons these rotors became popular was because they let out the gases created by the brake pads when used aggresively. but modern brake pads don't give off gases, just dust. you could argue that they help cool, but even if they did, it wouldn't be enough to warrant spending more money on them and having them crack all the time. some will also argue that slotted rotors will in a sense shave your brake pad when you brake. getting any glazed parts off and helping you stop. also a bunch of bs! again, even if it did, its not enough of an advantage to replace rotors every month!
Well the main reason is to prevent fading. And contrary to most beliefs the slotting of the rotor does somewhat help with the glazing of most pads on the market.

Guru

[-=E36=-]

Well the main reason is to prevent fading. And contrary to most beliefs the slotting of the rotor does somewhat help with the glazing of most pads on the market.

Guru

Fading happens due to heat, as well as crappy pads. Having proper air ducting to your brakes prevents this more effictively than slotting ever will. Espically if you buy the HP+ pads.

Slotting doesnt help and neither does drilling (on street cars) unless your goal is to win a show.

Ryan

[Hotrodguru]

Fading happens due to heat, as well as crappy pads. Having proper air ducting to your brakes prevents this more effictively than slotting ever will. Espically if you buy the HP+ pads.

Slotting doesnt help and neither does drilling (on street cars) unless your goal is to win a show.

Ryan
Dude not like you haven't seen how I drive. I need pretty much every advantage you can get. As far as street or track it really doesn't matter, what matters is your driving style. If you're carry enough speed and are getting the brakes out of their efficient operating range, slots and cross drilling do benifit. Now maybe cross-drilling a stock size OEM rotor is bad but that is because of the strengh of the casting and material.

Guru

[appleburger]

however you want to argue it, a cracked slotted rotor is always worse than a perfect blank rotor. i don't know your full brake setup, and i'm not about to read that term paper again, but get blank rotors, upgrade the pads, and get ss lines and it will out perform slotted rotors anyday! if the pads you have now are fading, try different pads. obviously the drilled and/or slotted rotors aren't working for you, time to try something else.

[Black Majik]

Fading happens due to heat, as well as crappy pads. Having proper air ducting to your brakes prevents this more effictively than slotting ever will. Espically if you buy the HP+ pads.

Slotting doesnt help and neither does drilling (on street cars) unless your goal is to win a show.

Ryan
If this were true, then why do most high end sports cars come standard with them?

[Hotrodguru]

however you want to argue it, a cracked slotted rotor is always worse than a perfect blank rotor. i don't know your full brake setup, and i'm not about to read that term paper again, but get blank rotors, upgrade the pads, and get ss lines and it will out perform slotted rotors anyday! if the pads you have now are fading, try different pads. obviously the drilled and/or slotted rotors aren't working for you, time to try something else.
Yeah good point, when it comes down to it. I'm trying to get the performance of a Big Brake (examle 6 piston setup) by just going with upgraded rotors, lines and fluid. I do have SS lines and am using Motul 600 fluid. I never had the blank rotors crack on me but then again I wasn't abusing them this much. My braking issues will be resolved only when I have saved up the cash to get the big brakes, then it'll be a tire issue. Currently my tires have more grip than my brakes can handle. It's the super small size of the size of rotor on stock 02' WRX's thats causing the fade. Just upset with the cracking of rotors, fade and overheating is understood because of the OEM size.

Guru

[-=E36=-]

If this were true, then why do most high end sports cars come standard with them?

A big reason is to save weight. Unsprung weight. If you will notice the entire brake system is a lot bigger with bigger pistons in the calipers as well. The rotor can also trade off a lot of surface area for the drilled holes dude to its massive size. Brake temp on street cars will never be in the range of track cars.

Even when you put street cars on the track, you wont see any big difference with just rotors. You need a full brake system to take full advantage of what it offers.

Ryan

[-=E36=-]

Dude not like you haven't seen how I drive. I need pretty much every advantage you can get. As far as street or track it really doesn't matter, what matters is your driving style. If you're carry enough speed and are getting the brakes out of their efficient operating range, slots and cross drilling do benifit. Now maybe cross-drilling a stock size OEM rotor is bad but that is because of the strengh of the casting and material.

Guru

You'd be suprised to see how well the crappy stock rotors hold up against many aftermarket rotors.

Seriously dude, if you are running stock calipers run stock rotors. Pads will help out a lot but the rotors you are using arent helping a thing.

I drive very similar to you, very fucking hard on my car. But maintaining it properly is also a very big thing.

Ryan

[Dorian]

If this were true, then why do most high end sports cars come standard with them?
Because their all show and no go. Duh!

:p

Most high end sports cars do not have cross drilled and slotted OEM rotors like the ones he is talking about. Most high end sports cars come with 4-6 piston calipers specifically designed to take aggressive driving like on a track. OEM blanks that are drilled and slotted cannot and will not take the pressure that he is trying to use them for. Come on... apples to oranges.

Come on Ryan the stock S14 brakes fucking blow when compared to all these new cars. We should be the ones complaining... not these guys...

[-=E36=-]

Come on Ryan the stock S14 brakes fucking blow when compared to all these new cars. We should be the ones complaining... not these guys...

Wrd. I still have mine but with good pads. I lock em up all the time for extra fun.

Ryan

[Dorian]

Like that's hard to do! (locking them up) :rolleyes: lol!

[-=E36=-]

Like that's hard to do! (locking them up) :rolleyes: lol!

Its not at all, I was jsut showing how hard on them I am.

Ryan

[Dorian]

Yeah... you don't have any upgraded control arms either do you? Man those stock bushings must take some serious punishment.

[-=E36=-]

Yeah... you don't have any upgraded control arms either do you? Man those stock bushings must take some serious punishment.

LOL. I am waiting till I get the spl coils, I order the CA's with them.

Ryan

[KeiichiLe]

get blanks.

werd

[Hotrodguru]

Gonna go with these

http://www.frozenrotors.com/

Guru

[ADiamond240sx]

Ok, as to slotted/cross drilled rotors ...

On my car I used to have A REALLY bad problem with fading and wapring rotors ... I tried differnt rotors (i.e. cross drilled) and this did nothing. So I went to bigger brakes - with crossdrilled, although they did work alot better, I still would get fading with crossdrilled and bigger brakes. The problem went away with better brake pads, no more fade, now I stop fast and continuosly, including under track conditions. When my rotors do crack (the are crossdrilled currently) I will be replacing them with blanks, this is because even with crossdrilled, while using crappy pads I still had fade, now I don't. The pad make the difference.

As for cars that come with stock crossdrilled rotors (i.e. some porches) they do this because the brakes are SO big that they don't need all the surface area they have in order to stop, but they do need it for cooling purposes, they are designed to be used continually under track conditions and not have any problems. Look at what cars come with Crossdrilled stock, not the boxster thats for damn sure.

[-=E36=-]

the new boxster does have huge crossdrilled rotors and is a great track car.

Ryan

[SecretAgent]

you can have the greatest brakes in the world, but unless you break them in properly, they'll crack, fade, squeal, and fail. browse stoptech's website for proper bed-in techniques. I suggest Axxis Ulitmate or Cobalt Pads. they are excellent street/track pads, and are easy on rotors. For rotors, i suggest brembo blanks. AND BED THEM IN PROPERLY.

[avex]

cobalt pads are so awesome, i love my gt-sport pads..only downside is slight squealing sometimes but that's expected with more aggressive pads.

[Hotrodguru]

you can have the greatest brakes in the world, but unless you break them in properly, they'll crack, fade, squeal, and fail. browse stoptech's website for proper bed-in techniques. I suggest Axxis Ulitmate or Cobalt Pads. they are excellent street/track pads, and are easy on rotors. For rotors, i suggest brembo blanks. AND BED THEM IN PROPERLY.
Well bed in procedure was followed per Stoptechs site because they have a nice write up on it. With the 2nd set of AU pads I even called to speak with Axxis about the fade I was getting with their pads and how I bedded them in the first time. They said the procedure on Stoptechs site was good for their pads as well. Don't know SA, the Axxis Ultimates pads have been a big disappointment to me and many others on the Subbie boards. They have great initial bite and grip but their effecient opperating temp sucks. Who knows but could just be a bad combination of rotor and pads. I was thinking it might be my fluid but I'm running Motul 600. Anyway, I'm just gonna have to be patient till I can get a Big Brake Kit and I'm gonna stick with blanks.

As for pads I'm going to try either Hawk HPS or more than likely the Hawk HP+'s.

J.

P.S. Ohhh yeah, hey man could you please recommend a place for some cheap Brembo blanks :).

[jsEM16]

get blanks.

:wrd:

[Dorian]

P.S. Ohhh yeah, hey man could you please recommend a place for some cheap Brembo blanks :). www.coximports.com

[avex]

www.nopionline.com sells brembo blanks for pretty cheap as well.

[David NA->FI]

Damn, read the Stop-Tech write up for stock street use bedding procedure. I do 40-10 twice and then 3 60-10 MPH. Hmmm I'll try what they say on the next brake job, but the pads do bed, and there is definatley a nice odor, once after driving a car I think I actually got them to smoke, although it was not in for a brake job. :) Blanks provide more surface area the grab, slotted and the new eliptical slot that is out is used to provide bite, but I think they also might decrease pad life. I haven't used anything but OEM rotors, but my next brake job on the teg or whatever car I do I'll try some different stuff.

[SecretAgent]

Well bed in procedure was followed per Stoptechs site because they have a nice write up on it. With the 2nd set of AU pads I even called to speak with Axxis about the fade I was getting with their pads and how I bedded them in the first time. They said the procedure on Stoptechs site was good for their pads as well. Don't know SA, the Axxis Ultimates pads have been a big disappointment to me and many others on the Subbie boards. They have great initial bite and grip but their effecient opperating temp sucks. Who knows but could just be a bad combination of rotor and pads. I was thinking it might be my fluid but I'm running Motul 600. Anyway, I'm just gonna have to be patient till I can get a Big Brake Kit and I'm gonna stick with blanks.

As for pads I'm going to try either Hawk HPS or more than likely the Hawk HP+'s.

J.

P.S. Ohhh yeah, hey man could you please recommend a place for some cheap Brembo blanks :).



try the Cobalt Comp VR's. excellent track pad, and probably street pad for ur boy racer self! lolz!

[DEEZNUTS]

trial and error is very expensive, learn from your mistakes
give cobb tuning a try they do a lot of sub stuff, road racing I think up by Ft.worth
my 2 cents say if you still have fade and your cracking rotors you need more agg pad
also car diet also will help fat cars dont stop quick

[OneArmedScissor]

rotora has a decently priced brake upgrade for all 4 corners.

2200 bucks can get front and rear big brakes to your door.

want to go in on a GB with me? :)

there goes my motorcycle :(

[Matt93SE]

Dump the Axxis ultimates.. they sound like the one thing you've kept constant and you're still having problems with them. they are a pretty aggressive pad and last a long time, but if you're having fade issues with them and still cracking rotors, then you're overdriving them as well.

pads I would look at:
Ferodo DS2500
Hawk HP+ (don't even bother with the HPS)
Cobalt Spec VR

might also look at Carbotech pads.. I had a set of XP8s on my car for a short while and they worked great, but literally squealed worse than a schoolbus.. sitting in heavy traffic on 59 one day, people were looking at my car in disgust and rolling up their windows when I would pull up next to them.. it was literally painful they squealed so loud! LOL!!
back to the Ferodo DS2500 as my standard pad and I have ZERO issues with them in the 1.5 years I've been using them.

I use them for everything from daily driving to heavy braking road course use at TWS and Hallett.. only time I've ever seen a hint of fade on them was on a 110+ degree day at Hallett, and my rotors were orange in a couple of the pics I saw of the event. :)

[-=E36=-]

Ferodo makes awesome pads if you have the money.

Ryan

[Dorian]

Ferodo makes awesome pads if you have the money.

Ryan
http://www.splparts.com/ is a distributor guru.

[Matt93SE]

Yup.. I should have mentioned that... last time I asked raceshopper.com for a quote on DS2500 pads for my Wilwoods, they were around $150 a set...

So I called up SPLparts and they were $100 shipped. came in three days. :)

[NismoFreakS14]

Get some DS2500's and more importantly BUILD SOME AIR DUCTING

You can build a good set of air ducts for very little and they work very well.

[-=E36=-]

Fading happens due to heat, as well as crappy pads. Having proper air ducting to your brakes prevents this more effictively than slotting ever will.

Ryan