Well, this is probably going to be OLD NEWS for some of our veteran techs and racers, but the newbs (like me) may find this interesting.
I needed to replace my brakes due to normal wear and tear, but I did not want to put stock hardware back in the vehicle. The factory setup is fine for around town, but there were two problems.
1.) The back of my car looked like a diesel car that is covered in soot.
2.) Hitting the brakes at the big end of the 1/4 mile sucked. The brakes would fade almost immediately and I would have to engine-brake to slow the car down enough to use the foot-brake.
Well I have been around the block a few times and knew that ceramic pads would be the way to go. They are low dust and (within limits) braking power improves with heat. However, I had no idea what to do for rotors. I had always used smooth face vented rotors, but I really wanted something more aggressive.
I saw some really nice light weight rotors that were drilled and slotted. I know that these two techniques are used to help vent gases created during braking as well as for cooling. After doing a lot of research I found many people complaining about hair-line crakes after less than 10,000 miles of use. For a race car this wouldn’t trouble me, but I drive this car almost 20,000 miles a year, so that that didn’t seem to be an option.
I also saw some rotors that where slotted and dimpled instead of drilled all the way through, but they have to be zinc plated (or some other form of platting) to avoid rust. If you park your car outside like I do, rust build-up on rotors causes problems for you pads and rotors to say the least. Once the zinc plating wears out, now you have a rust problem. Since I had this problem with the stockers too, I decided to stay away from them. I also stayed away from "Big Brake" kits so I can run 15" at the track.
After doing some research and getting some advice from several people about what was available, I selected PowerSlot slotted rotors and Hawk ceramic pads.
I have heard many people complain about ceramics, but most of the time after digging a bit more, I found that they did not break-in the pads correctly. I can tell you that 150 miles of light city driving was kind of a drag. But to do a good/proper break-in the rotors and the pads at the same time, good Lord was it worth it. Even driving around the neighborhood and on the highway, there is a major difference in performance.
If you use your daily driver to do any spirited driving or enjoy drag/road racing, I would recommend getting the slotted rotors and some ceramic pads! Be patient and do the proper break-in. You will be happy.
I needed to replace my brakes due to normal wear and tear, but I did not want to put stock hardware back in the vehicle. The factory setup is fine for around town, but there were two problems.
1.) The back of my car looked like a diesel car that is covered in soot.
2.) Hitting the brakes at the big end of the 1/4 mile sucked. The brakes would fade almost immediately and I would have to engine-brake to slow the car down enough to use the foot-brake.
Well I have been around the block a few times and knew that ceramic pads would be the way to go. They are low dust and (within limits) braking power improves with heat. However, I had no idea what to do for rotors. I had always used smooth face vented rotors, but I really wanted something more aggressive.
I saw some really nice light weight rotors that were drilled and slotted. I know that these two techniques are used to help vent gases created during braking as well as for cooling. After doing a lot of research I found many people complaining about hair-line crakes after less than 10,000 miles of use. For a race car this wouldn’t trouble me, but I drive this car almost 20,000 miles a year, so that that didn’t seem to be an option.
I also saw some rotors that where slotted and dimpled instead of drilled all the way through, but they have to be zinc plated (or some other form of platting) to avoid rust. If you park your car outside like I do, rust build-up on rotors causes problems for you pads and rotors to say the least. Once the zinc plating wears out, now you have a rust problem. Since I had this problem with the stockers too, I decided to stay away from them. I also stayed away from "Big Brake" kits so I can run 15" at the track.
After doing some research and getting some advice from several people about what was available, I selected PowerSlot slotted rotors and Hawk ceramic pads.
I have heard many people complain about ceramics, but most of the time after digging a bit more, I found that they did not break-in the pads correctly. I can tell you that 150 miles of light city driving was kind of a drag. But to do a good/proper break-in the rotors and the pads at the same time, good Lord was it worth it. Even driving around the neighborhood and on the highway, there is a major difference in performance.
If you use your daily driver to do any spirited driving or enjoy drag/road racing, I would recommend getting the slotted rotors and some ceramic pads! Be patient and do the proper break-in. You will be happy.
Or you have been busy with the 
... 
