Drilled Rotors

W

WaZZZZman

Active member
 Over the rainbow near the emerald city
Askled this on another forum but maybe you guys have different answers. :thumbsup:

I am going to upgrade my brakes on my 2004 2.5i as soon as I get the light telling me that the pads have to be replaced. I want to put new rotors, and pads on, but keep the OE calipers. I looked at a friends 2007 Zed/ M and as I remember it had drilled rotors and I do not think he replaced them so I guess they come stock, so they must be preferred on those vehicles.

I am looking at Brembo drilled rotors mainly because I like the way they look. I like the anodized gold color. But the Tire Rack has warning after warning about drilled rotors. I do not track my Zed and I also do not use it for my everyday road car. Mostly just having fun with the wife on weekends. I do however like to push it a little when the road will allow. Have any of you had experience with the Brembo drilled rotors?

I was also looking at the R1 Concepts drilled and slotted rotors that are on e-Bay but they are not anodized and I have never heard of them but if you have positive or negative comments about either I would welcome them.

Was told not to wait for warning light so maybe I will do it sooner. :D
 
Yep, drilled rotors are stock on the //M. Not sure why Tire Rack would have a warning except to advise people not to drill the rotors themselves (and yes, there are people that have/will). Not sure if I would have my life depend on a company I have never heard of, in regards to the R1 Concepts. Brakes are pretty dang important to have,,,,, without worry of failure!

Sure that some more experienced folks will be along shortly to give you a good answer :)
 
I've run the drilled Brembo rotors on my X5 for a couple of years now and love them. The cadmium top hat coating has prevented any corrosion to date. Used when towiing a very heavy Jeep and bringing it down to a halt I have much better bite (yes I know the trailer is supposed to brake itself but they never do fully)

By selecting drilled rotors with with chamfered edges the much talked about cracking issues are greatly reduced. They benefit from improved cooling and of course the through wheel look is much better.

Frankly for what you talk about doing it won't make much difference what you use between OEM, plain, drilled/slotted or both. Racing/track - sure you'd want to really think about what you're doing with rotors, pads, calipers, etc. for performance.

I'll be switching to the Brembo's as soon as the Zed needs them. :)

Brembo's as fitted to the X5:
1103602229639_IMG_0435.jpg
 
The only downside to drilled rotors is that they tend to crack at high temperatures. But unless you're tracking the car I wouldn't worry about it.
 
Well thank you very much for the information. I was thinking if drilled rotors were good enough for M’s then why would they not be good enough for my type of driving. But what set me off was the comments from the Tire Rack that said as below: :?

IMPORTANT REMINDER: Slotted, drilled or dimpled rotors offered as OEM replacements should not be considered appropriate for high-speed track use.
While grooved, drilled and slotted rotors offer an enhanced appearance and add some resistance to the boundary layer of gasses that can build up between the pad and rotor, they are not designed to withstand the extreme temperatures that are produced on the racetrack. If they are used on the track, it is very important that the rotors be carefully inspected and should not be driven on if even minor signs of deterioration are seen. Note, too, that if any products are used on the track they are not warrantable. :?

I do not intend to track my Zed as my eye and hand coordination would not allow that any more, but I do like to zip around some of the mountain twisty roads here and would not want my brakes to fail. Many years ago that very thing happened to me in a 57 built custom Chevy and I had to put it into a rock wall to keep from going over a cliff. So I would not want that to ever happen again and was thinking that maybe with the warning of the Tire Rack I may experience the same thing. Thanks for your expertise. :) :thumbsup:
 
I'd take that important reminder with a grain of salt. Drilled/slotted rotors are designed to improve cooling, and some aftermarket drilled/slotted rotors are specifically designed for track use.
 
IIRC the issue with drilled was that minor cracks can start developing from the drilled holes simply because an extra weak stress spot has been created. Later designs put a radius on them that largely prevents this.
 
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