Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Brakes stock rotors vs aftermarket

I talk from first-hand experience. My cross-drilled are much better than the stockers. From high speed the stockers would glaze and the car would not stop. The cross-drilled stopped the car. On Gingerman the cross-drilled never faded. I think they are worth the investment if you don't have the money for the big brake kit. Bigger is better.

I take it you are still running the same pads on your cross-drilled rotors as you were back on your stock setup? Exactly the same brand (OEM?) and compound?

..cuz you know that otherwise your "test" isn't valid..

I don't know about motorcycles, and I understand about how mountain bikes need to have the water taken off their brakes..

..yet I fail to understand how holes acheive that?? Whatever material is in between the holes for the pad to grip on will stay wet? What am I not getting here..

..and if you've ever measured the temperature at which brakes run when you start pushing them a littlem, you'll see that water probably vaporizes before it even reaches the rotors.

FWIW
I'm running AutoSpecialties drilled rotors and Green Stuff pads. I can tell you that the car stops WAY better now. Wet weather stopping is insanely better as well. And best of all . . . no more brake dust.

She's just my driver . . . no track time . . . but with the improved performance, those brakes are the best investment I've made in the car yet.

Stock brakes just flat out suck. They are cheap, mass produced just to make it in the world long enough to get you to buy more brakes. If they could deliver a car and you had to supply the brake parts they would. I say go aftermarket. If you bed the pads in properly and do the heat soak/cycles and you rrotors will be fine. The majority of cracked rotors are due to extreme (race track driving) without proper cool down time . When they are allowed to just cool at a standstill the rotors cool slower in some spots and quicker in others (pads creat heat soak) and the rotors will warp (guaranteed).....my personal setup: rotors and pads through Terry H (soon to be delivered).....

True... but think of this... if you 'happen' to be on the interstate while it's raining and you suddenly need to stop, the water that collects on the discs ( since they're not hot ) needs to go somewhere ( thus the holes... ) to provide better braking.

All of this of course is moot... as drilled rotors on cars don't REALLY get THAT wet. but... blahbittyblah....

--JamesT

IMHO, you can never spend enuf on brakes and tires.....Up here in Vancouver, we have 'driver
intelligence' issues so I want my car to be
as safe as possible...just my .02 (CDN) worth....

My first hand experience with Autospecialty Power Stop cross drilled rotors was poor, actually scary. Both front rotors sheared the mounting hats during a high speed stop. I had done aprox 8-10 days of track lapping sessions plus 6 months of street driving, maybe 10k total miles. Had to avoid a car pulling in front of me and busted both of em. I was using KVR pads at the time. I still have the rotors if anyone wants to see the damage.

Anyone who changes pads and rotors at the same time and then attributes the gain in braking "feel" to the rotors is missing the boat. You may even see the same gains from flushing your brake fluid.

Anecdotal evidence is pretty much worthless, here, and let's remember that the brakes don't stop the car. (It's the tires, man!) So better friction, etc. might give you better control, etc. but it won't stop the car any faster than your tires are capable of.

Drilling and slotting are a waste of money on a street car, which will never see the kinds of brake temps that might require such extreme measures. Either disc mod reduces one aspect of performance (disc mass) to solve another problem (out-gassing or glazing). In the same way that large ground-effects increase drag, reducing top speed, to allow a car to maintain higher speeds in the corners. It's a tradeoff.

Klee, you are definitely better off going with full-faced rotors and high-quality pads. I'm with Demon on this one.

You want real education? Start here and then read this article about common rotor mods.