Brakes Upgrade

[TREYR8D]

Hey all,

During the installation of the leveling kit on the wife's hoe, i noticed the front rotors had some grooving. There was still plenty of pad left, so i'm not really sure how they got the grooves, but I want to replace them. So the question is, what is the recommendation for new rotors. I've seen a couple people with EBC and Google searching led me to StopTech and some other random brands. I'm looking for somewhat of a performance upgrade, so i'm thinking slotted or drilled or both and i want zinc coated. of course with new rotors, i'll be getting new pads as well. Recommendations there would be great as well. Ceramic, semi-metallic....again, looking for a little performance upgrade, but i dont want to break the bank as i'm saving up for rims and tires in the near future. I'll be doing front and rear just to keep everything consistent and up to date.

Thanks!

 

[Punisher66]

Just be careful with slotted and drilled. I was having issues in my old car in the rain. If I was on the highway in wet weather for a long period of time, then hit the brakes, it took a second or so for them to react. A bit scary. Not sure if it was the brand I got, or if it was the holes and slots, but it was not good.

 

[Conor]

I highly recommend the EBC slotted and dimpled rotors. The OEM rotors are terrible and should be swapped out for sure before they start to warp.

 

[Zed 71]

^ +1. R1 Concepts has also been used with good results. IMO go with slotted not drilled.

Punisher, slotted rotors should not have any issues in the rain, in fact there should be better performance. What brand/type rotors and pads did you use?

 

[SmallXL]

If it takes a second or two for your brakes to grab- that is typical of a perf. pad, not a characteristic of your rotor. The pads you had on were probably "hot pads". Takes a second to heat up a work properly. Great for track car, terrible for street use.

 

[vinnyray]

A few years back I tried a set of Power Stop rotors and Evolution Pads on my 05 Silverado. They made a world of difference over stock, the only problem I had was getting them to stop squealing in the beginning. I got them on ebay from Brakemotive really cheap, they are also on summitracing.com. Installed them 3 years ago, rotors are still in excellent shape but I did replace the pads 4 months ago.

 

[Punisher66]

^ +1. R1 Concepts has also been used with good results. IMO go with slotted not drilled.

Punisher, slotted rotors should not have any issues in the rain, in fact there should be better performance. What brand/type rotors and pads did you use?

R1 Concepts (Eline Cross-Drilled - Slotted) and pads......Yeah you would think that the slots are in place to help wisk water away, not sure what was causeing the issues, car is gone but not sure I would buy slotted and drilled again, nervous

---------- Post added at 10:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:32 PM ----------

If it takes a second or two for your brakes to grab- that is typical of a perf. pad, not a characteristic of your rotor. The pads you had on were probably "hot pads". Takes a second to heat up a work properly. Great for track car, terrible for street use.

It would actually only happen in the rain and I don't believe they were perf pads. They were pretty much stock from R1 Concepts, metallic, from what i remember

 

[Zed 71]

I have slotted (no drilled holes) and they have been great (all weather conditions). From the reviews I have seen regarding Tahoes with R1 Concept rotors with Hawk pads, the comments have always been positive. I wonder if it was the pads - metallic...

 

[InTruckDesign]

I run SSBC big brake kit, it upgrades your rotors to 14" slotted, relocates stock caliper. I put Hawk ceramic pads on, they do squeek/squeal a bit but that is inherant to ceramic pads in general, next set I buy will be their LTS pads. I noticed a big improvement in stopping distances and overall pedal feel(very linear) much better than stock even with my 33's.

 

[TREYR8D]

Thank you all for the responses. So far this is what i'm debating between.
Rotors:
R1 Concepts Eline Slotted/drilled - $316 F & R
or
R1 Concepts Premium Drilled/slotted - $455 F & R
or
EBC USR Slotted - $440 F & R

Pads:
I really dont know whether to go with ceramic or not...so maybe some suggestions would help, but this is what im looking at. Hawk sounds pretty popular, and they're reasonably priced, so its between these:
Hawk Performance LTS - $165
Hawk Performance HPS - $165
Hawk Performance Ceramic - $170
EBC Green Stuff 7000 ~ $240
R1 Concepts Posi Quiet Ceramic - $120

So from a monetary stand point, the R1 rotors with the Hawk pads makes sense and would still provide a nice upgrade from stock. If there was large feedback that the EBC rotors are better, I would probably fork the extra $130 for them. I thought i read ceramic were supposed to be the quietest, but based on InTruck's post, i think the Hawk LTS's are the best option for pads.

If money were no problem i would definitely go with a big brake kit, but i can't afford 3-5K for new brakes right now.

Thanks!