Disc brakes

[domin8]

Brake pads are made to wear out. That is why I don't waste my money on ”lifetime” pads. They are designed to wear out. As for whether or not drilled rotors increase pad wear, I've never seen a credible claim to that. In fact, if that were true, why do higher end performance cars use them? Porsche Turbo and Carrera GT, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Corvette ZR-1, etc?

 

[quattrotman]

Brake pads are made to wear out. That is why I don't waste my money on ”lifetime” pads. They are designed to wear out. As for whether or not drilled rotors increase pad wear, I've never seen a credible claim to that. In fact, if that were true, why do higher end performance cars use them? Porsche Turbo and Carrera GT, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Corvette ZR-1, etc?

I never said it was a bad thing...just something to be aware of. High performance cars have drilled rotors becasue the benifits outweigh the cost of frequent pad replacement and owners of such vehicles don't really care. A brake job on a Carrera GT with carbon rotors will set you back $50k! Many owners of tahoes etc drive their trucks as work/everyday vehicles etc and maintenance is something that is not high on the priority list...they just want it to work properly with a minimum amount of fuss. If you are looking for no nonsense brakes that work well, just get good pads with smooth rotors. If you want a bit more performance because you drive harder, slotted, drilled are a step up but there are trade offs...one of them is shorter pad life and possibility of squealing. I've been through sooooo many different types of brakes/pads in my vehicles over the years...just speaking from experience thats all.

 

[Mgyver1]

If you have 18" or larger wheels, you may want to think about this kit:

http://www.ssbrakes.com/commerce/detail/index.cfm?nPID=8403

Uses stock calipers but upgrades you to a 14" rotor that's slotted.

Baer has their own set up too, however I don't know what size rims you have to have. The bonus is that it uses 15" rotors, but it's more expensive and I'm guessing you're going to need 20's to fit it.

 

[06xl]

If you have 18" or larger wheels, you may want to think about this kit:

http://www.ssbrakes.com/commerce/detail/index.cfm?nPID=8403

Uses stock calipers but upgrades you to a 14" rotor that's slotted.

Baer has their own set up too, however I don't know what size rims you have to have. The bonus is that it uses 15" rotors, but it's more expensive and I'm guessing you're going to need 20's to fit it.

IMO those kits are kind of point less for the price they are charging because you are using the same calipers. @OP if your not trying to spend alot just swap rotors for r1 concepts and a decent pad you will notice a difference

 

[1Agerry]

slotted

 

[Mgyver1]

IMO those kits are kind of point less for the price they are charging because you are using the same calipers. @OP if your not trying to spend alot just swap rotors for r1 concepts and a decent pad you will notice a difference

Well I don't have any real world experience using them so I only know through the concept of it. Since the rotor is larger it has more surface area to dissipate heat & the calipers have more leverage on the rotor. I figured it's a good upgrade without dropping thousands on a full Brembo/Wilwood/etc 6 to 8 piston brake kit. That's why I was planning on getting the SSBC kit when my brakes are due to be serviced.

 

[quattrotman]

If you have 18" or larger wheels, you may want to think about this kit:

http://www.ssbrakes.com/commerce/detail/index.cfm?nPID=8403

Uses stock calipers but upgrades you to a 14" rotor that's slotted.

Baer has their own set up too, however I don't know what size rims you have to have. The bonus is that it uses 15" rotors, but it's more expensive and I'm guessing you're going to need 20's to fit it.

That is actually a nice kit and will offer improvement as you have larger rotors. Big brake kits are better mostly because the rotors are larger not because of the caliper design. I'm curious what type of rotors that kit uses. What vehicle are they from? Are they a custom one off from that company or are they using 14" rotor off another car? Would kinda suck if you were stuck having to buy replacement rotors from this company...what if they go under? Otherwise, I like it and would have likely bought that had I known about it. I used a similar kit on my Audi...caliper relocators and larger rotors but factory calipers...it was a huge improvement over stock size.

 

[06xl]

That is actually a nice kit and will offer improvement as you have larger rotors. Big brake kits are better mostly because the rotors are larger not because of the caliper design.


I would have to disagree the caliper plays a major part in big brake kits I would rather have a six piston caliper vs a two piston caliper any day. There will be a noticeable difference using 14 or 15 inch rotors on a two piston caliper but will have nothing on a 16 inch rotor with six piston calipers stopping distance will be far apart

 

[99TXhoe]

Thanks for everyone's help. I just bought some of the r1 concepts crossed drilled and slotted. So I will find out soon how good they are. Thanks again

 

[quattrotman]

That is actually a nice kit and will offer improvement as you have larger rotors. Big brake kits are better mostly because the rotors are larger not because of the caliper design.


I would have to disagree the caliper plays a major part in big brake kits I would rather have a six piston caliper vs a two piston caliper any day. There will be a noticeable difference using 14 or 15 inch rotors on a two piston caliper but will have nothing on a 16 inch rotor with six piston calipers stopping distance will be far apart

Not trying to start an arguement...but have you tried it? I have done this on an Audi S4 I had a couple years ago. Stock caliper, new carriers and rotors that were 2" larger in diameter (don't quote me on that...if I remember correctly it was 13" to 15")...HUGE difference in all respects. I couldn't believe how much of a difference it made. I get what you are saying and I am not trying to discount that bigger calipers are going to be very effective as well. It's all part of it but the leverage on a larger rotor is a big, big part of it. There is only so much pressure that can be applied to the pads no matter how many pistons it has but it won't necessarily change the leverage. It's easier to stop a big rotor than a small one.
The stock caliper is not exactly crap either...it was designed to stop a really, really heavy vehicle and performs reasonably well with good pads/rotors in stock size. The arguement here really is if the larger rotor kit would be an improvement over stock and I think we can agree it would be even with stock calipers. A big brake kit with 6 pot calipers is the cat's meow but often is cost prohibitive. If money is no object, I agree it's the way to go. Just trying to point out that larger rotors will offer a huge improvement and the kit can't be beat considering any quality BBK is gonna cost you $2k or more.