Are drilled, slotted, or drilled and slotted rotors good? I was talking to my mechanic and he was saying that drilled rotors have problems with warping and also with wearing grooves in the pads and said that slotted are fine and ones with 'power slots' (don't know if that's the official name, he said they were the ones with two oval slots opposite each other) are better. Are they worth it or not? And if so which are good?
Soon after I got the car I was driving a little hard on a winding road for about 10 miles and started getting some sigificant brake fade and I pressed hard on the breaks to just confirm my suspicions and I was right and I drove a little while and the brakes started smoking a little. I had driven that road many times before with my subaru and driving as hard or harder than that time with the saab and I never had any break fade. Could there be something else wrong with the brakes or why would they be fading that much that fast?
Your mechanic is correct in his statements. However, there is one minor technical detail. The reason why drilled rotors are often weaker is due to them being drilled after the rotor is cast. This weakens the rotor causing cracking and irregular wear. The real deal "drilled look" rotors are cast in the mold with the holes present. So you maintain strength and get all the good breaking benefits of such a layout.
For street application "power slots" are best. You get a little braking benefit w/o the cost and huge pad wear drawbacks of a properly caste drilled rotor or a true slotted rotor.
The best way to fight break fade is having rotors that can dissipate heat quickly. This can be done with a larger rotor or via airflow management ie. drills, slots, and odd rotor shapes. The cheapest most cost effective manner is to upgrade is to put the largest rotors that are power-slotted that you can afford and a set of good pads. (See suggestions.) A brake fluid flush, and then fill with at least DOT4. If you want a little more bite SS lines if you so choose to top it off. Anything more than this you might as well take the BIG plunge for a significant difference. Prepare your pocket book for the $1000+ arena for a break job.
i had the PowerSlot rotors on the fronts of my 00' Impala that i used to have with Hawk brakes and i loved the upgrade, they worked great and looked awesome. especially after i painted the calipers and put 18' rims on the thing.
Okay who's right? My mechanic says that the brakes should be replaced with 6mm remaining, the local tire shop says 1 or 2mm. They're at 6.5mm and they feel weaker. When is the right time to change them?
When you hear the damn squealing from the wear indicator. That is usually a good indication for me. Or if you hear metal on metal grinding, as the inside pads don't have the squealing wear indicators.
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