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Brakes on a Budget

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Guteman

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Hi All,

My brakes are starting to get worn down and I think brakes would be rather useful with the upcoming winter season. :) I need all 4 rotors and new pads. Although I am on a budget, I would like to get some cost effective rotors/pads for my car. I've driven my dads 9-5 and I absolutely love his brakes. Anyone have any ideas on a budget between $250-$350 USD? I know brakes, and believe me when I say that their machined down tooooo much! :) I've seen plenty of cross drilled/slotted rotors on ebay, but are they any good? I like to go fast at times, up to 130mph, so keep that in mind.

Thanks ahead of time!

Paul G.
 
#2 ·
Brembo blanks and PBR Ultimate ceramic pads. I just put this setup on my SPG, and its what I have ran on the 9-3 since I bought it. I ordered them from RockAuto.com, as I do many parts. Pads should be ~$60 total for front and rear, and Brembo rotors should be about $25 a piece. There. $160 for a DAMN GOOD brake setup that will last a long while, perform well on the street as well as in some race environments.

Since I've ordered quite a few things from RockAuto, they send me discount codes good for ~5% off any order, and anyone can use them. If you decide to order from there, you can input discount code 512285230370 when checking out, and the discount will be automatically figured into your order.


EDIT: I forgot to mention... You can tell which pads are the ultimate ceramics because their part # ends in ULX. Cheers.
 
#3 ·
Don't waste your $ on x-drilled rotors....complete crap and waste of $, stock brakes are better. Only get them if you like brake dust and less stopping power. I had a set on my last 9k....they got traded in with the car. I've had good experiences with brembo flat faced rotors as well, def. reccomend those.
 
#5 ·
I don't know why people dislike x-drilled rotors, its slotted rotors that are a waste. The set of x-drilled zimmermanns that i have with pbr performance pads is deffinitely better than the stock set up. This setup hasn't given me any trouble and there hasn't been much brake dust to speak of at all. Cost me about 400 - 450 total but it was a fun job and the first project i undertook on my car.
 
#6 ·
NahumCC said:
I don't know why people dislike x-drilled rotors, its slotted rotors that are a waste. The set of x-drilled zimmermanns that i have with pbr performance pads is deffinitely better than the stock set up. This setup hasn't given me any trouble and there hasn't been much brake dust to speak of at all. Cost me about 400 - 450 total but it was a fun job and the first project i undertook on my car.
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People like, what people like...and what works on one car, may not work on another. My 900s has Metal Master pads....works great. My Viggen...Metal Master pads sucked on (I took them off after 1000miles - I used to swear by Metal Masters). I have used x-drilled zimmermanns before on a VW...they worked great that is until they cracked (I tried two sets). I have the slotted disks on my Viggen - I've had no problems with them with my ceramic pads...I know people who have 9-5's with the same ceramic pads as I do, and they don't like them.....
 
#7 ·
MiatarPowar said:
Brembo blanks and PBR Ultimate ceramic pads. I just put this setup on my SPG, and its what I have ran on the 9-3 since I bought it. .
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+1
I put this combo on my wife's car on all four corners and it stops a shitload better than mine. I really like the linear, predictable "grab" of those ceramic pads, especially on wet roads. The OEM ones made you wait a half-heartbeat before grabbing hard. The ceramics bite gradually harder so the pedal feel is consistent....

NahumCC said:
I don't know why people dislike x-drilled rotors, its slotted rotors that are a waste. The set of x-drilled zimmermanns that i have with pbr performance pads is deffinitely better than the stock set up. This setup hasn't given me any trouble and there hasn't been much brake dust to speak of at all. Cost me about 400 - 450 total but it was a fun job and the first project i undertook on my car.
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You have it backwards. Cross-drilled rotors are mostly cosmetic on road cars, while slotted have a slightly beneficial effect. There have been dozens of threads about this here and on Saabcentral.
From Stoptech:
http://www.saablink.net/forum/Which is better, slotted or drilled rotors?

StopTech provides rotors slotted, drilled or plain. For most performance applications slotted is the preferred choice. Slotting helps wipe away debris from between the pad and rotor as well as increasing the "bite" characteristics of the pad. A drilled rotor provides the same type of benefit, but is more susceptible to cracking under severe usage. Many customers prefer the look of a drilled rotor and for street and occasional light duty track use they will work fine. For more severe applications, we recommend slotted rotors.
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#8 ·
While x-drilled may be for cosmetic effect they are still better than slotted for road use. All a slotted rotor will do is help clean the pad but it does not reduce heat at all which is what you must do if you want to break harder and longer. With x-drilling, you amplify the affect of the cooling from vented discs because you have more air passing thorugh covering more surface area. This also helps cool the pads and cleans them somewhat. So when you step hard on the brakes your getting a better bite and better cooling affect for you discs and pads helping to prevent brake fad longer than you would with stock or slotted.

The enemy of good braking is heat and without adequate and better cooling it won't matter what you put on your car. X-drilling is the way to go if you ask me, yes they can crack due to there design but that doesn't happen all to often.

DViggen said it best though, people like what people like. Happy Saabing and hope everyones breaks always work how they want them.
 
#10 ·
saabkid37 said:
you ever look at your x drilled ater aout a week? the holes are good and clogged with brake dust anyway....
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Thats exactly what happend to mine on my old car. Filled with dust, rust, road crap, etc....probly the reason why they were super noisy too. WhenI went to look at my Aero and took it out for a test ride I couldn't believe how much better the stock brakes were then the x-drilled crap/mm pads I had on the 9k I was driving at the time. Oh well.....
 
#12 ·
I don't think ANYONE on this forum uses their brakes on their daily drivers to the extent where any cross drilling would be benneficial for cooling purposes.

I will also interject to say that I've had zimmermans, they grooved themselves out within 5000 miles of use from the dust accumulation in the holes on the rotor surface. When the guy who bought that car from me had them replaced there were also several hairline cracks found (maybe those help with cooling too???). Anyway, he put on some slotted rotors and apparently they've been great for him for the last 20k miles

I personally just preffer the basic flat faced rotors.

As far as pads, my EBC Redstuff pads bite like a pitbull when they are warm, but they are noisy and they eat through rotors (hence why I use $25 undrilled/unslotted brembos). The Reds also dust out a LOT, much more than OEM, despite EBC's claims that they are low dust. I can go out for a heavy romp and get my wheels from clean to pitch black in 30 min. So far, cold performance from the Reds is on par with OEM.

Next step for my brakes is stainless lines and DOT5.1 fluid, that should help a TON!
 
#13 ·
NahumCC said:
While x-drilled may be for cosmetic effect they are still better than slotted for road use. All a slotted rotor will do is help clean the pad but it does not reduce heat at all which is what you must do if you want to break harder and longer. With x-drilling, you amplify the affect of the cooling from vented discs because you have more air passing thorugh covering more surface area. This also helps cool the pads and cleans them somewhat. So when you step hard on the brakes your getting a better bite and better cooling affect for you discs and pads helping to prevent brake fad longer than you would with stock or slotted.
Click to expand...
Nahum, this is the reasoning given by companies that sell cross-drilled rotors, which are generally sold at a huge premium over slotted or solid. The primary cooling effect is from rotor mass itself, then, to a much lesser degree, from the air passing through the interior vanes. If you don't have vents running directly to the rotors, directing forced air to the hub-side of the vented rotor, then there's nothing to force air through the rotor.
The off-gassing benefit for cross-drilled rotors was definitely applicable when pads were made of materials that gave off gasses when heated, creating a microscopic layer of gas between the pad and the rotor surface. This hasn't been the case since the 50s or 60s.

The enemy of good braking is heat and without adequate and better cooling it won't matter what you put on your car. X-drilling is the way to go if you ask me, yes they can crack due to there design but that doesn't happen all to often.
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No, it happens often in racing, which is why major rotor manufacturers don't recommend using cross-drilled rotors in racing applications. When you see cross-drilled rotors used in racing, they're usually made of some extremely heat resistant materials such as carbon fiber composites and the like, or they're crazy expensive rotors with cast-in holes (not drilled) that have been shot-peened and cryo-treated to reduce cracking....

That said....cross-drilled rotors are absolutely fine in street applications. The major benefit of x-drilled rotors is cosmetic, because they look amazing on any car. I could probably get 20-30 percieved HP on my minivan if I installed x-drilled rotors. (Plus, since it's a Honda, I got that mad VTEC, yo!) :eek:

Here's a really old post on it from SC:
 
#14 ·
I routinely do a check over of my car every other 3 weeks and i've never seen my x-drilled clogged at all in the holes. I'm not gonna say anything other than its possible you had a bad experience but mine has been wonderfull. Next saab i get the first upgrade will be the brakes just as i have done them on this 9k.

Like it was said earlier. People are gonna like what they like and its based on previous experience. I've had a good one so far and have not had a single problem to date. The gentleman who posted this topic is looking for advice. Each of us has given him our 2 cents.
 
#15 ·
Good, valid points, Nahum...
I'm putting in a home-built big brake upgrade this weekend (Brembo 4-pot calipers, 314mm front calipers, 9-5 Aero calipers and rotors in the back.)
I'm either going to have the rotors slotted or leave them solid.
 
#16 ·
Good luck with that install. For me i've been toying around with the idea of removing my fog lights, they've never worked since i've owned the car, and doing some ducting to bring extra air to my brakes. 9-5 aero calipers in the back? Will that actually work on the 9000?
 
#17 ·
mike saunders said:
The major benefit of x-drilled rotors is cosmetic, because they look amazing on any car. I could probably get 20-30 percieved HP on my minivan if I installed x-drilled rotors.
Click to expand...
Well put, if you paint the calipers you can add at least 5whp to that 20-30. I have installed alot of zimmermans in my days and I have had to warranty alot of them to. If drive like an a**hole or you have an auto trans, don't buy zimmerman's. Now I have to admit, I like the looks of them so we have them on all of our cars, but there is no performance gain.
 
#20 ·
Obviously the 9-5 aero rear brake upgrade would not pertain to a 9000, but for you guys interested in it with ng900s and 9-3s there are some great posts with photos over on saabcentral.com

It's a sizable difference between the 9-5 aero rotors and the stock ng900/9-3 rotors, and there is a large gain for said upgrade.
 
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