Oppopinions Wanted: Brake Rotors

"Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch" (bman76) 02/19/2018 at 21:19 • Filed to: None

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Standard steel vs high carbon, un-treated vs cryo treated, smooth vs slotted... so many choices.

I know you’re jealous of these photoshop skillz

I’m prepping for the rapidly approaching AutoX season, and I need to replace my brake rotors... badly. I’ve got a lot of options:

Option 1: Plain ass rotors

I’m pretty sure this is essentially what is on the car now. Cheap, but probably not ideal?

Option 2: High Carbon Cryo Treated:

We skipped a couple steps up, the added carbon should make them more wear resistant and the cryo treatment should make them less prone to warping. Cons: twice the price.

Option 3: StopTech Sport Slotted Cryo-Treated

We’ve moved up a brand and added slotting to the rotors. Slots increase initial bite, but probably accelerate pad wear as well?

I’m leaning towards the two latter options, but I don’t have any experience with performance brakes. (I run Hawk High Performance Street 5.0 Brake Pads, which I bought last year)

Oppopinions?

2Fast2Furious: Rotary Powered > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 02/19/2018 at 21:22

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Who would win?

Your Photoshop skillz

Or

Monkeepuzzles Ms paint skills?

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 02/19/2018 at 21:24

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save dollars on rotors and spend those dollars on good pads and fluid.

Slotted rotors won’t make a different in autocross

dogisbadob > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 02/19/2018 at 21:24

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The best rotors to get are blanks that are coated.

Centric Premium and Wagner E-coated are both good rotors. Another good choice is EBC Premium rotors. All of them have a coating on the hat (and anywhere else where the rotor doesn’t contact the pads) to deter rust. Non-coated rotors rust overnight.

Nothing wrong with the Centric Cryo either, though they are a bit more expensive.

crowmolly > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 02/19/2018 at 21:26

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Centric blanks. If they wear out replace them again.

Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch > 2Fast2Furious: Rotary Powered 02/19/2018 at 21:26

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No one

MM54 > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 02/19/2018 at 21:26

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Why are you shopping for brake rotors on tire rack?

For autocross, a plain (quality-brand) rotor will be fine. You’re not making enough heat to justify any sort of slotting or anything.

I own dead car brands only > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 02/19/2018 at 21:27

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Your mileage may vary but I put slotted rotors on my dearly departed Saab 9-5 and went autocrossing. It hauled the Saab down fast and didn’t fade.

Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch > MM54 02/19/2018 at 21:28

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Just an easy way to find stuff, I’m not set on buying them from there.

Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch > dogisbadob 02/19/2018 at 21:31

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The Hawk pads are pretty good, and way better than the stock pads I was running. I’ll look into the fluid upgrade, I pretty well cooked everything at EnduroX last year.

nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 02/19/2018 at 21:37

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The only advice I can provide is that if you get the slotted rotors you’ll get the cool sprinkler sound effect.

AkursedX > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 02/19/2018 at 21:54

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I’m pretty much parroting the other comments but for auto-x, a solid, coated disc is all you need. Out of you choices id go with the centric high carbon ones.

I’m switching up to some carbotech ax-6 pads this season and I plan on matching them up with whatever pair of coated name brand rotors I can get the best price one.

daender > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 02/19/2018 at 22:27

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Blanks but consider the cryogenic rotors if you plan on doing some track days or mountainous driving this year.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 02/19/2018 at 22:40

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Those pads are a good choice for dual duty. You could step up to an HP+ type pad that’ll give you considerably more initial bite, but they’ll be really dusty and noisy for street use. They’ll also be a lot more aggressive to your rotors. I’ve run HP+ on a daily driver before, and I probably wouldn’t do so again. I’d run HPS pads on the street and swap in a set of HP+ and a dedicated set of rotors for autocross weekends.

On rotors, it isn’t going to matter much for autocross. You’re just not putting that much heat in the brakes on an autocross course. Longevity is going to be more determined by how much and how you drive the car on the street than what happens on the autocross course. Centric’s premium rotors are a fantastic rotor at a good price. Sometimes you get a little more bite with the high carbon blanks, but I wouldn’t spring for them for autocross use. Cyro rotors do last longer, but again they get to really diminishing returns for autocross use. If you run aggressive enough pads like an HP+, it won’t matter much anyway. Rotors become disposable with each set of pads.

LOREM IPSUM > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 02/19/2018 at 23:00

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Fwiw, I put some “Prime Choice” brand rotors on my e38 probably 5 years ago at around $30 Canadian per corner. They’re coated, drilled, and slotted. Look good, put a ton of km on them and although the car isn’t tracked it isn’t driven gingerly either and I have no complaints. No cracks or fissures last I looked.

I plan to buy a set for the Fx45 when it’s time for pads and rotors, just because.

AfromanGTO > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 02/19/2018 at 23:02

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I am guessing you have already switched out to stainless lines, are using a good fluid, and are planning on using an aggressive set of pads.

Personally I would go with slotted cyro treated rotors. The post office and most delivery services use cryo treated rotors for their vehicles. They last longer. So they will be good for at least one season with a set of aggressive pads.

Also look into cooling and titanium backing plates (between the pads and caliper pistons) if your class will allow them.

Little Black Coupe Turned Silver > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 02/19/2018 at 23:35

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I treat rotors as a wear item that’s going to get replaced.

I run solid, basic rotors from Napa on my C5Z at track days and have 0 problems.

Your brake pad and fluid choices matter a lot more than rotors.

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > dogisbadob 02/19/2018 at 23:53

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I’ve been very pleased with EBC premiums.

TA4K > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 02/20/2018 at 02:03

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Our local budget racing guys (who do 4-5 hour enduros sometimes in stock old corollas and integras) have perfected the formula for braking performance on the cheap. Get plain old rotors, then spend all that money you saved on the best pads you can buy.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 02/20/2018 at 03:00

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If it was me, I would go with the cheap/plain rotors.

But that’s mainly because I drive an old/cheap beater that will only last me another year or two.

If your brakes are currently good enough with plain rotors and you plan on keeping the car for a long time, then go with option 2 or with the coated rotors others mentioned.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 02/20/2018 at 05:45

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only ever bought the cheapest available.