crossdrilled rotors

[mrgrn]

I see a set of crossdrilled zinc silver plated rotors for sale on ebay for $175, will this help, does anybody have these? Also is this just bolt on, and what will need to bo done?I am thinking about doing the tein s, g2, and maybe the shiny rotors at the smae time kind of thing.

[mrgrn]

i looked and nobody has done this mod?I think i might just go for it, if not just for the clean look to go with my painted calipers. for $160 for 4 you can't realy complain right?

[scherry2]

this is what an ebay seller claimed:The Cross Drilled holes provide an escape path for the trapped gas between the rotor and pads for improved "bite" on the braking surface.The slotting provides a "shaving effect" on the brake pad keeping all surfaces to wear evenly and to expel brake dust. The primary reason for Cross Drilling & Slotting is that the rotors will run approximately 100-200 degrees cooler. This reduces any possibility of warping, which has become a major problem on late model US vehicles, as well as the larger heavier SUV's which have under-developed braking systems.The combination of Cross Drilling & Slotting results in a braking system far superior to the OE design, with extra stopping power in all traffic to unexpected emergency braking.seems to me auto manufacturers would have picked up on it if all they had to do was drill holes in a pattern on the rotor to make it stop faster and stay cooler.... then again who do you believe

[joatmon]

I saw a genvibe ad for a company selling cross drilled and slotted rotors, , goes to http://www.powerstoprotors.com/

[mrgrn]

one last minute thought: are the rotors the same on the GT as the base?

[mrgrn]

well i got the dirty ded done. 4 zinc slotted and crossdrilled rotor for $165, not bad huh?I just need to pick up the tein s springs and i am going with the gloss black G2 paint, i think that will look nice behind the gunmetal wheels.i will post some pics of the before and after, as well as some feedback on the improvement of the rotors which i'm sure is only cosmetic.

[mrgrn]

scherry, i agree why not on the vibe from the factory, here is why: just like on my bike pontiac has cost and longevity to consider which raises the OTD price for you and i. CAI are better and not likely to hurt the motor so why not have those OE, because it would raise the price, you follow?will i notice the difference, most likely not. will it be slightly better the OE, most likely. i added wave rotors to my bike and shed over 2lbs and can feel way bette intial bite, worth $700 i doubt it.

[scherry2]

yea I follow, i work at a GM truck assembly plant and I know just how cost are incurred. I used to work in reclaimation where I worked with defective parts (plant fault or source fault) and i also know just how cheap (dollar wise) parts really are to tha auto manufacturer.I would just like to know if cross drilled rotors really do work better. oh yea i love the look of my vibe with tein springs on.

[mrgrn]

scherry, do you have a pic of the lowered car i can look at?I will let you know if there is a difference between the two types of rotors.

[scherry2]

http://forums.genvibe.com/zero...age=2 my vibe should be on this page

[Stang2Vibe]

That part about allowing the gases to escape is the big advantage of the slotted and drilled rotors. I've read about this before as well. When the rotors heat up, they work less effectively. When they get hot enough, the friction of the pad against the rotor causes the pad to give off gas as the pad wears. The gas produces the same type of effect as hydroplaning, the pad is not fully contacting the rotor and is riding on a thin film of gas. Drilling and slotting give the gas someplace to go and therefore the brakes work better. Several higher end sports cars offer them as standard equipment, so appearantly their effectiveness must be real.

[AKLGT]

please post some pics when you get them on. i'd really like to see how they are. i've been thinking about them too.

[mrgrn]

I got the rotors today I weighed them on my bathroon scale: 44lbsThey look good, can't wait for spring.Here is a pic

Attached files

[mrgrn]

one more

Attached files

[rasermon]

Looks nice bro. Are them Power Stop Brake Rorors?

[Psychobroker]

I will be picking up this exact set of rotors next Tuesday. r1racing machines them themselves, so they need some lead-time to get them done.However, I've been discussing with the owner a group-buy opportunity. I'd have to become a pseudo-distributor for him, but I could probably get them to members for $150 for a full set if I buy in quantity.I'll post about their quality and fittment once I pick up and install them. -PsychoPS to rasermon...if you meant Power Slot, no, they are not. Power Slot's rotors are not cross-drilled, and from what I hear, are not that good. Plus, they cost ~$100 for one...I'd spring that for Brembo's or AEM's kit, but not PS's.

[DoughBoy]

Quote, originally posted by Stang2Vibe »That part about allowing the gases to escape is the big advantage of the slotted and drilled rotors. I've read about this before as well. When the rotors heat up, they work less effectively. When they get hot enough, the friction of the pad against the rotor causes the pad to give off gas as the pad wears. The gas produces the same type of effect as hydroplaning, the pad is not fully contacting the rotor and is riding on a thin film of gas. Drilling and slotting give the gas someplace to go and therefore the brakes work better. Several higher end sports cars offer them as standard equipment, so appearantly their effectiveness must be real.I'm not aware of newer pads doing the gas thing (I could be wrong of course), but the grooves/slots definately help with water (and steam) expulsion. As the rotor turns, the water has channels to collect in, and the steam generated between the pad and rotor can escape easily. They work like a dream really, except for the cost. If I had to choose, I'd choose slotted over drilled to prevent warpage and cracking concerns.

[MJN2]

I haven't put cross-drilled rotors on my Vibe yet, and probably won't until the brakes need replacing, but I did have them on my last car, along with carbon-fiber brake pads.Big improvement in braking and no brake dust either (car was a '99 Cougar...bit heavier than a Vibe, if I remember right)

[bull77]

sorry for the threadurrection anyone recently install crossdrilled/slotted rotors on their vibe?

[Sublimewind]

There has been a few recently, I just can never remember names, So hopefully they will chime in...

[AKLGT]

Unless you get a good price or want the "look" I wouldn't recommend cross drilled rotors. Here's a FAQ one of our resident racing/brake/suspension gurus put together. It's quite informative and will still apply to just about any vehicle:Quote, originally posted by Xenonk »I decided to put this FAQ together to help people decide how about going upgrading brakes as well as helping people fimilar how to buy brakes to fit for their needs. Not everyone need 16" rotors front and rear and still complain about how they can't stop better than stock.Q: How does one stop the fastest/shortest?A: It really starts with the tires. Brakes are one thing, but the main concern is about how the tires grip the road to stop.Q: Tires? What? I thought we were talking about brakes?A: Tires are the only thing that keeps the car in contact with the road, you are relying on 4 little patches of rubber to keep a 3000+ lbs car on the road. So yes, tires do make a difference. For example, if both cars had super awesome brakes, but one car had rubber soft slick tires while the other car had just bare rims, which one would stop faster? It's obvious that the tire will get into better grip (friction) with the road than the bare rim. It's hard for bare metal to dig into the concrete. If you dont believe me on the matter that tires dont make a difference, ask race car drivers why they have to use racing slicks.Q: Ok, so tires are upgraded, now what?A: Hopefully, the tires you chose helps you narrow down what kind of brakes you should look into. I have broken down the three common tires you will find and 3 kinds of brake upgrades you can get along with the car.Tire A, Daily driving: This is the kind of tire that would be on your car most of the year and winter driving is possible since it could very well be an all-season tire.Tire B, Spirited driving, Autocrossing for Street Touring: This is the kind of tire that is more dedicated for street use in the summer or possibly an autocross street touring race setup. The tire is fairly soft and the potential for harder braking is possible (also less chance for the ABS to come on).Tire C, Race and Race-practice driving: This is where your tire is barely DOT-approved and street legal, the tires barely last more than 5,000 to 10,000 miles conservatively for street driving or only 100 miles for race use. These types of tires are sticky.Brake Upgrade A, conservative driving: This is the setup you are looking for that you expect to keep on your car for a while unless the brake pads run low. The key things to upgrade are better brake fluid, better brake pads. The driving habit is mild and delicate braking, long drags, and low speed stops (think slow daily driving). Look for a brake pad that has a high coeffiecent of friction (for that quick bite) and low operating temperature (so that winter or cold brakes will still work).Brake Upgrade B, spirited driving: This setup is something that might need some higher performance pads, better rotors to help prevent brake failure or poor performance. Things to look for are stainless steel brake lines, better brake fluid, slotted/cross-drilled rotors, larger or higher operating temperature brake pads.Brake Upgrade C, hard driving: This setup is to help you get the most out of your brakes without worrying about overheating/overworking your brakes. This setup is usually for racing use only since the brakes (and tires) need to warm up first before they work properly. Things to look for are racing brake fluid, bigger rotors with slots or crossing/drilling, racing brake pads, stainless steel lines, bigger calipers that can handle larger brake pads. All these parts help you keep the brakes work in the higher braking temperature ranges. Overheated brakes are just as bad as having no brakes at all.Q: Are slotted and cross-drilled rotors needed?A: Slots are useful to a point when you are looking for a way to prevent glazing of the brake pads. Glazing of the pads happen when you overheat the brake pads (either too hard on the brakes and not big enough of a rotor to dissapate the heat fast enough thus makes the pad material harden and it starts to lose its frictional properties. Cross Drilled really has no real use now as brake technology has advanced.. it does have an appealing look to them, but as for today, you dont need them as they serve next to nil on purpose. Specifically on the Legacy (GT or 2.5i) the brakes are fairly well using just the stock rotors. The weight of the rotors (mass) is pretty heavy.. more mass also helps in heat capacity, so the more mass you have for the rotors, the more repeative braking that you can do. Big Brake Kits do benefit from this very reason, but a few other brake tests has shown that the thickness of the plates and the overall thickness of the rotor proved to be more of a useful design than just the overall diameter of the rotor [Motor Trend did the study about 2 to 3 years ago I believe]. Blank rotors are fine and does the job, especially for a daily driver that doesnt need that heat capacity.Q: So what kind of brake pads out there?A: There are a lot of brake pads out there, things to take consider are the three main attributes that usually 2 attributes are offered in a braking pad:-Dusting/Noise (how much they make your bling rims dirty)-Temperature (the range of temperature of which the pad works)-Friction (how well the pad has the initial bite and feel to the rotor)It's very hard to find a brake pad that can be awesome in all 3 attributes. Street pads will have great low noise/dusting, good friction bite, and typical low temperature range. Performance pads will have good friction, good temperature range, and typical medium dusting. Race Pads have great temperature range, good friction, and lousy dusting (very dirty).Q: What temperature is right for me?A: If you are looking for daily driving and expect to drive through a winter season, look for a brake pad that can operate in low or freezing temperatures. If you are looking for autocross and very light track days, look for above freezing to 800 F temperature ranges. Very rare that a daily driven or street driven car hit temperatures of 1000 F unless you are that crazy to hold the brakes down at near full force while driving at 40 mph for 15 mins. Racing brake pads start near the 150F to 1500F+ range (so somehow the driver needs to warm up the brakes before actually using them).Q: How do I pick a good brake fluid?A: The thing is to look for the HIGHEST WET BOILING POINT (as brake fluids do soak up moisture in the air and causing the fluid to fail and feel mushy). Change your brake fluid at least once a year or every 15,000 miles for the best pedal feel. ATE Super Blue fluid is probably the best "bang for the buck" at $15/bottle for a full flush. Always use a fresh bottle, dont use a bottle that has been open for more than a month as it has probably soaked up dirt and other moisture in the air that would make the fluid ineffective.Q: What about stainless steel lines?A: Usually designed for better pedal feel for less pedal brake travel and less flex in the lines. It's an upgrade that is really up to the owner as stock lines offer enough PSI of fluid for the caliper to clamp with enough force. Unless you are upgrading your master cylinder and larger calipers, upgraded stainless steel brake lines with higher PSI rating is not neccessaryQ: What about big brake kits?A: Big brake kits are used to make use of the tires' grip potential and dissapate heat faster. It's not neccessary for a street car to run with larger brakes unless you run the Autobahn or something and have the tires run them. Also, check the brake pads that the brake kits come with. There's no sense in getting bigger brakes (more weight) if the brake pads are lousy "performance" pads that can overheat and glaze.

[Sublimewind]

Quote, originally posted by AKLGT »Unless you get a good price or want the "look" I wouldn't recommend cross drilled rotors. Here's a FAQ one of our resident racing/brake/suspension gurus put together. It's quite informative and will still apply to just about any vehicle:I've tried to get that through some peoples heads, but, it's doesn't usually work... nice bit of info though...

[AKLGT]

I find it useful to listen to those who not only know what they are talking about, but actually USE that knowledge and have experience with it. Cross drilled rotors for me would be a very very bad idea. I can only imagine the damage it might endure during one of my track days. I didn't even want the slotted rotors however that is what came in the Brembo Big Brake kit. My parents are looking to upgrade their front rotors and brakes on their 01 Impala since they are going thru a second set of rotors/brakes in 8 mos. Seems a bit premature. however, I told them they don't need a brembo kit, but maybe some DBA's and Hawk pads. EBC Greenstuff are also supposed to be very good from what I hear.

[NibCrom]

Don't forget to upgrade to cross-drilled brake hoses.

[bull77]

I found a set of cross drilled/slotted rotors and oem pads for sale for 120 --- my rotors don't need to be replaced but this seems like a good price. I don't plan on driving hard/xcross, etc.., just daily city driving