Any Recommendations on Slotted Rotors?

EBC makes a combination slotted and dimpled rotor. I had them on my Tundra and also have them on my Corolla tuner. I'm pleased with them.

https://ebcbrakes.com/product/3gd-sport-rotors/

 

I ordered the Power stop rotor and pad combo kit #PWR-K137-36 from Summit racing, these were their extreme towing and heavy duty rotors and pads, and they strongly recommended I use the pads that Power stop makes that are companion matched for these rotors, they are their Z-36 Extreme carbon ceramic pads. Of course he said you can use any pad you wished, but at Summit they have seen the best success using the power stop pads. So they are coming, I should be able to install them next Friday. The kit cost me 175.97, with free shipping and no tax, I could not beat that here in town anywhere I went, so I will let you all know how they do. I almost went again with the Bosh rotors and Wagner quiet stop pads I put on my 08 Taco, those were really good, and worked really well together. But since I tow this RV, I like the sound of Extreme heavy duty, and stopping quickly is a good thing when some brain dead moron cuts you off and then slams his brakes on in front of you in his little nimble pocket rocket.
They claim that these pads out gas 30 to 40% less than standard OEM pads, and coupled with the slotted and cross drilled rotors will run much cooler and should outlast OEM pads.....we will see. If I can stop a whole lot quicker than I have been, I will be happy. I guess proper bedding these is important, as they come with their own procedure for that. Thanks for all your informational discussions, and the give and take, very helpful indeed.
Rick

 

Like so many things it's a trade off. The benefits of holes and slots are negated to a large extent by their side effects. Vendors have a vested interest in selling a product so their input is (to me anyway) at least a little suspect. Obviously an apple and oranges comparison but, have you looked at a Formula One rotor lately? They often run rotors with zero holes or slots depending on conditions. Point being, the advantages of one over the other are in fact very small. The thing I find funnest about this thread is there has been no mention of technique which is responsible for a probable 30+ percent benefit vs the 5 percent (at best) a drilled and or slotted rotor might provide on a good day. Think about that on your favorite mountain road - BTW I don't want to drive behind a lot of you, so I'll just go around

 

The way you brake your vehicle definitely contributes to brake fade and warping. Just like when u see that one guy riding his brakes while driving back down from the mountains lol. In regards to the F1 cars I'm sure they are using some advanced metal compound for their rotors. And I'm with u I use the gas pedal way more than the brake pedal

 

If I may jump in on the above conversation just a tad. It all depends on the person and their driving habits and skill set. Anymore, I am not a go fast driver, frankly because I have vehicles that simply not designed to either go fast, or corner real fast. So to me the brakes on a formula one racer compared to an SUV and Truck are not a really logical comparison. I know personally people who are both "gasers" and drag strip racers, some use slotted and drilled, some don't, and both use their brakes relatively little compared to track racers,(stock car, "NASCar" and one who I knew of who drove formula one). Their brakes were mostly very large and thick, with most being solid non drilled or slotted, and made out of some fancy stuff.
But if you were to ask them what they used on their towing rigs, most of them preferred the slotted and vented. Their reasons were mostly the same, better hard short term effect, than what a track car or straight line racer needed. When towing you usually have one hell of a lot of extra weight behind you, a racing vehicle does not, so you are dealing with less mass to be stopped.
Now I am not so stupid as to know that the argument could be made that using large unvented and drilled rotors would provide the same or even possibly better stopping ability. But there is a cost factor there that has thus far been ignored. And to go with very large rotors requires a number of things in the brake system needing to be changed, I know I looked into that.
If any you spent a lot of time in the 4Wheeler sites, most of them prefer the slotted and drilled, to save money and space. Have any of you wondered why most serious 4 wheelers prefer rear drum brakes as opposed to cool looking disc brakes? It's simple....all their extra uncovered equipment gets drug off on some rock or tree stump....been there done and seen that. Same goes for up front; so companies came up with an extra stopping measure for the smaller diameter disc brakes such as slotted and cross drilled.....I would postulate that there must be something too it, besides looking cool.
Cody is correct, the way you drive and brake does contribute to break fade and wear, but that is not always controllable, especially when "other" members of the family drive the same rigs. My wife is of the opinion, after reading on this forum, in the" automatic section", that using the tranny for braking is a bad idea.....brakes are much cheaper. So based upon what she read she uses them for every type of stopping period, and will not be told otherwise. But I am the one who gets to work on them, and would like to find a way of not having to quite so often. So I chose the Powerstop slotted and drilled, which will be a first for me.
I have enjoyed this discussion, and value all the opinions.......feel free to jump on me for what I have said.....I will take it all under advisement.
Rick

 

I started to pick this apart this mess but it was not even sporting, so I will leave it for someone else.

 

Whenever the "brake pads and rotors" subject comes up there are always the same types of responses..."oem", "slots/holes are bad..." etc. Basically buy what you feel like and what you can afford. IMO the biggest difference is going to be the pads, not the rotors. I just replaced some akebono ceramic pads and centric rotors with hawk rotors and lts pads, noticeable difference in braking now.

As for slotted/drilled vs blank, I really dont' think it makes any difference at all. The drilled don't help but they also don't hurt despite what people here will tell you. Hawk themselves say the drilled is simply for looks.

When people say their rotors "warped" most of the time it's from not bedding in new pads correctly. The rotors themselves rarely ever actually warp, the feeling of uneven braking is because the pad material built up unevenly on the rotors. This is why many/most will recommend replacing rotors every time you replace pads.

I think (like a lot of other info on this site) people just hear somebody else say something and then repeat it with no actual first hand knowledge. If you like the looks of slotted and/or drilled buy them. If you want to buy the cheapest possible, do it. As long as your truck stops your good.

 

A-hem...., well, all I can say is; let that be a lesson to all you poster-s on this forum.....never mix posting and gin and tonics(s) (yes I had more than one) and then try and sound knowledgeable. I should be embarrassed, but I am not, I needed a lift as it had been a rotten day. I shall try and not mix the two next time. But not all I said was a total loss, I do know race people, and have seen what they use for brakes, and they will use both kinds. Some will use only blanks on their race cars, and one their show cars, slotted and drilled, but most of the use slotted and drilled on their towing rigs. But most do not tow with a 4Runner...I do, which is why I asked what you guys preferred, and what brand. I can't control other family members who like to ride the brakes, so I thought I would give slotted and drilled a try. But thanks for all the suggestions. A famous President has been known to say, if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull, and it goes really well with gin!
Rick

 

Rotor warping is a myth. It's a 20lb. piece of cast iron, braking can't generate enough heat to warp it.
It's brake pad material depositing on the rotor. You can fix it by re-bedding the brakes. Read this, http://www.stoptech.com/technical-support/technical-white-papers/-warped-brake-disc-and-other-myths

 

Interesting. That might explain why I get a heavy vibration on the highway after periods of no brake use that completely disappears a few miles later -
I have never hung an indicator on it because by the time I get home the condition is completely gone. I knew it could not "un-warp" it's self

 

Thanks for that technical paper, I read it with great interest, then went on line and read several others, that explains a few things. My problem is my OEM discs and pads are shot, with a sticking caliper on one side, and rotors that have cracks(hairline mostly) here and there. I can see where they have been glazed from time to time, but we live on hills, and I don't drive this particular rig as much as my wife does. I try and use the transmission as much as possible, but it is hard to make a brake rider stop doing what she does. The steering wheel jitter when the brakes are applied does not stop when they are cooled. And having the rotors turned has never worked well for me. So I hope the new Power Stop rotors and pads do the trick; they come with an intensive bed in procedure that I intend to follow . Thanks for the education.

 

When you start any downhill, apply brakes early and keep them on, all the way down. Watch the speedo or tach and adjust speed accordingly with the brake. Your brakes will never heat up. Truck drivers drive up and down mountains all day long and never overheat their brakes by doing this very simple procedure. It helps keep your disc brakes properly bedded, and keeps idiot tailgaters alert. They can't figure out what you're doing.

I live in the hills too, makes driving more pleasurable, no more instant overspeed panic for your passengers. My wife picked up on it by riding with me. I didn't even have to train her, haha.

 

While I shall bear your views in mind, I usually always drive in that fashion using my brakes as you suggest, I also enlist engine braking as much as possible. Around town it isn't always as easy as that, since you sometimes have to stop fully and hold before reaching the bottom of a hill, as there is traffic in front of you, so your brake pad is pressed hard against a very hot rotor. As for my 05 Runner and my past 08 Taco, both have had the same exact brake issues, yet my driving up and down hills has never changed for the last 40 plus years. I have had several Toyotas before these last 2, along with Mazdas, Chevys, Internationals, Fords, Audis, to name a few, and these last 2 Toyotas are the only ones that have had these brake problems. I tried re bedding them, that did not work, I could have taken the rotors off and attempted sanding them with garnet sand paper, but because of the cracks figured it was a waste of time. When I take these rotors off Friday, I will take pictures of them, and try and put them on this forum, and see what you people think of the crack areas. Is it the OEM pads, or just bad metallurgy in the OEM rotors. I am not a particularly fast driver, nor am I an aggressive one, I always like to take care of my stuff. I have read on several sites of people having trouble with their brakes and calipers as I am, with the same years of Toyotas, so there must be something to it. However, my runner has 37K on the ODO, and it sits a lot, and they use magnesium chloride and salt on the roads here in the winter, so I think it must be a bit of a corrosion issue with the sticky caliper. At any rate, the Power Stop drilled and slotted rotors and their matching pads go on Friday. Then I think I will invest in a set of Power Stops calipers and their steel braided brake lines; That was one thing (steel braided brake lines) I never even thought of, but it makes great sense.
I am a little worried about the brakes on my new 16 Tacoma Off road 4X4, they are the touchiest darn things..., from 0 to 35, if you don't have your belt on, they grab so fast, you could do a head plant in the windshield. Way to touchy for my liking...., and Toyota knows about it, but says that will go away. I have 9,800 miles on it, and it has not even thought about going away yet. But....I do like that truck. Thanks again for the advice...

 

Installed the new PowerStop rotors and Extreme pads Friday. I aggressively broke them in according to the manufacturer (lots of smell and a touch of smoke). I now guesstimate I am stopping at least 40% better(shorter, quicker) than before. Steering wheel jitter, and lurching are totally gone. They are quiet as a church mouse, and very smmmmooooth. So far I am extremely pleased, I will be towing the RV in about 2 weeks 40 miles, up and down hills, I look forward to no more brake fade.
The calipers are a different story, drivers side had excessive corrosion in the pistons, and were kept from not retracting properly, which is why most of the brake pad was gone, over 95% on the inside pad. There was so much corrosion on the calipers that I will have to replace them sooner than I thought. But I was able to break them free with a couple of "C" clamps, but I don't think they will last another winter. On 4Runners, there is a metal brake line directly off the caliper, then a rubber line off of that, connecting to a metal brake line. It is that rubber line that can be replaced with a braided steel line? As I would like to replace that when I get new calipers.

 

Flexible Rubber line gets replaced by ss line.

 

I am assuming a flexible braided stainless steel line?

 

Yes a flexible braided ss line

 

Oh...perfect picture, thank you immensely, that helps a great deal. One last question, the ABS line going to the calipers, is that difficult to get off. I have looked at new calipers, and none of them mention it at all, do I need a special tool or something. I should really get a repair manual...

 

I don't know I haven't done calibers or touched the ABS line.

 

1967 GTO is the best GTO of all time.....hehehe......got it when i graduated from high school and kept it till i got married after college and flight school....wife is 4-11 and could not drive stick.....clutch pedal push her back in seat.....sold it for new LeMans.....i am still crying....i want it back