Front brake calipers, rotors, pads

Drilled rotors do not have the structural integrity of a set of just slotted. The drilled points are where cracks and stress points will Generate.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/brake-upgrade-stoptech-rotors-trd-performance-pads.523829/

 

That story keeps surfacing but if the holes are chamfered or beveled at 45 degrees that does not happen and that is how the PowerStops are done.
Most race cars use drilled and slotted for heat dissipation and increased stopping power.
I have towed large trailers and a boat and needed better stopping power and they fit the bill.
Had to do a full emergency evasive stop from 75mph in CO Mts fully loaded with camping gear and 4 people and it pulled me down well with ABS firing.
After 3 years of towing, heavy braking, and hot conditions no cracks or warping.

 

This for rotors and pads.

A hole in the rotor is a weak point, maybe less prone to cracking if well beveled, but it reduces strength and offers no benefits in street vehicles. Reducing the rotor disc mass reduces its thermal capacity. The holes are not for heat dissipation, heat will flow vertically through the rotor cooling veins. The holes are there for historic off-gassing of the pad. Drilled rotors were used for better performance when pads got hot and off-gassed, putting a fine layer of gas in-between the rotor and pad reducing the pads performance. Drilling holes gave the gas a route to escape, resulting in better pad contact and therefore better performance. Off-gassing was caused by using asbestos in pad material for passenger cars. Asbestos was outlawed as a material for use in brake pads long ago, off-gassing is basically a non-issue with modern pads. Slotting also resolves off-gassing, no need for both.

But that sports car has drilled rotors! Yes. Because when people are paying top dollar for a performance car, they want the performance look and to look different from ordinary cars. And drilled brake rotors have historically meant performance brakes, and they look more performant and expensive than solid brakes. However, on sports cars or cars with drilled rotors from the factory the brakes are designed to be larger to account for the drilling, they are not simply replacing a solid rotor with a drilled one, which would stress the rotor. You'll notice the professional racing does not use drilled rotors, NASCAR mandates that all cars use cast iron rotors (just like most all street cars) and NASCARs run slotted rotors. I use NASCAR as an example, because racing has moved to carbon-ceramic rotors that are not found on most passenger cars, but NASCAR regulations prevent newer more advanced rotor materials from being used, so they have to use the same type of brakes passenger cars still do.

Rotor warping is also a bit of a misnomer, that actually has little to do with the rotor (and holes) and more to do with the pad. Warping is pad material transfer to the rotor, this happens when a pad gets too hot and is pressed against a stationary rotor. Some of the pad material gets transferred to the rotor, which then causes the rotor to no longer have a perfectly true rotor face and causes pulsing in the brakes, feeling like the rotor is warped. Using a pad designed for towing, will be better designed for higher temps and less likely to over heat to the point of pad transfer.

No need to change your setup if it works for you of course. But long story short, for a car that came with solid rotors from the factory, solid or slotted are better choices than drilled.

 

For what it's worth I had one of my OEM rotors warp on my last year. I was in a pinch so I grabbed one Napa Premium or whatever they call it. Slapped it in there and no issues since.

I typically stick with OEM on this stuff, but I will likely consider Napa all around when I do a full brake job.

 

Any brake dust build up with the Z36 pads? Would you say they stopped the truck better than OEM's? I've got 43k on OEM pads and rotors, so I know my time is running out soon.

 

I've read good things about NAPA's Adaptive One pads/rotors.

 

Believe me I am fully aware about the race car argument. I have been a fan in the International Endurance Racing world for 30 years, so I have seen every form of advancement in brake technology in that time. Highest levels of racing do not run drilled rotors, only slotted. Only "for consumer cars" from manufactures run drilled rotors on their sports cars from the showroom. Drilling rotors was originally about saving weight in pro races in the 50's & 60's it did not add a benefit of "stopping power". That practice carried over into the street car scene and eventually made its way into the mainstream "pro parts" market, being advertised as a "benefit". It made its way back into racing for the benefit of "off-gassing" which Crashburn mentioned, but it has disappeared.

As crashburn80 said... The manufacture braking systems are specially designed for that vehicles purpose and to last just long enough for your wallet and enjoyment. The pads are also purpose built to work in high heat environments under high stress while not damaging the rotor, ex: at a track day with your buddies. During the different 24 hour endurance races around the world, the teams will change brakes average of 3 times during the race, which takes about 8-10min. They used to just change out the pads, then it progressed to pads/rotors in pit lane, but now a lot of teams run braking systems that can be disconnected as one entire brake module, (rotor, pads, calipers) in order to speed up the process. Porsche developed this technology for their prototype cars about 10 years ago and it has been adopted by a lot of teams around the world. Its really cool to watch them change out the breaks in a few minutes. Even the Nascar prototype that went to Lemans this year was using slotted carbon ceramic brakes instead of Iron to save weight. The Le mans nascar prototype car weighed 400lbs less than its standard nascar equivalent, between different brakes and removing some of the extra Nascar shielding for oval racing and bump drafting. The brake systems are actually used to help maintain a constant temperature in the tires, this is done by heating up the brakes which heats up the rim, which in turn heats the tire to maintain grip and correct psi, especially under caution. All teams pics shown below are Factory backed/sponsored entries direct from the manufacture and they have slotted brakes.
The idea of increased heat dissipation using drilled& slotted rotors is true, but that does not apply as an everyday usage. That period of increased heat dissipation is in the short amount of time after you are done braking, already through the racing corner and in full acceleration with air flowing over the brake surfaces, not while sitting at a stoplight with the pads compressed against the rotor after slamming on the brakes.

Do whatever works for you bro, just remember that arguments in a forum are often different than real world applications.

 

Wow, so where does that leave me. I just might go back to the OEM parts or maybe upgrade with brands from rockauto. Thanks

 

Honestly the OEM stuff from the dealer is not too bad, price wise. If you order from of the larger online retailers

 

We offer this kit:
https://autobrakesolutions.com/prod...1&_sid=a51496224&_ss=r&variant=45083470037310

I spent 18 years working for a large caliper rebuilder...I'd avoid rebuilt calipers that are available today. I'd also avoid any caliper that isn't plated. Bores rusting and sticking the pistons is the #1 failure mode with cast iron calipers. If they're not protected, or if the coating doesn't go under the dust boot...they won't last long. Powdercoating looks nice but they have to mask off the boot area so the boot fits...so it'll rust around the masking line, rust will creep up under the boot, down the bore and it's game over.

 

How do you know if a bore is coated? Ive never seen anything adverting that. (Though I haven't really looked for it either)

 

If it's not plated (usually zinc) it's not coated. Plating is thin, and we can plate the bores without any piston fitment issues. Paint/powdercoat is thick...so we can't use that in the bores or else the pistons won't fit (and the brake fluid will dissolve it).

The only way to make a non-plated caliper live (many OEM calipers are painted/e-coated) is to fill the boot with a compatible grease to create a boundary seal...which I can guarantee you, no commercial rebuilder does.

 

I worked a couple years at PFC Brakes, who supplies pads, rotors and calipers to NASCAR, Indy Car (carbon fiber pads/rotors), Porsche GT Cup Cars - all the big boys in racing, as well as many OEM manufacturers, Police, and other severe duty applications. Talking with my engineer coworkers there, none of their rotors are drilled for the very reason of causing a weak point which would lead to cracking. All PFC rotors are either solid or slotted.

 

The kit looks pretty nice. What type composition are the pads? And where do the rotors come from, ie manufactured? Is this a new kit bc I don't see any reviews yet? Thanks

 

I just did my front pads/rotors/calipers with NAPA's Adaptive One brand parts. OEM brakes lasted 90k miles, but cost from local dealer for OEM was ridiculous so I went with NAPA. Cost was about 1/3 less and the parts had good reviews. Exact fit and now has been on about 1000 miles without issue. I did not plan on calipers, but when I went to back off pads the pistons seemed to grab, so I just figured "why not" as long as I had the whole thing apart.
Rears still had about 50% left so I left them alone.

 

Not sure if this was to me or not….nobody leaves me reviews. Lol.

Rotors are from China, like 99% of the aftermarket rotors out there. This factory has nice castings, some are garbage. Pads are what I’d call a Hybrid…they don’t really fit into any one canned buzzword category. They’re a good performance pad that still acts right at daily driver temps…that’s why I like them. Calipers are also new, from China, from a factory we’ve been dealing with for 15 years, they build a nice caliper.

 

Waasheem, any luck finding the pads? Thanks for checking.
Paul

 

I found the picture but may never find the parts. If you saw my garage you’ll understand. 3 generations of hoarders worth of crap.

 

Ok thanks Waasheem. The brake hoses from Wheelers that tatooedsnake linked to, are they to replace the oem rubber lines or the hard steel lines going from the caliper to the rubber line? I have a feeling I will need to replace the steel lines off the caliper. Are these available pre-bent from any parts stores?