Slotted/Driled Brake Disks??

Question

Well, it's time to replace the rear brake disk (well, the right one has too much wear(the mechanic says it is a typical Ford thing and we replaced the caliper). I'm not a performance guy, but it's been suggested to upgrade to slotted, drilled, or slotted/drilled disks.

Any thoughts? I'm not planning on 'racing' the Class A, but definitely do have heat build-up on long down-hills.

The price is not too terribly bad, but that does not mean it's a good deal.

Tim

rgatijnet1 · Answer

Your brakes don't know whether or not the heat build-up is from racing or trying to hold back your coach's weight on a long decent. In this case I think your mechanic is making a good recommendation, especially if you feel the price is acceptable. Labor should be the same with the only difference being the cost of the new discs. He may also suggest a better quality disc brake pad also, which is better at dissipating heat.

bobandshaz · Answer

I have researched a lot on this subject.  From what I read there are very CHEAP POORLY done rotor modifications on the market that cause many problems. I would check some of the truck mod web sites.Just some info

wolfe10 · Answer

Let's back up-- the service brakes should NOT be used for controlling speed of descent.  They should be used only to slow you down enough to grab a lower gear.  Engine braking should keep your speed in check on those long descents.

born_to_travel · Answer

Drilled or slotted disks do nothing to improve brake efficiency.. If anything they take away from the braking surface area and lower the braking ability.. They have been used on motorcycles for years and we are told that it helps braking in the rain, cooling, etc... But they do it for cosmetic reasons only..

jamesbr · Answer

Do not bother with them as on the street it is just a cosmetic item and has no actual real use.Sloted and drilled rotors where first needed in the endurance racing work.  The reason was to add channels for off gassing of the braking compouds during repetative high speed and very hard braking rusulting in temperatures.  These are temperatures well above what even standard street pads could handle without delamination of the braking compound from the steel backing.  These are also cars that do not last an entire race on a single set of brake pads and they must be changed mid race.  This creates the off gassing of binding materials used in the pads through the race as the binding matieral cooks out as the pad wears.  In a street environment even on a large vehicle, it is not needed as you do not generate the temperatures often enough to have brake fade due to off gassing of the compound or binding matieral.  Most brake fade even in RVs and trucks are actually heat fade which drilled or slotted rotors will not improve.Ontop of that I found that drilled and slotted rotors unless they are high end cryo treated rotors, they have a quick failure time in race conditions.  I now run a better brake compound on my race car and OEM replacement rotors and no longer have to deal with off gassing fade and they handle the heat just fine.

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Slotted/Driled Brake Disks??

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