I was thinking about getting some new brake rotors and pads. My old rotors need to be turned and my pads are gone. I am going to be running 35" tires so I think some better braking is in order. I already have some skyjacker stainless steel lines going in. What kind of rotors/pads would you guys suggest? Do they have certain pads that go with slotted or drilled rotors?

 

According to Wilwood, the holes & slots were only for asbestos pads, so they're not needed nowadays. Now, they're purely cosmetic, and actually reduce braking performance.

 

Holes in the rotors are to lighten them In your case this is a non issue. The directional slots in rotors are put there to help expell the gasses caused when you lean on the brakes. If not expelled they form a thin layer which decreases stopping power. Most all this stuff is for race applications so unless you are planning on racing in a venue which requires repeated braking normal rotors as provided by the OEM are sufficient.

I don't know where Wildwood stated that drilled or slotted rotors are only for asbestos pads since most of their models have one or both. Their drag brakes are sometimes solid since they are not subjected to continuous use in a short period of time.

 

Holes in the rotors are to lighten them. In your case this is a non issue. The directional slots in rotors are put there to help expell the gasses caused when you lean on the brakes. If not expelled they form a thin layer which decreases stopping power. Most all this stuff is for race applications so unless you are planning on racing in a venue which requires repeated braking normal rotors as provided by the OEM are sufficient.

I don't know where Wildwood stated that drilled or slotted rotors are only for asbestos pads since most of their models have one or both. Their drag brakes are sometimes solid since they are not subjected to continuous use in a short period of time.

 

Here. I was mistaken about the holes - you're right, but they do reduce braking performance.

 

I thought holes in the rotors were to expell gases as well. My snowmobile has drilled rotors from wilwood on it. The stock brakes are not that wonderful even on stock tires nevermind 35's. When going from 235/75/15s to 32's I could feel a difference in the brakes, so I bet it's going to be worse with 35's.

 

I was thinking of buying those high performance rotors and pads in the Summit catalog....they have them in the truck section. I don't know if they are worth it though...they are 80 bucks per rotor.

 

Justin,

If you require significantly better stopping, new,same size rotors and/or pads won't get you there. What you will need is larger rotors, pads and better calipers. If you get better calipers you may have to get a master cylinder which displaces more fluid if the calipers have a greater volume bore (as in multiple pistons).

Be careful when considering race type brake systems. They generally do not work unless the pads and rotor are hot. In race cars this is usually not a concern since they get really hot with one application since you are usually trying to slow down from a really high speed. On the street this is not the case. I would consult the brake manufacturer about what to get for a street driven car.

With respect to slots while street car brake system manufacturers may include these features to be sexy every Winston Cup car, road race car etc. that uses steel/cast iron rotors and organic pads has them. They are effective and are not for show in these applications.

A lot of drag race cars use solid rotors since they are a stop hard once, go to the pits to await the next round application. They do get hot though. When stopping my rail from 175 you can see the rotors glow at night and sometimes a small amout of sparks come out as the metal fragments in the pads lights up..

 

Yeah but an aftermarket high quality rotor will be thicker and use slots to dispell gases. The extra thickness will hold more heat. Both of those combined will help braking. Basically I'm just looking for what supplier to get these rotors from. I can't go bigger rotors because I don't have/want bigger wheels. I don't want to spend money on calipers. So I'm left to improve upon the rotors. I've seen the ones from PowerSlot, are those any good?

 

I doubt if aftermarket rotors that will fit with stock thickness pads and stock calipers are much thicker than the OEM variety. If they were they were it would be impossible to install a new set of pads.

You will only notice much benefit from directional slots, thicker rotors, better cooling fins if you are doing repeated stops closely spaced in time. If not the brakes usually don't get hot enough to need any of those improvements.

With respect to the aftermarket manufacturer you mentioned I can only say this. Everyone I race with has either stock brakes or aftermarket calipers, rotors and pads. This also applies to their tow trucks. Maybe someone else who has actual experieice with these rotors can jump in here.

 

Well they might not be thicker on the whole width of the rotor, but they are thicker inbetween where the fins are.

 

I'd beg to differ.....I installed the powerstop cross drilled rotors and hp pads from summit after i did my lift because as Justin said, our brakes suck with 235's let alone 35's. My truck before the brake upgrade stopped like a 79 Caddilac on ice. Now i can stop that thing on a dime. The rotors stay considerably cooler and the pads are far better than anything you can buy as a stock replacement. I went through two pairs of rotors before i did the lift due to excessive heat build up....(i drive a bit hard) and warped the heck out of them. These 30000 miles later haven't even needed to be turned yet. I've always thought this way. I spent a couple grand lifting it...plan on spending a couple more to get it fast and powerful. Whats 200 bucks to help it stop. But hey...its jut my opinion and you can take it for what its worth. I'd ask anyone whose got a set of these rotors and see what they think. I've yet to find anyone who has them that didn't think they were worth it.