Killer Deal on 300c and 300 Cross-drilled Slotted Rotors

[TheJoeVA]

one thing i have notice about the cross drilled rotrs is they last alittle longer cause they dont warp as easy as regular rotors
i put cross drilled on both of my Porsches cause they are only $15 more than stock ones (but still expensive) and last ALOT longer than stock ones

[shanemcse]

Originally Posted by DZeckhausen

Because people are gullible and will buy them.

Do a quick Google search on the "Tornado Fuel Saver" and see how many places offer this piece of junk. Here's a product that is nothing but a scam and Consumer Reports recently documented that it reduces the gas mileage on your car. Yet even Amazon.com sells them!

You can't assume, because lots of places sell a product, that the product is any good. The only thing you can conclude is that the product is profitable to sell.

I think I finally agree with you. Sorry for being so ignore-ant. Now that I have already bought and installed them what do you think about these rotors for daily driving. They do offer drilled or slotted only too. Which do you all think would be better drilled or slotted?

By the way the installation is a piece of cake once the wheels are off you just need to remove two bolts on the back of the calipers to remove the rotors.

[Goose]

Originally Posted by shanemcse

I think I finally agree with you. Sorry for being so ignore-ant. Now that I have already bought and installed them what do you think about these rotors for daily driving. They do offer drilled or slotted only too. Which do you all think would be better drilled or slotted?

By the way the installation is a piece of cake once the wheels are off you just need to remove two bolts on the back of the calipers to remove the rotors.

Can we see some Pictures?

[shanemcse]

Here ya go. They are still being broken in.

[shanemcse]

Rotors are broken in and working great. I thought these would just help keep the rotors cooler but I can feel a big difference in stopping. No complaints about these rotors. The brake pads seem to grip onto the surface much better now.

When I installed them I did'nt put any Caliper grease on the back of my brake pads since I didn't need to replace the pads. This was a mistake. I highly recommend apply a new coating of caliper grease / brake lubricant to the back of your brake pads while replacing the rotors. Now I have to go back and add the lubricant.

[DZeckhausen]

Originally Posted by shanemcse

When I installed them I did'nt put any Caliper grease on the back of my brake pads since I didn't need to replace the pads. This was a mistake. I highly recommend apply a new coating of caliper grease / brake lubricant to the back of your brake pads while replacing the rotors. Now I have to go back and add the lubricant.

Because? You didn't say what the brakes were doing that lead you to this conclusion.

If your brakes are squealing, it's because you haven't completely bedded the pads onto the new rotors. You need a nice, even transfer layer of pad material on the new rotors to keep the brakes quiet. Follow the bedding instructions here: http://www.zeckhausen.com/bedding_in_brakes.htm

[srtdan]

any more info or follow up?

[Meister]

Originally Posted by srtdan

any more info or follow up?

You can PM shanemcse to hear his inputs directly, but I've monitored his posts here and other forums and he's highly pleased with the set he bought.

And he's running something over 400 rwhp with a big blower setup now, BTW, so the speeds from which he's stopping may tend to be a bit "elevated".

He's commented within the past week or so on how effectively they work for him.

[GS163]

I have a set of Baer 2 piece cross drilled and slotted rotors on my vette and disagree about doing both to a rotor. If they are cast with the holes in them, they are much stronger than if you drill the holes after they are cast. The price is usually the dead give away as to quality of a product. I bought my Baer rotors from TByrne and they are the real deal. No problems, much abuse, and they will stop on a dime and give you change back. I would definitly buy cross drilled and slotted agian, but would only buy them if they are cast as such.

[DZeckhausen]

Originally Posted by GS163

I have a set of Baer 2 piece cross drilled and slotted rotors on my vette and disagree about doing both to a rotor. If they are cast with the holes in them, they are much stronger than if you drill the holes after they are cast.

Baer rotors are not cast with holes in them. They are drilled and slotted with CNC machines. However, even the venerable Porsche rotors with the smaller, "cast-in" holes develop cracks faster, under race conditions, than slotted or plain rotors.

It's an urban legend that cast-in holes are more durable than drilled holes. Porsche went to casting in holes as a cost saving and product consistency measure. After the rotors are cast, a CNC machine cleans them up and adds a chamfer. The pre-cast holes require less machine time and cause less tool wear to clean up, rather than starting from scratch and the location of the holes can be more closely controlled. But the final machining introduces those very same stress risers that proponents of cast-in holes claim are eliminated by the process. Even Brembo (the manufacturer of Porsche's calipers) discounts any performance advantage of cast-in over drilled holes: http://www.brembo.com/ENG/Performanc...List/faq22.htm

The price is usually the dead give away as to quality of a product.

Very true! You can find counterfeit Brembo rotors on eBay for less than half the price of real ones from legitimate vendors, such as Tire Rack. These Asian made rotors are manufactured in boutique foundries with no process controls and very poor casting quality.

It might interest you to know that Baer had a falling out with their Australian supplier, DBA, a couple years ago and have since shifted production to a foundry on mainland China.

I bought my Baer rotors from TByrne and they are the real deal. No problems, much abuse, and they will stop on a dime and give you change back.

What exactly does it mean to "stop on a dime and give you change back?" If you change nothing else except the rotors, you should not expect to see any significant difference in braking ability. Slots and/or holes will give you an improvement in bite and holes give you a tiny weight savings. But unless you change the physical design of the system (i.e., bigger rotors, different calipers, different friction compound, or most importantly - different tires), there should not be dramatic differences in stopping distance or resistance to fade.

What exactly do you mean by "much abuse?" Are you tracking your Corvette? Or are you just doing autocross or aggressive street driving? For the latter uses, the slotted and drilled rotors are probably fine. But you won't find ANYBODY in real road racing who uses rotors that are slotted and drilled. In fact, the vast majority of road racers use slotted and avoid drilled because of the latter's propensity to crack. And racers will try virtually anything if they think it offers them any sort of performance advantage. The fact that nobody in professional racing uses slotted and drilled rotors should tell you something.

I would definitly buy cross drilled and slotted agian, but would only buy them if they are cast as such.

If you would only buy slotted and drilled rotors if they were "cast as such" then you better stop buying Baer rotors, since they are machined. In fact, nobody casts in slots and very few manufacturers cast in the holes (not that casting in the holes does anything for you).

The fact remains that slotting AND drilling rotors is done purely for aesthetic reasons. From Baer's own web site, these are "cosmetically upgraded rotors" that "provide that dynamic race look without the costs" and give you "Dynamic visual impact." This visual benefit doesn't come for free. There is a trade-off. The slotted and drilled rotors will crack sooner than drilled rotors. The reason has to do with the uneven cooling that occurs when you have different numbers of holes in each vane. Here's a photo of the Baer drilling/slotting pattern: (2-piece Baer Corvette rotors use the same pattern)



Notice that two consecutive vanes are drilled with four holes each. The third vane has a slot with no holes at all. Inside this vane, the temperature will be higher than the adjacent vanes and the resulting stress will induce cracks sooner than plain, slotted, or drilled rotors.

The major benefits you get from the 2-piece Baer rotors for your Corvette are a couple pounds of weight reduction per corner, due to the aluminum center hat, and better initial bite on brake application due to the slots and holes. But don't kid yourself that these are more robust than plain, slotted, or drilled rotors. They will crack sooner under race conditions than any of the other three types.