Brake Fallacies.
Dennis Cook
The Working of Brakes
There is a common fallacy out there that increasing your brake pad size will increase the stopping power of your car through greater friction. This is in fact false. The force of friction is determined by physics as the force down on the object times the coefficient of friction. The only way to change the coefficient of friction is to modify the material or design of the brake pad. The only way to modify the force down is to change the brake piston force (by size changes or number for example).
This does not mean that a larger brake pad does not help braking! The benefit of a large brake pad comes into effect when you consider thermal dissipation. The larger the pad the more this thermal temperature (created by the interaction between the pad and rotor) is spread amongst a pad. This means less temperature is concentrated at one point on the pad and the rotor absorbs more heat. This decreases the likelihood that the pad itself will heat beyond operating temperature. If the pad were to go beyond operating temperature it would glaze over resulting in brake fade. Furthermore, a larger pad results in a longer service life of the pad since there is more pad material to consume. **Note: This is not to say that a huge pad is the way to go. I am simply telling you the benefits of a bigger pad. Do not. I repeat do not buy a huge pad thinking that will be the end all. However, consider a pad with a better material makeup for a large difference.
Cross-Drilled /Slotted Rotors
The second thing you can do to improve your brake performance is often to go to a larger rotor. We all know that this gives the rotor further ability to dissipate heat away from the pads through itself and through the air (conductive and convective heat transfer). It also increases the effective radius of the force acting on the rotor. Since actual brake torque equals force of pistons* effective radius * coefficient of friction of the pad. So obviously a larger pad, a larger rotor, or both result in better brake performance by avoiding brake fade. It is also obvious that a larger rotor will give you a larger brake torque (stopping force). But what about cross drilled or slotted rotors? Well the common belief in the main stream is that somehow slotted or cross-drilled rotors allow for better performance by handling heat. This is 100 percent false. The individuals involved in such fallacies mention that air through the holes works to cool the rotor (convective heat transfer into the air from the rotor). The issue is that from physics we know that metal transfers heat better then air by a significant amount. (The larger mass of the rotor becomes more important then the larger surface area of the rotor in any situation other then the optimal. Cross drilling is not an optimal manner of creating metal to air transfer through larger surface areas. There is not much airflow through the holes.) As such the rotor begins to work as a heat sink. Now by cross drilling or slotting we are decreasing the overall amount of metal to transfer this heat to. Clearly we are decreasing performance of the rotor to dissipate heat amongst itself. We are also damaging the brakes structural rigidity. The iron in a brake rotor is made of a crystalline structure. By drilling holes in said surface we cut the end grains creating a situation that breeds cracks. Furthermore, even if we were to cut the rotors correctly to avoid cutting the end grains structural rigidity is still decreased. The temperature around the holes will be slightly less then that of the entire rotor leading to temperature stress. Moreover, the decreased mass will result in lowered rigidity. Lastly, the holes of a cross-drilled rotor decrease the area of the pad that contacts the rotor. This concentrates the heat more on certain areas of the pad (similar to the idea of using a smaller pad where the pad heats up more quickly).
So what do cross drilled and slotted rotors accomplish? Well cross-drilled does not do anything for a car but perhaps give you a certain bling look. In a motorcycle or other extremely light vehicle the decrease in rotational inertia and unsprung mass might perhaps be useful (once other more efficient avenues are exhausted). However, in a street car or race car the speeds and weight of such vehicles will make the relatively miniscule decrease be outweighed by the need for more heat dissipation.
Slotted rotors meanwhile serve a few purposes. The main original purpose of a slotted rotor was to vent gases that buildup between the pads and the rotors. However, this reasoning is no longer valid. As the years have gone by pads have been designed that produce very little gas. Furthermore many pads come with groves in themselves that allow for the removal of any minor gas that is created. So does that mean that slotted rotors fall to the same fate as cross-drilled? Well, no. A slotted rotor always decreases the rotors capability to dissipate heat amongst itself, but they have their applications. A slotted rotor will clean off the brake pad as it passes the slots. As such it works really well for rally and dirt tracks. Furthermore, the slots themselves can serve to wipe off the top layer of glaze that tends to appear on your brake pads. Some racers say this last part is beneficial while others question whether the slots will fill before the deglaze affect is ever helpful. I have yet to determine the answer to this question. The answer of slotted brake usefulness seems to lie with whether the benefit of cleaning the pads outstrips the loss in heat dissipation. This question depends on your application.
Ventilated or Veined
So what do ventilated rotors accomplish? Well, the concept would be the same as the idea for cross-drilled/ slotted that have been previously perpetrated. However, there are a few distinct differences. The rotors are designed to increase surface area and to flow air in the middle of the rotors. The increased surface area to the air clearly provides for more cooling from the air at the cost of mass. So why does this method work while the others fail? The first reason is that a ventilated design flows a lot of air through a rotor. A ventilated rotor acts as a centrifugal pump sucking air into the rotors. This is why rotors with curved veins provide better braking. A slotted or cross-drilled design will flow very little air under heavy braking. As such the veins of the ventilated system are far more efficient. Moreover, air moves through the center of the rotor cooling the rotor more evenly and efficiently. Furthermore, the ventilated design does not decrease the contact patch of the pad on the rotor. Finally, the design has different structural rigidity qualities then that of a cross-drilled or slotted design.
Brake Bias
So now you know that increasing your pad size and rotor size will help to stop your brake fade. You also know that swapping the pad, increasing the rotor size, or increasing the force of the pistons on the pad can increase your stopping force at the tires. Finally, you have learned to stay away from cross-drilled and look very closely at whether to use a slotted rotor.
So does that mean it is time to go get that fancy front brake kit for your car? Well, no again. The first thing to consider is that in any braking setup the tires are the ultimate limiting piece. You cannot stop faster then your tires allow you to stop, ever. As such, if your car can lock it’s tires under braking consistently then better brakes will not improve your braking performance. (I stress the consistent part, as brake fade must also be combated.)
Furthermore, most people understand the idea of brake bias, but fail to understand its application. A typical car is setup with the front brakes being far more effective then the rear. Now the first thing we must realize is that from a dynamic stand point your car should have stronger front brakes. When you brake physics transfers more weight to the front axle that must be accounted for. However, in this dynamic state we also have brake bias. Your typical street car is slightly dynamically biased towards the front. This leads to the front tires locking up before the rear tires under heavy conditions. Such a situation is obviously not optimal for a car stopping quickly. You want the stopping bias to be roughly equal given the acceleration you are traveling at (please note that the bias depends on the acceleration of the vehicle). When you have a front bias you get a more stable stop (as opposed to a rear bias where a lock can cause spins), but you also get further brake dive and longer stopping distances. Most cars stock come with a minor front bias for the layman. So it is clearly discernable that by going with a bigger front brake kit you are actually most likely increasing your stopping distance if you do not equally modify the rear brakes (or set the clamping forces lower on the front brake to make up for the front brakes increased effective radius).

Originally posted by Dewey316

Maybe we can nomite putting this info in the FAQ board.

Originally posted by vsixtoy
You take that same car and put a 13" drilled and slotted rotor on it with the same performance pad- you have the same basic rotation mass only more outward for leverage, and you WILL increase surface area even with drills and slots and run much cooler because of additional surface area of the drilled sections- they act just as a heat sink does.

Now take that same car with a solid 13" rotor and it could very likely be the same power only heavier

Also, drilled rotors create a much more positive feel on inital bite/ standard rotors will cause pad float longer than drilled rotors.

Originally posted by Dewey316
You have more area to to dispurse the heat from the rotor to the air, but less area to dispurse the heat from the pad to the rotor. look closely at a heat sink, the area that absorbs the heat from the what it is trying to cool, is not drilled, they go for MAXIUMUM contact area, the side of the heat sink you are refering to, would be more likened to the vienes in the rotor. this is why curved vaines do better, than straight vaines. this is where the surface area that you want is.

Originally posted by Dewey316
Remeber, for every bit of mass you remove, you removed that much more fade restance.

Originally posted by Dewey316
Yes, there is a diffrence is feel between the two, I cannot argue with that. but initial bite is great, until you are ten laps into a session, and trying to haul the car down from 120mph, into a 90* turn. i'll take stopping power, and fade resistance, over initial bite.

Not will increased surface area (area exposed to the enviroment)

Originally posted by vsixtoy
The pad is exposed to air in the void drilled and slotted areas as they pass by the pad- thus cooling the pad in areas where a solid rotor can't- thats the compromise (I love a good debate)

"ONARAIL" is doing fine. Check this out. I still tinker with the car when I have spare time. https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=239836

Originally posted by vsixtoy
(You have to be smiling right now- I am- we are poking this way to critical. As you stated, its a fair compromise whatever direction you lean).

The tried and true is the dimple slotted rotors the Trans Am Series cars run with big brake ducts. They allow air across the surface without weakening the rotor under extreme heat.

Originally posted by 92 zzz28
I highly doubt that Porsche, Ferrari, Lambo, and even GM are going to just "throw" drilled rotors at the brake system in attempt to gain something other that asthetics.

However, this reasoning is no longer valid. As the years have gone by pads have been designed that produce very little gas. Furthermore many pads come with groves in themselves that allow for the removal of any minor gas that is created.

Originally posted by 89Formula5.7
I got slotted and cross drilled rotors for all 4 wheels. I got them because they look good, and my old rotors were shot. Plus they were cheaper then OEM replacements.

Originally posted by 89Formula5.7
I take no offense. I will let you all know if and when they warp. I don't ride my brakes or do a lot of panic braking. So, I think that they will last awhile. I'll measure rotor temp as soon as I get to college today.