Brakes advice

shelbyscarab · Post by **shelbyscarab** » Wed May 02, 2012 1:18 am

K. its time to replace the rotors and pads on my Fusion. Its my business daily driver and unfortunately gets quite a few miles per year on it.

What is the verdict on slotted/drilled rotors vs. std.

and

an "autozone" quality brake pad vs. say "Hawk" brake pads?

86ASCCoupe20 · Post by **86ASCCoupe20** » Wed May 02, 2012 2:08 am

My personal opinion is use centric pads and their top of the line coated rotors. We sell them at work and have incredibly good luck.

85asc239 · Post by **85asc239** » Wed May 02, 2012 2:35 am

I have used both slotted and drilled rotors and plain rotors on the track. My verdict= drilled rotors didnt work any better on track and started to spider web around the holes after two track days. Standard rotors last better.

Short answer: plain rotors win drilled and slotted are for looks

Pads: you answered your own question. You drive a lot of miles, you can't beat a lifetime warranty on pads.

I use AZ premium pads on my truck. The work great on the dd/tow truck. Had to swap them out when caliper went bad.

The cobra has hawk pads on it. The last a 1 to 1-1/2 seasons on the car, then I have to spend an $100 on pads

Jeremy

Post by **negusm** » Wed May 02, 2012 3:52 am

If you head over to "corner carvers" they will tell you straight out that slotted/drilled rotors were only for the older pads (like from the 70's) that would fade because of poor materials that couldn't handle heat.

A solid rotor has more mass which equates to more heat dissipation and better performance.

From what I have seen reading the controversy, there are a few exceptions in the super car category but those are manufactured very differently so as to reduce cracking. When you push rotors to the point of failure, the slotted/drileld rotors will destroy themselves along the weakest areas (slots/holes).

-Mike

plumkrazy · Post by **plumkrazy** » Wed May 02, 2012 10:22 am

"Lifetime warranty" from the McParts store doesn't mean a damn thing to me when the parts are "cheap" (not the same as "inexpensive") to begin with

I would buy Wagner or Bendix pads with standard rotors

shelbyscarab · Post by **shelbyscarab** » Wed May 02, 2012 3:33 pm

Thanks for all the input.

I'm going with the standard rotor design

Is the Ford rotor better than what I'd get at autozone? and how much better if any considering the price?

svo413 · Post by **svo413** » Wed May 02, 2012 3:53 pm

For most cars good standard parts will go a long way. Some cars have problems that need to attended to. My 95 Contour would go thru pads until I started using the lifetime warranty Ford pads. My 02 truck would warp the rotors.

I asked the brake company reps at Sema and they all admitted today's drilled and slotted rotors are for looks. There are differences in rotors. I went with Centric top of the line Power Slot rotors and ordered them cryo treated. So far no warped rotors and I just returned from a 1500 mile trailer towing trip. I also use ceramic pads because I hate to clean the wheels.

Sometimes even Motorcraft parts are not good enough

Post by **negusm** » Wed May 02, 2012 4:23 pm

The biggest confusion I see in the Rotor debate is that there ARE drilled/slotted rotors that are better than el-cheapie rotors that even come stock on cars. So someone ditches their crappy factory rotors for high priced drilled slotted ones and sure, they see an improvement.

But a really good quality standard design rotor is supposed to outperform its drilled/slotted counterpart.

-Mike

avmtdan · Post by **avmtdan** » Wed May 02, 2012 6:01 pm

My personal feeling on the lifetime warranty brakes is this, pads are designed to give, and that the softer friction material may not last as long, but it grabs better and is quieter. With a lifetime warranty pad the manufacturer has no reason to make them quiet or to make them grip, as the concern is that you never have to bring them back to be replaced.

The few times I have used lifetime warranty pads, by the time they needed replacement the rotors were so grooved and eaten up that the rotors needed replacing to.

MY Ford brakes on my 98 mustang lasted about 100k with rotors and pads, I currently have 280k miles on the car and have changed the front and rear brakes twice total, and the rotors have always been turnable.

My 96 Explorer I used cheap pads and rotors from Autozone, the rotors became warped within months and needed a returning, and the pads chewed them up so bad that within a year I replaced both of them and went back to for OEM.

Mileage-wise, the OEM stuff works better and lasts longer, and when you figure in wear they are cheaper in the long run. The car manufacturers need queit brakes that will provide smooth, consistent braking and will not wear out before the vehicles warranty expires. There is a definite incentive for them to choose quality rather than cheap on these parts.