[retailmessiah]

Hiya Gurus,

I've been trying to find a solution to my problem, and I'm hoping you can help. I understand that the simplest answer is to 'slow down' but that's not the solution I'm looking for. I do a lot of highway driving in and around Chicago. I often have to brake on the highway at high speed. This causes heat buildup, and the rotor starts warping. This has caused the need to get a brake pad set and rotors about every 3-4 months using either OE Ford parts, or aftermarket (standard spec) parts. Oh my god!

Recently I was advised by a friend that I should look into getting some Brembo rotors that are either slotted, and/or drilled because they will dissipate heat in a superior manner. They also suggested that I pick up some kind of high efficiency Hawk brake pads as they also dissipate heat better than stock pads. They suggested this Brembo Rotor/Hawk pad combo should resolve my issue.

I'm not sure if that's the case or not, so I wanted to reach out to the forums and see if anyone else had this issue, or if anyone has used slotted or drilled rotors and could recommend brand/type/whatever, and/or the best place to buy them on or off line. I'd like to resolve this while continuing to use the stock calipers on the truck.

I'd heard that drilled rotors can crack more easily causing a 'need to be towed in' situation, which I'd obviously like to avoid. So I kick it to you, what should I do to resolve this issue besides 'slow down' ?

Thanks for your help.
-ph

 

[Big Jim]

Nearly all of what is called "warped rotors" isn't really that. It is rotor thickness variation and it is almost always caused by brake pad transfer (aka glazing).

Sometimes that can be relieved by cleaning the brakes from a few very hard stops to get the rotors hot enough to burn off the transfer.

Drilled rotors do not provide any benefit on a street driven car and only marginal benefit on a track driven car. If you install drilled rotors, do it only for looks. Although they are more prone to cracking, that is seldom a problem on a street driven car. It is a huge problem on a track driven car.

Slotted rotor are also somewhat prone to cracking, but less so. Slotted provides another benefit that may be helpful for you. The slots tend to clean the glaze from the pads, making it less likely to have pad transfer. Even if you do, they clean easier from a few hard stops.

So slotted rotors may somewhat help.

A different pad may also help, but that unfortunately is a trial and error thing. I have had exceptional luck with Satisfied Ceramics on my 03 Limited, without slotted rotors.

 

[LX302]

I never had an issue as extreme as you have, only because I don't brake very hard.
It seems you are a very aggresive driver, so no OEM parts are going to last for you.
You might want to look at larger diameter rotors and calipers, but then you might have to purchase new wheels as well.

Slow down! :lol: