Aftermarket Brake Rotors

[SteveSRT8]

Brakes are so variable. The swept area versus car weight determines what issues you face.

Most smaller cars tend to have very inadequate brakes IMO. I still see bicycle sized solid discs on the rear of many cars. These are cars where vigorous or abusive driving CAN and does overheat the rotors and help encourage pad deposits.

Higher performance cars and HD trucks with excess braking capacity have different issues, many times from the brakes never getting hot enough.

IME I have cracked drilled rotors. I have never cracked a slotted one. I have a "bling" set for my sig car with slots and drilled, too, but for real track days i run the factory slotteds only.

And finally, many here have always confused pad issues with rotor issues. It's pad material that is the important variable that determines most of the braking performance parameters, that rotor is just a heat sink...

 

[ronbo]

Brembo Rotors
Akebono pads

Told years ago by Wagner Brake tech rep to "bed" my new pads to the rotors. Bedding by driving 20 mph and braking, about 20 times.

 

[Fitz98]

This has been quite an eye opening thread for me. I appreciate all the input, which seems to address the causes, which makes me appreciate this forum even more.
With that being said, taking into consideration the importance of pads, what type of Pad should I be looking at for my 98 Expedition 5.4, 4x4, which gets mostly intown driving, mixed with highway driving, occassional heavy trailering (About 5K pounds with electric brakes) and and occassional heavy stop when I am loaded up and some yahoo cuts me off approaching a red light. We are in a rainy area, so driving through puddles of rain with hot brakes is also sometimes unavoidable.
I don't think I have ever bedded pads. Probably contributed to the start of my rotor problems.

 

[Fitz98]

Originally Posted By: Fitz98
This has been quite an eye opening thread for me. I appreciate all the input, which seems to address the causes, which makes me appreciate this forum even more.
With that being said, taking into consideration the importance of pads, what type of Pad should I be looking at for my 98 Expedition 5.4, 4x4, which gets mostly intown driving, mixed with highway driving, occassional heavy trailering (About 5K pounds with electric brakes) and and occassional heavy stop when I am loaded up and some yahoo cuts me off approaching a red light. We are in a rainy area, so driving through puddles of rain with hot brakes is also sometimes unavoidable.
I don't think I have ever bedded pads. Probably contributed to the start of my rotor problems.


When I said what kind of pads, I was asking for material type...I did not want to seem like I was ignoring all the suggestions of manufacturers, but I did not see much regarding pad material selections.

 

[SteveSRT8]

please use caution. "Ceramic" can be used if just a fleck of the stuff is in the formula. It's almost become a marketing buzzword. And pads come in a million flavors.

In our fleet of Vans and Pickups we get great performance from AAP Wearever Gold pads. They are many times available in semi-metallic and ceramic flavors, and I have brought in a well worn set and been handed new ones without question...

 

[Fitz98]

Thanks, I have had both semi metallic and wearever gold ceramics. I have had rotor issues with both (Although I admit that the rotor problems may be because I did not properly break in the new semi metallics and that problem carried over to the ceramics)
So my question is, for my driving style, starting with a new set of rotors, would semi metallics, ceramics or some other blend be better than the other?

 

[edyvw]

Originally Posted By: Fitz98
How about sloted vs. regular rotors?
With all the reading I have been provided here, it appears as if material interfacing and even transfer and heat distribution is critical to brake performance. Do the slots in rotors increase performance, or diminish it, considering that with a slotted rotor, there would be interruptions in the braking surface area, which in theory could lead to hot and cool spots on the rotor itself where there slots are.

It is questionable how much you will get with slotted rotors. I have them, they look great, usually they have higher carbon content which is much more important then whether they are slotted or not. They take out water and dust better, but are also more aggressive on pad.

 

[edyvw]

Originally Posted By: Fitz98
The invoice said FMC Rotors. I assume that means motorcraft?
Also at the same time was FMC pads.

Ran through a water puddle and after that rotors warped.
After one particular trailering stop (Electric brakes on trailer) warped again.I thought they were overheating, so I switched to ceramic pads. Lifetime pad from AA or Autozone, don't recall which one, but I think they were wearever golds.
Changed front hub on drivers side and changed caliper as well. Still continues to happen.
I think I will be best to look at doing a new rotor and pad change, a set that will compliment each other.

If you want lifetime pad you need to forget braking, unless you buy new Ferrari, which comes with lifetime brakes (and those you will not find in AA or Auto Zone).
Go on Auto Anything web site, search for EBC or Hawk. You have hundreds of reviews.

 

[Joel_MD]

Originally Posted By: NHGUY
You could be having incomplete transfer of friction material to the rotors.This can lead one to believe that the rotors are warped as it causes a pulsation in the pedal at speed.Its due to the friction material not getting hot enough long enough during break in to lay an even layer.Of course if they turned the rotors on a lathe,they should have physically seen a runout variation.

This is a wise reply. Brake rotor warpage is basically a myth. Here is a white paper that explains what is really going on, and how to prevent it with proper break-in of the brake pads.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: Joel_MD
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
You could be having incomplete transfer of friction material to the rotors.This can lead one to believe that the rotors are warped as it causes a pulsation in the pedal at speed.Its due to the friction material not getting hot enough long enough during break in to lay an even layer.Of course if they turned the rotors on a lathe,they should have physically seen a runout variation.

This is a wise reply. Brake rotor warpage is basically a myth. Here is a white paper that explains what is really going on, and how to prevent it with proper break-in of the brake pads.


Humorous isn't it? I wonder if some members stop driving when it rains?

Perhaps this was your link?

http://www.stoptech.com/technical-support/technical-white-papers/-warped-brake-disc-and-other-myths

 

[chrisri]

Ate Power discs with Ate pads or Tarox discs and pads. Both work amazing, but not cheap.

 

[Sequoiasoon]

Does the 98 Expedition have rear discs or drums? On my older vehicles with rear drums I found that the hardware got rusty, most never use parking brake which self adjusts the shoes on many vehicles. My '94 Explorer would eat front brakes until I finally went through all of it to find some almost frozen parts in the rears. Much better braking and life after cleaning/brushing and relubing all the rear parts.

Same deal goes for the trailer itself. If it has brakes they should be able to stop that if needed on their own.

I put slotted SP performance on the Sequoia with Hawk pads. Stopped much better. Wife hated sound from rotors. Back to stock with hawks. Shop installed some carquest premium pads once. worst pads ever, much more brake pedal effort required. I changed back to hawks.

Sonata has slotted drilled SP performance with Akebono proact. Prior was factory rotors with thermoquiets. rotors wore and left ridge on the edge that pad backing plate was hitting and rubbing. Had much brake fade prior when making runs to firehouse with 10 stop signs, last stop was "questionable" many times. Now with new setup you can smell them but stops awesome.

Next time I might try the "diamond slot" for the Sequoia. According to Raceshopper the swept/curved slots make less noise then the straight cut which is what drove wife crazy. I got the slotted/drilled for that reason forgetting they had the diamond with curved slots.

After all was done I had a problem with brakes heating up and rubbing on right rear of Sonata. Turned out that the parking brake hardware also rusted up some even though it is used every day (stick shift). Unless you unbolted all the mounting parts for that you could not see it. Fixed and did other side afterward also. This was for parking brake only since it is the rear drum inside disc deal for parking brake.

Old Corolla had frozen star wheels inside rear drums which were supposed to self adjust with parking brake also. Stick shift used everyday. Part was you had to actually "rock" the car a couple times and then applying so the shoes could "shift".

The Explorer drums were so worn/rusted that you had to undo star wheel to get the hoes in past the worn in/rusted ridge so you could get them off.

If they have them some say that DBA rotors work well and cool off faster.