Brake Rotors - Which ones are track-worthy

Cmike2780

Lot's of useful info on this thread, but it feels like some of the info isn't 100% accurate. It's a bit hard to believe drilled rotors are as bad as some people make them out to be considering it's still widely used in a lot of high end sports cars. I've seen drilled rotors crack, but I've also seen solid rotors crack. I think it really has a lot do with the manufacturer, conditions and usage. For track worthyness, it really depends on how much track use you're actually doing. What's best for the track isn't necessary the best for the street. For a lot of people, 2 piece rotors are overkill. They look awesome and drool worthy, but kind of pointless 95% of the time for a multi purpose car. A dedicated track car is a different story.

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ChrisSlicks

Almost all rotors crack at some point under heavy heat fatigue conditions. A full weight track Z generates a massive amount of heat in the front brakes and you would need lots of airflow (at least two 3" ducts) to keep them at an ideal temperature. The issue with drilled rotors is that they tend to crack sooner than a solid rotor would at the same conditions, and the small cracks that start off in the solid rotors play connect-the-dots on the drilled ones. The OEM drilled rotors on the Z06 are a perfect example of this. If you can keep the temps low enough then drilled rotors would be just fine, it's the thermal expansion and cooling that is the problem.

I also agree that 2-piece rotors are overkill on a multi-purpose car, cost savings are a myth, and full floating systems are noisy and problematic for the street. You can tell if a car is show or track by looking at the calipers, if the paint is bright and clean then it is show, if the paint is discolored and weird, then it is track ... except for Mike's because he powdercoats them after each event

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Race_Tech

Would you guys be interested in a two-piece option from AP Racing like this.

Rusty

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Fishey

If you are going to spend the money on a 2pc rotor setup you should do one that is full floating if you really want it to work as advertised.


or this style


I perfer the top style because there is less chance of a hat failure IMHO.

Also, the bolts on the top one should be safety wired.

2pc rotors like others posted in this thread that are simply bolted to a aluminum hub don't offer nearly as many benefits and are prone to failure when tracked hard. They do not allow for expansion at the hub joint and as a result can cause fractures at the hub resulting in failure. They also do not help at all in preventing knock-back on the pads that all sports cars see as a result of hub-flex. This is even more true if you are a hard driver and really push the curbs as they cause a great deal of deflection.

A pretty cool video showing some deflection from curbs on F1 cars. (No one takes these kinds of footage from normal race cars! To bad cause its pretty sweet!)

http://www.streetfire.net/video/f1-in-slomo_695288.htm
-Your Pal
Fishey

Race_Tech

Not entirely true. You dont need to have the bolts wire locked. However the AP Racing kit above does have bolts which allow you to do so if you would like. Those are the same bolts and hardware that is supplied to 70% of the Nascar field and have not seen one single failure!

AP rotors pictured above are full floating at a float of .25-.30mm and since that is the only picture posted on this thread I will assume your comments are directly related to it which I will have to point out are incorrect. This is a true full float system, it is not bolted. The second picture is a float in bell system and is even better at radial and axial float but it is not as ideal of a system on a street car because of possible excess wear on the bell.

Mike

Stoptech rotors come with the hardware. At least my replacement set did. I got probably at least 12 days on them. Replaced due to minor stress cracks, but probably didn't need to yet.

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Race_Tech

Yeah all stoptech rings come with replacement hardware.

You should not be worried by small cracks less than 4-5mm is acceptable. However if you have cracks starting from the ID or OD of the rotor ring it MUST be replaced.

I will agree with above. You will expect to pay much more for Brembo, AP, and Alcon rotor rings but generally speaking they will all outlast parts from Stoptech and smaller manufacturers. The money spent on one AP rotor set is a high initial cost but in the long run saves you money.

Mike

I think thats mostly for looks, the percentage of high-end sports cars that actually see serious track duty is as small as any other type of car, probably less than 1% of drivers actually go to the track.

HaHa! My stoptech trophys are hard anodized and they stay nice looking. Before that, I just powdercoated my calipers satin black because thats what they were gonna be anyway!

This is how hot one piece rotors and stock akebono's can get. XP12 pads were used. You can see the powdercoat melted around the hub and discolored on the spokes of the wheel. What you can't see is the runs in the powdercoat on the spokes also.

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NISSAN: 75 280Z / 86 300ZX GLL /87 Sentra SE / 03 350Z / 23 Z
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Race_Tech

Drilled rotors are mainly used on performance street cars. They do this for wet weather performance.

As far as the picture...All of that heat is going straight to the hub and wheel bearings! Yikes. 2-Piece FTW

Mike

Yes, I have a stoptech trophy system and stillen brake ducts now. No issues other than rapid pad wear. I get about 3 weekends out of a set.

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NISSAN: 75 280Z / 86 300ZX GLL /87 Sentra SE / 03 350Z / 23 Z
Porsche: 93 968 / 23 Macan GTS / 93 968

Race_Tech

What pads do you/ have you used?

Mike

Carbotech XP-12 and RP-2. I have used Ferodo 3000 in the past once too. Using Hawk blue this weekend due to late ordering and availability.

Carbotech is my favorite though and I'm very loyal to them because they actually shut down the production line once to make me a set of pads in time for a track day the next day.

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NISSAN: 75 280Z / 86 300ZX GLL /87 Sentra SE / 03 350Z / 23 Z
Porsche: 93 968 / 23 Macan GTS / 93 968

Race_Tech

Was this the Ferodo part number that you used before?

FRP3054R-N