BRAKE ROTORS- Powerslot or Brembo?

[ibuytoys]

Looking for new slotted rotors and saw that Brembo and Powerslot both have them available. The Brembo's are about $10 more per pair but are they better? I used Performance Friction pads in the past but am looking at the Hawk brand. Are these pads as good or better or worse them Performance Friction?

 

[jimbo74]

hawk is good, as is PF .... i was going to use PF on my toyota, but they didn't fit properly, so i returned them for another set and they didnt fit either, turns out there is more than 1 orientation for my truck and PF didn't know about it

i have brembo blanks on my toyota and they are awesome!

 

[BeauJ]

I've got powerslots, but if knew they had Brembo's out I would have definetely got those. Very good products and worth the extra money. I used Hawk pads too and never had any problems.

 

[Rhett]

I did not know Brembo had brakes out for the Explorer. Brembo are typically very good.

 

[spindlecone]

IBT
do you have any more info on the Brembos (part numbers?) they are the best without question

 

[bmxking5]

I was unaware that Brembo's were made for Explorers. I'd try for those first. I used to have Hawk pads on my truck and they stopped great. The problem I had was that the "squeak pads"(?) weren't one piece and seperated from the pad after lots of offroading (mud, creek crossings, etc). If you don't go offroad, I'd definitely recommend getting them. If you do offroad, I'd get the Wagner Thermo-quiet pads. The squeak pads are built into the pad and they stop almost as good as the Hawk pads.

 

[IZwack]

i am running brembos so yes they do make em for explorers.. i dont have the part number but i'll look for em later on.. i got em cauz it was cheap as my friend works at a parts store eheheh

 

[ibismojo]

these are brembo OEM size rotors, not brake system, ie larger caliper's/rotor's. you can get powerslots and brembo's on tirerack.com. just don't get cross-drilled rotors. very very stupid on a heavy suv.

 

[BeauJ]

these are brembo OEM size rotors, not brake system, ie larger caliper's/rotor's. you can get powerslots and brembo's on tirerack.com. just don't get cross-drilled rotors. very very stupid on a heavy suv.

Why is it stupid to have cross drilled on a heavy truck? A few of the Brembo, Power Stop and SS Brakes kits have both slotted/drilled rotors. Some of the drilled rotors are cheap, but not all.

 

[Hartman]

these are brembo OEM size rotors, not brake system, ie larger caliper's/rotor's. you can get powerslots and brembo's on tirerack.com. just don't get cross-drilled rotors. very very stupid on a heavy suv.

Why does weight matter? Heavier vehicles can certainly benefit from cross drilled rotors because they disappate heat better and decrease fade.

 

[IZwack]

these are brembo OEM size rotors, not brake system, ie larger caliper's/rotor's.

heh? thats what this whole discussion is about.. rotors.. not the entire system.

 

[ibismojo]

if you enjoy exploding rotors, go for it. drilled rotors....you may as well paint your calipers red while you're at it.

why did people drill rotors back in the day? cause brake pads were pieces of **** and emitted fumes when they got too hot which got trapped in between the pads and rotors which in turn equals ****ty stopping which is why they drilled holes to allow a way out for those fumes. do brake pads suck today and emit those same fumes? no.

aren't the holes in the rotor suppose to help with fading? no, total surface area equals a reduction in fading. you drill holes, you take away surface area which equals fading.

aren't cross drilled lighter than solid rotors? marginally, but they're also weaker, even the casted ones like the porsche. take a look at nascar or le mans prototypes and gt1's, what do they all use? slots. cause cross-drilled rotors will fail over time.

why does the enzo or ford gt come with cross drilled? aren't they suppose to be the pinnacle of automative engineering? how many of those owners are gonna take their enzo/gt straight from the showroom, to the track, and run the snot out of their supercar 24/7? the answer is NONE. if they were to, nothing on those cars would be stock, at least for anyone who valued their car and maybe their life.

with that said, i do think cross-drilled rotors look pimp. and for the soccer mom driver/poseur, there's nothing wrong with them. but if you're in a situation where you need brakes, stick with OEM rotors or maybe power slots (also a pretty cool indicator when it's time to change the rotors).

in my opinion, i wouldn't go cheap on brakes. these are the very thing that slows you down and might prevent an accident. those lifetime deals from kragen and autozone, well...you get what you pay for.

...

 

[jimbo74]

good posting ^^^^^^^^^

 

[ibismojo]

heh? thats what this whole discussion is about.. rotors.. not the entire system.

right, i was just clarifying that brembo makes rotors for the explorer, not big brake kits that brembo's popular for.

 

[IZwack]

right, i was just clarifying that brembo makes rotors for the explorer, not big brake kits that brembo's popular for.

gotcha m8... my brembos arent slotted OR drilled tho.. i must be poor ahahah

 

[Hartman]

...

Sorry but I don't buy any of that. Sure the rotors will crack if you buy a cheap set, but rotors made with quality materials will not crack. I don't think Mercedes and BMW would put drilled and slotted rotors on their cars just for showoff purposes, those cars are made for the track.

 

[IZwack]

Sorry but I don't buy any of that. Sure the rotors will crack if you buy a cheap set, but rotors made with quality materials will not crack. I don't think Mercedes and BMW would put drilled and slotted rotors on their cars just for showoff purposes, those cars are made for the track.

the point was made about heavy vehicles with more kinetic energy (like SUVs) not cars...

many car magazines, "Car and Driver" for one, acknowledge the fact that cross drilled rotors are prone to cracking. i mean its quite obviously really - put a lot of holes into a piece of metal and it will have less structural integrity compared to one that doesnt have holes.

 

[ibismojo]

Sorry but I don't buy any of that. Sure the rotors will crack if you buy a cheap set, but rotors made with quality materials will not crack. I don't think Mercedes and BMW would put drilled and slotted rotors on their cars just for showoff purposes, those cars are made for the track.

and you're buying into their marketing. not to say solid rotors won't crack, they all will, it's just that cross-drilled will fail sooner. if this was just another mid-size passenger vehicle, there probably won't be much of a difference, but for an suv, the brakes get worked a lot harder and taking away metal to get better braking, hah, i don't buy THAT.

 

[BeauJ]

But the explorer is not a fullsize SUV. It's no where near as heavy as a Suburban, H2, Tahoe, Expedition, Excursion and other full size SUVs. I would say it's a midsize SUV. An 04 Mustang Covertable almost tips the scale at 4,000 lbs and the explorer is 4400-4500 depending on 2wd/Awd. And I agree with Hartman about the Mercedes thing. They make high end vehicles and are not going to put trash on their cars that may break becaue it would damage their name.

 

[Hartman]

I used to have drilled and slotted rotors and I could tell a significant difference in braking performance. I never had any issues with cracking at all.