• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

Brake Rotor Recommendations?

Share this page

MadRiver

MadRiver

Jedi Knight
Bronze
Country flag
Offline
While spending a great deal of time under my 250 yesterday, I noticed that the inside face of both rotors were pretty badly scored. Has anyone had experience with replacing the rotors, and if so, what do you recommend? I don't want to do anything dramatic -- just replace them. I'd consider cross-drilled, but I don't want to go with larger brakes. Thanks as always! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif
 
Bill,

You can get cross drilled in the stock size, BUT I don't care what anybody tells you... ANYBODY!! Cross-drilled rotors are crap compared to the same solid rotor. The slots and holes are unneeded because the gases that todays more advanced brake pads dissipate is minimal.

Today the only things that cross-drilled rotors will get you is:
1. More bling
2. Less life because they crack and warp quicker than solid rotors.

I bought rotors on sale last year at TRF, they work fine with my spirited driving style.
 
I second what Shannon said. Solids are fine for normal street use. TRF has good quality replacement parts.

Dave
 
[ QUOTE ]
Bill,

You can get cross drilled in the stock size, BUT I don't care what anybody tells you... ANYBODY!! Cross-drilled rotors are crap compared to the same solid rotor. The slots and holes are unneeded because the gases that todays more advanced brake pads dissipate is minimal.


[/ QUOTE ]

Why do you say that cross drilled rotors are crap?? They come OE on Porsches and Corvettes among alot of other cars. I don't think those highly paid engineers are putting them on just for the bling factor. Whether or not they will be useful on a TR might be another matter, but they obviously have their place in performance brake systems.
 
Two reasons... First, Those cars generate much more braking forces than our TR's do. Second, they are trying to find weight savings anywhere they can to make up for the extra bulk generated from comfort items and electronics. Especially unsprung weight with their huge wheels and tires. The performance of those brake systems are far beyond what you could hope to get out of a standard TR system.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif
 
Ask anyone that races, cross-drilled rotors are useless on the track. As far as Porsche's and Vettes, probably 90% of them never see hard action, the cross drilled rotors are for the bling... any serious action will require a switch to solids... that is unless they like buying a set of rotors after every track meet. Many of the guys that I used to hang around with in Charlotte had cross-drilled for the street for looks but replaced them with solids when they raced.
 
Porsche rotors aren't cross drilled, they are cast with the holes, which relives the stress and prevents the cracks. The crossed drilled copies of these are a liability, and are for show rather than anything else.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Porsche rotors aren't cross drilled, they are cast with the holes, which relives the stress and prevents the cracks. The crossed drilled copies of these are a liability, and are for show rather than anything else.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the clarification, I always did wonder why they came with cross-drilled rotors in the first place....
 
I have to agree that drilled rotors are not needed for road use on a Triumph; in fact if you have to make a hard stop from high speed the mass of the rotor absorbs the heat generated, so more mass from no holes gives a smaller rise in temperature, less chance of fade. Then as you drive along the rotor gradually cools down.

For track use I use drilled Brembo rotors, with the edges of the holes chamfered to eliminate stress risers. This was done by a specialist brake company, KVR Performance, and I have never had a problem. In track use I will make several maximum effort stops every lap, and the flow of air through the holes helps cool the rotors, so this is a different requirement from a single "panic" stop in street driving.

Modern cars have ventilated rotors, which are really 2 rotors cast together, with vanes between them to act like a fan; lots of mass and surface area to dissipate heat, though because the cars are faster and heavier they will produce more heat in stopping. This is a different situation again.
In track use I have seen rotors crack from expansion and contraction, and even disintegrate with enough force to embed bits of metal in the car's alloy rim, but racing is a really extreme test of a cars braking system, pads usually last only about 200-300 miles!
For normal use solid rotors will serve you well, and are the best choice.
Simon.
 
simon /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/iagree.gif
the thing is, if you stay with stock tr brake system, then you are losing critical mass required if the rotors are drilled. racing rotors these days are not drilled but do have some slots in them for degassing but these are vented rotors with curved vanes to "pump" air through them and the slots wear pads fast. very large diameter rotors that are one piece cast may have holes in them to lighten the rotor. the larger diameter, the heavier they are. that is why bigger is not always better. there are trade offs made between diameter,weight,cost,cooling, etc.
best to rebuild your calipers (sounds like your outer pistons may be sticking) and get some modern performance brake pads and teflon stainless braided brake lines. heat barriers on the back of pads is also a good thing. if that doesn't do it then look at serious altenatives.($1200.00)
rob
 
oops forgot this next point,
for safety it is a good idea to change master cylinder to separate the front brakes from the back brakes with a combination master like all modern cars. if you lose the front brakes, at least the backs will work. with one master ,like my stock tr4, if you lose front or back brakes you lose ALL brakes.(i am putting in a dual pedal tilton three master cylinder with balance bar assembly-lots of work to do this.)
rob
 
Back
Top