USA1C5

Age old question.

DBA rotors, slotted or plain (blank) ?

Not drilled for sure, I'm trying to get away from the drilled.

What say you ?

errance

You asked for opinions, so here's mine

Stick with stock rotors. The DBA are sooo much more expensive, I don't think they'll last several times longer than stock.

That opinion is based on about a dozen beginner to intermediate track days with stock rotors, street tires and street-able pads.

If you have slicks and race pads, your rotor use will most likely vary.

trackboss

I just installed a set of DBA rears on my '99 and am very impressed. I had the original '99 rotors and pads on the car with about 27k miles and one of the rears had developed cracks so I though I would replace them before any track use. A friend in the motorsports industry who I trust mentioned he toured the DBA facility in Austrailia and was told they (DBA) are the ones who produce the disks for AP which are considered the best among many in racing. I have to say the design looks very similar to AP rotors I have seen so I don't doubt it. They are very stout. While I have just a few miles on them I am pretty confident they will outlast all other replacements. The only downside is they are noticably heavier than the factory rotors. Another benefit for those who care about appearance is that the non-friction surfaces are pre-painted. Now to answer your question, I asked for plain but was shipped slotted. I am not sure if they even offer plain. Either is fine. I have raced cars with both styles and they work equally well. Just stay away from holes in the rotors. Hopefully in the next couple months I'll get to test them out on the track along with some other top secret stuff.

-V

USA1C5

I want to get away from the drilled OEM rotors. They cracked after a few track events and they eat up pads very fast. As far as cost the DBA slotted or plain are more expensive than the OEM but not that much more.

BEZ06

I have the DBA 4000 slotted rotors. I've only been using Hawk HP+ on them so far for about 5 track days and also on the street for several thousand miles and they're still in great shape. My next couple events I'll be swapping to DTC-70's and R-compound rubber so might get more rotor wear.

Like trackboss said, I'm not even sure you can them without the slots.

I agree that they are not that much more expensive than the OE rotors for the DBA 4000 series. If you go to the 2-piece DBA 5000's you'll pay a lot more.

Bob

errance

Ok, let's talk about cost because that's the main factor for me.

I recently bought a full set of C6 Z51 OE rotors from gmpartsdirect.com . They had the cheapest price I could find: $267.24 + $58.79 shipping = $326.03 at my door.

How much are the DBAs?

USA1C5

The cheapest I could find was $561.84 for the four DBA4000 rotors (slotted or blank, same price), shipping included. That's for rotors to fit C6Z06. I don't know but it may be cheaper for C6 Z51 rotors.

errance

Ok, so pretty damn near 2x the cost.

The question becomes: do they last 2x longer? Does the increase in rotor and pad life make it worth the investment over stock cross drilled?

My stock rotors had surface tiny cracks after 2-3 track days. But after about a 10, they haven't gotten worse or needed replacement yet.

Do people get 20+ track days with DBAs?

USA1C5

Cost for C6Z06 OEM rotors would be about $400 for all four and the DBA4000's were about $560 so about $40 more per rotor. I don't know the answers to your questions but I plan to find out for myself. If I'm not satisfied I will simply go back to OEM's. Only way to find out for sure is give them a try.

errance

Ok, let us know what you find out

USA1C5

kermooni

I have a C6 Z51. I just put in my slotted DBA 4000 with XP10s F and XP8s R with R6's all arouind.

The only thing I have to compare this to is the OEM setup and the difference in stopping power and brake modulation is incredible. I trail brake into corners, so modulation is big for me. Also, this setup stopped dead in its tracks the first time I ever applied the brakes entering turn 1 of Road America last weekend. The temp was in the low 50's.

The cost, well considering how much I paid for track fees, fuel on my tow vehicle, hotel, meals, fuel for the Vette (1.3 tanks per day), trailer rental, oil change, alignment, tire balancing, tir wear, ... the cost difference between DBA and OEM rotors becomes minimal - at best.

USA1C5

I have the Carbotech XP10 and XP8 setup myself but I was waiting on the new slotted DBA4000 rotors before I installed the new pads. Going down to VIR in two months to give it all a try myself.

I was trying to find out if anyone has tried both slotted and blank DBA4000's and what they thought worked best. Blanks would probably last longer and have less pad wear than the slotted. Slotted would probably have better braking performance, but I don't know. Has anyone run both to compare results?

BEZ06

The problem is you're not talking about C6 Z06 rotors.

About the very cheapest I've seen for the C6Z rotors is around $100 each (the fronts may be a little more, the rears a little less) and that's before shipping. With shipping you'll be spending at least $460.

So.....if USA1C5 can get the DBA's for about $100 more, that's not too bad for what I consider a MUCH better rotor.

If you're getting C6 or even Z51 rotors, then yes - OE can be found for a LOT cheaper. Butt.....for the C6Z it's not that much more to get a LOT better rotor than the stock rotor with wrong way vanes on one side, not to mention those holes in them that you do not want on your track rotors.

Bob

errance

Yeah, you're right Bob. My maths were for the Z51 and I didn't realize the Z06 rotors were so much more expensive. If the difference in cost between OE and DBA is $100 instead of 2x, then DBA makes a heck of a lot more sense.