MarkDFW

I will go to several HPDE/road course events and probably a few autoX per year. Interested in your thoughts on rotors. I've read threads on here dispelling myths about drilled/slotted rotors. They look good, but don't stop as well as a solid rotor (all other things held constant).

Yes... I used the search button and found quite a few of you that like centri cryo rotors like these from tire rack:

http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/resul...oModClar=Coupe

Has anyone used the cheap solid rotors you can get from a place like Napa and compared them to the centri cyro rotors? Worth the difference in price? Would love to hear you guys thoughts since the people in this part of the forum actually are hard enough on rotors to have a respectable opinion on them!

travisnd

Buy real 2-piece rotors up front or stick with the el cheapo solids and replace them as they crack. Personally I run DBA 2-piece rotors up front and generic solid rears in the back. Car is a 2001 Z06 racecar. I bought 2 sets of the DBA front rotors when I built the car in summer 2010 and still haven't cracked a set. I'm extremely pleased with their performance; they've far exceeded expectations. For reference I run Carbotech XP12s front and XP10s rear and my car weighs 3100lbs with me in it.

JeremyGSU

A lot of what Travis said is going to be subject to what courses you run. I found Road Atlanta 10x easier on my brakes than when I run Sebring with the same setup.

I run DBA4000 slotted with brake ducting and the same pad combo as Travis. After 3 events I switched to RP2's in the front and they are less rotor friendly but they are still holding. I will be doing my 5th track day on them with 3500 street miles as well this coming weekend. They will probably be toast this weekend as they are starting to crack.

MarkDFW

Looked on tire rack. How are the DBAs better than Centric? They cost a lot more but do they actually perform better? Or are you paying for slotted rotors that are just better looking? I can't find any real scientific info showing how they stop better or last longer and I don't know the science behind what makes a rotor better.

travisnd

I run the 2-piece DBAs. They're lighter, the aluminum hat transfers less heat to the hubs (prolonging their life), and the 2-piece design allows the rotor ring to expand/contract w/o cracking like a stock one-piece rotor.

brkntrxn

I run the same as "Trav": a 2pc DBA in the front and solids in the rear. As soon as I have gone through my solid rear spares, I will go to a 2pc in the rear as well.

My car is also a C5Z race car, same weight as his (same class). I usually crack a solid rotor in a couple of weekends, but at $35 each from NAPA, I got pretty darn good at changing them in about 20 minutes at the track.

rayk

I just ordered from KNS Brakes today and found out the DBA4000 slotted rotor has been revised. 266 for the pair and they are made in Australia. KNS has the older version on sale to close them out.

Supposed to improve performance and longivity. Going to run XP10 and XP8 pads on them. Wanted a setup for HPDE's, not racing.

beerkat

Many of us who run with NASA-SE ran the NAPA rotors. Since the Chinese have started making them the quality of them has dropped. The trend is now toward two piece rotors. Yes they are much more expensive but we hope that they last longer and we do not have to worry about them cracking like the NAPA rotors do.

stevensa

Same here except I am running Performance AFX 2-piece rotors. I also bought 2 sets thinking that I would need a backup set with my for when these cracked (used to blank rotor tendencies) and yet 2 years later and 2000+ track miles they are still hanging in there. They were slotted rotors, but have worn away the slots and are still not cracked!! Definitely just get a nice 2-piece from the start. Not changing rotors all the time is worth it alone.

Scooter70

After this weekend, I'm contemplating 2-piece rotors. I popped the left front Friday afternoon, the right front Saturday morning, and the right rear Saturday afternoon. (DTC60 front and rear)

travisnd

Hawk pads are hard on rotors. I run Carbotech's because they are relatively easy on them. They do wear out slightly faster, but since running them and 2-piece front rotors I haven't racked a rotor in over two years of track events.

JerryTX

Wow, after how much track time? Chinese I'm assuming?

Scooter70

~5000 street miles plus 5 or 6 track days. GingerMan is known to be very hard on brakes. Previous owner put them on just before I bought the car last spring so I'm not sure where he got them. They're probably Chinese.

rayk

Is even the NAPA Premium rotor now chinese?

They used to be decent. I prefer plain rotors myself but couldn't find Brembo plain rotors for my oem setup.

sothpaw2

Can't be certain w/o a close up but a couple of those rotors look like they don't have much if any heat checking. To crack out like that w/o heat checking means it was badly over shocked (thermally). Did you season these on the street for a while before use? I did have an issue w/ putting a new (out of the box) rear on last year; they do need to be excersized on the street for a while to realize full potential.

Also--did you do a good cool down lap(on track and in paddock--last time to use the brakes is the checker)? Was the entire group Black flagged sending you back to the pits and forced to stop on grid? Cool down is critical for such marginal rotors; I've cracked one out because someone stopped me on the grid, forcing me to use the brakes before I could run around the paddock.

95jersey

All rotors will crack and eventually need to be replaced. The question is do the good ones last long enough to pay for their premium? At almost $1000 (or more) for a set of 4, those expensive 2 piece rotors better last a LONG time to offset cheap OEM or NAPA replacements. Since there is no performance difference, it all comes down to economics. I personally use the OEM rotors from GM parts warehouse and at $79 per rotor for a C6Z, I'd have to burn through quite a few of those to make it worth while to invest in $1000 rotors.

This is an old argument, but after 11 years, I still don't see the value and have never changed my position on the subject. I just can't see spending $1000 for an item that is pretty much on the list of the top 3 most dispensible item on the car (tires, brake pads, rotors). The key to using cheaper rotors is to make sure you season them by running them on the street allowing them to heat and cool many times which will strengthen the rotor. If I put a new rotor on mid season, it won't last too long, but if I can wait until the end of the season, then change them out and drive the car on the street during the fall and winter, they seem to last 4-5X's as long come the next season.

Scooter70

They were pretty heat checked but the picture doesn't show it very well. They had about 5000 total miles on them. As for the cooldown, that may be part of the issue. We ran some pretty hard sessions with about 20 minutes of cooldown time in the paddock between. I do try to not use brakes on the cooldown lap but could do better.

johninar

I have a local shop that saves me the OEM take-offs.
I've also bought a set of 4 from several club members for $25-$50 depending upon condition. I prefer free of course, but the OEM rotors that have 10-30k street miles really last a long time for me. No doubt the good 2 piece rotors are better, but I'm paying a fraction of what those cost.

YMMV

John

waddisme

That is pretty much what I do - scan the 4 sale section for used oem. Get them for $30-$50 per set (depending on miles) plus ~$20 - $30 shipping. I have 5 sets in my garage now. They have always cracked before warping, no matter the mileage. I usually toss them when the heat checking starts to manifest itself. Only cracked 1 during a track day in 12 days last year. That is with XP12 pads and only running VIR, RD ATL and Daytona. I am only telling you this because I am out of the market until I use up my stash. Don't forget to check the C6 For Sale section also - as non Z06 rotors will work on C5.

MarkDFW

I have a 2012 Grand Sport, which has Z06 brakes and I believe rotors as well. I can't imagine paying $1000 + for rotors. I love going fast on a track, but Formual 1 isn't going to offer me a ride any time soon.

If think when I'm done with the stock rotors, I'll either replace them with OEM, or go with the centric rotors in my original post. I would think that has to offer a slight improvement over OEM rotors since there is more surface area, but I won't hear a "cha-ching" when I crack 'em like I would with the 2 piece DBA!