Results 1 to 21 of 21

Thread: Drilled vs Slotted vs Drilled&Slotted

  1. #1
    SEi User racerx's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Vehicle
    87 Honda Accord DX
    Location
    Colorado Springs
    Posts
    1,385

    Drilled vs Slotted vs Drilled&Slotted

    So, I'm seriously thinking about getting new rotors, pads, and lines for both the lude and the accord.
    I hear some people saying drilled will crack if you don't "break em in" right...
    And some say that slotted will wear the hell outta the pads...

    So I'm assuming drilled&slotted is just a double helping of trouble...

    How badly will pads wear with slotted discs? (Axxis semi-metallic pads)
    How likely will drilled discs crack?
    Does the zinc plating really protect against rust? For how long?

    Anyone seen those black discs? Will the black just wear off after a day of driving (where the pad meets the rotor)? Or is it "blued", that metal chemical treating that's been put on many military rifles and guns.
    www.stein-photo.com
    born to XLR8



  2. #2
    SEi User 3gn86lxi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Vehicle
    1986 lxi 4 handle, 77 gmc 4x4, 97 astro van on 18's,98 Honda Shadow Aero 1100
    Location
    wa
    Posts
    1,598
    Hey racerx.....
    Whats the break in?? I just purchased cross drilled rotors for my wifes astro van. I was told to run semi metallic pads with them, they assured me that they don't crack much anymore, but I don't know anything bout the break in.
    :alc:
    http://members.cardomain.com/3gn86lxi
    ~Ryan~
    Custom STEEL z3 fenders, and true HID

  3. #3

    bobafett's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Vehicle
    Stock 86 Accord LXi Hatch
    Location
    Longview, WA
    Posts
    6,545
    the black zinc coating WILL come off of the area where the pad is applied.
    ROTOR DRILLING DEFENITIONS:

    The purpose of cross-drilled slotted, or dimple rotors are to dissipate heat caused by aggressive driving condition.

    CROSS DRILLED: Holes are drilled through the rotor increase the surface area and to promote the dissipation of heat. It will prolong the life to the pads, rotors and improve stopping power. It also shed off water under-wet driving condition.

    SLOTTED: Lines a trimmed out of the surface of the rotors to dissipate heat and increase bite. Slotted rotors will bring up the operation temperature of the braking components much faster over cross-drilled, yet it dissipates the heat at the same time. The added bite will reduce the stopping distance. Slotted rotors do not sacrifice the structural integrity of the rotor.

    DIMPLED: Gives the appearance of cross-drilled rotors without sacrificing the structural integrity of the rotor. It also does not wear the pad as much as an all slotted design.

    Cross-drilled/slotted or dimple/slotted will give you the best combination of performance and longevity. It will dissipate heat and increase bite for better stopping power.

  4. #4


    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Vehicle
    89 Honda Accord LXi, Coupe & Sedan
    Location
    Millington, TN
    Posts
    3,038

    Break in period I would think would be about 100 miles

    If that. The black finish as you were talking of is only a protective coating for the non friction surface of the rotor.

    anytime that you have friction between two surfaces any coating will wear away. Very quicking concerning brakes.

    The break in as you are talking about is the mating of the pads to the rotors the creates the wear pattern which I would expect would take no more than about 100 miles at the most.

    Good luck.
    Phil

  5. #5
    SEi User racerx's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Vehicle
    87 Honda Accord DX
    Location
    Colorado Springs
    Posts
    1,385
    right on! thanks a lot everyone!
    yeah, I saw some rotors that actually were coated black all over, I'm guess to save time... don't have to worry about tapping off areas or whatever. It would be bad-ass looking if it could stay that way though. Hmmmm ceramic brake discs?

    I guess I'll be going with slotted and drilled. It's gonna look sweeeet!
    www.stein-photo.com
    born to XLR8

  6. #6

    Justin86's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Vehicle
    88 Yota/ 62 Nova/ 06 Yamaha R1
    Location
    Medford, Oregon
    Posts
    5,018
    Yea the only problem people have with the cross drilled is them cracking on extreme breaking as in racing every weekend. Slotted and dimpled is all I would use, esp for a street car.
    I'm your local R&D nut. Fabracting, welding, tuning and breaking my stuff so you don't have to.

  7. #7

    bobafett's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Vehicle
    Stock 86 Accord LXi Hatch
    Location
    Longview, WA
    Posts
    6,545
    Quote Originally Posted by Justin86
    Yea the only problem people have with the cross drilled is them cracking on extreme breaking as in racing every weekend. Slotted and dimpled is all I would use, esp for a street car.
    yeah im going with slotted dimpled on the 240 and possibly the accord its the best way IMO

  8. #8
    SEi User 3gn86lxi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Vehicle
    1986 lxi 4 handle, 77 gmc 4x4, 97 astro van on 18's,98 Honda Shadow Aero 1100
    Location
    wa
    Posts
    1,598
    I had a warping problem when I put the 18's on the van, so the cross drilled will keep the temp down and I won't be racing so no worries bout them cracking.
    I'm also going to use carbon metallic pads.
    http://members.cardomain.com/3gn86lxi
    ~Ryan~
    Custom STEEL z3 fenders, and true HID

  9. #9

    Hash_man_Se_i's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Vehicle
    1988 EX-i 4dr, 1989 se-i 4dr (RIP), 1989 se-i 4dr (RIP), 2006 TSX
    Location
    Calgary, AB, Canada
    Posts
    3,816
    You don't necessarily have to be "racing" to have cross drilled rotors crack, especially when using more aggressive pads like carbon mettalic. And the cracks are usually fairly minor, but are never a good thing, and I would imagine any crack could make the breaking of the vehicle unstable.

    I plan to upgrade to slotted rotors fairly soon, as personally I think they make most sense. IMO, i dont see the logic behind slotted and drilled, or slotted and dimpled. When upgrading brakes, you want to maintain, or gain surface area for the pad to contact, while also improving the dissipation of heat from the rotors. Using two methods clearly takes away from surface area for the pad to come in contact with, and IMO makes sense to just have either slotted, or drilled, personally I'm going slotted.

  10. #10
    DX User dillirk's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Vehicle
    89 Honda Accord SEi
    Location
    Salt Lake City, UT
    Posts
    80
    slots dimples and holes remove heat as a secondary objective. They are primarily designed to remove the gasses created from the pad breaking down from the heat. (not sure how the physics works on this) The gasses build up and form a cushion betwean the pad and the rotor almost like a lube... bad for breaking.

  11. #11

    Justin86's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Vehicle
    88 Yota/ 62 Nova/ 06 Yamaha R1
    Location
    Medford, Oregon
    Posts
    5,018
    yea that is the manin objective, and the one thing I hate about blanks. You could get cross drilled for streets, but really paying the extra money for them is a waste and not necessary. If you were to drill them your self that is another thing or dimple them.
    I'm your local R&D nut. Fabracting, welding, tuning and breaking my stuff so you don't have to.

  12. #12

    bobafett's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Vehicle
    Stock 86 Accord LXi Hatch
    Location
    Longview, WA
    Posts
    6,545
    yeah the main reason to buy upgraded rotors is to reduce brake fade. yes you will stop faster do to a more aggressive pad, and more bite, but the primary objective is just to reduce fade. if you want a STRONGER brake, that will stop you faster you really need bigger/better calipers, and larger rotors.

  13. #13

    Hash_man_Se_i's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Vehicle
    1988 EX-i 4dr, 1989 se-i 4dr (RIP), 1989 se-i 4dr (RIP), 2006 TSX
    Location
    Calgary, AB, Canada
    Posts
    3,816
    I think lots of you should get the new HCI mag, and read the article on brake upgrades... It's quite usefull...

    If you were to drill them your self that is another thing or dimple them.
    That's just asking for trouble.

  14. #14
    DX User NashvilleLX-i's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Vehicle
    1989/Honda/Accord LX-i Hatchback
    Location
    McMinnville, OR
    Posts
    23
    i heard Drilling the rotors yourself is NOT a good idea because the rotors do becomse weake that way. but Cross drilled arent drilled but jsut forged with holes in them so the brakes should stay just as strong as without drilled. and i dont understand dimpled because the slots in slotted rotors are long so the gas doesnt stay under the pad but if they were just dimples i dont think that would carry the gass very far. but if anyone is willing to drill slot or dimple their rotors just let me know how it goes but i dont think it is a good idea at all. you just dont mess with brakes.
    89 Lx-i hatchback bought for only $750

  15. #15

    Mike's89AccordLX's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Vehicle
    1989/Honda/Accord LX/5-spd, 1994 Prelude Si/5-spd, 2004 Honda 1300 VTX
    Location
    Mankato, Minnesota
    Posts
    9,851
    I have the spendy EBC Sport Rotors and they are slotted and dimpled. From now on I will just buy the cheap $12 rotors at napa b/c I'm not too happy on how they are after 2 years. They do stop better but unless you actually race a lot I wouldn't recommend them.

  16. #16
    LX User steven's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Vehicle
    1991 Honda Civic/w DOHC ZC swap
    Location
    Martinsburg WV
    Posts
    157
    ive heard drilled rotors crack, but i dont know since i dont have any.
    Your USDM Left Hand Drive 4th gen is NOT an EF, it is an ED. get it right!

    Yeah it's Multi-Colored, So what, got a problem?
    The 4th gen Mod on Club Civic

  17. #17

    Hash_man_Se_i's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Vehicle
    1988 EX-i 4dr, 1989 se-i 4dr (RIP), 1989 se-i 4dr (RIP), 2006 TSX
    Location
    Calgary, AB, Canada
    Posts
    3,816
    Drilled rotors are proned to cracking as said before. This is under high stress high heat situations.

  18. #18
    SEi User racerx's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Vehicle
    87 Honda Accord DX
    Location
    Colorado Springs
    Posts
    1,385
    Quote Originally Posted by Mike's89AccordLX
    I have the spendy EBC Sport Rotors and they are slotted and dimpled. From now on I will just buy the cheap $12 rotors at napa b/c I'm not too happy on how they are after 2 years. They do stop better but unless you actually race a lot I wouldn't recommend them.
    Why aren't you happy with them? Are they warping or something? Rusted?
    www.stein-photo.com
    born to XLR8

  19. #19

    Mike's89AccordLX's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Vehicle
    1989/Honda/Accord LX/5-spd, 1994 Prelude Si/5-spd, 2004 Honda 1300 VTX
    Location
    Mankato, Minnesota
    Posts
    9,851
    I think that the rotors might be slightly warped. I get a vibration under mild to heavy braking. That's why I think if you don't race you should just get the cheaper oem rotors.

  20. #20
    SEi User 3gn86lxi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Vehicle
    1986 lxi 4 handle, 77 gmc 4x4, 97 astro van on 18's,98 Honda Shadow Aero 1100
    Location
    wa
    Posts
    1,598
    I've had my new drilled and slotted rotors on the van for about two weeks, and I'm very happy so far. Major difference in stopping power. So we will see with time weather or not they warp.
    They look awsome too. :alc:
    http://members.cardomain.com/3gn86lxi
    ~Ryan~
    Custom STEEL z3 fenders, and true HID

  21. #21
    LX User
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Vehicle
    87 LX // 89 LX-i
    Location
    Cleveland, OH
    Posts
    491
    Quote Originally Posted by nswst8
    The break in as you are talking about is the mating of the pads to the rotors the creates the wear pattern which I would expect would take no more than about 100 miles at the most.

    Good luck.
    I was always told to do that with any setup of pads and rotors. And i've found it extends the life of the pads by almost double. Just brake easy for the first 100 miles so the pads and rotors have the same shape.

Similar Threads

  1. new drilled/slotted rotors and pads
    By daamizin1 in forum For Sale
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 11-22-2010, 06:29 PM
  2. Drilled and/or Slotted rotors?
    By maxsideburn in forum Suspension/Wheels/Tires/Brakes
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 05-02-2006, 04:17 PM
  3. Slotted or Drilled/slotted Brake rotors for sale.
    By Importordomestic in forum Suspension/Wheels/Tires/Brakes
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 10-19-2005, 07:14 AM
  4. cross drilled vs drilled and slotted
    By b20a86lude in forum Suspension/Wheels/Tires/Brakes
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: 05-10-2005, 05:04 PM
  5. Drilled, slotted, dimpled?????????
    By Chrome_thangs in forum Suspension/Wheels/Tires/Brakes
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 08-26-2002, 01:19 PM

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
This website uses cookies
We use cookies to store session information to facilitate remembering your login information, to allow you to save website preferences, to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners.
     
Links monetized by VigLink