Need help with brake rotor choice

[03mach1]

Re: Need help with brake rotor choice

Maybe your wheels are not leting enough air flow to the rotors. Are the aftermarket? I read that some after market wheels contribute to warping rotors. This kid at my school put these custom wheels on his old 80 T-Bird and they did not allow enough air flow and warped the rotors in the front. Just a thought.

[roushstage2]

Re: Need help with brake rotor choice

As far as slotted or drilled rotors go, you have to understand why they do this. Slotted rotors are suppose to allow out gassing from when the pad brakes down to pass through easier, allowing more contact area for the rotor to pad.

Just look at F1 brakes; completely flat. This is to utilize maximum surface area that would normally be lost by drilling or slotting a rotor. About all you gain from them is a bit of bling factor.

Kind of contradictory and a bit off, but basically states the facts. Cross drilled is the second most useless rotor design (point being, don't waste the money). Cross drilled and slotted rotors are the number one useless rotor design. 'Nuff said about that. Slotted is a better option for track use or on a beefed up car because the slots help expel the built up heat which in turn reduces brake fade/warpage when constantly braking hard or having to brake hard from having a built/power adder engine. If you're not tracking or driving a decently powered car that will need to be able to stop quickly, don't buy the slotted. Cross drilled rotors cannot be turned. Slotted shouldn't be turned, but can be. Onto your blank rotor. Best bet for most of the cars out there. Can be turned w/o problems if they are a good rotor and used in conjunction with good pads. Offer the most pad to rotor surface and are generally the best all around rotor. Also cheaper than the other two types. Basically, unless you are in a unique situation as above, stick with a good blank rotor brand and pads to go along with it. If you still have problems, as stated, then it is time to upgrade more than brake pads (calipers).

[Andy M.]

Re: Need help with brake rotor choice

Maybe your wheels are not letting enough air flow to the rotors. Are the aftermarket? I read that some after market wheels contribute to warping rotors. This kid at my school put these custom wheels on his old 80 T-Bird and they did not allow enough air flow and warped the rotors in the front. Just a thought.

No they aren't aftermarket wheels and I would think they let enough air through. It is a fairly open design. You can see them here.



It seems to me that the car is heavy up front and with the front wheel drive design, heat builds up very quickly. Yes it is a daily driver and I do drive in the city. Red light to red light.
I did check out autoanything and looked at some of their rotors. Not sure yet though. There are no performance brake kits that I can find for this vehicle, nor are there any big brake kits. I have to figure out something soon though as they are getting worse, and even more annoying. Thanks for all the help so far guys.

Andy

[03mach1]

Re: Need help with brake rotor choice

Maybe your car shares the same rotors with another GM car that Brembo may make performace rotors for that car but not yours. Your wheels are not the problem after seeing what they look like. Do you use the ebrake after your done driving? When I was at Laguna Seca. with my dad and some Manfacture cars. after they were done driving on the track we left the ebrake off. Reason being the calipers would grab the rotor when they are hot and would cause warping.

[Andy M.]

Re: Need help with brake rotor choice

I don't use the ebrake at all. No need. The only other car I can think of are the Pontiac Grand Prix GT's. A lot of the performance stuff for those fit in the Impala, ie. cold air kits. The motors are the same.

Andy

[03mach1]

Re: Need help with brake rotor choice

Might want to call a dealer and ask if they share more parts. Maybe Brembo makes brakes for the Grand Prixs. You can call brembo and ask.

[roushstage2]

Re: Need help with brake rotor choice

One thing you could check out, which is much cheaper than a big brake kit, are the Powerslot Cryo Rotors.

If you own a vehicle that is prone to warped rotors or are driving a truck, SUV or hauling heavy boats or trailers, the Power Slot line of cryogenically treated brake rotors typically provide the cure as well as doubling rotor life. We can't say enough about the Cryo process. It's a trick used by racers for years. Cost for Cryo treated rotors aren't that much more and the payback is returned in terms of performance and longevity. Combine with Hawk Brake pads for both a happy owner and happy vehicle!

http://www.powerslot.com/pages/power_slot_cryo.html. They are You could give them a call and explain your situation and see what they say. Yes they are slotted, but you may need them in this case. Slotted rotors do increase brake pad wear as they help the pad bite more, but it may be worth it in your case. Pick up some Hawk Perfomance HPS pads to go along with them. The pads dust a bit since they are HP (I have these on my Mustang) and wear a bit faster with slotted rotors, but they really are a great performance pad. Just be sure to bed them! When it comes time for new rotors for my car, I am going to be looking at these. I am still on my factory blank rotors that have been turned once with no problems.

If you want to upgrade the entire system, you can go with the Baer Eradispeed system. It is for the 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix, but is supposed to fit your car as well.

http://www.sportcompactonly.com/Chevrolet/Impala/Brake-Kits/Brakes/part_c-89_p-1313_v-67.htm

Generally with big brake kits though, you are going to getting cross drilled rotors. I don't know if that is something you don't mind. You should be able to find slotted later when it comes time for new ones. They are also not cheap either.

Here is Baer's site for that brake system, although the above link is for the front only: http://www.baer.com/products/complete/sport.php

[Andy M.]

Re: Need help with brake rotor choice

Just looked at these. What do you guys think.

Power Slot Cryo Rotors

1 question though. Since these are slotted, can they be cut if the need arises?

Andy

[03mach1]

Re: Need help with brake rotor choice

I do not think they can be cut. My rotors on my bike are cross drilled and they can't be cut. I will have to replace them. If they cut them it will get caught on the machine.

[roushstage2]

Re: Need help with brake rotor choice

As I stated above, slotted rotors can be, but it isn't recommended. Cross drilled can't. If you don't encounter uneven brake wear or warping, you *shouldn't* need to turn them anyways. The only reason I turned my factory rotors was because it was only like $20 for all 4.

The big thing here though is the process that is done to them. I have heard Powerslot recommends you have the process redone if you turn them. If you call them, they can most definitely tell you exactly what can/can't/should/shouldn't be done. I'd trust them more than anyone on the internet.

[Andy M.]

Re: Need help with brake rotor choice

The Cyro rotors are supposed to be heated and cooled to make the steel harder. I may give them a call tomorrow.

Andy

[PorscheGuy997]

Re: Need help with brake rotor choice

Hey Andy,

Have you checked out Tirerack?

http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/results.jsp?autoMake=Chevrolet&autoModel=Impala&autoYear=2001&autoModClar=

[Andy M.]

Re: Need help with brake rotor choice

Just did. How does this look?

http://www.tirerack.com/cart/HoldingArea.jsp

Thanks Chris. You just saved me money on the rotors.

Andy

[PorscheGuy997]

Re: Need help with brake rotor choice

What did you get?

(the link failed)

[Andy M.]

Re: Need help with brake rotor choice

TRY THIS.


Cryo-Treated Rotor

HPS Street brake pads

Of course I got the left and right rotors. just didn't see a need to link it.
Thanks for all your help guys.

Andy