Hey man, went ahead and read some off that forum and that's good reading. Maybe these type of rotors just aren't good for racing applications, though I wouldn't know as I don't race my heavy *ss truck. I know these aren't for everybody, but they are perfect for me. And I still don't consider rotors a wear item over pads, been driving for almost 30 years and rotors will always outlast pads in my experience, I also have seen warped rotors be turned depending on how badly warped they are. Hell I've worn down a GOOD set of Hawk pads on blanks before, about 30,000 miles, and with the combo of drilled/slotted rotors and Hawk pads I have seen virtually no wear or dust. As for OEM rotors on these newer f150s, they absolutely SUCK!!! At least on mine anyway, had problems with them from the very beginning. They warped and ate up pads like it was their last meal. I will never put a set of those on my truck. Bottom line is, is that your happy with your set up and that it works. I'm not trying to steer the op in the wrong direction or get him to spend needless money on something that may not work for him, but rather share my experience with something that I have. If I had more time, I would take off my tires, take some pics and post some shots of what these rotors and pads look like after 65,000 miles. It's really impressive! Of course, some on here would just say I was lying about the mileage and I have no way to prove myself as being truthful. Anyway thanks for responding

 

Mitch,


I'm certainly not trying to start up a pissing contest by any means but rather just give out information. Haha, and no I don't think our F-150's would fair to well on track.

I too agree pads wear faster than rotors, well at least typically they do. On a Honda that's another matter. My parents '06 Accord EATS rotors for some reason. At 20k miles they are completely warped. My '06 F-150 however is still with the stock rotors with minimal warping at 60k. I'm running Carquest pads in the front since around 15k I believe.

Could part of the warping problem you had with Hawk pads be from inproper bedding? I've seen plenty of that on my buddies race car I know that much. Just curious....

 

Hey J, I know your not trying to start a pissing contest, and beleive me I'm not trying to get into one lol. As for wearing down the Hawks, that was actually on another truck. I also have a 1990 f150sorry I forgot to mention that. As for my '05, I think it just left the factory with cheap rotors. I've read where others had the same issues with them, really turned me off to the stock rotors. Went through 2 sets of pads within 32,000 miles and had the rotors turned (front ones were warped) with the 1st pad change. Decided to make the switch to what I have now after much research and advice from TRUSTED sources (mech. buddies I know personally) when the 2nd set wore down so quickly, and I've never looked back. I've never used Carquest pads before but I may, if and when my Hawks ever wear down. They really look like they could go another 65,000 miles!

 

As far as pad and rotor wear I've had good luck with the Carquest/stock rotors. I'm still running stock pads in the rear. However, I'd like to have a little more bite from the brakes so next time around if I have the money I'd like to try Powerslot blanks with Hawk pads. Thumper states this improved braking power.

 

Well if works for you, then you should stick with it. You know what they say, if it aint broke don't fix it. Mine was broke so I fixed it

 

In the end I got to looking at things, and the stock rotors were in good enough shape to keep. Left them on and installed some Wagner Thermo Quiets and the difference is amazing. Gotta love the warranty as well.

This thread did bring out alot of good info though. I won't be using the drilled and slotted rotors on my trucks any time soon.

 

The immediate difference in braking performance after an upgrade is attributed to the pad, not the rotor. Unless you're competing in the NASCAR truck series, none of us are abusing the brakes on the street in such a manner as to require an avenue for out gassing. additionally, you lose surface area on the rotor for pad contact when you switch to a drilled/slotted rotor. it doesn't take a physics professor to tell you that the more clamping area that a pad has, the better it's going to stop. Slotted/drilled rotors look cool, but different pads with different compounds are going to yield better results than drilled/slotted rotors.

 

A while back I attended a presentation on brake upgrades put on by Hawk Brakes. They recommend slots but not cross-drilled holes with their pads. They do not like the multi slot rotors though, 3 or 4 is optimum.

When I re-did the brakes on my '96 I went to Performance Friction "Z" compound pads and Powerslot rotors. They made an unbelieveable difference vs. the stock setup. They were also the dirtiest pads I've ever used and the residue didn't want to scrub off my polished wheels (they may be better with clearcoat, I don't know.) They were so bad I replaced them with Hawk HPS pads. They're a whole lot cleaner but they don't work quite as well as the PFC Z pads. The Hawk HP+ compound is comparable to the PFC Z in stopping torque and is a skosh cleaner running.

Whatever pads you use, do not be surprised if you get a clicking sound from your brakes after you install them on slotted rotors. New pads on new rotors will sometimes find the edge of a slot that has a few thousandths of a burr on it. It goes away in less than 100 miles.

 

I installed a set of drilled and slotted rotors with ceramic pads on my truck when I went up from 35"s to 38's. It stops whole lot better know even when I was on 35"s.

 

the problem with people that swear by their rotor/pad upgrade and those that are on the other side of the fence is that the ones that have done the upgrade haven't a clue if it's the pad or the rotor that made the improvement. no one that i know of or read about has installed the rotors with stock pads, tested them, them swapped back to the oem rotor and new pad. they just slap it all together get better performance out of their brakes and swear up and down that the rotors make a difference.

in reality, all they've done is decrease the amount of surface area that the pad has available to clamp on to. a rotor, whether oem, slotted or cross drilled is just a flat surface for the pad to clamp on. if the purpose of a drilled/slotted rotor is to provide an avenue for out gassing (and don't even begin to think that on a street truck, you're ever experiencing conditions where outgassing is present) then isn't a more logical explanation that the improved performance is due to superior pad design and compound than a bling lookin' rotor?

 

Double post

 

DING! DING! DING!

 

I'll agree with that. Though I think it's the combination of the two. As I have stated before, I've tried JUST a good set of pads on another truck with differnt results than I'm getting now i.e. less dust, better wear. That is to say I still had a ton of dust and lousy wear with a set of Hawks on oem rotors. The braking power is comparable between the 2 set ups from what I experienced though, both being about the same, but waaay better than a stock set up. I still don't understand the bling remarks since you can't even see things on the truck with the wheels on. I know I wasn't even think about that when I switched, could care less what they looked like and was more concerned with performance and durabilty!

 

I'll have to back Big Slick and Jeremy's assessments for the most part.

Adding holes, slots, both, dimples, whatever to the rotor won't alter the rotors function as the diameter aspect of the toque equation. It's akin to saying a rubber handled 8" ratchet over a plastic handled 8" ratchet is better. Both provide the same torque given their working values. One is simply easier on your hand. In the case of the drilled or slotted rotor; one or both can can help lower gaseous build up (friction) under the pad thus ensuring a more linear pad contact.

Nevertheless, the real value will always be the pad compound of choice over the rotor surface. A higher friction pad (Cf) will be providing greater torque over the same surface- said rotor. The minimal loss of mass for the drilled or slotted rotor has never proven to make much difference one way or the other. In time most all drilled rotor however do suffer from expansion and contraction heat cycles and develop stress cracks around the holes. That's really all it is.

Most race cars stay away from drilled finishes unless a weight reduction is preferred to longer life. If one is up for changing rotors every couple of events (as some are) then sure; go for it. If longer life and weight issues (think truck) is more important I'd discourage (and do) the use of a drilled surface for use other than a cruiser. That being said adding 13, 14 or 16" rotors to the truck can negate some of the problem by shoring up the total mass of the rotor to begin with. A lower duty cycle for the same resutls = less wear and tear and heat.

 

The rotors I've had on cars & F150's that didn't warp are Brembo blanks and I had one set of Power Slots on my 2001 f150. I've heared powerslots are made from brembo blanks.

I've had a couple of pairs of brembo blanks that were crap, bought from thetirerack dot com. I don't believe all the rotors they ship in brembo BOXES are really brembos. I sent some new ones back that had MEXICO letters in the castings. Wont buy anything from them!

As for pads I've bought quite a few Hawk HPS pads, yes they lay dust on the wheels and don't last over 30,000. Price is about $85 for my 2001 f150.

Next pads are going to be Wagner Thermo quiet for about $40.
Next rotors Brembo for $50 or power slots for $100 (front rotor prices)