Hi fellow owners, I'm about to do a full F & R brake job on my 04 FX4 Screw and am thinking about upgrading the rotors to slotted and/or drilled units and would love to know some of your thoughts and opinions on the matter. A good friend of mine who happens to be a ASE cert mechanic and has done work on my truck in the past says he would not recommend the drilled units for a variety of reasons mainly because of they are not as strong as the non-drilled units. So I'm leaning towards slotted units from PowerSlot or Powerstop. Anyway, any thoughts/comments would be appreciated. I value the "experience" of my fellow F-150 owners and if you have any in this matter please share!

Thanks and have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. NEVER FORGET, "All gave some, some gave ALL"

John G.
USAF (Retired)

 

The drilled are for dissipating heat under extreme conditions such as racing. They tend to chew up pads. The stock rotors are fully adequate for most use. Just go with a quality pad.

 

Thanks Bluejay, advice sounds solid. So the additional $$ spent for slotted rotors is not worth it is what your saying right?

 

Nope, not in my opinion. I've had to make some sudden stops over the years and the stock rotors have done just fine. No warping and little wear. When I change pads I go with Wagner ThermoQuiets, semi metallic. Best pad I have ever used.

I can see that if you did a lot of heavy towing in mountains where there might be some heat buildup, then maybe they could provide some better cooling, dispersing of gases, otherwise, stock is sufficient.

 

I should have also mentioned that I do some moderate towing (18' family boat) and the majority of my driving is city driving. Knowing this would you still choose the OEM rotors?

 

Yes, I would.

 

Just don't buy the cheapest rotors at the tire parts stores. The last time I checked with Advance Auto, they had 3 price levels. Unknowingly, I bought their cheapest rear rotors for my 2000F150SCAB4x4 and they warped in 1000 miles. I only buy the best since then. I tried Powerstop rotors on my 95 MarkVIII Lincoln that is notorious for warping front rotors and they did fine for the time I had the car afterwards.

 

I agree with bluejay, stock rotors and Wagner ThermoQuiets is a great combo.

 

third vote for stock rotors and a good set of pads

 

I have Powerslot slotted rotors ( they changed names last year, now known as Stoptech I believe? ) and Hawk LTS semi-metallic pads. Good looking light rotor, no warping after 2yrs, pads hardly dust just like the Wagner units. Unless you have warped rotors, or had a caliper lock and seize, grinding the rotor out ( like I did ), throw some semi-metallic pads on your OEM units and save the money for later. The slotted rotors feel like they stop better, but certainly not worth an extra $200 per axle. Upgrade to stainless brake lines for neck snapping stopping, and extra touchy brakes. Incredible how they brake.

 

Agree^^^

If you want an honest brake performance increase, stainless braided hoses is the way to go. Slotted and drilled rotors are nice to look at, so if you go with them, just be honest with yourself. Yes, there may be some true benefits to them, but nothing you'll ever notice on a street driven vehicle no matter how much towing or agressive driving you're doing. Any perceived increase in brake performance is simply that...perception. Most people buy new slotted/drilled rotor and new pads to replace completely worn out brakes and then hop on the fourms and scream "holy cow...these pads and rotors are the best upgrade I've ever done...can't believe how these rotors increased braking performance!" See where I'm going with this??

Oh yea, as for pads...EBC 7000 GreenStuff are the best pads you can get for a truck; period! But, they're expensive. Bang for the buck, Wagner Thermo-Quiets are the best and come highly recommended. I've ran both pads back to back (and not after one set was worn out either) and the EBCs are the better.

 

I run EBC Slotted and Dimpled rotors, and EBC Yellowstuff pads, stainless steel hoses, and,

in my opinion,

they gave me an increase in braking power. I could still use more,though. Running big tires is hard on the brakes, and alot of other stuff.

Once again, just my opinion.

 

IF you are going to go OEM, see if tire rack lists the Brembo OE rotors for your truck, along with a good pad, wagner thermo quiet or Akebono. I put a set of the Brembo OE rotors on my fathers Expedition about 5 years ago, and they have been great. Before that he was getting the rotors turned about every 10000 miles. I bought teh whole package including Akebono pads for right around 200 bucks. I will be putting a set of the Brembo rotors on my daughters Accord this summer.

 

I have the powerstop ceramic pads and slotted and drilled rotors. Both f & r. For about a yr now. I have had no problems with mine. I would recommend just the front end,, if you do the slotted or slotted drilled rotors. You really dont need the rear ones,, most of the braking is done up front.

If you really want some good braking try and find some 4 piston calipers or 6 piston. Bet you cant find any for less then your arm and two legs. But the most you get on factory is two. Considering the weight of a p/u and what it is used for minimum in front should be 4 piston calipers from the factory.

If two is adequate for a vehicle,, think of what a 4 piston caliper on your truck would do for you?????!!!!!!!!!!!

I dont know about warping rotors have never invaded that territory. Have had a caliper replacement problem,,, wouldnt release the rotor.

Brakemotive is where i got my pads and rotors. Its a .com place,,, just put in brakes in search and you got alot of places to shop!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good luck hope this helps.

 

I have the Stoptech monsters that came on the Saleen kit. They are excellent if you do a lot of towing. It has 6 piston calipers with 15" slotted rotors and stainless brake lines. They stop on a dime and look great behind big wheels! Oem stuff is great too! Just get a good set of pads and bed them properly and they shouldn't warp on you!