So to go along with my brake upgrade, I want some drilled and/ or slotted rotors. Not sure if Q45 rotors are available drilled and slotted.

So which is better: drilled or slotted? Pros/cons of each?

 

pros of each: looks, if you like that look. Other than looks, there are no "pros" of either slotted or drilled over blanks, at least in street applications. I suppose there is a slight weight reduction, but certainly not enough to make any difference in performance.

cons of each:
drilled: reduction of rotor face strength resulting in hairline cracks around drillholes. Reduced pad life. Increased braking noise, depending on pad used.

slotted: Reduced pad life and sometimes noisy braking (a "whirring" sound) that annoys some people who have them.

bottom line: unless you're just getting drilled/slotted for looks alone, you're better off using blanks.

 

Using something like that for looks alone is what, by definition, is ricer. I do not do ricer. Maybe I'll go with blanks, as you suggest.

 

blanks......every auto-x instructor i have had told me slotted are a waste...

 

slotted (and drilled) rotors were first created to vent gases created when doing high-performance driving and using organic brake pads. Since almost nobody used organic pads anymore (and ceramic/semi-metallic don't create those kinds of gases), there's really no point to having them except for cosmetics.

 

yeah....that's why the JGTC doesn't use them on their cars...

 

do you think semi metallic pads are better than ceramic? just curious to know.

 

Well tell that to the guys that have porsches with the drill rotors.

 

don't they come with them? It's still for looks. Porsche, like any car company, does some things for cosmetics too. You think they really need the cheesy little electric spoiler on the back of the Carrera? Maybe...maybe not.

but that's neither here nor there, sorry for the OT.

 

For best braking, yes.

I have to caveat that though. Some semi-metallic are crap and really tear up the rotors. But overall, a good pad like Hawk HPS will have really good bite and low fade, and will not tear up rotors.

Ceramic pads are nice for low dusting but I don't feel that they have very good bite during performance driving (or when they're cold, either)

 

Also remember that the higher end cars use rotors that were cast with the holes already in them.. i.e. Ferrari, Porsche, Mercedes.. Casting the holes into the rotors eliminates the internal stresses introduced by drilling the holes. even taking a rotor that was drilled post-casting (everything you buy off the shelf pretty much) and cryo treating it will not get you the same results.

The JGTC and other racing leagues use drilled rotors for many reasons.
1. weight. look how many holes are drilled in them. they reduce the rotating weight pretty significantly. it's not the 20-30 holes drilled in a maxima rotor. it's 200-300 holes in a JGTC rotor.
2. those are HIGH QUALITY ROTORS. Brembo, AP, etc.
3. they throw the rotors away after almost every race. the only time they use them for multiple races is maybe on a large track that uses little braking, or when used on the rear. but the front rotors and pads are tossed after almost every race. If you ever see a rotor that's glowing orange in a race, I can guarantee you that it's chunked in the garbage when the car gets back to the shop.


for someone that wants them on a street car, you're not going to get rotors of that quality without spending several thousand on a set, and even then, you're not going to find any that fit a Maxima.

 

Blanks are best for raw stopping power because they have the highest surface area. They are also best for noise and pad wear because they are smooth and uniform.


Slotted rotors have only one advantage: they catch dirt and grime so that it doesn't score the rotors. That's not a problem for most people, but it's a huge problem for some (like me).


Rotors with holes are used in racing because they are lighter and dissipate heat better. On a street car, though, those advantages are virtually nonexistent. And while a racing team probably wouldn't care about the increased noise and pad wear, you probably do.

Also, race cars and high-end street cars (e.g. Porsche Carrera GT) don't have the cracking problem: the holes are actually formed into the rotors during manufacturing, rather than being drilled into them afterward.


EDIT: Matt beat me to that last bit...

 

i love the high end car comments.....liek Matt and Dood explaind....its a totally diffferent thought process and engineering process and even most JGTC cars only use slotted simply for pad cleaning because they use so much pad

 

drooling............

 

you and everybody else josh

 

so if your using x-drilled/slotted which pads would be the best for daily driving?

 

Your choice of rotors won't affect which pad is best...

You want either Hawk HPS or Nissan OEM. Hawk HPSs perform WAY better when hot and will NEVER fade even with aggressive street usage; Nissan OEMs will have slightly better bite when stone cold and make less noise and dust.

 

thanks, ill look into this.