I am soon due for brakes on my 2007 Mercury Milan Premier. Is there any advantage to using drilled & slotted rotors in place of the standard Ford bimetal rotors? I do a lot of stop and go driving on a road with a 50 mph speed limit so the brakes really take a beating (anyone familiar with Rt 347 in Suffolk County, NY?)
Are you experiencing brake fade? (don’t worry, I know you’re not, or if you are it’s because a caliper is stuck).
Your definition of “taking a beating,” and the race car that X-drilled rotors were designed for’s definition are two totally different things. You can do your type of driving all day long with no problem. Race cars generally do things like slow from 150mph to 30 in about 200 feet, and then after about 10 seconds, they do it again. For 200 miles. In July. They need rotors that will vent the outgassing that occurs as a result. You don’t, so all the holes and slots would do for you is make the rotor less durable, and wear your pads out faster.
If you want better stopping power, see if Porterfield makes their R4-S compound pads for your car. They last a long time, and they really do make you stop faster than stock pads.
Shadowfax’s description is perfect and I agree 100%…except I’m unfamiliar with the pads he suggested…but I’ll take his word for it. He’s knowledgable.
By the way, professional race cars today (and supercars like the Bugatti Veyron) use carbon-ceramic discs. These discs will withstand extreme use. You can even see them glow a bright yellow-red if you watch night races. They go for about $2500++ per wheel just for the disc.
I’m not experiencing any brake fade. The mileage on the brakes is around 23,000 miles. With the materials most car manufacturers use on their standard vehicles I probably should look into changing at least the front rotors and pads soon. If there is a rotor of higher quality than what Ford uses I should probably look into getting those. Insofar as pads are concerned I have been using the Raybestos “Quiet Stops” ceramic pads on past vehicles. In my opinion they do a good job and don’t dirty up the rims. The Milan’s brakes are original equipment (bought it early this year with only 14K on it). I will look into the Porterfield pads you mentioned. I usually do not get the rotors refaced as it tends to make them warp more quickly. I’ve been driving since 1966 and can remember when you could get 50 or 60K out of a set of disc brakes back when they first became standard equipment on most cars. But the EPA did what they had to do to keep us safe. I to tend to believe that the car makers could utilize a higher quality product (brake wise)even if they passed on the cost to the consumer (which they do anyway). Do you know of a higher quality rotor that won’t break the bank? Thanks for your input an advice. It’s appreciated.
Thanks for your reply. I don’t think I’ll be looking into those super brakes any time soon. I’m just seeing if there is a better alternative to the OEM parts that Fords offers. Shadowfax’s reply was informative. Thanks again.
Brembo makes a really good rotor. I usually use them. Depends on the car how pricey they are. I think I paid $60 per for my MR2, but my TL is more than double that.
But, with only 23k on the brakes, I highly doubt you need to replace yours unless they’re warped. You’re right about resurfacing making the rotors warp more quickly. I never bother with that either. Easier just to throw new ones on.
I appreciate the compliment!
Porterfield makes racing brake components. Their R4 compound is meant for track use. The R4-S is a streetable reformulation of that compound that does not have to be heated up to track temperatures to be effective. It’s a carbon-kevlar pad.