Performance
Rotors
Performance
rotors, and brake
pads are one of the most important upgrades
you can make for your vehicle. Performance rotors
that are cross-drilled
or slotted
can reduce stopping distances, and increase rotor
and brake pad life. Today there are many different
performance rotor options available. Many companies
now have so called “performance rotors” to the uneducated
buyer they can all look the same and be somewhat
confusing.
Performance
Rotors: manufacturing
So what sets one cross
drilled performance rotor or slotted
rotor apart from the next. It starts with the
manufacturing process. It is critical that quality
iron be used in the production process and that
the manufacturer meets all of today’s highest standards.
It is also critical that the rotors
are properly milled balanced. The real production
takes its first steps in the foundry: here, from
the initial casting of raw materials, the items
that will be sent for machining into the finished
products, begin to take shape. The materials are
accurately selected at source, the machining is
for the greater part automated, the emission of
polluting substances is contained well within the
required standards and the working environment is
kept absolutely "clean", under every aspect.
Unfortunately
many companies today are offering so called “performance
rotors” that are nothing more than an economy
line rotor or low cost rotor with holes in it. This
is both a disservice to the customer and dangerous.
Many of these companies proceed to ram holes through
the rotor with total disregard to the vein structure
of the rotor, making the disc weaker and unsafe.
Performance
Rotors: machining
The machining phase of the
cross-drilled
or slotted
performance rotor is next. It is imperative
that each rotor be analyzed, and that each rotors
dimensions and vein structure are taken into account
before cross drilling or slotting a rotor. Brakeworld.com
utilizes today’s latest technology when performing
this task. All cross-drilled
rotors are computer programmed by the rotor
part number to eliminate human error. Each individual
rotor is drilled according to the part number and
specifications of the rotor number. Brakeworld.com
is also unique in the fact that they offer customization
for your rotor, offering different chamfer sized
according to your driving habits. Chamfering the
holes allows for a smooth surface on the rotor and
will eliminate any extra pad wear. Placing a smaller
chamfer or no chamfer on the holes is ideal for
racing, but not for street use.
Plating
Performance Rotors
Now to address the issue of
plating a performance
rotor. Plating a rotor can be beneficial to
the life of the rotor if it is done correctly. Unfortunately
most companies do not do this correctly, when plating
a rotor for performance reasons the only part we
suggest plating is the center “hat” or “hub” of
the rotor. You will notice most companies will coat
the entire rotor; this is done for two reasons it
initially looks flashy, and it saves them time.
The problem with doing this is that as soon as the
customer installs there new shiny plated rotor and
puts on the brakes they start to scrape away all
the plating on the area of the disc that comes into
contact with the brake pads. Now the rotor looks
anything but flashy. This is not the primary reason
this is a poor technique. The primary reason for
not plating the area of the rotor that comes into
contact with the pads is because the plating will
become embedded in your brake
pads, consequently you will receive worse braking
performance instead of increased braking performance.
Brakeworld.com
will only plate the appropriate areas of the brake
rotor, making the plating process truly beneficial
to you.
Keep
these points in mind when selecting a high performance
rotor for your vehicle, and it will ensure you have
a quality product on your vehicle as well as save
you money in the long run. Note that at Brakeworld.com
we only sale the highest quality rotors such as:
Brembo,
Zimmerman,
Bradi, Rotora. You can be assured that the rotors
you receive from us will be true performance
rotors.
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