I love the BCM, but I still want a completely unique one. I'd like to paint it midnight blue...I dunno...
This winter has made a lot of scratches show up on my girl, and I'm really disliking it.
Hmm, I checked out the StopTech drilled (front and rear) rotor set for $369 which actually doesn't seem too bad. I believe when I brought my car into Mazda to look at my rotors they instantly said I needed new ones, and offered me new OEM rear rotors only, for $200-$300 (I can't remember exactly). I know "they" say you don't need drilled and/or slotted rotors if it's a daily driver but I really want to upgrade to better performing breaks, i.e, I don't want OEM stock ones, lol. Also, I don't want to change only the rear rotors, I might aswell get new front ones and new pads... I can see the rust coming.
Checked out that race roots site for the "Hawk Brake Pads Performance Ceramic", $85 for front and $70 for rear. Total I'm looking at around $524... seems like a lot but I'd be replacing a lot... Now I have to look into how well they last and perform.
Of course it's always a matter of personal choice, but I think there's a thread on here that basically says drilled will crack and offer no performance improvement over slotted for our cars.
Agree. Slotted is the way to go for looks. Neither will help performance. What will actually help with the performance is either two piece (lighter, less rotational mass is definitely a good thing) or one of the aftermarket rotors that have "curved" vanes in between the inner and outer rotor (this will improve cooling).
Switching to ceramic pads seems counterproductive though. The main improvement they will offer is that they will produce much less brake dust than the stock pads. The will not improve the performance of the brakes very much in any other way.
Check out his post for lots of good info (I posted it, but I got it from a member on another site who is much smarter about this stuff than I am)
Brake system FAQ/INFO Clicky
My unsolicited advice would be to get a good set of pads that offer more bite than stock, some high quality brake fluid (do a full flush) and finally have the rotors turned (might not be needed). You can add some SS brake lines if you want.
I think the bigger point here is that if improperly matched to a set of pads, they will hurt performance. If you plan on going with a slotted rotor (I would definitely stay away from drilled, unless their cast with the holes in them) and a compatible pad, then the slots will not only reduce buildup and allow gas to not be trapped between the pad and rotor, but also 'clean' dirt/grime/dust/water off of the mating surfaces, allowing in better bite between the components. The trade-off, however, is decrease pad life.
If you're going to just drive the car on the street, then stock rotors should be enough. If you're going to do some light track duty, then I'd suggest looking at different pads and/or rotors.
I do agree though that a full fluid flush with better fluid (DOT4 or better compound, NO DOT5) would be a good move too. SS brake lines help improve pedal feel, because they don't 'give' like the OEM lines, but make sure the ones you buy are DOT compliant, meaning that they pass the reliability standards that the OEM lines have to.
I was agreeing with you above steve, i was speaking to the others in terms of what is speculation vs fact.
Your right you can mix them, we have and do on occ at the shop.
As far as the Dot 5 fluid, it actually is starting to get more popular in oem
applications, especially the exotics, factory style race replicas and vehicles with 65k+ price tags or factory high hp ratings due to its ability to handle prolonged high heat.
If a system is designed for dot 3 or 4 and dot 5 is introduced over time it will eat the lines i agree but (will not eat SS lines, most SS are rated for all fluids), before it eats the lines though, it will eat through seals in the master cyl, diaphams and spring/plunger seals, from what we have seen a couple customers do when not properly informed. It kills me, customers putting dot 5 in a master cyl or res, when stated on the caps/lids its states dot 3 or 4. lol
Dear god. "I was thinking of looking at new rotors..."
And look what gets started lmao.
One thing for sure I'm like on the edge of just ordering, is going for your light set up steve. The 6K HID's with matching fogs look like sex! Unreal man...
Care to elaborate. Always looking for better information (I am being sincere not sarcastic). I understand that high end brakes are two peice, slotted and drilled giving them the best of all worlds. They are lighter and cool faster than conventional solid one peice units, and I thought for a long time that stock style slotted and drilled rotors would be better than OEM. Recently I learned that a number of people who's opinion I trust (Eric Meyer comes to mind) that the comercially available slotted and drilled stock replacement rotors are not worth the expense and in some cases more prone to failure. I was led to believe that the two piece design (with curved vanes) promoted cooling drastically and the slotted drilled feature served to further enhance this cooling effect. Basically the holes and slotts were not worth the reduced strength unless there was added airflow inside the rotor and the structure of the rotor needs to be designed differently to allow for the holes and slotts. Had more to say, but its getting late. Gotta go now.I dare say if ppl would take the time to call R&D guys at brembo, baer, stoptech, EBC, hawk or other well known vendors, they would fill you in
on brake tech vs all this speculation and misinformation.
