DBA Rotors (1 Viewer)

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jvazquez53

El Tractor
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I just ordered a set of DBA Gold Longlife rotors for my 92, any inputs on those?:hmm:
 
I have the DBAs on my 40, no problems yet. Plug and play:meh:.

Which ones are you getting and what is the price?
 
I paid $129.00 ea. for the DBA Longlife slotted/drilled rotors from Man-A-Fre.
 
They are pretty damn good upgrades. But, you can't get them turned....ever.

You actually can get them turned. I called and talked to the technician at DBA and he explained how to do it. It requires a sharp bit, a shallow cut and a slow turn but it can be done. Takes two to three times as long to do one rotor the right way. I was surprised to hear that but it came from the horse's mouth so to speak. Now, in general I don't turn rotors regardless of their type; I've just always found that turned rotors warp easier and scuff easier. My DBA rotors lasted well past 75K miles with no warpage or issues whatsoever. Then I just replaced them with the slotted only style. DBA rotors are excellent IMO /IME. :cheers:
 
Thanks for all the inputs, all I need is for them to arrive. If my next 60 needs rotors, I'll go the same way.:)
 
FWIW - DBA slotted rotors warped on my FJ-62 inside of a couple thousand miles. When I originally installed them I had the studs pressed in and the shop that pressed the studs in checked them for runout before they gave them back to me. Never overheated them either (per their painted heat indicators). I am running TLC4x4 Monster calipers and upgraded pads but I doubt that had anything to do with it. I had them turned and they're doing better but I'm not holding my breath.
 
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I have about 5 years on a set of DBAs. No problems at all and they still run true. That's with stock 80 calipers and 100 series pads.

While I think DBAs are high quality, I don't think they are any better than stock Toyota.
 
FWIW - DBA slotted rotors warped on my FJ-62 inside of a couple thousand miles. When I originally installed them I had the studs pressed in and the shop that pressed the studs in checked them for runout before they gave them back to me. Never overheated them either (per their painted heat indicators). I am running TLC4x4 Monster calipers and upgraded pads but I doubt that had anything to do with it. I had them turned and they're doing better but I'm not holding my breath.

Something else was wrong then; no way they would warp within such a short mileage. The studs were pressed wrong or something was wrong with the calipers or the system somewhere but this has nothing to do with the rotors. :cheers:
 
My only complaint is the dirt collecting in all the holes.. if you ever run through lots of muddy water you will collect dirt in them too. I have "re-drilled" mine with a cordless drill a couple of times, which leaves a little pile of sand under each one, and all that can't be good for the pads, etc. My next set will be slotted only, fwiw.
 
My only complaint is the dirt collecting in all the holes.. if you ever run through lots of muddy water you will collect dirt in them too. I have "re-drilled" mine with a cordless drill a couple of times, which leaves a little pile of sand under each one, and all that can't be good for the pads, etc. My next set will be slotted only, fwiw.
The holes are good if you are running metallic pads since they both cool the pads and the rotors while promoting even wear of both the pads and and the rotors.

My Brembo Powerstops are drilled rotors and are straight with 90K miles never been turned. I just put my 2nd set of hawk semi metallics on after 80K.

The slotted are good too for the same reasons, but my understanding is that they shave pads faster than drilled rotors.
 
I had DBA Rotors installed on all 4 corners of my truck with Hawkes Performance Brake Pads. So far so good...but I do not have much mileage on them yet. I believe this setup dies improve braking but mostly that is from the upgraded pads. Hawkes claims up to a 35% increase in barking performace with thier mid-performance pads. I di dnot go with th eheavy duty pads as they just eat rotors and create a LOT of dust. They are designed for super heavy rigs towing loads I think. I was fine with the mid-performance pads as I felt they gave the best comobination of stoping pwer and life expectancy.

FYI - I can feel the difference in the weight of my truck after the build and it seems to stop very well .... better perhaps than stock before the build .. and I had brand new rotors and pads on my truck when I sent it off to be built.

I have not put the new setup to the test yet but plan on doing some more serious brake testing when my truck is not loaded with stuff that will fly around the cab.
 
X2 on the mid-performance semi metallic Hawks. They definitely stop better, but semi-metallic or especially metallic will eat OEM rotors faster. Good drilled or slotted rotors will help to stop even better by staying cooler, but just as importantly they will resist the grooving normally associated with semi-metallic or metallic pads.

It's the best of both worlds since the heat and abrasiveness of metallics will require OEM rotors to be turned more often to remain straight. The drilled or slotted rotors will last much longer than OEM while taking advantage of the better stopping provided by the metallics. This is what I was made to understand before embarking down the road of upgraded brakes. After 90K miles I can personally atest to the veracity of this understanding.
 
On an 80 series, I don't think your stopping power will get any better than OEM rotors and 100 series pads. That said, there is nothing at all wrong with DBAs and if cheaper than OEM, it seems reasonable to use them. Regardless, the 100 series pads are the ones to use.
 
On an 80 series, I don't think your stopping power will get any better than OEM rotors and 100 series pads.
My experience as well as other published tests do not support that testimony.


Reviewer's Notebook: Autospecialty Power Stop Rotors & Metal Master Pads - Trucks 4x4 @ Off-Road.com
Conclusions
We experienced none of the mud plugging cross-drilled rotors of which we'd been warned. Such problems may exist, but our dry summer prevented us from testing this. Even if post-muddin' cleanup includes hole-by-hole cleanup, we'll do that work -- the brakes are THAT much better! Using Autospecialty 's performance brake products proved to be a real boon for Project WomBAT. We experienced a dramatic increase in braking power and an even more impressive reduction of brake fade. These improvements recaptured a margin of safety that had been lost to other modifications. Off-road and on-road driving is clearly safer and more confidence-inspiring.

If your 4x4 evolved -- or may evolve -- into a beast that overwhelms the stock braking system, consider upgrading your pads and rotors. Chances are that Autospecialty can help with your application, as well.



My pad usage dropped by about 4Xs since switching to metallics/crossdrilled rotors and I haven't had to turn my rotors in 90K miles. My fade went away completely and that, for one, enables me to stop harder if needed.

Thicker pads are better than thinner pads, but that also enables you to dig deeper grooves into your rotors between brake jobs. Either way metallics will munch OEM rotors quicker than they will rotors that have provision for cooler operation and surface maintainence.
 

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