drilled and slotted

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Yomama, just curious--did you flush/bleed your brakes and change your pads at the same time you swapped rotors? I have no doubt your brakes feel better but maybe there were other factors involved. I have had cross-drilled rotors before (car) but the biggest difference in brake feel for me was when I'd flush/bleed my brakes.
 
yomama said:
There can be all kinds of facts, but the fact is, if you haven't had both options on your rig, then you don't know.
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I've driven cars with all different types of braking system in street situations and on a race track including the same vehicles with and without cross drilled rotors. I've even been involved in Grassroots Motorsports magazine testing of various braking systems and the subsequent articles a while back. I'm not sure how a cruiser with cross drilled rotors would behave any differently than other vehicles, but I'll take your word for it that does.

Mike
 
Hoser, the only thing I did was swap all four rotors and they came with new pads. With the DBA rotors you must use non-metallic pads.

MTS, I have no doubt that different vehicles may behave differently, but can ANYONE disagree that the Cruiser's have what I would term as weak stock braking? Then you add larger tires, and more wieght (winches/bumpers/skid plates/etc) and then expect that same vehicle to be able to stop any better? You will also note that everyone with stock brakes seems to go through pads pretty quickly (converting over to the 100 series pads). I'll have to check mine one of these days as I currently have about 14k on these DBA's.

I don't believe even now, with the better rotors and if I disabled my ABS that I could actually force my cruiser to lock up the tires on either tar or concrete.

I have also added the stainless steel lines from Man-A-Fre (minimal difference in brake pedal).

Yomama
 
I'm thinking your new non-metalic made most of the difference. Non-metallic pads usually have better initial "bite" and feel. Most rotors are made of cast iron. There is certainly many more types of brake pads than there are rotors.

It would be nice to try those DBA pads on OEM rotors and see the results.
 
I always find it funny when people compare things for others that they have not compared for themselves. Trust me, the DBA rotors and special pads do make a difference. I know this from personal comparison between my 80 and my father's 80. Both vehicles have exceptionally well maintained systems. Both have stock rubber lines, the only difference is the pads and rotors. My 80 stops faster and more stable and more consistent than my father's whether it is the first hard brake, or a long mountain pass touching them from time to time prior to cornering. Compare for yourself and see for yourself, do not go by word of mouth when that mouth has nothing really to say.
 
I believe that the DBA rotors are better than OEM but not by leaps and bounds. I am willing to spend money on products that work rather than to foolishly blow money "hoping" that'll work. And when they do work, I like to know why.

I simply stated that high performance brake pads will have a GREATER effect than swapping rotors of the same size and material. I have used many different brake pads/rotors/calipers under track conditions and this is my experience.
 
turbocruiser said:
I always find it funny when people compare things for others that they have not compared for themselves. Trust me, the DBA rotors and special pads do make a difference. Compare for yourself and see for yourself, do not go by word of mouth when that mouth has nothing really to say.
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Turbocruiser - You missed my point. I never said the DBA set-up isn't/would not be an improvement over a stock system. My point is with the cross drilled rotors are a bling bling item. You'll get just as good of performance with the DBA pads and slotted rotors as you will with the DBA pads and cross drilled rotors without some of the drawbacks. Even then, most of the benefit is from the DBA brake pads based on my experience.

Peace,
Mike
 
hoser said:
I simply stated that high performance brake pads will have a GREATER effect than swapping rotors of the same size and material. I have used many different brake pads/rotors/calipers under track conditions and this is my experience.
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Well, if it is just one mod or the other than yes the upgraded brake pads, along with OEM rotors will have greater effect than upgrading the rotors while still using old brake pads, but what is the point, with the DBA rotors, you always upgrade to the special pads anyway so why compare things this way? I'm not trying to sound stubborn, and I'm not trying to argue with anyone, I'm just saying that sometimes we get it into our heads that holes are bling, or that pads are more important than rotors or that brakes work better with the right foot than the left foot or whatever. All I'm trying to say, for whoever it helps, is that the DBA package, repeat package, really helps the brakes. HTH
 
turbocruiser said:
I'm just saying that sometimes we get it into our heads that holes are bling, or that pads are more important than rotors or that brakes work better with the right foot than the left foot or whatever.
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Isn't this the Tech as in "Technical Forum?" :flipoff2:
 
hoser said:
Isn't this the Tech as in "Technical Forum?" :flipoff2:
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Well, respectfully as possible, tech is factual information or experiential information, not someone speculating. Present some "tech"nical proof that the holes dont help. Or, present some "tech"nical proof that the slots alone are better than the hole AND slot setup like we run on our rigs. Present some back to back personal experience between one 80 and another and then you can counter DBA's research & design & testing, counter my experience, and counter the experience of everyone, repeat everyone, who has the setup and endorses it. Maybe I glanced too glancingly but I have not heard anyone say, "I have the DBA setup and it is worse." That's tech, and that's personal experience. Again, I want to go out of my way to say this ... its hard to have another opinion and not sound argumentative, and not to be the prick here, but since many seem to want or wish for better braking from the stock 80 series, and since myself and several others seem to have a helpful solution, why dont you just let us share with the others and stop worrying so much about whether the frickin holes help!???! Really, who cares what helps, the fact is line up to a stock 80 series, run down the road at the same speed and slam on the brakes at the same time, I gaurantee that the 80 with the DBA setup will stop sooner the first time and every time ever after. What's the whole whup here?
 
A little off topic... Has any one tried the Ceramic Performance Friction from NAPA? the pads are about 100 clams for the 100 series ones and of corse they slip right in. The bite and fade resistance seems to be great. Longevity wise I looked the other day and could not see any wear. As a side note I used to work on Police cars as a mechanic, not a form of restitution, LOL, and they would hammer on the brakes ,warped rotors, etc. So a new set of these pads and new rotors OEM style were the ticket, it's not like you could tell them to take it easier on the brakes. The expected life of the pads were atleast 2x as long with the ceramic pads F&R. Any one else try them...?
 
I've referenced Baer about drilled rotors http://baer.com/Support/FAQ.aspx#1 and Wilwood http://www.wilwood.com/faq.asp#question7 --both considered brake experts. I have cross-drilled rotors, albeit not on my cruiser, I've run the same car with just a change from standard to drilled rotors using the same type of pads. I am not speculating.

Will a company sell drilled rotors even if there is little/no benefit? YES, if there is demand for it. Both Baer and Wilwood sell drilled rotors. I'm not knocking DBA, they have some good products. All of us here don't want to waste money. Why pay for extra drilling on a rotor when there is little/no benefit, even over slotting? You can't even resurface a drilled rotor.

And those aren't "special" pads you have on. DBA doesn't make any pads. Those are either non or semi-metallic pads. DBA doesn't recommend Metallic nor Carbon-Kevlar brake pads. They run higher temperatures--expansion leads to cracked drilled rotors. This rules out many high performance brake pads. You agreed, pads make more of a difference than rotors, right? Well, then why limit your pad selection by getting DBA drilled rotors?

turbocruiser said:
why dont you just let us share with the others and stop worrying so much about whether the frickin holes help!???! Really, who cares what helps...
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This topic is ALL about drilled and slotted rotors. Anybody who's reading this must care if the "frickin" holes help. You told your story, I told mine. Let's be done with this. :beer:
 
hoser said:
Why pay for extra drilling on a rotor when there is little/no benefit, even over slotting? You can't even resurface a drilled rotor.

And those aren't "special" pads you have on. DBA doesn't make any pads. Those are either non or semi-metallic pads. DBA doesn't recommend Metallic nor Carbon-Kevlar brake pads. They run higher temperatures--expansion leads to cracked drilled rotors. This rules out many high performance brake pads. You agreed, pads make more of a difference than rotors, right? Well, then why limit your pad selection by getting DBA drilled rotors?


This topic is ALL about drilled and slotted rotors. Anybody who's reading this must care if the "frickin" holes help. You told your story, I told mine. Let's be done with this. :beer:
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First, I think that the majority of members here would agree that we dont want to resurface our rotors anyway so that point is insignificant. I know I would never resurface any rotor even if it was advertised or agreed that I could.

Second, I never stated that the pads were DBA, I used the word special cause I cannot remember the brand and cause I cannot remember the material although I thought it was ceramic based?

Third, maybe I missed it, but what IS your solution for something that is superior to stock? The sites you referenced seemed to say that BOTH slotting and drilling are mostly for aesthetic purposes. IF that is true, then what makes the DBA setup stop better? Voodoo?

Fourth, if you want to be done with this, simply stop, or, tell us something that works better than stock and that is better than DBA due to lack of holes, slots, whatever. I'm only trying to help those who want better than stock braking. I'm not suggesting this solution's the only solution, just one solution. Sheesh. Peace.
 
I not trying to add fuel to the fire but since the topic is DBA Drilled/Slotted here is what one guy at DBA had to say.

Several months ago I contacted DBA tech about some questions I had on rotors. When Al Colebank of DBAUSA contacted me he understood my braking issues partly because he personally drive a very heavy turbocharged 1995 FZJ80. When I ask about turning the rotors he said no problem but use a fine cut. What about cracking – he said that it should not be a problem with DBA drilled rotors because they dissipate the heat. He also said that drilled rotors would not stop your vehicle faster and that all DBA drilled rotors offer is reduced mass, heat dissipation, gold color and a performance look (aka bling). The slots on the hand will help you stop quicker. The slots deglaze your pads. I then asked about pads and he said PBR ceramic pads are what he is going with.

Phil
 
LandCruiserPhil said:
Several months ago I contacted DBA tech about some questions I had on rotors. When Al Colebank of DBAUSA contacted me he understood my braking issues partly because he personally drive a very heavy turbocharged 1995 FZJ80. When I ask about turning the rotors he said no problem but use a fine cut. What about cracking – he said that it should not be a problem with DBA drilled rotors because they dissipate the heat. He also said that drilled rotors would not stop your vehicle faster and that all DBA drilled rotors offer is reduced mass, heat dissipation, gold color and a performance look (aka bling). The slots on the hand will help you stop quicker. The slots deglaze your pads. I then asked about pads and he said PBR ceramic pads are what he is going with.

Phil
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See, now this makes sense! Isn't Al the owner of MAF? He is also apparently the authorized distributor for DBA. He has a reputation for honesty and he has a turboed 80 with the DBA setup so he has personal experience. If he is saying that it is the slots that help the braking then great, at least we have identified something that helps, and if he is saying that the holes dont help the braking, then great, at least we have that honesty as well. So the bottom line is if you have drilled and slotted rotors, then the holes help dissipate heat (which is a good thing) the slots help stop the vehicle better ( also a good thing ), the gold color is just bling ( I thought it was corrosion protection but what the hell). Yes the PBR pads are what I run as well, and I am happy to have someone remind me that they are ceramic aka "special" in my vocab. So either get just the slotted rotors if you want better braking, get the holes if you want better heat dissipation, get the gold color if you want hoochie momas saying whooeeee baaaabbbby! So for me, I'm leaving my holes and slots alone and going out with rattle can black to cover the gold (just joking). Okay, now I'm done. Happy holiday everyone!
 
I've never had the cross drilled or slotted rotors on my 80, only on a civic. I recently got all four of my brakes done and broken in on my cruiser using all OEM, 100 front pads, rebuilding the calipers, and taking a little extra time in the bleeding process to ensure that no air was in there. I could instantly feel a huge difference in braking power and the pedal came up off of the floor. Also, the shaking of the wheel and pulsating in the pedal is 100% gone. My biggest factor in going with the OEM was known reliability and price (from C Dan of course). The point I learned is whether they are drilled or OEM rotors, a properly maintained and installed brake system makes a world of difference over anything that hasn't had any tlc in a while, and after experiencing the local dealer, I'm much better off doing any of the work myself along with the help of this board.
 
I have to ask:


Is anyone running CROSS THREADED rotors?........:flipoff2:
 
Well here's my experience with DBA CD/S rotors on my 1995 FZJ80 with OME suspension providing a slight lift. Firstly I put the OME, and DBA rotors on at the same time. Within maybe 3-weeks all four rotors were warped beyond the ability to be turned. I was told that perhaps I didn't break them in correctly... etc, etc. I drive like 5 miles to and from work and am not a speed demon, and no big hills / hard braking was involved. Nor did I come down a big hill and plunge the truck into an icy cold river. Luckily DBA offered a replacement set for free (albeit I did pay for the shipping). When the replacement DBAs were installed I had all four calipers rebuilt at the same time - just in case a stuck caliper was causing the problem - hey the rig had >100K miles and it was a good idea to do this anyway and not very expensive. Realistically, the probability of 4 stuck calipers - well you do the math on that one.

So, here we are a whopping 25K miles later and bam rotors are warped yet again. Suffice it to say that I am unconvinced that the DBA brakes made a bit of difference in my braking ability, and that all in all I remain thoroughly unimpressed with their performance as compared to factory stock rotors.

What now?

Well, while in for an oil change and AC recharge, I just told the local shop here to turn the damn rotors again to try and get the wiggle out of the pedal. They informed me that it would be a waste of money and to just replace the rotors sometime soon in the future. They also mentioned just getting Brembo rotors this time around - since they never warp... Hmmmm... never heard of Brembo before... but at least from my experience, they couldn't be any worse then the DBAs. Heck at only $140 a pair (non-drilled, non-slotted) their certainly cheap enough.

In all fairness, I will admit that I haven't checked the status of the LSPV (especially since the install of the OME). This was supposed to have been adjusted by the shop that installed the OME per the instructions from the Slee website. I'll have to check that out just in case the rears are holding up their end of the deal.
 
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