Centric Rotors. . .thoughts/experiences???

[atomicjoe23]

I'm upgrading my 1967 Pontiac Firebird for Auto-X/road course events. . .working through the brake system right now. I have ordered a Kore3 GM Short Spindle 325mm C5/C6 big brake kit without the rotors, calipers, or pads. . .I was going to order the DBA4000 rotors, but they are a single piece design and thought for the money I might run a slightly less expensive rotor until I upgrade my wheels from 17" to 18" so I can run a 355mm C6 Z06 caliper/rotor package using a two piece rotor/hat design like the DBA5000's.

I see that Tire Rack has pretty good pricing on the Centric rotors and a friend said a few of the guys at the local Auto-X events have run them without complaint. . .I haven't been able to talk to them because I've been busy trying to get my car on the road instead hanging out at the Auto-X events.

There are Centric 120's or Centric 125 Cryo's for $14/rotor more. . .I was planning on running them with Hawk HP Plust pads; this will be my first high performance brake system on my own car so I'm pretty sure whatever I get will be better than what I have had in the past, but I would like to make an educated purchase. Thoughts?

Thanks for the help

[dontlifttoshift]

Centric rotors are awesome for the money. We had them on our late model mustang and went through 3 sets of carbotech xp12 and the rotors still looked good.....on a 3700 pound car. Carbotechs are easy on rotors but I was still impressed.

If just for autocross, look at the Carbotech AX6 pads. Quieter than HP+. Their pads are all compatible with each other so if trackdays are in your future you can go to XP__ without changing rotors.

[atomicjoe23]

Thanks for the feedback Donny. . .I appreciate it!

[atomicjoe23]

Looking at three different grades of Centric rotors there is 120, 125 High Carbon, and 125 High Carbon Cryo. . .the 125 is $14/rotor more than the 120 and the 125 Cryo is $27 more than that. . .

. . .what is the advantage of the high carbon over the 120 and the Cryo oer the standard 125???

If longevity comes into play are the rotors really going to last that long under track use anyway???

Thanks for the additional input.

[TheJDMan]

I don't see a slotted rotor option for the Centric rotors.

[atomicjoe23]

TheJDMan. . .I could go with a StopTech slotted rotor. . .the only concern I have there is that they have a left rotor and a right rotor so that the slots are facing the correct direction for outgassing, but I have had several people say when they ordered them that they showed up with the same slot pattern, i.e. two lefts or two rights, so one side wouldn't have the slot facing the correct direction for proper outgassing.

[srh3trinity]

I have centrics on my dd g8 with hawk pads and they were warped in less than a month in dd use only.

[dontlifttoshift]

I have centrics on my dd g8 with hawk pads and they were warped in less than a month in dd use only.

Warped? Like measured with a dial indicator and had runout? I've seen a lot of "warped" rotors that just had uneven pad transfer layers.

[atomicjoe23]

Hmmm. . .I had just went ahead and ordered a set for the front; I'm kind of treating them as mock-up rotors really. . .I just need to get the parts so I can mount my wheels/tires, take some measurements, and machine my wheel adapters/spacers.

They save me about a $100 which I'm using to go ahead and buy my new Wilwood master cylinder. . .if they warp after a month of driving that will be unfortunate, but I will be able to upgrade the rotors by then if necessary. Seems to be mixed reviews on them. . .some have had great experiences and others have not; I will have to wait and see I guess.

Right now I'm trying to temper my purchases between getting the vehicle back on the road, purchasing quality parts, and not spending money twice. . .or at least spending the least amount of money twice. I decided to go with the Centric rotors because the next step up in rotors were $100/rotor more and were still one piece rotors (vs. a two piece rotor and hat assembly). . .I don't mind spending the money on the parts, but since I'm planning on upgrading my wheels/tires to 18" in the next year or so to be able to fit the 355mm Z06 front rotors it didn't make much sense to spend any more on the rotors. At this point I'm not even sure how soon I will be driving; I still have to figure out what rate I want for my front sway bar, buy new hard bake lines, upgrade the rear drums to discs, do a little engine work, do a bunch of electrical work, buy and install subframe connectors and maybe a multi-leaf conversion/relocation from DSE with mini-tubs. So it may all be moot point anyway. . .I guess I'll find out.

Once I get everything together I will share how the Centrics do for me. . .the car is gonna be Auto-X'ing with the majority of the road driving just being driving the 25 mile round trip from my house to the Auto-X course and going to a few local car shows.

[srh3trinity]

I have centrics on my dd g8 with hawk pads and they were warped in less than a month in dd use only.

Warped? Like measured with a dial indicator and had runout? I've seen a lot of "warped" rotors that just had uneven pad transfer layers.

I am not sure. I never had the same issue with the DBA rotors that came off of it, but I also don't know what pads were on the car first. Any tips on preventing uneven pad wear if that is the case?

[atomicjoe23]

You generally can't run two different pads on the same rotor without turning the rotor. . .each pad has a different make up; the bed-in procedure is to transfer pad material onto the rotor. . .if you run a different pad on a used rotor you will generally have issues. There are some exceptions to the rule, but you have to do your research to find out/know which pads are compatible.

[srh3trinity]

These were brand new pads and rotors. Just curious so it doesn't happen again. I have heard people say that it isn't actually the rotors warping but pad material wearing unevenly. Just trying to educate myself. So, maybe it wasn't the centric rotors and maybe it is the pads

[79-TA]

I've been happy with the Centric rotors I've had. The Power Slot rotors (now StopTech Sport, a slotted version of a Centric rotor) on my Mustang held up fine with 6 track days, many autocrosses, and trips to Adam's Motorsports Park. The Trans Am's Power Slot rotors have also held up well, despite being pretty small for the weight, power, and grip levels of the car. I have a set of Centric Premium rotors on my Corvette.

The slot direction is not critical for outgassing. The primary concern with slot direction should be to avoid alignment with the vanes in a vented rotor to avoid creating a weak section. A pair should have both a right and a left, regardless.

Centric's premium line used to be the 120 series. Now it's the 125 series. I'm not sure what inspired the change.


Pad tangent:

If you're only going to autocross, I wouldn't recommend the HP+. Until recently, I ran Hawk pads on all of my cars. The HPS pad would likely be more suitable for your application. The HP+ pads have a high coefficient of friction, but they make lots of dust and always squeal under light brake pressure. (like approaching a stop light in normal driving conditions) I don't have any experience with Hawk's new 5.0 series of pads.

In place of the HP+, I've started to use StopTech 309's. The have about the same maximum operating temperature as the HP+ pads, but don't have the constant light pressure squeal and create far less dust. The 309's are primarily adherent while the HP+'s are very abrasive. The first time I used 309's was on my team's LeMons race car and I was really impressed with how the felt and wore. The relative 5 star Tire Rack ratings leave something to be desired for performance street pads.

[atomicjoe23]

79-TA thanks for the feedback. . .I have a C6 Corvette Centric 120's on the way; I have not purchased pads yet. I needed to get the rotors on the way ASAP to facilitate wheel fitment/measuring to machine spacers. Once I have all that figured out I will be ordering the pads/calipers to finish out the package. . .next up is the rear disc brake conversion; I will be ordering everything except the pads/calipers at the end of the week.

I've got to pull the rear wheels to see if I still have the stock Pontiac axle. . .I guess they have a different mounting flange set-up than a Chevy 10/12-bolt rear end, but I was told the Kore3 already has all of the fitment figured out specifically for the Pontiacs as well.