Baer Cross Drilled Rotors?

[MikeDVC]

I’m looking for feedback from those using Baer cross drilled rotors for occasionally driven STREET car. I’m ready to order my brake package and considering using the cross drilled rotors. I’m planning to use the Sport front and rear packages (12” w/16" wheels). Just wanted to if anyone is having trouble with cracking or any other problems.



I cautiously start this thread: This is not to start the debate on which is better (slotted or drilled or plain), I’ve searched and read all the debate on this site regarding that issue. These are for a street driven car, not a daily driver and not for racing.

[TonyL]

read this, (https://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=215&highlight=crossdrilled+rotors)this, (https://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=214&highlight=crossdrilled+rotors) and this (https://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2274&highlight=crossdrilled+rotors)

basicly they crack. alot, almost every time....

[rocketrod]

I have Baers w/ crossdrilled rotors and have had no problems, and really doubt it would be an issue on an "occasionally driven street" car.

[OneslowZ28]

I have an 01 ss with baers all around and have had no problems not even with rust... watch now that i said something they will lol. there was a HUGE! difference in braking the car stops on a dime. the only problem i have had is with brake dust...but anyone who is anal about their car (ME) keeps it clean anyway. Other than that worth the money

[MikeDVC]

Thanks for your comments, ordered my brakes yesterday and decided to go with the cross drilled. Spoke with Baer, they said I should be ok for street use.

[trapin]

I went with regular rotors because I didn't see the point in the cross-drilled ones. I'm not racing the car and with the wheels I'm using you won't see them anyway. It was pointless....so I went with the regular ones.

[MikeDVC]

I wasn't going to use the cross drilled rotors, due to all info I've read about them cracking. But decided at the last minute, what the h-ll, if they crack I'll replace them with standard rotors, and learn a lesson. A friend (a mechanic for 35+ years and helps me alot with the car) said they should be fine and may help the car stop quicker.

Besides, I know I'll regret this, but think they look cool....there I said it.....and feel much better now. :guilty: The reason I have the car is to have fun with it, and that's what I intend to do.

[Ralph LoGrasso]

They do look cool, but they will not help the car stop quicker. If you do a search, there are 2 or 3 multi-page threads on cross drilled rotors that go into great depth on the subject.

[protour_chevelle]

Crossdrilled/slotted rotors gets chicks. Its all in their mind. They think it helps the car. Play along and have fun hahaha.

-Matt

[MikeDVC]

Yes thanks , I read all the post on this site (see my 1st post) regarding the rotors, even the Baer website advises that they are cosmetic only.

[protour_chevelle]

Yes thanks , I read all the post on this site (see my 1st post) regarding the rotors, even the Baer website advises that they are cosmetic only.

I know what your saying but by someone that is new might be mislead by your statement.

YES the cross drilling and slotting(with exception of slotting in some cases) is cosmetic, But this does NOT mean that you cannot drive your car to work daily. When extensive use(or should I say abuse) is put on this style of BAERs rotor it is known the crack. I have seen these rotors go through Daily Driven hell and no cracks. Our winters suck hugely. Our roads are littered with sand and salt. I have heard no complaints yet on them cracking. I pushed my brakes pretty hard last year and theres no cracks. I'm fully expecting cracks though, then I'll replace with a solid vented rotor.

Don't kid yourself by my post. These rotors will crack. But be realistic. How often will the car be driven, how hard, and what types of driving.

-Matt

[Steve1968LS2]

I used to beat the ever loveing crap out of my drilled/slotted wilwood rotors and they never ever cracked.. come to think of it neither did the drilled Baer rotors on the back of the car (Wilwoods up front)..

I'm going with drilled at first cause Wilwood wanted me to.. if they do crack I will get some nice slotted ones..

The holes though are PURELY cosmetic..

[paul67]

Have just watched a prog on telly were chap was at AP brakes , and he asked why they slotted and cross drilled some discs and the reason given was that some pads leach gasses and need some way of getting away hence the slots and cross drilling.
paul67

[rocketrod]

Oh here we go again. We haven't had the crossdrilled & slotted versus solid rotor debate in a while... Hopefully this one will remain civil.

[sinned]

A friend (a mechanic for 35+ years and helps me alot with the car) said they should be fine and may help the car stop quicker.
Your friend must be one of those parts changer types that doesn't actually have a full understanding of how/why things work.

[baz67]

Have just watched a prog on telly were chap was at AP brakes , and he asked why they slotted and cross drilled some discs and the reason given was that some pads leach gasses and need some way of getting away hence the slots and cross drilling.
paul67

That may have been true 30+ years ago when outgassing was a real problem. The pad technology of today has reduce that greatly. That has been covered in the previous threads on this subject.

[MikeDVC]

Dennis68,
Obviously you did not read my first post, I was asking individuals about their experience with using Baer crossdilled rotors on a specific application. I was NOT asking for comments about friends of mine that neither you nor anyone else on this site knows anything about.

This is exactly why I hesitated asking for a question on this site; although most of the posts are helpful, I knew that someone (you in this case) could not resist making such a comment.

Maybe this thread can now be closed, since it can only go downhill from here.

[CAMAROBOY69]

I will be doing the disk brake upgrade some time this year (2006) and I have been keeping up on these threads. How well do the drilled slotted disk brakes do in the rain? As most of you know I race my Camaro on occasion and I want some all around great disk brakes. Might not be right away but I will do the conversion hopefully some time this year. Hopefully. I was considering the C4 or C5 disk upgrade because the price is just awesome!! However the ones I was looking at are drilled and slotted. When the official time comes I will probably make my own thread but for now I would like to know if these would survive street driving and occasional track use? These are the disks that Teddys Camaro will be running and I was considering them too.
I also have the hydraboost unit from Hydratech and I will run my stock front disk brakes and stock drum rear brakes with that for a while to see how well it works.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif (http://img16.echo.cx/my.php?image=im0049253lg.jpg)

[rocketrod]

I will be doing the disk brake upgrade some time this year (2006) and I have been keeping up on these threads. How well do the drilled slotted disk brakes do in the rain? As most of you know I race my Camaro on occasion and I want some all around great disk brakes. Might not be right away but I will do the conversion hopefully some time this year. Hopefully. I was considering the C4 or C5 disk upgrade because the price is just awesome!! However the ones I was looking at are drilled and slotted. When the official time comes I will probably make my own thread but for now I would like to know if these would survive street driving and occasional track use? These are the disks that Teddys Camaro will be running and I was considering them too.
I also have the hydraboost unit from Hydratech and I will run my stock front disk brakes and stock drum rear brakes with that for a while to see how well it works.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif (http://img16.echo.cx/my.php?image=im0049253lg.jpg)

Did you get a free basketball with the purchase of the front brake kit.

[CAMAROBOY69]

These arent my brakes. I did take the pic with the basketball to help visualize how dang big those rotors are.

[paul67]

I think the best thing to do is buy set of pads for the street and a set for the track, as I would think its the pads that would make the most difference. Oh and the prog with the advice was 2005 , and he also mentioned they use some organic matter for the pads 1 eg was walnut shells.
paul67

[CAMAROBOY69]

I have seperate wilwood composite H race pads for the track for the front stock disks. Once warmed up they are incredible. Takes about 2 laps.

[vanzuuk1]

I think they look cool also. There, I said it too. Hold your head up mike, at least you are being honest.

[Ralph LoGrasso]

These three threads contain all the information you could ever want on cross drilled rotors:

https://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2274&highlight=cross+drilled

https://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=214&highlight=cross+drilled

https://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=215&highlight=cross+drilled

Lets keep the discussion here civil, as it's all been discussed before anyways.

[sinned]

Just pointing out the obvious since you made the comment.:)

[zbugger]

As it pertains to the cracks, I have spoken with a few people and they have all told me that it is just cosmetic. They are called micro-cracks that emanate from the holes. I was told that they aren't something to worry about on the street as the rotors won't reach the heat that would crack them completely like they would on the track. Even then, it would take a bit to crack the rotor completely. On top of that, they don't usually just crack. They tend to kind of shatter. The crack forms fast enough that the rotor just cracks all the way through and comes apart. This however is only in extreme scenarios.

Mike, to answer your original question, I don't think you'll have a problem on the street. I've heard complaints from others saying that there was a grinding sound or vibration in the brake pedal, but I don't use them so it's not first hand info. Others don't notice any of this. Then there's the guys that think these are the magical cure to their braking woes. It won't do anything to improve braking. From all the "experts" I've spoken with, they are cosmetic only right now. Go look good on the street. I like the look too, but I don't think I'll be running them. My choice based on my plan for my car though.


Heh..... Keeping it simple, I don't think you'll have any problems.

[rocketrod]

As it pertains to the cracks, I have spoken with a few people and they have all told me that it is just cosmetic. They are called micro-cracks that emanate from the holes. I was told that they aren't something to worry about on the street as the rotors won't reach the heat that would crack them completely like they would on the track. Even then, it would take a bit to crack the rotor completely. On top of that, they don't usually just crack. They tend to kind of shatter. The crack forms fast enough that the rotor just cracks all the way through and comes apart. This however is only in extreme scenarios.

Mike, to answer your original question, I don't think you'll have a problem on the street. I've heard complaints from others saying that there was a grinding sound or vibration in the brake pedal, but I don't use them so it's not first hand info. Others don't notice any of this. Then there's the guys that think these are the magical cure to their braking woes. It won't do anything to improve braking. From all the "experts" I've spoken with, they are cosmetic only right now. Go look good on the street. I like the look too, but I don't think I'll be running them. My choice based on my plan for my car though.


Heh..... Keeping it simple, I don't think you'll have any problems.

I totally agree. It is amazing as much as this topic gets discussed on many different forums that no one has done a performance comparison between solid vs. crossdilled & slotted vs. slotted rotors. Like a 60-0mph brake test, measure rotor temp after eash test, etc, etc. It would be relatively cheap and pretty easy to do, unlike comparing tubular control arms (lets not go there). Maybe one of the magazines might do an article on this...

[MikeDVC]

Thanks for all of your comments. Based on the feedback, I ordered the Baer Sport front and rear brake kit with the crossdrilled and slotted rotors.

I understand that the crossdrilling will not improve performance. But since I'm converting from a mostly stock disc/drum set-up to a four wheel disc, c4 type calibers, 12" rotors set-up, I expected that the braking will be improved, which is my primary goal.

[protour_chevelle]

Thanks for all of your comments. Based on the feedback, I ordered the Baer Sport front and rear brake kit with the crossdrilled and slotted rotors.

I understand that the crossdrilling will not improve performance. But since I'm converting from a mostly stock disc/drum set-up to a four wheel disc, c4 type calibers, 12" rotors set-up, I expected that the braking will be improved, which is my primary goal.

Braking with be greatly improved!

-Matt