Ok a friend of mine has a newer Trailblazer that they are looking to put front brakes on. He asked me my opinion on ceramic brakes and cross drilled and slotted rotors. Well I have no clue about them. I have thought that the cross drilled and slotted rotors were more for looks on such a vehicle, and not much for performance. Does anyone have any opions as to whether or not it would be worth it for him to spend the extra money to put those on?
Thanks
Jim
Cross-drilled rotors are great....for the track. They're throwaway since you can't turn them. I have them on my car and have noticed absolutely no difference. Slotted--theoretically--are better on the street.
Ceramic pads...absolutely frickin' awesome. I have never used pads that stop so well, yet produce almost no dust. Would highly recommend NAPA Ceramix brand if they're available for the Trailblazer.
BTW, I don't know if GM changed the braking system when they redesigned the Trailblazer/Envoy, but the older ones had notoriously bad systems. This might be a very worthwhile upgrade so long as it's compatible with ABS.
I've researched this quite a bit and it seems from the reviews I've read that the non-slotted Brembo rotors are as good as any. There are several reviews here http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/brakes.jsp?make=Brembo&model=Replacement+Rotor and you can also read the reviews for slotted and/or cross-drilled. Seems like a mixed bag to me - if a good quality rotor that doesn't warp works fine, then why spend the extra money for a slotted rotor that might me marginally better and will start to lose it's slots when turned. Also, I'm a bit leary of the folks who say the pads wear faster with the slotted rotors.
Im a bit mixed up on this... from what I originally learned... cross drilled rotors are for cooling mainly and will reduce brake fade if you're beating on them a lot. Slotted are supposed to cut into the pads for fresh material and better stopping times. But lately on every show they say the slots help release gasses, but that sounds like bs to me. proper slotted rotors shouldnt have a slot area that doesnt cover the pad.
Thanks for the replys. That was a ton of help. I should talk to my dad about putting ceramic brakes on his Lincoln, he keeps getting upset because he can't keep the wheels clean.
Jim
Ok, so he came back to me today with another question. He said that in looking on the internet he saw something saying that cermic brakes will not last as long on drilled/slotted rotors because they are softer. Is this true? He did end up buying the drilled/slotted rotors, mainly just because he got them pretty cheap off ebay.
Jim