Archive for the ‘cross drilled’ Category

Materials Matter for Drilled Rotors

Saturday, November 14th, 2009

Drilled Rotors are now a common component in your vehicle.  Most of the brand new cars prefer drilled rotors over slotted rotors since they usually prove to be more economical and practical.  When replacing your rotor brakes, one of the things that you should consider when purchasing drilled rotor brakes would be the material.

The type of metallic element used to produce the rotor should be a critical factor in your selection process.  This would determine the strength of your rotor as well as wear and tear, noise and braking actions.  Since the materials are element, it should be able to withstand high temperature.  Remember that constant exposure to high temperatures plus the immense pressure during braking can cause your rotors to break easily.

Another factor would be its cooling capability.  During the process of manufacturing, the cooling rate of the iron is closely observed since this would determine the hardness and strength of the material.  An iron rotor that cooled down too quickly will be too hard and would be a noisy rotor compared to one that is cooled naturally.  Also hard iron rotors would wear pads faster but if the rotor is too soft then it will wear unevenly that can cause braking malfunctions.

With these details, it is highly recommended that you choose a metal alloy like chrome moly steel.  Most of these rotors, may be a little bit more expensive than iron-casted but they definitely last longer and provides better braking action.  So if you’re purchasing your next drilled rotors soon, consider these factors when making your decision.

Cross Drilled Brake Rotors

Sunday, October 25th, 2009

A vehicle’s brake system has two main components, namely the brake pad and the brake rotor. Depending on your vehicle type and required braking performance, there are two types of brake rotor namely the drilled and the slotted. Drilled brake rotors are commonly used in our normal vehicles nowadays while slotted brake rotors are installed in vehicles that require stronger braking powers like race cars.

The drilled brake rotor also comes in a variety and one of them is the cross drilled type. This type of brake slot is used mainly on motorcycles, mopeds, scooters and even on high performance mountain bikes. It is called crossed drilled due to the placement of the holes on the rotor. The holes in the crossed drilled are not aligned but usually are in a formation similar to the letter v drilled around the rotor. This type of brake rotor helps prevent lower the heating up of the disc due to friction between the brake pad and the rotor. An added feature of the cross drilled rotor for is its decorative appearance since the brake rotors are visible and without cover. However since there are more holes on the cross drilled than the drilled brake rotors, the cross drilled usually are less durable and wears out easily.

Cross drilled brake rotors are used on lightweight vehicles that would not require a strong braking performance due to the speed limitation of the vehicle. For the smaller vehicles, there are a variety of materials used to manufacture cross drilled brakes and not limited to iron or the expensive carbon. Some cross drilled brake rotors are made from stainless steel or even the lightweight aluminum which is mainly installed on mountain bikes.