Well at 34,000 miles my front brakes were warped pretty good. So instead of installing factory rotors I purchased cross drilled and slotted rotors for front and rear of my van. I'm hoping with their better venting maybe they won't warp like the factory brakes. These cost $220 with pads shipped to my door. The front install was a snap. Easyist brake job I've ever done. The rears look just as easy. I didn't install the rears as I have 50% pad left back there. I'll update on brake feel in a few days after they wear in. Bang for the buck I think this will be a great upgrade. Just wanted to share this with you all.
Cross drilled and slotted rotors
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I bought drilled & slotted rotors quite a while ago for my 94 GC and am now on my second set of front pads. I recently replaced the calipers, adaptors, and hoses & installed a set of Hawk street pads from Tire rack (not cheap). Everything works well and I have never had problems with warped rotors because I learned a long time ago to hand tighten the lug nuts with a torque wrench to 95 ft. lbs. in a star pattern. Never let a shop use air tools on your lug nuts---insist they do it by hand. Don't trust torque sticks. Just my $0.02.
FredB
FredB
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Just wondering what everyones feedback is on the "sound" of these drilled & slotted rotors? I was going to upgrade the 2010 van to these but then I heard that they make breaking loud/noisy
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That doesn't normally happen.
Now, if you have a SOLID rotor that's been cross-drilled you may hear a sort of "whooooosh"ing sound. I do in my classic VW. It's normal.
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The factory rotors warped on our 1998 DGC after only 30,000 miles so I had our dealership do the front brakes. Wouldn't you know it, 25,000 miles later the rotors were warped again. I did the brake job that time; new rotors and pads, and a perfectly torqued set of wheels. The third set lasted only about 8,000 miles before they too were warped. Over the next several years I experimented with different combinations of rotors and pads, none of which lasted more than 20,000 miles before the pedal pulsing symptom of warped or hot-spotted rotors was transitioning from annoying to dangerous. Finally with something like 120,000 miles on the van I opted for a set of cross-drilled rotors and ceramic pads; those were still going strong, warp free no less, when I traded the old girl in at 180,000 miles.
Long story short, while I absolutely agree that proper wheel torquing is essential to rotor health; that doesn't mean rotors won't warp if the wheels are properly torqued.
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Not a fan of cross drilled and slotted rotors. Had them on a 300C and wife didn't like the buzzing sound, so I replaced them with slotted rotors, which sounded just like stock. Will use slotted rotors on my van when I need to replace the rotors.
Phil
Phil
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Not all cross drilled rotors are created equal; unless the ends of the holes are properly flared, noise can result.
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The holes were flared. NAPA brand rotors.
Phil
Phil
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Flaring in and of itself isn't enough; there needs to be a very particular shape to the flare hence my comment "properly flared". I've never used NAPA cross drilled rotors, in fact, I didn't even know NAPA sold such a critter.
Edit: I just checked the NAPAONLINE.com web site and don't see a single NAPA brand cross drilled rotor for any vintage of the 300C. Could it be that your NAPA jobber was carrying a line of non-NAPA rotors and/or rotors which were NAPA brand but cross drilled by a third party?
Well I've put 1000+ miles on these new brakes and I can report a definite improvement in brake feel. It takes a lot less pedal to stop the van. I don't know if it stops any quicker as I never have to slam on my brakes, but with the improved pedal feel, I'd quess it probably does stop shorter. Also there is almost no more noise involved during breaking. I am happy I did this mod and would definitely do it again.
For the daily driver, just go OEM
Also with rotors that are cross drilled, I've heard they can crack out at the drill holes over time; not the best idea for an on road street driven car.
As far as OEM solid type rotors go, I've heard reports now that most all rotors are cast in China. Some used to be Canadian made but supposedly those dried up. Don't know where the OEM Mopar rotors come from but I'd probably just stick with those in the future.
I've also read that the brake pads play a roll in rotor life. So that's why I went with Bendix CQ ceramic pads; nothing fancy or too overly aggressive on the rotor.
I used EBC Slotted rotors on my Civic; EBC not really known for making junk. Anyway, they looked good and and with all windows rolled up noise wasn't too noticeable but still there. With the windows down I could hear a distinctive buzzing sound almost like the close pin and card in bicycle spoke trick you did when you were a kid.
Also with rotors that are cross drilled, I've heard they can crack out at the drill holes over time; not the best idea for an on road street driven car.
As far as OEM solid type rotors go, I've heard reports now that most all rotors are cast in China. Some used to be Canadian made but supposedly those dried up. Don't know where the OEM Mopar rotors come from but I'd probably just stick with those in the future.
I've also read that the brake pads play a roll in rotor life. So that's why I went with Bendix CQ ceramic pads; nothing fancy or too overly aggressive on the rotor.
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Could be they were not Napa brand, but I ordered them from NAPA website about three years ago. and they were sold as NAPA ultra premium rotors. The boxes did not say NAPA on them. May not be in production any longer, given my experience with them.
Phil
Phil
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Chamfered won't. That was an issue a LONG time ago and I wish people would quit repeating it as it's not true for street vehicles, even aggressively driven ones. This is an excuse that is no longer valid.
X2 on the Chamfered excuse--Like I posted before over 100K on Brembo Rotors that are cross drilled and have chamfered holes, I have no issues with cracks at all.
Now this may be the beer:drink: speaking but I think your all on crack about the buzzing noise from the cross drilled rotors. Bear with me on this, on a rotor that is CENTER VENTED like a conventional rotor, IF and I state IF, the gases coming off the brake surface could some how magically make a noise that you could hear I'd be surprised. Those gases are entering a chamber that will vent immediately. I just don't get it, I think people want to BELIEVE they are hearing something. I could be wrong, I've never heard it on my Yukon and I've been running cross drilleds for years. I also subjected my ears to BASS so low for years from two 12" Subs that I might be partially deaf, and my wife will agree with that.
I'm not trying to start the great rotor noise debate either, but even if they do make a buzzing noise it would be a worthy trade off for not having to replace rotors every 10K.
Now this may be the beer:drink: speaking but I think your all on crack about the buzzing noise from the cross drilled rotors. Bear with me on this, on a rotor that is CENTER VENTED like a conventional rotor, IF and I state IF, the gases coming off the brake surface could some how magically make a noise that you could hear I'd be surprised. Those gases are entering a chamber that will vent immediately. I just don't get it, I think people want to BELIEVE they are hearing something. I could be wrong, I've never heard it on my Yukon and I've been running cross drilleds for years. I also subjected my ears to BASS so low for years from two 12" Subs that I might be partially deaf, and my wife will agree with that.
I'm not trying to start the great rotor noise debate either, but even if they do make a buzzing noise it would be a worthy trade off for not having to replace rotors every 10K.
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Yes, I think it is the beer talking, or possibly too much bass??? My rotors definitely made a buzzing noise when the brakes were applied firmly. No noise when applied lightly. I suppose the noise could be caused by just the wrong combination of rotors and pads, and using a different brake pad might not have made noise. I switched to R1 Concepts slotted rotors and had no more noise. Also never had another warped rotor. Interestingly, the stock rotors I removed from the car were Bosch brand and were stamped "Made in China". When I need rotors fro my van, I'll go with the R1 Concepts slotted rotors on it, since that has worked well for me.
Shippo, I checked the Napa website and they still offer drilled and slotted rotors for the 2006 Chrysler 300C. Here is a link to the page:
http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/C...9001+102006+50016+2016029&Ar=AND(P_RecType:A)
I would not recommend these rotors because of the noise they made.
Phil
Shippo, I checked the Napa website and they still offer drilled and slotted rotors for the 2006 Chrysler 300C. Here is a link to the page:
http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/C...9001+102006+50016+2016029&Ar=AND(P_RecType:A)
I would not recommend these rotors because of the noise they made.
Phil
Compromises...
It also seems reasonable that a drilled only rotor would make less noise than a rotor with any slotting, but don't know for sure.
My comment about noise was with EBC slotted/dimpled rotors, not cross drilled. The brake pads I used with the these EBC slotted/dimpled rotors was the EBC "Green" pads. They were noisy. Even with no brake pressure applied and the windows down, I'd hear the buzzing sound when the car passed by some sort of solid structure, e.g., building, concrete barricade, etc. Now the noise wasn't bad enough or unbearable for me to want to remove them. I had them on the vehicle for 8-years. Recently I did a brake job and replaced the slotted/dimpled rotors with OEM solid-ventilated rotors. I forgot how relaxing it is to have quiet none-buzzing brakes.
Now, I'm not making a blanket statement that all types/brands of slotted and or drilled rotors make noise, I'm just stating my one time experience with one type and brand.
If I had a road course or race car of some sort I'd consider rolling the dice with an aftermarket drilled/slotted rotor again. But for the daily driver I'll stick with the OEM solid-ventilated rotors combined with a less aggressive OEM type brake pad, good wheel torquing techniques, and practical driving habits.
Rotors that might warp - Rotors that might make noise - The compromises we're willing to accept.
Good to know, I stand corrected with regard to the drilled rotors cracking; I have zero experience with drilled rotors.
It also seems reasonable that a drilled only rotor would make less noise than a rotor with any slotting, but don't know for sure.
My comment about noise was with EBC slotted/dimpled rotors, not cross drilled. The brake pads I used with the these EBC slotted/dimpled rotors was the EBC "Green" pads. They were noisy. Even with no brake pressure applied and the windows down, I'd hear the buzzing sound when the car passed by some sort of solid structure, e.g., building, concrete barricade, etc. Now the noise wasn't bad enough or unbearable for me to want to remove them. I had them on the vehicle for 8-years. Recently I did a brake job and replaced the slotted/dimpled rotors with OEM solid-ventilated rotors. I forgot how relaxing it is to have quiet none-buzzing brakes.
Now, I'm not making a blanket statement that all types/brands of slotted and or drilled rotors make noise, I'm just stating my one time experience with one type and brand.
If I had a road course or race car of some sort I'd consider rolling the dice with an aftermarket drilled/slotted rotor again. But for the daily driver I'll stick with the OEM solid-ventilated rotors combined with a less aggressive OEM type brake pad, good wheel torquing techniques, and practical driving habits.
Rotors that might warp - Rotors that might make noise - The compromises we're willing to accept.
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That looks like a Raybestos rotor in the picture. Which is exactly what I plan on putting on my 300C in a short time. The 300's rotors are warped. Were warped the day I bought it. Of course I've had it 3 or 4 months, they'd be warped by now anyway. :lol:
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Jeff,
Could be the same rotor sold under two different brands. I doubt NAPA makes their own parts. I killed two sets of stock rotors in less than 17,000 miles on my 300C. Was told on the LX forums that it was my fault, not bedding the brakes properly, poor diving habits, etc., even though I have never had a car kill brakes like that before or since. Drawing from my experience, I would recommend that you not run this rotor with the factory OEM premium brake pads. That is the combo that I had which made the noise. The same pads on the slotted rotors were quiet. Drove over 20,000 miles, until i traded the car, with the slotted rotors and they never warped. Go figure.
Phil
Could be the same rotor sold under two different brands. I doubt NAPA makes their own parts. I killed two sets of stock rotors in less than 17,000 miles on my 300C. Was told on the LX forums that it was my fault, not bedding the brakes properly, poor diving habits, etc., even though I have never had a car kill brakes like that before or since. Drawing from my experience, I would recommend that you not run this rotor with the factory OEM premium brake pads. That is the combo that I had which made the noise. The same pads on the slotted rotors were quiet. Drove over 20,000 miles, until i traded the car, with the slotted rotors and they never warped. Go figure.
Phil
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