Brake Rotors

986 Views 5 Replies 4 Participants Last post by [email protected], May 2, 2001

fastsedan

Discussion Starter · May 1, 2001

I have a 1997 850R sedan and am looking to upgrade the rotors. So far I have looked at the IPD slotted rotors as well as KVR's cross drilled and slotted. My question is , does anyone have experience with either of these products, and would they be considered reliable. I don't know an awful lot about KVR, but the cross-drilled are interesting, also a lot less expensive than IPD. But someone once told me you get what you pay for. Some help here would be appreciated.

Erik

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black850R

· #2 · May 1, 2001

Erik,

I have a friend that races (AutoX) a Golf VR6 with upgraded monster brakes. Based on his experiences, he had some suggestions for me when I asked the very same questions about my 1997 R.

Cross-drilled: Don't do it! Unless you get the (very expensive) rotors that have the holes "molded" in, the cross-drilled rotors will very likely crack. The reason is the drilling disturbs the molecular structure around the holes (creating stress risers), whereas the expensive rotors have the holes molded in when the rotors are cast. If you must have these bigger units be prepared for a shock (to the tune of $2200...)

As for the IPD slotted rotors? They look neat. That's about the only advantage over stock.

I'll soon be replacing all four rotors on my R with stock Brembo units, carefully installed with carefully torqued wheel lugs to avoid warping the rotors later. I'm still undecided on pads, but they will likely be stock as well. The only "improvements" I will be installing are braided Kevlar/Stainless brake lines and fresh new DOT 4 fluid.

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turboale

· #3 · May 2, 2001

I too have heard the same about cross drilled rotors beaking/warping easily. I have also heard that the slotted are better, and are usefull in that they have an indacator that shows how much they are worn. When it comes to pads, my local shop told me that most of the (non-Volvo) pads that he has tried squeek badly, and the best pads are the stock ones. I use my brakes a lot and often hard. When it will be time to upgrade the brakes, I think I am going to spring for the big brake kit. Yes, it is a lot of money, but when it comes down to either me slamming into someone else, and it being my fault rather than someone slamming into me, I think that they could very well pay for them selves. As for now, the stock are just fine for me.

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[email protected]

· #4 · May 2, 2001

Ditto on the cross drilleds. I've heard the same thing. The other prob with the larger big brake kits, besides expense, is that you must run 17s on the car year round once you install them, which isn't all that fun if you live in an area with snowy winters.

As for slotteds, I'm fairly certain they do cool more quickly. How effective they are may be debateable, but slotteds are commonly used on touring cars, and I think that's what originally turned them on for me, while doing an Audi A4 Touring Car article for Audiworld.

We have a set of the slotteds that just arrived for the project R, along with some PBR pads. I'll let you know how that goes once they're installed.

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fastsedan

Discussion Starter · #5 · May 2, 2001

Thanks all of you for your responses. I think I will play it safe and get the slotted from IPD with the heavy duty pads.One bit of a side note, the beginning of next month I move to portland, OR. IPD will be right around the corner. Can't wait for that. From all the informatiion I have seen, the IPD name is passed around quite a bit, whether good or bad, but it also appears that they have a good customer service record and make sure their clients are happy. I also have started looking into suspension, which I know IPD has, but I have heard Eibach's Pro-Kit and I think H&R have some strong suspension components as well. In addition to my 97 Black 850R, our family has a 1999 S-80 T-6.

Thanks again
Erik

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[email protected]

· #6 · May 2, 2001

Something else I've been wondering is how tough it'd be to change over to a newer brake setup from say a V70R AWD or an S80 T-6. I'm going to have to pull out my press kits and see how the brakes compare in size to those on the 850.

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