I noticed this morning that OEM brake rotors have straight vanes. Are there legal rotors available that have a more effective vane patterns? Seems like a helical vane pattern or similar would pump air, instead of just beating at it.
Better legal brake rotors available?
IndyJim
#3
I’ve tried brembo, zimmermann, powerslot, and powerslot cryo treated.
They all last about the same, except maybe the powerslots cracked a little sooner. The zimmermann’s appear to be best balance of cheapness and life imho.
Chi or “Yee” as you know him, I think found some $17 Napa specials, but I think it is a one and done proposition.
csrow
#6
IndyJim wrote:
It’s still available but now the price has gone up $2.00 to $18.99.
If you order $50 or more (3 rotors) then the shipping is free which is a good thing because the shipping on rotors can be fairly high.
They last about the same time as Brembos.
Ranger
#7
Dang, that is a good deal. WTG Chi.
I looked all over the Internet and made a few calls today for rotors with helical vanes. Didn’t find any. It strikes me that BMW engineers are pretty darn smart and if they had wanted to spec rotors with helical vanes they could have. They can’t cost any more to make either way, just a different casting. So maybe straight vanes are just as good or better then helical, even if it’s hard to understand how. Maybe helical vanes that pump air thru the rotor is all marketing hype.
csrow
#8
Ranger wrote:
http://www.racingbrake.com/v/main/rotor_vane_design.asp
Many designs are patent protected.
scottmc
#9
I can get a set of front and rears for $75. Sometimes they are American made and sometimes China. They haven’t been cryogenically treated… unless you count last week when it was really cold.
The only thing I care about when i buy them is: will they fit?
If they fit… I use em.
Can’t say that I’ve ever had any problems with my rotors or uneven pad wear.
Ranger
#10
I’m putting my old dependable calipers back on. If my pad wear problem (outer pad wearing 2X fast) goes away, then the whole cooling study will seem like a red herring. But like everything else, I learned a lot.
edavidson
#11
Scott - I guess one other thing to consider is that there isn’t much incentive to engineer a race-ready rotor for the e30. The good thing for us is that basic rotors are cheap, they last a reasonably long time, and we are all dealing with the same technology - so little room for a competitive advantage. Everyone that I know of that has tried a high-tech option (slotted, drilled, cryo, etc.) has gone back to the stock rotors.
Ed
nasaregistrar
#12
csrow wrote:
[quote]IndyJim wrote:
It’s still available but now the price has gone up $2.00 to $18.99.
If you order $50 or more (3 rotors) then the shipping is free which is a good thing because the shipping on rotors can be fairly high.
They last about the same time as Brembos.
[/quote]
Parts America IS Advanced Auto, you should be able to get this deal in the store.