drilled vs grooved vs drilled and grooved

[bobalong135]

So im debating upgrading my brake system, have been looking into upgraded discs and researching them and I keep finding varying results.

So my question is how much better are drilled discs vs grooved vs drilled and grooved?

Second question is how much more wear will my brake pads see? Im currently using EBC green stuff

[cmaguire]

I've used all three types and in my opinion they (drilled/grooved) are pointless. With drilled I've also had one set crack between drill holes, and with the grooved the grooves will just either go rusty or fill up with crap anyway. The pads are way more significant, and on that point your Greenstuff are perhaps OK as an OE replacement, but useless as much of an upgrade as they fade under heavy braking and wear out in 5 minutes anyway. If using EBC then the yellows are OK.

[Rick101]

New Exige has J hook. Pretty impressive.

Saw the Le Mans winning Ford GT at Geneva, also wearing J Hooks.
If I was building a track car, I'd certainly consider AP's.

https://www.apracing.com/Info.aspx?InfoID=39&P...

[cmaguire]

I doubt he has a Le Mans GT or wants to spend 1000's on his brakes.

Braided lines, decent discs (possibly grooved) and decent pads are probably where he is headed for his £600

[The Mad Monk]

And the connection with advanced driving is ;- ?

[FWIW]

The Mad Monk said:

And the connection with advanced driving is ;- ?

LOL


Drilled/groved is fashion, not an upgrade. Spend money on decent pads instead.

[S. Gonzales Esq.]

What's the car, and the intended use?

[overunder12g]

As Mad Monk said....... Connection?

[cmaguire]

overunder12g said:

As Mad Monk said....... Connection?

At least it isn't yet another thread about rev-matching, heel-and-toe or some other topic from Roadcraft.

[Rick101]

cmaguire said:

I doubt he has a Le Mans GT or wants to spend 1000's on his brakes.

Braided lines, decent discs (possibly grooved) and decent pads are probably where he is headed for his £600

He wants to upgrade discs. I gave him a suggestion on discs. I didn't see a £600 budget stated but may have missed it.

If you check the link, it's quite informative, which I think is what the OP was after.

[Techno9000]

In my opinion the benefit of drilled / grooved discs is low. The noise created at all times goes up, especially with grooved discs, for no improvement in braking distances.
I suppose they are intended to aid the upper end of the temperature range and prevent a fall off in braking performance, but is this what we are dealing with on the road?

If you feel your brakes are weak, a greater benefit would be to improve response through a change of the friction material. If chosen correctly this doesn't necessarily come with a need to 'warm them up' before this improved response is gained.
You may however find greater dust and, with some compounds, noise present as a downside to the improved response.

[cmaguire]

Rick101 said:

He wants to upgrade discs. I gave him a suggestion on discs. I didn't see a £600 budget stated but may have missed it.

If you check the link, it's quite informative, which I think is what the OP was after.

There is a 1.4 turbo 160bhp Scirocco in his garage apparently. I can't see an AP brake conversion on the cards.

For him the easy route would be new discs (possibly grooved up front), new pads and maybe braided lines (although on cars the rubber section is so short relatively that this makes near enough sod all difference).

If that is the car then his easy option is EBC discs and Yellowstuff pads.
I've used both the Greens he has and the Yellows. The Yellows are a decent upgrade.

[Rick101]

Agree, discs and caliper upgrades and expensive and not going to give the greatest gain in performance.

For me, Pagid 42's I think they're the blue ones, fresh brake fluid and some appropriate tyres all round.

People often forget that it's tyres that help you stop.

[nickfrog]

cmaguire said:

For him the easy route would be new discs (possibly grooved up front), new pads and maybe braided lines (although on cars the rubber section is so short relatively that this makes near enough sod all difference).

Particularly when it's not rubber. The rubber you can see is just an outside protection.

To upgrade braking on the road the order is normally : tyres, pads and then fluid. Discs would be last.

[lyonspride]

Rick101 said:

Agree, discs and caliper upgrades and expensive and not going to give the greatest gain in performance.

For me, Pagid 42's I think they're the blue ones, fresh brake fluid and some appropriate tyres all round.

People often forget that it's tyres that help you stop.

The UK has a terrible attitude to car tyres, we'll spend stupid amounts of money on a car, on upgrades and then buy part worn ditch finders, with a different brand on each corner.

I think it's down to the big tyre/exhaust/battery franchises, they get these cheap tyres for next to nothing and so they make more money selling cheaper tyres, they then tell all their customers that tyre brands don't matter and it's now at a point where most people believe it.




As for the OP, I have drilled/grooved on my Westfield with Mintex M1144 pads for M16 callipers, combined with a set of Toyo T1R. I would NOT put drilled/groove discs on my daily runner, they're noisy, they stop looking pretty the first time they get wet and they increase wear on the pads.

Edited by lyonspride on Saturday 31st March 10:31

[bobalong135]

cheers chaps some top info here

Its a 1.4 twin charged with a stage 2 remap, use it as a daily, go up to car meets in it and a few track days a year so not the most hardcore performance engine i know haha

[tonyb1968]

bobalong135 said:

So im debating upgrading my brake system, have been looking into upgraded discs and researching them and I keep finding varying results.

So my question is how much better are drilled discs vs grooved vs drilled and grooved?

Second question is how much more wear will my brake pads see? Im currently using EBC green stuff

Depends on your application of use.

Drilled are probably the worst discs you can get unless the holes are cast in to the metal (I believe Porsche do this) as drilling the disc causes micro fractures which when heated up and cool down cause fatigue and crack/shatter.

Grooved... the idea behind it is that the gasses formed between the disc and pad (one can refer this to brake fade in extreme cases) are pushed out down the grooves giving a better braking experience, down side is that it can be noisy, J marked discs do the same without the noise.

So basically unless you are tracking a car or its being hammered all the time and the brakes slammed on and off, vented discs are fine.

[dvshannow]

What is the advantage of holes (not drilled if cast) cant see why porsche would do this if there are no advantages

[Rick101]

I have always thought drilled were for cooling, may be wrong though.

[dvshannow]

I was curious so did a quick google and says they do provide better heat exchange.

Plus a side effect they are better in the wet.
Also allos dust to disperse better
Allow gases to escape during hard use?
Provide a minor cutting surface to help keep the pad fresh though this also increases pad wear