HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT BRAKE ROTORS
Importance of Brakes
Brakes and their related parts are the most important to your vehicle and safety. When you are on a road or highway and going at high speed and brakes fail, you can imagine a horrible accident. Whenever you want to stop or slow down the speed during driving or riding, press the brake pedal. Hence vehicle’s braking system has the most important safety mechanism.
Role of a Rotor
Rotors are combined with brake pads and brake caliper, which converts kinetic energy (which is in the form of onward motion) into thermal energy (in the form of heat). Rotors disperse this heat, and its important features are chilling capability, thickness, and surface diameter. These are the basic required characteristics when replacing a new rotor.
Effects of a Bad Rotor
If a rotor overheats, it is a defect that weakens the disc pad, fades the brake, and sometimes the front end of the vehicle starts vibrating. When a suitable rotor is selected with other brake components, the braking system works effectively for a longer period.
Selecting and Purchasing a Rotor
All sorts of good and bad rotors are available in the auto parts market. One has to prefer to buy a branded and well-known rotor rather than an unbranded and cheap rotor. It not only provides security to your life and car but also it is long life. Once you spend a slightly large amount of money, but in the long run, you save your time and money. Disk rotors and brake pads are also advertised online, but you have to be careful and physically check before purchasing. If you are a professional expert, select a nice rotor and change it wisely, otherwise assign this task to an expert mechanic.
Importance of Brake Pads
Since brake pads work in conjunction with rotors, they are equally important. The pads are purchased on specific needs looking its quality and accordingly choose the appropriate rotor. One has to be careful when buying them also. Around eight different pads are available; the most common include DIY grade, premium grade, and garage grade. You have to be cautious with Premium grade pads because of their limited warranty.
Types of Rotors
Rotors are available, some in one and others in two pieces. The two-piece rotors are prepared with dissimilar metals for the hub assembly, and the braking surfaces have their characteristics and merits.
There are different kinds of rotors, including Top-of-the-Line, Basic Economy, Drilled, Cross-drilled, Slotted Unit, and finally both Cross-drilled and Slotted.
Top-of-the-Line rotors:
Top-of-the-Line rotors are also called Premium OE-specification Rotors, made up of new steel of premium quality to rigorous tolerance. This rotor type sustains the appropriate unique positioning between both surfaces to guarantee the right chilling and simple fitting. Several of them are obtainable with an electro-plated plate to stop rust, and all rotors are found perfectly fine. There is a thick braking surface in Premium OE Rotors which can easily be made re-useable after lathe processing. This is an advantage of Top-of-the-Line rotors over Basic Economy Rotors, which caters to the added expense but long life Premium Rotor.
Basic Economy Routers:
These are made up of steel which is recycled and meets the rotor thickness diameter standards but does not meet OE (Original Equipment) standards, hence run out shortly. In this type, fins between the two brake surfaces are thicker and do not exactly fit your original unit. A cheaper rotor is produced by the vendors due to thicker flippers because the surface can be made thinner. As a result, its life is reduced. When fins are thick, less chilling is expelled through the rotor. As a result, the rotor becomes warm more quickly and remains hot for a longer period. Due to this reason lives of pads, calipers, and rotors are decreased. Therefore Basic Economy Routers are not advised to use with a superior quality disc pad. Excess heat generated by the Basic Economy Router reduces pads’ life, which cracks the pads, especially in rough weather. Hence Economy Routers are recommended to be used with Garage Grade brake pads or DIY. Note that these types of pads are completely organic or semi-metallic.
Slotted Rotors:
This type of rotor has a mechanism by which they throw cool air into the space between the rotor and pad for spreading maximum heat, which is good for the cooling process of the brake. Slotted Rotors also increase not only the diffusion of the snow and water but also rainwater. A problem with Slotted Brake Rotors is that some noise is created because, with more slots, the air is disordered. The reason for this is that the slots are not straight; they are rounded and designed to provide maximum air to the braking surface when revolving. Significantly, a Slotted Rotor is to be used on the proper side. That is why it serves the purpose of the slots.
Slotted, Drilled, and Cross-drilled Rotors:
These types of rotors are used to increase additional cooling space to the surfaces of the rotor brake. There are many Drilled or Cross-drilled rotors which disperse heat throughout the braking surface. In the rotors which have cross-drilled holes, holes are formed on the ends, which decrease the chances of cracking the brake pads when slipping across the boring opening.
Conclusion
Brakes are the most important part of a vehicle because the lives of drivers and passengers are at stake. Routers, brake pads, and brake calipers are the auto parts associated with a brake. There are several types of routers available, and their choice is important to save time and money in the long run. There are different kinds of rotors, each having its merits and Demerits. However, the vehicle owner should consider purchasing the one which is long life and reliable rather than concentrating on cheaper ones. The main emphasis should be on branded or semi-branded, not unbranded rotors.
