brake question Dave?

[bimdub]

well I am now getting towards 50K and think I need to address the brakes soon, I plan on doing both front and rear, and have been comparing pricing, the caliper part is easy enough and I am no stranger to brake jobs, but I am considering upgrading the calipers and there are just far too many options out there! the OEM rotors I can get locally are over $100 per corner and I have discovered that I can actually get slotted or drilled or even both for nearly the same money! I hardly think I drive hard enough to really need them but since I have those nice 18 inch Roja wheels I thought maybe something to look nice behind them is in order.

I can get these http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/brakes.jsp?&make=ATE&model=PremiumOne+Slotted+Rotor&group=PremiumOne+Slotted+Rotor&autoMake=Honda&autoModel=S2000&autoYear=2002&autoModClar=&perfCode=A&CW25706_Qty=2
for less than the OEM ones!

but then I see these?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-S2000-Performance-Brake-Rotor-New-Front-Rear_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33564QQihZ005QQite mZ150227330052QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW
anyone ever use them? should I be a guinea pig? that price is !!!!!!!!!!

or is there somewhere else I can look? I am trying to spend no more than $120 per rotor

should I just go through JT and get the Power Slot rotors?

[ajay]

If this is your first brake service, I would suggest OEM pads and turning your existing rotors. I tend to buy my OEM pads from H and A... your should be able to have all 4 corners turned for about $60.

[bimdub]

If this is your first brake service, I would suggest OEM pads and turning your existing rotors. I tend to buy my OEM pads from H and A... your should be able to have all 4 corners turned for about $60.

well considering the prior owner of the car did track it, and that I have put 20K on it myself I would guess that the brakes were done shortly before I got the car.

and even then the point was I do not mind spending the money for something nice behind the wheel.....a big brake conversion would be really trick but way overkill, and likely to not work with my winter rims I am getting for next winter.

[repiv]

I go through this thinking process myself every year. I just did an underbody inspection and the brake pads are still ample. I also have about 50K miles on mine.
I've seen those rotors lately that you linked from TireRack and I really like the concept. I also like the looks of those from ebay. Either way, I don't think the stopping power of the car will improve since the OEM brakes work so well.
As with you, I'm getting a little bored with the "Plane Jane" look of the OEM brakes and my next set will be for looks so long as performance isn't diminished. If I tracked the car, I think I'd stick with the OEM rotors.
Sorry I can't help you much. I face the same dilemma myself. I'll be keenly interested in what you end up doing.

[ajay]

well considering the prior owner of the car did track it, and that I have put 20K on it myself I would guess that the brakes were done shortly before I got the car.

and even then the point was I do not mind spending the money for something nice behind the wheel.....a big brake conversion would be really trick but way overkill, and likely to not work with my winter rims I am getting for next winter.

If you read the feedback on the ebay rotors for the seller - you have to assume feedback = happiness with product and merchant - I really don't think that you can go wrong at that price.

[odcaapshs]

I just did some reading on it, and it seems that modern racing is all about the slotted, but not drilled rotors. Have you heard anything about increased pad wear? Also is there a big weight difference?

[physicns]

Drilled rotors may help outgassing of brake pads, but its primary advantage is lightness. When you're optimizing every last pound, a few ounces of unsprung mass can really affect the last 1/10 of a second, but this really doesn't apply to most of us. This comes at a high cost --in addition to increased pad wear, the holes create 'stress risers' and provide a location for crack initiation. I have a friend with a Porsche 996 turbo and he drives the crap out of it. I checked out his brakes and there are visible cracks along every single hole on his brake disks.

Slotted rotors are like the ones linked to tirerack, or JT's brake package. They have a shallow groove cut along the disk surface, primarily to aid in outgassing. Depending on the application, they may or may not increase your stopping power, but will always decrease pad life. Slotted rotors don't save much in terms of weight.

Vented rotors are the type of disks on our front brakes, where it looks like two disks offset with fins in between. This, of course, aids in cooling.

You can have any combination of the above, or a simple solid rotor (like our rear brakes). For street use, non-slotted, non-drilled rotors are ideal for pad life and are generally optimal for other performance attributes as well. If you're hardcore on the track, you may wish to go with slotted, but you'll have to do your homework to make sure the pads really need them. If the slots don't actually help, you're really just killing pads and dirtying your wheels :).

[rioyellows2k]

OEM rotors are the way to go. You can upgrade your Calipers to Spoon's monoblock 4-piston calipers which retain the OEM rotor for a little bit of $$ (okay $1400-ish) and use OEM pad sizing so finding any brake pad shouldn't be a problem..

But I've never been disappointed with the stock brakes.

[desmo4]

I am running Stillen rotors with Mtech Extreme pads up front and standard in the rear. The stopping power is phenomenal compared to the oems, I was going to put on AP calipers and rotors, but like with Brembo's they won't work with 16" wheels

Jonathan

[hamrhd]

Over a year ago I purchased drilled and slotted rotors from Brake Word and also a set or Rotex kelvar pads for the front of my S. Once I had gone through the reccomended brakein ritual and put on a few more miles i started to get on them. I was very impressed with the decreased stopping distance. They do not squeal at all and put out just a tiny bit of dust. They did not cost me the kind of money that oem would cost, and i was told (who knows) that the steel used was superior to what one would get from Japan. I also had them nickel plated and there is no rust.
They advertise in most major car mags.

[Goku]

check out Rotorworks on ebay. I got my rotors slotted from them. They can be cross drilled too for same price. Exclent rotors, no problems at all with them. Been to more AutoX's than I can remember, and with Hawk HP Plus pads and SS lines stopping is no problem for me.

Btw what are you looking to do? AutoX, Track, back roads fun? The setup I run is far better than stock, and for those of you that think your OEM pads and Rotors are better than aftermarket, you are just wrong. You need to try some aftermarket pads and rotors before you can say stock stopping power is fine. I mean it is fine for normal daily stuff, but when it comes to going fast stock just doesnt cut it compaired to aftermarket. Also the price is a big factor. Stock OEM is way over priced compaired to aftermarket rotors and pads that will decrease braking distance. If I remember right I paided 70bucks a rotor, for slotted rotors and some thing like 60 for rear and 70 for front for the Hawk HP Plus brake pads and 120 bucks for SS brake lines. This has been the best investment in my car so far. Braking is so much better and I have yet to over heat my brakes while on the track. Tho I would only recomend this setup for track junkies or those that dont mind noisy brakes and brake dust. I would recomend the same setup but Hawk HP pads instead for a street/performance setup.

I got the pads and SS lines from xlevel, and the rotors from Rotorworks on ebay for those that want to look at prices. I had to call rotorworks to get them to do the Slotted only but there was no charge for that, and service was excelent.