so its time to replace the front rotors on old red. and i am wondering is it better to go with cross drilled or slotted rotors rather than the stock. if i leave everything else stock? i will probably replace the pads as well. but will i see any signifigant gain?

i understand that they reduce heat which allows for better stopping but, which do i want cross drilled? slotted? or will i just be spenindg a few extra bucks for not much.

i wish i had the money to upgrade rotor size and calipers and do a rear disc conversion but alas i am a poor college student...

 

i went with sloted rotors with 1 ton calipers and brake pads and the rear i went with a 96 chevy 1 ton dually wheel cylinders and yes that combo help alot and the price was not bad either...

 

I also went with slotted rotors. In my opinion, these trucks are too heavy to go with drilled rotors.

 

alright is there any particular brand out there of the slotted rotors? i was just gonna run up to Orilley's and see what they got, i just gotta get rid of the warped rotor effect i have right now. and i figured why not try to upgrade a lil bit.

hey padodgeram how much did that upgrade cost? and where did you get your parts? i think i read somethin on your set-up in another post and that sounds like something that would be nice to do this summer or when i get more cash flow..

 

I run a Brembo rotor, but I have heard good things about Baer and Powerslot rotors as well. Here is a post I did awhile back on this topic though:

I urge you to use caution when selecting rotors that have been slotted, and escpecially drilled. Often what you will find is that companies selling so called "performance rotors" are really just taking an OEM rotor, and drilling or slotting it, not what it was designed for. An OEM rotor is made from gray iron (SAE specified J431 G3000), which is choosen primarily for its heat handling and vibration absorbtion properties. What drilling and slotting an OEM rotor does is actually makes it weaker then the original OEM rotor was when it was a solid unit.

A true drilled or slotted rotor (i.e. one that is designed to be drilled or slotted), should have something added to the material to make it stronger after it has been drilled or slotted. The most common added element is a chromium-nickel alloy, but molybdenum or vanadium would work too. It should also have a drill pattern that allows the rotor to retain as much strength as possible. Randomly drilled holes could result in weak areas once the force of the pad is applied to the rotor.

If you had a light weight car, and you only did daily driving, none of this would really matter. But keep in mind that you have a full size Ram that weighs in excess of 4500 lbs. You may also happen to tow or haul loads, run larger then stock tires, and may even like to offroad. These are all things that will put additional stress on your rotors. This is when you have to decide if you really want to depend on an OEM grade rotor that someone drilled holes in (effectively making it weaker).

I personally run slotted rotors that have chromium-nickel alloy added, made by Brembo (see link in my sig for pictures). Because I tow a lot in the mountains, including very steep mountain passes, I would never run a drilled rotor. The slotted ones I have do make a very noticable difference in braking performance. I recommend a ceramic pad or a semi metallic though because a slotted or drilled rotors will chew up a pad faster, and full metallics like to leave a lot of dust when this happens.

 

I am using powerslot rotors. You can tell a difference in braking. It's nothing dramatic but the difference is there. They seem to bite a little more than the stock rotors. Listen to what Silver is saying about pads. It's almost a must to use performace pads. Here is what powerslot says on their web-site about the rotors.

"Excessive heat can cause resins in your brake pad to vaporize or "outgas." As the brake pad wears, the used friction material turns into a fine dust. This boundary layer of heat, gas and dust builds up between the pad and rotor surfaces and inhibits performance. Here's where Power Slot's slotted brake rotors make a big difference.

Power Slot's exclusive Vac-U-Slots are machined into the rotor and help evacuate gasses and dust, shed heat, and keep the brake pad surface clean. And in wet, raining conditions, our Vac-U-Slot helps push water off the braking surface for better stopping power."

 

i got mine thru the local parts store total cost with out the rotor upgrade was 150-160 range ...

 

If you want a firmer pedal you can add on some Stainless Steel woven brake lines.

 

The cheap Jasper brake pads have had the best stopping power of the ones I have tried.
More brake dust but better stopping. I gotta do that 1 ton wheel cylinder mod one of these days...

 

yes you will... I swapped over to PowerStop cross-drilled rotors & powerstop pads and had significant improvement in the way the truck stopped after the swap. Got them from SummitRacing.com and the cost for them was something like $30~40 bux more than what Napa had to offer so I felt it was worth it at the time and had no regrets.