My new to me 2010 XKR is going into the shop tomorrow for the next two or three weeks to have some cosmetic as well as performance updates done. I have not had a chance to do much "spirited" driving since I got it about a month ago, but today in an extremely rural, isolated stretch of farmland about an hour north of Los Angeles, I just wanted to test both acceleration and braking before I take it in and before I take it to the track later on this fall.

I have been a little concerned about the sponginess of the brakes, and I am certain that the previous owner put aftermarket pads on it because my experience with my convertible XKR is when I put aftermarket pads on it I had the same feeling. When I switched back to OEM, it was much better.

So, I will change pads, but I'm thinking about drilled or drilled and slotted rotors while I'm at it. I have read some of the previous posts, but could not find any that referred to a specific rotor/pad combination or any personal experiences with any specific combo.

I accelerated to about 120 mph and then braked moderately hard and was a bit concerned about the lack of bite.

Any recommendations?

 

Drilling is only for show, it will not help the "bite" of the brakes in any way and if you do go hard on them they can crack.

If you want a high performance rotor then slotted is the way to go, or stick with plain rotors.

I put EBC Yellowstuff pads on my XJR with R1 Concepts slotted rotors, the braking is phenominal, but i'm not sure if that will directly translate to a non-Brembo vehicle...

 

Note: Mine is not an XKR
Drilled rotors are actually for track cars, as they cool faster. They are prone to cracking, and for a race team they just write replacing them off as standard maintenance.
Solid and slotted are the only real smart choice for a street car.

If your an aggressive driver, your brakes will run hotter, and you will need a hotter pad. Not a lot of choices for a Jag, as I had hoped to go back to Hawks but none existed. Fortunately EBC finally adapted the NRS backing plates so I decided to try the EBC Yellowstuff. The pad is slow to warm up, but aggressive drives let you nail them hard with predictable feedback. Once they start getting too hot, they begin to squeel a tad.
I also ordered a custom set of Porterfields, but the cold squeal killed me and I pulled them after only a few months.

Rotors go from mild to wild. My preference is StopTech. Since they bought/merged with PowerSlot, they gained access to PowerSlots Cryo facilities, so now you can get any ST and pay for a cryo treatment if you like.... I did just my fronts....

R1 Concepts was a joke when they first came on the market. They bought cheap blanks, CNCed a "V" groove in the disk and called it their "Patented V-Grove design". Anyone that knows metallurgy knows this was a stupid idea, showing that R1 themselves knew nothing about brakes or metal. They did look good, and sold cheap on Fleabay, and I guess cheap is all the honda crowd cared about...
Since then, I think they finally dropped the V-grove (duh) and started carrying other brands. Personally I wouldn't touch them with a 10 foot pole regardless of how much they have grown up.

Vince

 

Everyone has their own opinions & experiences with different brands.

I came from warping the OEM Brembo rotors TWICE, and needing something that will hold up. After hammering the brakes at a track day where they got so hot that the coating burnt away, they are still true and no shuddering, this was a big plus for me.

Pics here https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...00/#post870428

 

If you're going to track the car, I'd also suggest switching to DOT4 brake fluid such as Motul RBF600.


Rich

 

As the others have stated drilled is not a good idea. I'll express my own opinion that slotted will not shorten stopping distance or improve pad feel. These two features might make a difference in all out racing, but not on street driven cars.

Sounds like your car does not stop as well as Jaguar designed and manufactured, might want to find out why.

 

I have used EBC Red Stuff ceramics on stock rotors for the last couple of months. After break-in, I prefer them over the stock pads. Initial bite is clearly better, still progressive, shorter stopping distances, less dust.

If I tracked this car, based on other track experience I'd probably use Yellow Stuff and Stop Tech slotted rotors.

 

I was using EBC Yellow Stuff on my front and rear until I replaced the fronts with the Alcon Calipers. I still use them in the rear and they are great performance Street brakes. I have front pair for sale cheap as well