Hi - anybody has experience getting brake pads and rotors replaced on first generation XKR?

When I took mine for an oil change - the shop advised me to replace the pads and rotors next time I do another oil change. The shop that did balancing recommended the same thing.

I've heard recommendations on the pads - anywhere from EBC Red Stuff to Akebono. A few friends recommend cross drilled rotors - some others say that plain rotors will work just fine.

Mine is an '03 XKR with stock Brembo and plain rotors. Is there really any marked difference in performance btw cross-drilled vs slotted vs plain? There seem to be some pretty good difference in price.

I am using the car as a weekend toy - almost never driven it during weekdays - maybe a quick run to the petshop with my Sheltie on the passenger seat - hey a proper British dog needs to ride a proper British car (I have problems ... I know .... ).

I do most of the weekend driving on the interstate or around Texas Hill Country (read: 2 lane country road - 70 speed limit - little traffic). My 'sketchier' behavior happened on these country roads.

Any recommendation what to get? I've heard of a rotor manufacturer called Disc Italia - anybody ever use their products?

Thks.
Bob
03 XKR - platinum - convertible

 

Drilled and slotted rotors help keep the brakes cool under high-performance driving conditions. The slots and holes help to dissipate the heat. If you never intend to race the car or run from the police, drilled rotors would just be a waste of money. I assume that your worst-case driving scenario would be having to slam on the brakes to avoid a deer. solid rotors will stop you just as fast as drilled rotors in that situation.

Brake pads, on the other hand, can make a huge difference in stopping distance. Buy quality brake pads.

Of course, drilled and slotted rotors look really cool. I assume that's why the vast majority of people buy them. It's really just an aesthetic upgrade for most people.

 

This is right on target...you only need drilled rotors if you are track driving or club driving. The street driving you mention would waste them. If cost is not an object, they do look more racy and that means something on an XKR. I have one as well with the drilled rotors and when they need replacement, I will use the drilled rotors, even though my driving is like yours, not high performance by any means. The main difference is in the pads, get the best quality you can afford, keeping in mind that the racier they are, the more they will wear the rotors and squeal and stop slower when cold. On my car, I would use EBC green or red street pads, Akebono ceramics are not powerful enough for a sporty car in my book, they are for low noise and low dust, not performance, great on my XJ8, not the XKR. Pads always seem to have compromises.

 

Anybody know a good source for drilled or slotted rotors for an XKR with Brembos?

 

I dont know if it was a mixup but as I was ordering I verified it 4 times for right and left front rotors for an 03xkr euro spares drilled off of ebay there is a company Car Parts discounts but instead of ordering them from the auction I called direct and got them shipped front drilled eurospare rotors for an 03 with brembo for $235 right and left that is by far the cheapest you can find them besides a junkyard PERIOD!!!!!!!!

 

I think punctuation is groovy.

 

I went through the same decision process with my 03 XKR. I went with cross drilled rotors mostly for the look factor. I got them from AutohausAZ. The rorors were W0133-1657304 rear; W0133-1657609 Front. The pads were general replacement (cant recall the manufacturer) W0133-1597759 Rear; W0133-1598119 Front. I'm including the part numbers because it was not clear from the website what exactly fit the Brembo cars. Cost Was $821 shipped.

 

Do a search for messages by 2000blackxkr. He knows of a web site that is dirt cheap but not cheap material.

When I bought my 2000 XK8 my right caliper pads were worn and started to eat the rotor. I had the car for about a week. I returned to the dealer that sold me the car and they wanted 500 for the rotors and pads.

I argued about having to pay that amount when I just purchased the car and was told that everything had been inspected and was within specs. At the time I had the web site address that 2000blackxkr had posted in a message here and showed the managers I could get four rotors and pads for the price they were talking about. Then I told them they sold me a car that was unsafe and I was not going to pay their price and was going to turn the car over to the company that was holding the title.

I ended up paying 150.00. So do a search and send him a message and you might be able to save some money. It helped me.

I don't mind paying for parts that I should have to pay for but not for parts on a car that was just purchased for top dollar and had only 27,000 miles on the clock.

 

Totally agree with Sam. Drilled/slotted rotors were borne out of the sport of racing. A couple of other facts - drilled rotors dissipate heat a little better when they're truning REALLY fast like a fan, but at slower speeds with alot of braking, the downside is they have less mass, making them a worse heat sink. Another fact - drilled and especially slotted rotors shred pads, so pad life is always less. Not a big deal on a race car where pads are changed far more often than a street car.

Agree too - they look cool and should be chosen for aesthetic reasons over any functionality on a street car.

 

Not only do they have less mass, but they have less surface area in contact with the brake pad which negatively affects braking under normal conditions (the slots don't contact the brake pad). They have better stopping power than solid rotors when driven aggressively, but under normal driving conditions, they will be slightly less effective.

 

I found this shop on eBay:

http://www.irotors.com/storefrontpro...40&i=233248653

Sounds too good to be true for rotors and pads with that price ... anybody ever purchased from them?

 

It doesn't seem like that good of a deal to me. In another thread I posted a link to some rotors and pads on eBay which were much cheaper. Keep searching.

 

If he's looking for 'R' rotors, then they may be a good deal. Our N/A versions have more readily available aftermarket options. Plus, that's 4 rotors and 4 sets of pads.

 

Yeah... I just found the eBay ad I mentioned. It was $480 for 4 rotors and pads. I don't know what I was thinking about.

Personally, I'd buy just the rotors and get some good pads. That website has the rotors for $400 with no pads. I'd buy the rotors and then get some EBC Red Stuff pads.

 

If you're considering cross drilled for anything other than looks, I can vouch that unless you're racing, they aren't any help. This is the first car that I have had with cross drilled rotors and I don't notice any better stopping power than a good set of regular rotors and pads would provide on this car. But they do look sweet

 

Thks for the comments/suggestions.

I am not really looking for cross-drilled rotors - just for a good solution for brake pads/rotors replacement that does not cost an arm and a leg. The shop where I took the car for service offered the cross-drilled option.

Also - I found out other car forums (MB, BMW, Infiniti, Acura) that discuss Irotors (product experience, buying experience, customer service etc) - more positives than negatives.

Cross-drilled does look good - but - I know I'm biased on this - the XKR itself looks dad-gum cool already ..... :P

 

Has anyone found any good sources for the xkr rear R Performance drilled package Rotors Ive found the fronts and cant find anyone cheaper than about $250 the company that sold me the fronts told me they cant get the rears??

 

0011 try SNG Barratt in NH, I think they have the rears. BTW, where did you find the fronts?

 

I got the fronts from carpartsdiscount.com $197.95 plus shipping eurospare cross drilled

 

I found these on eBay. $187 with free shipping for FOUR rotors. Slotted and cross-drilled.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/JAGUA...ht_1056wt_1167