I'm trying to improve the poor braking on my gorgeous 2001 XK8 in any financially sensible fashion possible. And am considering upgrading to drilled rotors. But have had bad luck with eBay-china drilled&slotted rotors on my other vehicle. The problem is that after 40mph they Buzz like a fan. Then when you press the brake it sounds embarrassing next to others! Sad part is.... Darn things STOP Great!!!

Have heard soo many conflicting opinions ( it's the dimples. - it's the slots)
I wanted to hear what you all have experienced.

I love this car and don't want to "ricer" it with sillyness.

 

I have dimpled and slotted rotors from Performance brake on my XKR, no problems, except that they are no longer made.

 

OE Brembo cross drilled on mine.

No more noisy than my previous 2001 XK8 with plain discs.

Graham

 

You may want to try using EBC Red Stuff Pads, they certainly up the stopping power. I too am think of slotted or drilled rotors, either EBC or Premium Rotors from R1Concepts. Any other owners out there had issue with noisy drilled and slotted rotors?

 

I will be putting these on mine soon with Hawk HPS pads
Mark Link
Diversified Cryogenics
2180 County Road 42 West
Burnsville, MN 55337
ml@frozenrotors.com
www.frozenrotors.com


I put plain frozen rotors on last XK8, and did notice slight sandpaper noise when braking.

 

Properly installed, you should have no more noise problems with drilled, slotted, etc rotors than standard types. Did you do the work on your other cars yourself? Did you put anti seize grease or a "disc brake quiet*" product on the back side of the pads?

* don't use on pads that have shims. You may use anti seize on all types.

 

I didn't know the lowly XK8 4.2-S also got the big Brembos.

I suddenly feel less special

 

A linked option at £1574.47 + VAT = £1850.00 extra.



It's even shown in the super hardback book you have on the 4.2-S

You've still got those special holes in the bonnet.

Graham

 

Strange that your calipers are Jaguar/silver while mine are Brembo/red. Maybe it was Jaguar's way of making XKR owners feel superior, even if underneath the paint the brakes were identical?

 

The sales and advertising at the time made much of the introduction of red Brembo calipers on the 'R' without giving any technical details on the difference between these and the silver Brembo ones.



Although they have completely different part numbers, the fact they are exactly the same price suggests it's nothing more than a cosmetic difference.

Also they both take the same pad set.....

Graham

 

Drilled and slotted rotors make no difference in stopping distance other than in all out racing conditions and even then it's sometimes questionable. If your car is not stopping properly with standard OEM rotors and pads, I'd find out why.

 

Just to throw another spanner in the works Graham , my 98 XK8 has Brembo's with cross drilled discs but mine has the early calipers which are painted a dark metallic grey as standard , the calipers differ from the later ones in as much as the caliper has a built in mounting bracket. This enables the calipers to bolt straight on to the vertical link without having to tap the thread out , as is necessary for the later Brembo's if retro fitting .
They take the same pads as both later types of caliper
No problem with any additional noise with the cross drilled discs incidentally





All the best

NikasilNik

 

And from the pics I've seen of your car, I bet yours look a lot prettier than mine!

Graham

 

I like those anthracite calipers, pretty yet discreet. When I spec my dream Aston online, l always choose dark grey calipers.

 

Let's be clear about why anyone would spec different rotors (discs) or calipers.
1)Cross-Drilled rotors helps prevent warping of the rotor by releasing heat and cooling the rotor by up to an additional 105 degrees Fahrenheit when compared to non-driled rotors.
2)Slotted brake rotor reduces debris and prevents brake pad glazing by capturing and removing debris as you brake and drive. The end result is better braking, longer pad life, and reduction in unnecessary rotor wear.
3) Material is usually a grade or Iron compound called G3000, alternative higher carbon content discs have a (slightly) higher co-efficient of friction.
4) Pads, metallic, ceramic, exotic compounds, all effect braking, choose the right one for the kind of driving you do.
5) Calipers, bigger , more pistons, better L-R balance all = more stopping power.
6) Big stuff looks good, especially to small boys:-)

 

Drilled and slotted rotors actually reduce braking force. What they do is to allow water to be removed more rapidly in the case of track situations. They do add to the cooling somewhat by allowing air to enter the ventilation space between the disks at multiple points to be exhausted out the edge. Pad selection is important to restore the force from lost braking area from the slots and holes. For drilled and slotted rotors, a more aggressive pad is needed to keep the braking force up. Most aggressive pads require more heat to function, and this can be a problem in a street car. If you have high performance pads, you will notice that the brakes are weak until you get them hot. They also tend to be squeakier. Unless you drive your car on the track or at high Autobon speeds, stick with the factory original brakes, they actually are better to live with..

 

While holes and slots may allow water drainage, their real function is to vent off gassing at high temperatures to let the pad contact the rotor.

no contact = no brakes

 

You're all wrong; the REAL function of holes and slots is to make the owner look cool

 

+1

I can just about take the argument for the benefit of slots on a road car but holes - no!

Every time I have the wheels off my XK8 (usually four times a year), the holes are completely clogged with brake dust and I have to use a drill bit to clear them.

Graham

 

Same here, except I use a compressed air gun. Does a good job, but brake dust goes everywhere