Your argument is not vs me it vs the industry.

Here is what is posted on Wilwoods tech site.

Why are some rotors drilled or slotted?
Rotors are drilled to reduce rotating weight, an issue near and dear to racers searching for ways to minimize unsprung weight. Drilling diminishes a rotor's durability and cooling capacity.
Slots or grooves in rotor faces are partly a carryover from the days of asbestos pads. Asbestos and other organic pads were prone to "glazing" and the slots tended to help "scrape or de-glaze" them. Drilling and slotting rotors has become popular in street applications for their pure aesthetic value. Wilwood has a large selection of drilled and slotted rotors for a wide range of applications.

This should answer your questions.

This is much of what EBC, Hawk, Stainless Steel Brakes and other have or will tell you.

I also have dug up the info from racers and what their pro's and con'c are. Most of what they have to say will back up what the MFG preach.

All I am trying to do here is give out some correct information that is not some seat of the pants observation. I work with these companies and when they are truthful on their products the word needs to get out.

With the web and forums a lot of good info get passed but also we get a lot of inaccurate info passed around till it become true.

You have every right to your opinion and I do not begrudge that in any way but make sure you understand all the facts. It is times like this people start to believe things like the Tornado, SplitFired plugs and electric superchargers really work.

I am lucky to work with a lot of tech deparments in the performance aftermarkets. I also get to meet and deal with the staffs of many of the compainies. I see and hear what the truth is and just try to pass it along. If it saves someone a lot of money or fixes the problem that is a win for all of us.

The bottom line is EBC pads are what make a differance and they work so I will brag on them all day. Now the Rotors are fine if you can afford them and understand there is little to gain with them. There is some small benifits bu it is more estetics than anything.

If you want to believe the facts or not or If you want to disagree I can give you Willwoods or EBC number so you can tell them your observations.

I just want to make sure people understand what the MFG claim on their own products and make smart buy when changing parts on their cars. The better the public is informed the easier my job is.

You should hears some of the crap people believe that is false.

 

Excellent information, but one thing I would keep in mind is that surface area helps with disipating heat. That is why heatsinks have fins. So, by having dimples and slots drilled in the rotor, you are increasing the surface area.

Also, according to the website, the yellow pads are for racing and the red are for 'faster street driving'.

I say this because I just got my rotors and red pads and am waiting for a day to install them when it is not 99 degrees outside.

 

Sorry! you are correct I got my yellow and red mixed up. The EBC web site gives a good listing of what pads to use and how to bed them in. I am at work now and I have the catalog on my desk. I was just rereading it since it has been a while since I read anything more than the application guide in it.

As for the dimples they acocunt for so little suface area they should not matter. Also you have the trade off as there is less material to absorb the heat too. There again it is so little it really makes little differance.

The fins inside the front rotors do more heat release than anything. Since the rear brakes do so little of the stopping they leave them off to save weight and I am sure some money too. The rear temps really stay low on most cars.

I am sure you will like your new pads. Do make sure to follow the bedding instructions. Also they will makes some noise at first. Once they seat in you will see better perfromance and the noise will go away.

Also if you do not already use it look for Sil Glyde brake lube to lube the slide points on the caliper. This is great high temp stuff and it works very well.

Too many people fail to lub and clean the caliper slide points and end up with a inside brake rubbing till it wears our prematurely.

 

I already bought a container of some synthetic brake lube that is supposed to be great (cost almost 20 bucks so it better be). As for brake in, all the instructions say is to avoid hard stops for the first 300 miles. Are there more specific steps I should be aware of?

 

The brakes will grind and be a little grippy for the first 100-150 miles. This is due to the Brake-In material they use to clean up the rotors.

They will be bedded in pretty well by 300 miles.

Any noise, grip and any other issues associated with new pads should be gone by 1000 miles.

The most important part is the first 300-500 miles as you just need to drive normal and try to refrain from any hard stops. This time allows the pads to become geometrically matched to the rotos.

You also will get extra dust in the first 300 miles as they Brake-In material will leave some extra dust.

EBC states "Divers Must be Patient"

You should be ok with the synthetic lub.

I had trouble with brakes on my Sonoma for years and once I went to EBC they have been great ever since. Better stopping no warping, no noise, little dust and better wear. I have the ZQ8 suspension on it and even auto cross it. I wish I had know about these pads sooner.

Hope this helps.

 

EBC told me not to use any lube on the pads.Also bottom line these pad and rotors do make a huge difference on our HHRs

 

Who said use lube on the pads?

The slide pins and on any other moving suface on a floating caliper that lets it slide needs to be addressed.

I have done brakes on many different cars and trucks and all usally have points that need cleaned and lubed. But at no time lube should it ever come in contact with the pad material or rotor surface.

I have not done a HHR yet but I assume they also have these points that need addressed.

I do agree the pads should make a big improvment.

 

Would just replacing the pads do any good? I have a mild case of the shinnies and dont want to have the rotors turned.

 

Sorry no! If they are warped you can only replace or turn them to fix it. the EBC pads have a break in coating that will remove the glaze off the rotos but they will not fix them if they warped.

If it is a small warpage you can take a light cut to true them up. But cut as little off as needed.

 

And keep in mind that they are thin to begin with and prone to warping. So cutting them will only be a temporary fix. Sooner or later you will have to have them replaced, then you can either go with factory that are still thin and will keep warping or going aftermarket to something meatier that will last.