Rotors - Drilled, Slotted, Standard - what to choose?
 

So I've been having F+R squealing issues with my brakes for a few months now. I have 25% life remaining on the front pads and the rear pads were replaced about six months ago. I took it into the shop recently and they said my brakes are functioning just fine and it would be premature to replace them. So they just applied some anti squeal to the pads and it's subsided quite a bit, however I still get the occasional screech pulling to a light.

The shop told me that when the brakes are replaced the rotors should be replaced as well. How true is that? So now I'm looking into rotors. We've had a real scorcher of a summer here in Austin and not much rain. We've been in the upper nineties and above on average since June. I'm wondering if the squeal is due to the heat. So I was hoping that switching to drilled rotors would help alleviate that. I read that slotted and drilled rotors are really just for the track and for the daily driver slotted rotors will actually wear down your pads faster.

What type of rotors would you guys suggest? Anyone have an affordable reliable brand they can recommend?

I saw these on ebay, the price seemed kinda low so I'm sure I'll get the response "Well, you get what you pay for" but a lot of times with Porsche parts you pay way more for what you get because it's for a Porsche. I just want them to be safe and reliable.

Cquence Brake Rotors

Thanks

I’ve hear the argument for new rotors and it's no argument at all. I personally don’t buy. If your rotors are ground up, turn them. As long as they are in spec…with a good surface (and not warped), you should find another way to eliminate squeal. New rotors are a waste.

Stock breaks are more than adequate for buzzing around town.

Regards, PK

Stick with factory solid rotors... order them from Suncoast Porsche.

If you must, get the zimmerman and paint the hub yourself to prevent rust.

The front 987 rotors fit our 986 without any issues if you want to go with the cross drilled look.

The rears would have to be Zimmerman as the hubs from the 987 do not match the 986. If you opt for the Zimmerman rears make sure you paint the hat yourself.

As mentioned, you only have to replace your rotors if they are worn down beyond minimum specs or you have a warped rotor causing a pulsing in the brake pedal. The PO of my car had cross drilled on back and rotors that were cross drilled and slotted on front. The problem I had was that the front-left rotor was slotted only on the inside (must have been made on a Monday). I was having brake pedal pulsing along with a steering wheel vibration so I replaced the fronts with cross drilled only to be consistent with the back rotors. IMHO, in most applications and for most people, cross drilling is unwarranted overkill. But it does look cool. ;) I get occasional squeals but the brakes are very smooth now as they should be. Brake pad material choices can make a big difference in brake noise - the more aggressive the pad, usually the more squealing you get so that would be my next recommendation if you can't live with the noise you have now.

I can't speak for the boxster, since my 2000 has not squeeked when braking, however I have a 2004 Jaguar XJR with big bembro brakes which has a tendency to squeek, even with new pads.
The mechanic at the dealership told me that overtime, the pad can accumulate some type of residue, which will produce a squeeking noise when the brakes are applied. You can either manually have the pads scraped, or try the following:
Drive about 40-50 MPH and apply the brakes hard! Do this 3-4 times. This will clean the pads of this residue and the noise will go away (also, it's fun). This has worked for my Jag every time. I have to do this about every 7000 miles.

Good luck!
Eric

Thanks for all the info guys. There's so much to learn but I'm learning.

Someone mentioned earlier that if I got the Zimmerman rotors I should paint the hats? I'm not quite sure what that means and why would you need to paint them?

The 'hat' is the center part that attaches to the hub, does not come into contact with the pads. You paint them so they do not rust.