Brake Rotor Advice
 

It has come time to change the brake rotors on my 2000 S. Fronts are barely legal, the rears probably have another 10k km on them but I am going to change them all at once.

What are the best brand of rotors to buy, and from what supplier? Price is not going to be the main deciding factor, however I always shop for value. Also, I am running a hard Pagid race pad (RS 5 front, 4-2's on the rear) so I don't know if this makes a difference??

All input is appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Daniel

I too run full race 1200F pads and prefer plain jane Zimmerman rotors. Maximum surface area for maximum heat soak and low price. My brother runs Power slot rotors which are on sale at Tire Rack now for 1/2 price. Both are good choices if you use ALL of your brakes at the track regularly. The Zimmermans were good enough for both PCA regional and Zone TT championships as well as 6 PCA track records in class last year.

Unfortunately "best brand" is entirely subjective so responses will probably be as varied as snowflakes.

I was excited until I searched on the '02 S:
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Yep, available at $78 for Base Boxster only. Bummer if you drive an S. You can still get them for a Box S here though:
http://www.********************************************************************************************/search/?Ntt=power+slot+rotors

I use Cquence rotors. Very affordable. I have used both the Boxster S-style drilled version and the base-style solid version. Both work fine on street and track.

Boxster S drilled, fronts and rears = $638.

http://www.cquence.net/

If all you're doing is street driving, I've been told by some of our expert forum members to stick with the OEM rotors, even if you track the car. Pedro has said on numerous occasions that he has yet to see a stock rotor from a Boxster warp, ever, whether it's tracked or daily driven or both. I have to say, if that's the case, this is probably one area where Porsche didn't skimp on cost. When it comes time for my rotors to be replaced, new OEM rotors will be going right back on.

Good point, Overdrive. Certainly our cars come with fantastic brakes. And they are WAY more capable in the braking department than a car would ever need on the street.
With Hawk HT-10s and nice street tires on the track, the otherwise stock brakes perform exceptionally well. If I had to pick a nit, however, I would say the OEM drilled rotors tend to crack more than I like over time with repeated track use. My rotors need to be replaced due to the wear they have incurred. That said, they are also unsafe to use on the track anymore because of the long cracks emanating from the holes. Because of this, I'll be going with Performance Friction two-piece rotors for the front next time.

I've used three brands of rotors (including Porsche stock) and never noticed any difference in braking (that I can attribute to the rotor). Pad selection seems to be the primary determining factor in brake feel and performance.

I've heard nothing but good things about Hawk pads, and I think I'm going to try out a set when it comes time to change pads. I like that they make a product that's liveable for the street but can also do the job quite well on the track.

Hey Overdrive, what pad of Hawk's can serve double duty? I'm not familiar with any that can. The HT-10 is definitely not a pad for daily street driving. I think their closest pad that's a little more mild is the HPS, and there's no way I'd run that on a Boxster around the track.

They have an "HP Plus" listed online that's a Track & AX purposed pad, but it's my understanding that, while they may not last as long as your typical street-only pad like the HPS (because they probably bite like a mongoose on crack), they're supposed to be at least liveable on the street so that you don't actually have to change out your pads just to run on the track. It'd be the buyer's preference, clearly, because I'm sure there are plenty of other options out there that will be as liveable off the track as on, but I figure I can modulate myself to not stomp on the brake pedal and stop 100 feet short of the red light when driving home from the track, lol.

I agree with you about the HPS, though, not something meant for the rigors of track running.

Oh, that's right. I forgot about the HP+. I honestly don't think they're suitable for the street or the track. I think they're great for autocross, though. They sound like a race pad when driven on the street. Great cold bite.

Thanks for the input everyone.

As for the pads Overdrive, have a look at the Pagid yellow series, RS 19 and 29 from memory. These are standard equipment on the Gt-3 I have been told. It is a race pad but made for endurance races, I think the most streetable full race pad.

The RS 5 (f) and RS 4-2 (r) that I am running are just hell on the rotors and squeal like crazy until they reach operating temperature. Of course they never reach operating temperature on the road unless you drive like someone with a death wish.

Thanks for the recommendation, Daniel R, I've heard the name before, so I'll have to look into them. Thankfully a pad change isn't in the too near future. As I found out just yesterday evening, the brakes that the car comes with are damn good. I had someone stop short at a red light for some inexplicable reason, causing the person in between us to jam on their brakes with maybe 15-20ft between us, if that. Coasting to a stop at ~20mph suddenly felt very fast, but I managed to keep the Boxster's nose out of the rear of a Corolla with a good foot stomp, and stopped way shorter than I expected to. Had I been in my own Corolla that might have been a very different situation.