I did a search on this topic and found exactly one Zillion posts. It seems like it's all pretty straight forward, but there is some conflicting info on the LS1/LT1 rear axle width issue and how to resolve it.

In any case, my LT1 car needs brakes anyway, so I'm going to swap LS1's all around with cross-drilled, slotted rotors and high performance pads. I have three questions:

Is there a good tech article out there that covers the entire front/rear swap in detail with pics? I didn't find one in the search, but I didn't read all Zillion posts.

I've seen full sets of drilled/slotted rotors (all 4) ranging from $150 to $300. WTF is the functional difference that makes the price vary so much? Also, some seem to have left/right rotors regarding the slot design. What's the scoop on the D/S rotors, who makes the best, etc.?

I want the best pads for performance. I don't care if they wear out every 10,000 miles, I want the best stopping power in combination with the above D/S rotors. Any advice on brands, materials, etc.?

Paul 'X'

 

OK, you DeadBeats!!!

Here's what I've learned so far. No Thanks to YOU!!!

Cross-drilled: Holes are drilled through the rotor to dissipate heat. Cross drilling is very effective for heat dissipation. It will prolong the life to the pads, rotors and improve stopping power. It also shed off water under-wet driving condition.

Slotted: A line cut on the surface of the rotors to dissipate heat and increase bite. Slotted rotors will bring up the operation temperature of the braking components much faster over cross-drilled, yet it dissipates the heat at the same time. The added bite will reduce the stopping distance. Slotted rotor does not scarify the structural integrity of the rotor.

Dimple: In a way it is very much like slotted rotors with the cross-drilled looks. Work the same way as slotted rotors, but looks exactly like cross-drilled and less pad wear. Dimple rotor does not scarify the structural integrity of the rotor.

The combination of cross-drilled and slotted or dimple and slotted will give you the best of both world. It will dissipate heat and increase bite for better stopping power.

The slot in our slotted rotors does not run over to the edge of the rotor. Slotting the rotor over the edge will weaken the structural integrity of the rotor. As it will create weak point.

There still seems to be debate over the reality of cross-drilling actually causing a rotor to break. Anyone have this happen???

Paul 'X'

 

Cross drilled rotors were originally designed to relieve the "outgassing" produced when pads would get hot. The bond between the pad molecules would 'boil' and produce a hot steamlike gas. This really isn't an issue with modern 'performance' pads.

Not to mention it is common to crack the rotor.

Slotted rotors were originally created to combat the problem of 'glazed' pads, where pads would come up to temperature quickly and the contact area would glaze over, and the pad would ride on a slick layer of 'consumed' dust and was not able to generate much braking torque. This also is no longer a problem.

An interesting note, though: I wish I would have gotten slotted rotors on my brake kit though (this wouldn't apply to LS1 brakes) since my brake pad compound dusts heavily, and my friend who uses the same compound on the same brake kit has less noise problems. (The noise is proportional to the level of dust in this pad compound... clean the brakes, the noise subsides)

Again, same as above, but probably useless.

Lots of people have had their slotted and drilled rotors break. Its just for looks anymore. Don't buy into it if you don't have a reason to.

Also, don't waste your cash on rear LS1 brakes, they're really no better than what you've got out back now.

 

Thanks for the info, TheHeadFL!

It sounds like you have some good experience with different brake pad materials... If you could give me some more tech on that I would be forever in your debt! I am most interested in the maximum stopping power, and don't care about wearing through pads/rotors quickly. Brake dust pisses me off to no end, but it's a personal problem not related to performance...

I was planning to swap to the LS1 fronts because 1) It's pretty cheap, and 2) The dual piston caliper should provide at least some improved performance, right??? Coolness factor is there too on this issue.

I agree about the rear LS1 setup and I probably won't do it unless I get it cheap. It looks like if I shop around for a few months I can get a complete LS1 rear just as cheap as the brakes are going for. However, there are also two reasons I like the LS1 rears... 1) Much better parking brake design. 2) Thicker rotors. I am murder on brakes, and warp a set at least once per year no matter what I'm driving. Anything I can do to increase the 'warp-free lifespan' of my rotors will be greatly beneficial.

I'm leaning towards the complete LS1 brakes all-around with slotted-only rotors. If nothing else, it does look kinda cool, as ashamed as I am to admit that I might spend extra on something that looks cool but has no performance value.

Paul 'X'

 

Well, I really only know brake compounds manufactured by Wilwood, who manufactured my brake kit. They make for my kit a few levels of pads. Right now I am running a 'race' pad more than a 'street' pad. It is a medium temperature compound though, so it doesn't require really any warmup.

Basically, with them it breaks down like:

"E" What I am running now. Aluminum based pad compound, huge temperature tolerance, lots of brake torque, high coefficient of friction, but it also SQUEALS when cold or hot, and makes dust like no other. I plan soon to change to ...

"D" Compound. This is a little more mild for the street, and works marginally better when stone cold. Not as high of a temperature tolerance (but I don't need 1000+ degF pads) and lower dust, lower noise.

"Q" Compund is what my buddy Matt runs now. He used to run "E" like me, but he switched. These are an organic type compound, I believe, with no noise and low dust. They don't stop quite as well as D or E but much better than stock.

They go lower than that, but even though those are Wilwood specific brake compounds, many high performance pads from companies like Hawk will break down the same.