Tired of Buying the Same Part!!!

[Lefty]

IMO, if you can skid your tires in a panic stop, then bigger rotors won't stop you any quicker. But if you use your brakes a lot, like in mountains or autocross, they could be handy.

It would seem as though I am stopping faster. Of course, I have just done a brake job.

There is an explanation for why they work. Cross drilled keep the braking surfaces free from brake dust, therefore giving the calipers more grab. Cross drilled minimizes fade. Pads heat up immediately even during a single hard stop, so much so that the air expands and pushes back against the calipers. Those little holes absorb the air, water too if it's raining.

Our Gen II Rangers come with ABS. The wheels should not lock up. We are talking about fractions of a second in an emergency stop. Still those fractions translate into a shortened stopping distance. Maybe it's only a foot or two, but that can make all the difference.

WHY CROSS-DRILLED/SLOTTED ROTORS?
Drilled and Slotted brake rotors are designed to increase braking performance and are a perfect choice for vehicles with great looking wheels. While we do not recommend drilled and slotted brake rotors for severe duty applications like racing, police, ambulance, or towing they do work excellent for street driven performance vehicles.

Drilled and Slotted Brake Rotors Features and Benefits:

• Provides improved braking performance
• Cleans and refreshes the brake pad surface
• Prevents gases from collecting between the brake pad and rotor
• Better wet weather braking
• Enhanced aesthetic appearance

Why Cross Drilled Slotted Rotors

frozenrotors.com

 

[JoshT]

I'm not going to put any effort into arguing against drilled and/or slotted rotors, and will simply say I wouldn't run them in 90% of cases. IMO their only place is to make people look at them on a show car. Plenty of stuff out there online about reasons not to use them and them not being better.

I will say that I wouldn't put much stock in the claims made by people trying to sell those rotors. Instead I'd look for the experiences of people that have tried to use them in scenarios that would test those claims. I think you'll find that most of them are still running plain rotors for a reason.

Unique knuckle. It's kind of like a combination between the 4wd and the 2wd coil spring knuckles. The spindle, portion where the bearings ride, is essentially the same on both 2wd versions. It's kind of like a 2wd coil knuckle with 4wd suspension attach points.

I guess I was kind of wrong about this. It would be difficult for the edge knuckle to be a combination of those two when it was introduced on the Explorer 2 years before the SLA coil spring suspension was introduced on the Ranger. Kind of makes me wonder about Fords parts binning even more. Still don't understand the lack of a V8 in the Ranger when everything was in the shelf. Now I kind of wonder why the coil spring 2wd even existed, unless it was also designed for the Explorer, but never used.

 

[Lefty]

I'm not going to put any effort into arguing against drilled and/or slotted rotors, and will simply say I wouldn't run them in 90% of cases. IMO their only place is to make people look at them on a show car. Plenty of stuff out there online about reasons not to use them and them not being better.

I will say that I wouldn't put much stock in the claims made by people trying to sell those rotors. Instead I'd look for the experiences of people that have tried to use them in scenarios that would test those claims. I think you'll find that most of them are still running plain rotors for a reason.



I guess I was kind of wrong about this. It would be difficult for the edge knuckle to be a combination of those two when it was introduced on the Explorer 2 years before the SLA coil spring suspension was introduced on the Ranger. Kind of makes me wonder about Fords parts binning even more. Still don't understand the lack of a V8 in the Ranger when everything was in the shelf. Now I kind of wonder why the coil spring 2wd even existed, unless it was also designed for the Explorer, but never used.

I could be wrong about the rotors. One thing for sure. I've still got the old ones.

And who knows about Ford's parts bin? I do like the torsion bars. I have been able to adjust the ride height. It's all subjective, but perhaps the ride is a little smoother.

 

[superj]

i have actual race experience with slotted rotors and knew lots who had drilled rotors crack. slotted makes a huge difference on the track, in the back. i never had to put slotted on the front because bmw front rotors are already vented so they cool better. i cannot remember if ranger front rotors are vented or not though. backs, i cannot recall seeing vented rotors on the back of any car or truck i have ever owned so slotted would help at the track if the stock solid rotors started cracking from heat.

i, also, don't think they help on a street vehicle but they do look cooler. and that makes a difference for a lot of people

 

[sgtsandman]

i have actual race experience with slotted rotors and knew lots who had drilled rotors crack. slotted makes a huge difference on the track, in the back. i never had to put slotted on the front because bmw front rotors are already vented so they cool better. i cannot remember if ranger front rotors are vented or not though. backs, i cannot recall seeing vented rotors on the back of any car or truck i have ever owned so slotted would help at the track if the stock solid rotors started cracking from heat.

i, also, don't think they help on a street vehicle but they do look cooler. and that makes a difference for a lot of people

It depends on the vehicle. Some have solid rear rotors and others are vented. Both the 2011 and 2019 have vented rear discs.

The front rotors on all the Rangers I've dealt with had vented front rotors. I don't recall any of the vehicles I've owned having anything different.

As far as the cross drilling, I really don't want it. Just the slots to clear the brakes of mud and dirt while off roading. The drilled holes will probably clog up and not be of much use. Not that they really would have been anyway on or off road. I'll keep looking and hopefully find some slotted only discs.

 

[JoshT]

It depends on the vehicle. Some have solid rear rotors and others are vented. Both the 2011 and 2019 have vented rear discs.

The front rotors on all the Rangers I've dealt with had vented front rotors. I don't recall any of the vehicles I've owned having anything different.

As far as the cross drilling, I really don't want it. Just the slots to clear the brakes of mud and dirt while off roading. The drilled holes will probably clog up and not be of much use. Not that they really would have been anyway on or off road. I'll keep looking and hopefully find some slotted only discs.

Explorer rear discs are vented too.

I think solid rotors is why 10 in drums are probably a better option for Rangers that worth, than the Mustang disc swap.

I've never seen an RBV with non-vented rotors front or rear, unless it was a swap.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Explorer rear discs are vented too.

Mine are solid

 

[sgtsandman]

Explorer rear discs are vented too.

I think solid rotors is why 10 in drums are probably a better option for Rangers that worth, than the Mustang disc swap.

I've never seen an RBV with non-vented rotors front or rear, unless it was a swap.

Explorer Sports have solid rear discs. At least the one one of my ex-girlfriend's had did.

 

[JoshT]

Mine are solid

I could have sworn that my Explorer axle had vented discs. Wouldn't be the first time I was wrong. Never done a brake job on it, just removed it from the Explorer years ago and added to the parts pile.

 

[Northidahotrailblazer]

In my experience, brake pads in the rigs I have had them on wear out a lot faster. I've never put them on rigs, I've taken them off and put OEM stuff back on. My f150 I had, I tried to repad it, with what Oriellys had as pads for drilled and slotted rotors and they were down to nothing in no time, within the year I just changed them out with mid grade Oriellys rotors and pads. My wife's car has them on it also We bought it like that and the pads are half life and aren't even a year old. and its not even do for its second oil change since we got it. Its your pickup, so do as you wish. But my .02 cents is to just run stock stuff unless your truck is a race car then that's a different story..... but let us know how they work out! maybe your experience will be different than mine.

 

[JoshT]

In my experience, brake pads in the rigs I have had them on wear out a lot faster.

Another IMO here, and I showed how reliable that was in my last few posts, that wear is a big part of why people think they get improved braking.

A lot of drivers out there are driving around on glazed pads for assorted reasons. It might be that they ride the brakes, it might be that they overheated them in a panic stop situatuons, or maybe they got too hot on a track day event. What ever the reason, it happened and that don't realize that is why they have poor braking.

That doesn't happen with drilled & slotted rotors. The rotor acts like a file against the pad. With every pass it shaves off some of the pad. The brakes don't get to glaze because the surface material isn't there long enough, or is filed away shortly after. If they fixed the problem with their plain rotors (operator error or incorrect pad material), most probably would not notice any difference other than the quicker pad wear.