Alright - so I have a simple question - I'm needing to replace my rotors, and wanted to poll peoples' opinion/experience on plain vs drilled vs slotted. I have an '07 Fit sport where it rains regularly and no shortage of hills. From what I understand drilled is good for wet weather, slotted for heat dissipation, plain is....that - plain - standard OE. The car is my DD, but I enjoy a spirited drive in my DD and through mountain roads on the weekend. Will be installing a rear sway bar and probably swift springs - won't be tracking or anything of the like - just wondering if any of the 3 above are "better" than the other in my case.

Thanks in advance - sorry if I couldn't use the search correctly to find a similar thread that's already had this debated.

Cheers.

 

Drilled is good for track use where you replace rotors every session. That's it. They are prone to cracking.

For a Fit, solid rotors are all you need. Slotted is unnecessary. Good pads will however make a difference.

 

Just upgrading to a more aggressive pad is all you really need. Drilled rotors are more for looks and slotted ones shave off any glazing that might occur on the pad (on the street you really shouldn't have any). Some track folks will run standard plain rotors but swap out the pads when they go to the track.

I enjoyed my EBC greenstuff pads and EBC slotted rotors on my Fit. The pads are pretty close to OEM just had a better initial cold bite. The next level up pad will give you a bit more and then the highest is more for track.

 

Ha! Valuecraft pads are most aggressive type (wearing rotor faster than pad!)

 

I'm not an expert, but I tend to agree with my friend Mr. sneefy on this one. I have never read anything that advocated that slotted/drilled rotors would give you significant improvement on a street car. Unless you are increasing power, I see no reason to go beyond OEM spec rotors and pads. In addition, if you flush/replace your brake fluid every 3 yrs, and you'll be sittin' (and break-in') pretty.

 

Thank you all for the quick and awesome feedback! This just one of the best parts of being part of an automotive forum/community.

The main issue I'm facing right now is that a lot of my drives have me going down long descents (and decent ones at that) but for long periods of time. As I'm coming up on ~1.5 years of ownership, I noticed that the rotors seem to heat up enough that when I come off some of these long hills and release the brake, the pads are still rubbing on the rotors and you can hear them. After about 1/2 a mile down the road after not having to get on the brakes, they cool off enough that the rubbing goes away. All of the parts of OE (just had it in yesterday to get it checked and valves adjusted, and I have ~37% left on the pads), and so was wondering if it was worth going for something like slotted to address the long consistent downhill roads I live around, or just stick with plain type rotors.

Thank you again! Y'all have definitely given me something to think on.

And of course further contribution to the discussion point is always encouraged!

 

Some fade-resistant pads would probably do you some good. Also engine braking if the hill isn't too steep. I doubt you're getting them hot enough to boil the fluid, but you could try some high-temp fluid.

Also: "I like to stop when I press the brake pedal"

LOL. Not an unreasonable expectation.