Two Piece Rotors- worth it?
Two Piece Rotors- worth it? 
07-25-2013, 01:11 AM
#2
you know buddy, that's up to the individual.
2-pc rotors can lose definite poundage for you compared to the factory rotors, and, they cost much more money to replace.
Most don't see the value of paying like 400-500 bucks just for the rotors when they need to be replaced.
Me? I wanted superior brakes and got the Wilwoods with the 2-pc rotors, and DAYUM the car stops like a BEAST!
do I have a track car?
No.
Do I race my car?
No.
will I ever go to a track event--read not drag racing?
yes, but don't know when.
I bought my brake kit simply because I wanted superior stopping power, and that's what I got.
If you don't see the value of spending that much money on a lighter front brake setup and still having to dish out 400-500 bucks every time you need the rotors replaced then don't do it.
.02
2-pc rotors can lose definite poundage for you compared to the factory rotors, and, they cost much more money to replace.
Most don't see the value of paying like 400-500 bucks just for the rotors when they need to be replaced.
Me? I wanted superior brakes and got the Wilwoods with the 2-pc rotors, and DAYUM the car stops like a BEAST!
do I have a track car?
No.
Do I race my car?
No.
will I ever go to a track event--read not drag racing?
yes, but don't know when.
I bought my brake kit simply because I wanted superior stopping power, and that's what I got.
If you don't see the value of spending that much money on a lighter front brake setup and still having to dish out 400-500 bucks every time you need the rotors replaced then don't do it.
.02
07-25-2013, 01:20 AM
#3
most folks don't feel that the 4th gen f-bodies are worth spending the extra cash on a big brake system specifically designed for our 4th gen's, and what they do is a very simple:
get aftermarket blank rotors, the better ones out there are the factory Brembo replacements, about 125-150 each, and much better brake pads, stickier tires, BOOM!!!
You got an f-body with great stopping power...not WORLD CLASS stopping power but pretty freaking good for a 4th gen f-body...MUCH better than factory setup.
You still want better stopping power?
better tires and a big brake kit.
Some change their factory calipers with C5 fronts or C6 fronts, possibly the CTSV fronts or 5th gen Camaro front brakes...definite better stopping power but you pay more money plus a brake bracket adapter may/may not be necessary, AND, depending on what type of tires you are using.
you're also setting up brakes that were designed for different cars, not for the 4th-gen's, and apparently GM High Tech Performance magazine actually had the CTSV fronts on their 4th gen Camaro sTi Killer, they took them off and went with a Baer big brake kit cuz they wanted better stopping power than the factory CTSV setup.
Big Brake kits tend to be much more expensive, but they're designed to bolt on to the 4th gens and rock 'n roll you're good to go.
Your call.
good luck!
get aftermarket blank rotors, the better ones out there are the factory Brembo replacements, about 125-150 each, and much better brake pads, stickier tires, BOOM!!!
You got an f-body with great stopping power...not WORLD CLASS stopping power but pretty freaking good for a 4th gen f-body...MUCH better than factory setup.
You still want better stopping power?
better tires and a big brake kit.
Some change their factory calipers with C5 fronts or C6 fronts, possibly the CTSV fronts or 5th gen Camaro front brakes...definite better stopping power but you pay more money plus a brake bracket adapter may/may not be necessary, AND, depending on what type of tires you are using.
you're also setting up brakes that were designed for different cars, not for the 4th-gen's, and apparently GM High Tech Performance magazine actually had the CTSV fronts on their 4th gen Camaro sTi Killer, they took them off and went with a Baer big brake kit cuz they wanted better stopping power than the factory CTSV setup.
Big Brake kits tend to be much more expensive, but they're designed to bolt on to the 4th gens and rock 'n roll you're good to go.
Your call.
good luck!
07-25-2013, 01:39 AM
#4
I'm no brake expert....but when factory brakes can lock up any normal radial tire, it's not the brakes that need upgrading, it's a better tire. Correct me if I'm wrong, but besides eliminating or drastically reducing "brake fade".........how can a set of custom $5,000 Brembos all around stop a regular street car on regular radials any better than the factory brakes.......?
When I put my Baer Eradispeed rotors on they felt a little smoother and maybe a little better than the factory rotors, but still, the factory brakes could easily lock the tires if I smashed the brake pedal down hard. So if they can lock the tires and the Brembos can lock the tires....why upgrade the calipers and pads...?
I understand a RACE CAR needs to eliminate or decrease brake fade during a race......but for a street car, using street radials, am I correct in saying an FBody with $5,000 Brembos all around will stop in the same distance as an FBody will bone stock brakes......BOTH using the same street radials....?
When I was going to put very expensive Brembos or Baers on my car back in 2002..... Both companies told me I'm 100% wasting my money if its just for a street car. They said the only thing I will gain is the reduction or elimination of brake fade. But stopping....they said don't expect to stop any better for an all out hard braking to bring the car to a stop. They said its all about tires........if you don't upgrade the tires after you upgrade the brakes it's a waste of time.
.
When I put my Baer Eradispeed rotors on they felt a little smoother and maybe a little better than the factory rotors, but still, the factory brakes could easily lock the tires if I smashed the brake pedal down hard. So if they can lock the tires and the Brembos can lock the tires....why upgrade the calipers and pads...?
I understand a RACE CAR needs to eliminate or decrease brake fade during a race......but for a street car, using street radials, am I correct in saying an FBody with $5,000 Brembos all around will stop in the same distance as an FBody will bone stock brakes......BOTH using the same street radials....?
When I was going to put very expensive Brembos or Baers on my car back in 2002..... Both companies told me I'm 100% wasting my money if its just for a street car. They said the only thing I will gain is the reduction or elimination of brake fade. But stopping....they said don't expect to stop any better for an all out hard braking to bring the car to a stop. They said its all about tires........if you don't upgrade the tires after you upgrade the brakes it's a waste of time.
.
07-25-2013, 09:00 AM
#5
Launching!
I'm still having this debate myself...i upgraded from stock Fbody setup to a base C6 setup because i was consistently cooking my brakes during lapping events...smoke was coming from the front wheels (i'm running ducts). The C6 setup certainly rectified the heat issue since the rotors are bigger and those fancy shmancy cooling vanes move the air out. the caliper is substantially stiffer so i'm getting more consistent clamping force...
i was tempted to go with a stoptech or a brembo setup but i had an issue with being married to company for pads and rotors since the initial cost is high and the rotor and pad choices are limited!! the C6 setup is cheap to maintain and variety is plentiful...
are two-piece rotors worth the cost given their weight or lack there of? It depends what your plans are or what you are trying to accomplish...for street duty, i don't see the value but if you compete...that's different. I can't imagine the difference in the weight being felt but track times will tell the story.
i was tempted to go with a stoptech or a brembo setup but i had an issue with being married to company for pads and rotors since the initial cost is high and the rotor and pad choices are limited!! the C6 setup is cheap to maintain and variety is plentiful...
are two-piece rotors worth the cost given their weight or lack there of? It depends what your plans are or what you are trying to accomplish...for street duty, i don't see the value but if you compete...that's different. I can't imagine the difference in the weight being felt but track times will tell the story.
07-25-2013, 11:05 AM
#6
Two-piece rotors aren't worth it to replace stock LS1 rotors. You don't lose much weight on such a small rotor. Once you get to a 14" or 15" rotor the weight is pretty significant.
If the OP is talking about BBK, the only ones I know of that come with 1-piece rotors are the lower-end Baer kits or the GM piece-meal kits. In those instances, it's hard or even more expensive to go 2-piece.
If the OP is talking about BBK, the only ones I know of that come with 1-piece rotors are the lower-end Baer kits or the GM piece-meal kits. In those instances, it's hard or even more expensive to go 2-piece.
07-27-2013, 05:09 PM
#7
I'm no brake expert....but when factory brakes can lock up any normal radial tire, it's not the brakes that need upgrading, it's a better tire. Correct me if I'm wrong, but besides eliminating or drastically reducing "brake fade".........how can a set of custom $5,000 Brembos all around stop a regular street car on regular radials any better than the factory brakes.......?
When I put my Baer Eradispeed rotors on they felt a little smoother and maybe a little better than the factory rotors, but still, the factory brakes could easily lock the tires if I smashed the brake pedal down hard. So if they can lock the tires and the Brembos can lock the tires....why upgrade the calipers and pads...?
I understand a RACE CAR needs to eliminate or decrease brake fade during a race......but for a street car, using street radials, am I correct in saying an FBody with $5,000 Brembos all around will stop in the same distance as an FBody will bone stock brakes......BOTH using the same street radials....?
When I was going to put very expensive Brembos or Baers on my car back in 2002..... Both companies told me I'm 100% wasting my money if its just for a street car. They said the only thing I will gain is the reduction or elimination of brake fade. But stopping....they said don't expect to stop any better for an all out hard braking to bring the car to a stop. They said its all about tires........if you don't upgrade the tires after you upgrade the brakes it's a waste of time.
.
When I put my Baer Eradispeed rotors on they felt a little smoother and maybe a little better than the factory rotors, but still, the factory brakes could easily lock the tires if I smashed the brake pedal down hard. So if they can lock the tires and the Brembos can lock the tires....why upgrade the calipers and pads...?
I understand a RACE CAR needs to eliminate or decrease brake fade during a race......but for a street car, using street radials, am I correct in saying an FBody with $5,000 Brembos all around will stop in the same distance as an FBody will bone stock brakes......BOTH using the same street radials....?
When I was going to put very expensive Brembos or Baers on my car back in 2002..... Both companies told me I'm 100% wasting my money if its just for a street car. They said the only thing I will gain is the reduction or elimination of brake fade. But stopping....they said don't expect to stop any better for an all out hard braking to bring the car to a stop. They said its all about tires........if you don't upgrade the tires after you upgrade the brakes it's a waste of time.
.
Do you need a BBK on a Camaro?
That is up to the desired end results to the individual in question.
And yes, you can spend 4K on the 6-piston APRacing calipers with 14" 2-pc rotors AND if you got shitty tires, then your stopping capabilities are greatly diminished due to the crappy tires that are being used.
that being said, you can compare identical f-bodies using the same tires, one has factory rotors and pads, the other has a BBK like Brembo or Wilwood or Baer or whatever, with 2-pc rotors, there will be a significant difference in braking performance due to the lighter weight as well as larger pad area and superior cooling properties with the rotors as well as the additional stiffness of the aftermarket calipers.
it will make a difference, definitely will be better braking.
Is the better braking worth the money?
depends on what the individual wants...yes you will stop better, yes the brakes will be lighter, which will make steering response that much quicker, yes you'll be paying much more money.
is it worth it to you, that's the magic question IMHO.
To me it was.
.02
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07-29-2013, 01:59 AM
#8
well in essence it is true what the guys were saying.
Do you need a BBK on a Camaro?
That is up to the desired end results to the individual in question.
And yes, you can spend 4K on the 6-piston APRacing calipers with 14" 2-pc rotors AND if you got shitty tires, then your stopping capabilities are greatly diminished due to the crappy tires that are being used.
that being said, you can compare identical f-bodies using the same tires, one has factory rotors and pads, the other has a BBK like Brembo or Wilwood or Baer or whatever, with 2-pc rotors, there will be a significant difference in braking performance due to the lighter weight as well as larger pad area and superior cooling properties with the rotors as well as the additional stiffness of the aftermarket calipers.
it will make a difference, definitely will be better braking.
Is the better braking worth the money?
depends on what the individual wants...yes you will stop better, yes the brakes will be lighter, which will make steering response that much quicker, yes you'll be paying much more money.
is it worth it to you, that's the magic question IMHO.
To me it was.
.02
Do you need a BBK on a Camaro?
That is up to the desired end results to the individual in question.
And yes, you can spend 4K on the 6-piston APRacing calipers with 14" 2-pc rotors AND if you got shitty tires, then your stopping capabilities are greatly diminished due to the crappy tires that are being used.
that being said, you can compare identical f-bodies using the same tires, one has factory rotors and pads, the other has a BBK like Brembo or Wilwood or Baer or whatever, with 2-pc rotors, there will be a significant difference in braking performance due to the lighter weight as well as larger pad area and superior cooling properties with the rotors as well as the additional stiffness of the aftermarket calipers.
it will make a difference, definitely will be better braking.
Is the better braking worth the money?
depends on what the individual wants...yes you will stop better, yes the brakes will be lighter, which will make steering response that much quicker, yes you'll be paying much more money.
is it worth it to you, that's the magic question IMHO.
To me it was.
.02
Aftermarket pads and rotors on will make the biggest difference vs 100% stock brakes. Better pads and rotors vs some $5k brake setup will have almost the same braking distance during a single hard brake. Continuous braking will obviously be much better on the bigger brake setup.
07-31-2013, 02:09 AM
#9
How much lighter are the two piece rotors? If its 2lbs per rotor, 8lbs isn't going to matter much on a 3500lbs vehicle.
Aftermarket pads and rotors on will make the biggest difference vs 100% stock brakes. Better pads and rotors vs some $5k brake setup will have almost the same braking distance during a single hard brake. Continuous braking will obviously be much better on the bigger brake setup.
Aftermarket pads and rotors on will make the biggest difference vs 100% stock brakes. Better pads and rotors vs some $5k brake setup will have almost the same braking distance during a single hard brake. Continuous braking will obviously be much better on the bigger brake setup.
If you lose weight on your front brake setup by upgrading, that's less unsprung weight on the front wheels.
If you have factory 17" wheels/tires and lighter frontbrake setup, a few things are gonna happen.
Your turn-in dynamics will be a little bit faster due to the lighter brake setup, which could lower track times...if that's what you're going for.
If you want better handling, well, you're going to get some better handling due to the lighter weight of the BBK hence quicker steering response.
there's a whole lot of action going on with your front suspension when driving into the twisties and lighter unsprung weight on the front will provide quicker steering.
Maybe insignificant to a lot of folks, but for the more spirited canyon runners or someone who wants to hit a road course, it will make a difference...maybe not much, but still a difference.
So it goes back to...what is your desired end result for your 4th-gen AND, how much you wanna spend?
Like the guy at AP Racing said, "It's just a Camaro"
But my car is more than "just" a Camaro, so I wanted better.
Period.
and truth be told, all the money spent on my car, I could've gotten a used C5 Z06 and run circles around my SS.
but I like my Camaro though.
07-31-2013, 02:34 AM
#10
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the reason for bigger brakes? greater thermal mass. reason for that in reality? the ability to do a lot of hard braking without cooking the brakes. on my third ge, the 10.5" brakes will stop the car from high speed... once.
07-31-2013, 11:10 AM
#11
All this discussion is great. In my case the tires are already at the top tier- Michelin Pilot Super Sports on my SS, so I am exploring other improvements.
Of course we could all buy better handling cars like a C5 or better, but many of us are more interested in improving what we already own.
So far nobody here has said they run two-piece rotors -- does anyone run them on the F-body?
StopTech has some- Aero-Rotors, but looks like they are only available for the upgraded brakes, not stockers:
http://www.stoptech.com/products/rot...ch-aero-rotors
Of course we could all buy better handling cars like a C5 or better, but many of us are more interested in improving what we already own.
So far nobody here has said they run two-piece rotors -- does anyone run them on the F-body?
StopTech has some- Aero-Rotors, but looks like they are only available for the upgraded brakes, not stockers:
http://www.stoptech.com/products/rot...ch-aero-rotors
Last edited by libertyforall1776; 07-31-2013 at 12:57 PM. Reason: added link
07-31-2013, 12:43 PM
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What are the options out there and what are the costs?
Seems like a big factor in RR is cost of wear items. If there's a cheaper option out there that handles the heat of RR, then its easy to just stick with that.
Also, I'm guessing here.. that most people are concerned about how they can get faster around the course and that rotor type might be not much of a factor there? Probably a money vs effectiveness thing.
Seems like a big factor in RR is cost of wear items. If there's a cheaper option out there that handles the heat of RR, then its easy to just stick with that.
Also, I'm guessing here.. that most people are concerned about how they can get faster around the course and that rotor type might be not much of a factor there? Probably a money vs effectiveness thing.
08-01-2013, 09:22 AM
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I run 2 piece rotors with Wilwood 4 piston calipers. It's worth it if your already running lightweight wheels, gotten the most out of your stock brakes and still need more. I drag race my car and need a brake to stop it from 145mph, the stock brakes would fade and hard spot the rotors.
The weight difference is significant when you take into account the rotational mass but unless your using a lightweight wheel the money can be better spent.
The weight difference is significant when you take into account the rotational mass but unless your using a lightweight wheel the money can be better spent.
08-01-2013, 09:45 PM
#15
^ Purpose is street first, and HPDE (like Road America, Gingerman, etc.)/AX/RR second…
From a cursory look, I have not yet seen two-piece stock rotors yet, looks like the ones out there require a BBK upgrade first… Anyone found anything different?
From a cursory look, I have not yet seen two-piece stock rotors yet, looks like the ones out there require a BBK upgrade first… Anyone found anything different?
