lookin to put new rotors on my mazda 3 gt, just have a few questions
1) what is better cross drilled or slotted?
2) having both does it have a benift?
3) would i get better pad wear with those types or rotors?
4) how much should a rotor generally go for?

any help would be appricated

 

get both...the benifit is better quicker cooling...longer break pad life and better stopping.....and as big a rotor as you can fit....bbk(big break kit) if you can afford it and if it is available...if not have to stay stock size

 

absolutly wrong on just about every acount. The ONLY thing cross drilled rotors are for is to reduce the weight of the rotor. The acttualy reduce the braking surface area and increase the likly hood of the rotor cracking. I honestly hate the set i have on my car and wish the dumbass previous owner wasnt a ricer and didnt put them on

IF you do anything do slotted. You still lose the surface area but the slots will scrape the pads so keep them clean of dust, braking gasses, and keeps them from glazing. However you will lose more pad life this way.

A big brake kit will NOT help especially on a mazda3 that been lightly modified. Like the MSP the current braking package is way more than the car needs. The brakes on the car are huge as it sits. Also as i am assuming this is your daily drive with MAYBE a little track use i highly doubt you are exceeding the limits of your brakes in reguards to your tires.

The absolute best you can do for your sitiuation is to invest your money into so good pads (ie HAWK, Axxis, ect. Stay away from EBC Green stuff the dont offer much better performance over stock) And a set of stainless braided lines. As for rotors look for some brembo blanks i am not sure of the cost for a mazda3 but i know a decent set of rotors shouldnt cost you anymore than $150....BTW why are you replacing the rotors neway? You shouldnt have enough miles on the car to have to do so. Take them to a napa or something and get them machined it will save you ALOT of money

 

I liked my slotted/drilled rotors on my P5. It made stopping in the rain much easier as the rotors didn't stay wet for long.

Korey is right though slots do the work and drills look the part. I think brake lines will be the biggest upgrade over stock. Stock brake pads aren't all that bad on the 3. They suck on the MS6 and RX8 but I never had any complaints out of my 3S.

 

ive always wondered if you can put the mazdaspeed3 brakes on a non-speed 3....

 

OMG there are the facts...


they serve 3 purposes....


1.- they let gas out, when Hot brake pads expel gas, and when you squeeze the pad into the disk face, the gas form a cushion that decrease friction, thus giving you a longer brake distance.

2.- like shadow102 pointed they scrape the cristals from the brake pads, eliminating the "eeeeeeee" noise cause by cristalization, and DO wear your brake pads more quickly because of this, but not that quick so don't worry.

3.- You don't get build-up of water or dust in the disk...

4th one.. they look cool.

get the drilled for looks, get the slotted for performance,

I Suppose they also lighten the weight of the disk, but if you are replacing the oem disk my guess is that you'll want a bigger one, so if you are buying them because they are lighter.... buy the same disk size

About the the rotor cracking... I suppose... It has holes in it... but I have no evidence on my experience, don't get a knock off brand just in case

 

just go rice like me, buy the slottled / dimpled rotors

 

I had the Rotora Slotted Rotors matched with EBC Green Stuff Brake Pads on my MSP and couldn't have been happier with the result. I spend about $600 in all for everything but like I said I loved what it did for braking afterwards.

 

Does anyone else notice a similar sound / pulsation from drilled & slotted rotors?
I got drilled / slotted rotors from Brake motive (cheap ebay deal) and notice that there is a noise of the holes or slots passing the brake pad as a sort of faint cricket noise.
Under hard braking there's some quick pulsasion as well, I think it's from the pad not being sized to match the slots - causing some difference in pad contact area as the rotor turns. Something else to think about when getting rotors upgraded. In any case they do seem to need less pedal pressure to stop, I assume from gas being releasing from under the pads.