question about brakes?

[That_Guy]

so im getting ready to invest in some brakes for my car. no big deal right.. well i started out wanted to get slotted and drilled rotors for the front of my car but the more i look at it. is it even necessary ? i mean ill probly do 2-3 auto cross evens this summer, a road track or 2 and some strait line racing. so do you think i should get just slotted rotors or go slotted and drilled. the dollar amount difference isnt huge. but ive also heard that drilled rotors tend to warp and aren't great for seasonal driving..

any opinions ?

[Smokey1226]

brakes are overrated anyways

[That_Guy]

brakes are overrated anyways

NO COP NO STOP!!!!!

shake nd bake!

[Flicktitty]

go with what ever brakes you want. it's not like brakes last the whole life of your car, see what you like, i would invest in some real pads though.

[Poncho]

learn more about brakes and ask again, what you're looking at won't even help you.

[That_Guy]

learn more about brakes and ask again, what you're looking at won't even help you.

Orly..

what i was planning on doing was running slotted rotors with greenstuff pads.

but what do i not know, that i need to know so i can read up on it and come back informed..:puppyeyes

[johnny--2k]

slotted will be just fine for what you need. Drilled rotors are overkill for the street and occasional track use, and they tend to crack if they are not properly drilled. Plus, you lose some braking surface area as well.

I ran slotted rotors with Hawk HPS pads on my S2000 for over 40,000 miles with about 15 autox's and a quite a few runs down at GLD, plus a LOT of hard street driving, and when i got rid of the car, they were still holding up awesome!

Drilled rotors IMHO are WAY overrated, and it sucks because I want brakes for my jeep and cant find any other than OEM that are not drilled or drilled/slotted. I just want slotted rotors again....

[That_Guy]

slotted will be just fine for what you need. Drilled rotors are overkill for the street and occasional track use, and they tend to crack if they are not properly drilled. Plus, you lose some braking surface area as well.

I ran slotted rotors with Hawk HPS pads on my S2000 for over 40,000 miles with about 15 autox's and a quite a few runs down at GLD, plus a LOT of hard street driving, and when i got rid of the car, they were still holding up awesome!

Drilled rotors IMHO are WAY overrated, and it sucks because I want brakes for my jeep and cant find any other than OEM that are not drilled or drilled/slotted. I just want slotted rotors again....

that was helpful.. thank you..

[Poncho]

What i mean is that drilled are very prone to crack, are more of a fad it seems. It's quite rare to find ones that are CAST w/ holes --- you'd be better off w/ larger solid rotors, and larger/better calipers.

--edit -- --- like Johnny said as well, slotted would be a better choice. If you really look around most racers you'll actually find running normal solid rotors.

My question is, what is your intention to do with your Cobalt that you're looking to spend some cash upgrading the brakes?

[johnny--2k]

no problem. Here are a few links that have some great info in them as well...

http://www.buybrakes.com/prostop/drilled.html

The following link is awesome. They have what they call "Diamond Slotted" and it's not completely drilled through the rotor. Also, for their full drilled rotors, the drilled holes are radius chamfered so there is no sharp edge which is where drilled rotors tend to get stress/heat related cracks. Wish they had some for my jeep....

http://www.raceshopper.com/sp_rotors.shtml

[That_Guy]

What i mean is that drilled are very prone to crack, are more of a fad it seems. It's quite rare to find ones that are CAST w/ holes --- you'd be better off w/ larger solid rotors, and larger/better calipers.

--edit -- --- like Johnny said as well, slotted would be a better choice. If you really look around most racers you'll actually find running normal solid rotors.

My question is, what is your intention to do with your Cobalt that you're looking to spend some cash upgrading the brakes?

im putting the bottle back on my car.. and do some auto cross.. than and i have 50k miles on my car.

and a couple other things

[That_Guy]

no problem. Here are a few links that have some great info in them as well...

http://www.buybrakes.com/prostop/drilled.html

The following link is awesome. They have what they call "Diamond Slotted" and it's not completely drilled through the rotor. Also, for their full drilled rotors, the drilled holes are radius chamfered so there is no sharp edge which is where drilled rotors tend to get stress/heat related cracks. Wish they had some for my jeep....

http://www.raceshopper.com/sp_rotors.shtml

yeah the ones i were looking at had dipples.and slotts.

[johnny--2k]

looks like the slotted with some good pads are your best choice. Pads are the most important part. The Hawk HPS pads are great, but need to be warmed up. Is your car a daily, or just summer? If summer, those will be fine. Ceramic pads tend to do poorly in the colder weather because it takes them so long to heat up!

EBC RedStuff is probably your best bet for an all year aggressive pad. Plus, they are LOW dust, so your wheels stay cleaner longer!

[That_Guy]

looks like the slotted with some good pads are your best choice. Pads are the most important part. The Hawk HPS pads are great, but need to be warmed up. Is your car a daily, or just summer? If summer, those will be fine. Ceramic pads tend to do poorly in the colder weather because it takes them so long to heat up!

EBC RedStuff is probably your best bet for an all year aggressive pad. Plus, they are LOW dust, so your wheels stay cleaner longer!

i was looking at redstuff pads nd greenstuff pads..

[CannotPost]

i was looking at redstuff pads nd greenstuff pads..

Good pads are your best bet. On my old Grand Prix I used some bigger (1" larger) rotors from another GM car, all it needed was some OEM brackets and the new rotors bolted right up. Cheap and easy brake up-grade. Is there a similar upgrade path for the Cobalt? SS front rotors bigger?

[Prince Valiant]

Meh, just good pads and fresh rotors would be all I'd do for how much you x-cross...then take the time to break the pads/rotors in properly.

I do a 30/30 method in which I take the car out and do 30 brake applications from 30mph...and I never come to a full and complete stop (down to about 5-10mph). After that, I hit the hwy and drive ~ 30-45 minutes to let the brakes cool down (no stopping of course); I do this break-in procedure so as to get a decent amount of material transfered from the pad to the rotors. If you come to a complete stop, then excess material might get transfered on one particular spot of the rotor; this will make the rotors feel warped. Do this with decent pads and you'll be amazed at how good the brakes feel, how much longer they last, and how much more effective they are.

[SLOWC5]

most drilled rotors that crack are rotors that were not cast with the holes in them. They were actually drilled after being cast. That process changes the metallurgy of the cast iron

[BoosTT]

slotted roters are known to eat pads much quicker, as they shave off a thin layer.

[brotherbenn83]

take your new pads and rotors to Scott on 60th and Coldspring (Northstar automotive I think) and get them cryo treated. Makes em hard and warp resistant. Did all 4 of my powerslots and both sets of pads for like $80 I think.

[MurphysLaw88GT]

What i mean is that drilled are very prone to crack, are more of a fad it seems. It's quite rare to find ones that are CAST w/ holes --- you'd be better off w/ larger solid rotors, and larger/better calipers.

--edit -- --- like Johnny said as well, slotted would be a better choice. If you really look around most racers you'll actually find running normal solid rotors.

My question is, what is your intention to do with your Cobalt that you're looking to spend some cash upgrading the brakes?

**** drilled/slotted. get bigger standard rotors. Quoted the above for truth

[Deggy]

I'm confused, you wanna spray and yet you are auto-x'ing it?

[Rocket Power]

4 wheel drums FTW

[That_Guy]

I'm confused, you wanna spray and yet you are auto-x'ing it?

spray for the street nd strip....

[MurphysLaw88GT]

4 wheel drums FTW

hells yeah

[TURTLE]

I'm confused, you wanna spray and yet you are auto-x'ing it?

ahem... my silver neon... nuff said...

and for pads... ebc's are great... and look into slotted and dimpled rotors as well... but overall, big brakes ftw!

[GTSLOW]

spray for the street nd strip....

:thumbsup :goof

[Boost21]

see if there are any upgraded bolt ons for your car. I have F-body brakes on my car, giving me 2 piston calipers and about 2 inch bigger rotors. Very cost effective and one of the best mods Ive done. Rotors are shot from the winter though and im thinking of just getting normal rotors next time.
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/11/web/803000-803999/803135_128_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/2/web/482000-482999/482117_333_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/2/web/482000-482999/482117_342_full.jpg

Im almost positive your brackets are different then the n-body platform but it might be a possibility.