Rotor and pads

Get the proper tool and it's not that hard. I used something pretty much identical to this. https://amzn.to/34C2Amf

So brake parts are interesting, because simple is usually best. All brake discs are vented for this car. Slotted/drilled are not good though. You want blank rotors. Centric Premium are the best budget rotors you can get. Pads go OEM or something like Centric Posi-Quiet. If you want something more sporty and dusty, StopTech products are great. Avoid PowerStop at all costs.

Posted by: @haloruler64

So brake parts are interesting, because simple is usually best. All brake discs are vented for this car. Slotted/drilled are not good though. You want blank rotors. Centric Premium are the best budget rotors you can get. Pads go OEM or something like Centric Posi-Quiet. If you want something more sporty and dusty, StopTech products are great. Avoid PowerStop at all costs.

I haven't heard the argument against slotted/drilled here before... But with that being said... I am not very happy with the full PowerStop setup the PO put on my car, which does have slotted/drilled rotors too :-/

PowerStop is trash. Had a set. Rotors warped quick, pads started squealing, they're just bad. Get rid of em. 

Drilled rotors tend to crack. Slotted are fine in this regard. But they eat pads quicker, which you really don't want. No performance benefit either, modern pads don't have significant off-gassing so the slots are not needed. The rotors are vented as it is so cooling isn't an issue. Blank rotors will provide the best performance and pad life. If you really want slotted, go for it! They sure look good. Expect shorter pad life but nothing terrible by any means. Don't do drilled. Centric makes quality rotors. Their cryo-treated rotors are under the StopTech brand now I believe. I run standard Centric Premiums and they've survived many autocrosses, a drift day, a few track days, and still great condition. I THINK I have some lightly used StopTech Sport front pads lying around from when I did the swap to Wilwood front calipers if you want to save some cash, but I'd have to find em. Amazing pads, a bit dusty but worth the performance.

I've had PowerStop rotors and pads on 2 Spyders, with zero problems.

Only one vote of confidence. I better leave it to my mechanic. What if I want to splurge? What's a good rotor/pad?

StopTech Sport pads and cryo rotors from Rock Auto is my vote.

@haloruler64

Is anyone aware of a lightweight placement rotor.  Not slotted or drilled but the OD is machined a bit like a lightweight bike rotor.  I remember seeing it but can't remember what web site and google search isn't helping.

Dave

I am not seeing StopTech at rock auto. What about this? https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=3796620&cc=1432920&jsn=910&jsn=910 $130 is not expensive for "premium".

I mean I just told you to avoid PowerStop, and my ASE certified tech despises the company, so not sure why you linked it. https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=1279959&cc=1432920&jsn=926&jsn=926

Galo has it for 2 of his cars and he said it's fine. We have an empirical data of two people. It's not conclusive. Didn't mean to offend you. Thanks for the link.

Not offended. I just had a bad experiences, heard a lot of bad experiences from other users including Lexus users, and my ASE certified tech hates them from his experience. 

Powerstop products are bargain parts akin to what you'd get at retail parts stores but with more marketing dollars behind them. They're nothing special at all and are not performance parts at all, if you want cheap brakes and you only daily drive they're probably fine but there's better pads and rotors available for that use as well. For daily driver I'd suggest something from Akebono or Raybestos EHT pads with some premium coated brake rotors or good plain rotors from a name brand. For performance OE replacement parts I'd suggest Stoptech Cryo rotors from Amazon (RA stopped carrying them for some reason) and Stoptech Sport pads. Good braking when cold, great braking when hot, horribly dusty, good pad life, not terrible on the rotors as long as you get them hot, do not suggest them for cold climate use as they get 'sticky' feeling below freezing and its' hard to get the brakes hot enough to maintain pad film on the rotors, they go to an abrasive mechanism of stopping when cold which scrubs the pad film off and can eat rotors more quickly. They like to be hot often, abuse them freely. 

Avoid drilled rotors unless they're the real deal CAST with holes with the proper chamfer on the hole edges to reduce stress, drilled after the fact substantially weakens the rotors as the cast iron has a structure it's cast into then you just take out big hunks of it after it's formed, not very good at all. In general drilled rotors are lower performers except in some niche circumstances. Brakes work by turning mechanical energy into thermal energy via friction. The more surface area available the more friction can happen the more heat can be generated the faster the car can be stopped (within the limits of traction, you often run out of tire grip before you do brake grip). The mass of the rotor is like a capacitor, it takes the big dump of heat energy and stores it for a brief period and then dissipates it. When you have a drilled rotor you're reducing the surface area and reducing the mass of the rotor, two things that you want more of. Slotted rotors are kind of old school but they do keep the pads wiped clean if you glaze them by getting them too hot, but if you're getting them too hot you need different pads or a different driving style.  Plus they sound pretty cool when you're braking and look neat as well. 

Personally, I would avoid Powerstop. I'm not a fan of their products and no one I know who actually tracks their car or even drives their cars hard uses them. If cost is your primary concern when it comes to brakes then maybe you should be leading with that and not asking about performance or ask for the best $/G of braking. I'd still say blanks and StopTech Sport are some good $/G. Carbotech makes some good pads and so does EBC, Hawk HPS are an OK street pad but I don't care for how they feel when they're cold. If you do get the StopTech pads you should follow the bedding procedure on the box. It's not very fun but it gets the pads broken in really well and really quickly.

Seriously, the StopTech Sport pads dust a lot so if that's important to you look elsewhere. I'm talking BMW levels of dust. Here's after 4 times up and down the Tail of the Dragon, they were clean that morning honest!

There are no performance rotors. There are either good as OEM or worse cheap crap.  The premium Napa rotors that are sourced are good quality because they cool them slowly after they are cast.  I have used the cheap Napa rotors that don't go though the premium process  on other cars and I had no issue with them compared to the Autozone/ Advanced auto crap. 

When it came time to change my front rotors I bought the Bosch QuietCast because they are marketed is a premium rotor that addresses noise, vibration and they balance them to gain your confidence.  Apparently they use a heat flow casting process and  stringent quality control that has gained a great reputation so far for vehicles that are notorious for rotor issues from the factory.   

@bitter

LOL, at you. You used your brakes while driving on The Tail...

JK 🤡