drilling/slotting own rotors
05-04-2010, 01:39 PM
#21
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: KY, was MA
Posts: 2,797
Guy I know bought from there and they look legit. I prob will when the time comes for replacement/upgrade. I dont know why a slotted is the same price as a slotted/drilled...
Hey, since I'm like a lot of people and don't know everything about everything, had I known they were heat treated, more importantly machined before heat treating, this thread would not have been made.
Hey, since I'm like a lot of people and don't know everything about everything, had I known they were heat treated, more importantly machined before heat treating, this thread would not have been made.
05-04-2010, 01:42 PM
#22
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Satire is my middle name, It's nothing personal. You seem to know a bit but on this, it's a bit imbecilic to try and do.
I imagine for you this is one of those things that all car guys get. You have and an idea stuck in your head, that for all intense and purpose is a dumb idea but it's stuck and you're trying to rationalize it. It's not a big deal just a silly idea for the average joe to try and do.
If you don't chamfer and sharpen the edges correctly you could end up with more work than you bargain for. Harmonic vibrations shredding pads, you could very well damage your car by doing this yourself. Not to mention down right dangerous.
I imagine for you this is one of those things that all car guys get. You have and an idea stuck in your head, that for all intense and purpose is a dumb idea but it's stuck and you're trying to rationalize it. It's not a big deal just a silly idea for the average joe to try and do.
If you don't chamfer and sharpen the edges correctly you could end up with more work than you bargain for. Harmonic vibrations shredding pads, you could very well damage your car by doing this yourself. Not to mention down right dangerous.
05-04-2010, 04:08 PM
#23
TECH SAVANT
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Saint Augustine, FL
Posts: 10,938
Before you bother drilling rotors--which has to be done with some precision on vented rotors (between the vanes) so as to not to weaken them--read this document.
Slotting can be beneficial, use a 1/2" end mill at a 45° angle to the rotor surface to make a V-groove, leave the ends of the cut radiused as the cutter does naturally (plunge-cut-pull back).
With CNC you could probably use a 90° V end mill, and taper the ends of the cut by plunging in, then out during the feed...
Slotting can be beneficial, use a 1/2" end mill at a 45° angle to the rotor surface to make a V-groove, leave the ends of the cut radiused as the cutter does naturally (plunge-cut-pull back).
With CNC you could probably use a 90° V end mill, and taper the ends of the cut by plunging in, then out during the feed...
05-04-2010, 06:04 PM
#25
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not reading the whole thread but drilled rotors are not great. slotted sure, but drilled i don't reccomend. they have far less metal than non drilled rotors which means they heat up very fast in stop and go traffic. drilled rotors are also alot weaker because of the lack of metal. they crack and warp really easy. slotted rotors chew through pads though like nobody's business.
but...
i'm not going to tell you NOT to try to slot your rotors, but DON'T go buy a brand new pair of rotors just to turn around and potentially screw them up. go to a junk yard and buy pair of used rotors for 20 bucks and experiment on those. if they come out looking like some home depot modded garbage done with a dremmel tool, throw them away and don't waste your time or money again. because the fact is, i don't know what your skills are, what tools you have access to, and slotted/drilled rotors are not pooped out of a fairy's butt, they are machined. so try it if you want, but for your sake don't go buy a 300$ pair of rotors just to end up scrapping them.
but...
i'm not going to tell you NOT to try to slot your rotors, but DON'T go buy a brand new pair of rotors just to turn around and potentially screw them up. go to a junk yard and buy pair of used rotors for 20 bucks and experiment on those. if they come out looking like some home depot modded garbage done with a dremmel tool, throw them away and don't waste your time or money again. because the fact is, i don't know what your skills are, what tools you have access to, and slotted/drilled rotors are not pooped out of a fairy's butt, they are machined. so try it if you want, but for your sake don't go buy a 300$ pair of rotors just to end up scrapping them.
Last edited by MU71L4710N; 05-04-2010 at 06:09 PM.
05-04-2010, 06:14 PM
#26
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Minnesnowta
Posts: 7
well first off i have done work and written programs on CNC machines and have plenty of people here that are strictly CNC machinests....now that is cleared up.
second maybe I should have phrased it as "I have an idea of the braking system" and have read all over the place of slotted/drilles does nothing major on a DD cand AND the better pads these days do not release gases as much as the old ones did.
ALL I needed for an answer was "No it's no advised since the rotors are heat treated AFTER drilling/slotting."
I would have had my answer and been done with this but people have to become a smartass when something is ovbious to THEM and not other people. (not making enemies but yea I got pissed when people throw this in my face over a simple question)
...ok I'm done the pissy rant...
Third, I'm not getting drilled because of the horror stories of cracking, I was only going as far as slotted or slotted an dimpled. I would really like to see some calculations of blank surface area vs slotted or slotted/dimpled and follow through with real life tests. Clearly the blanks will have more surface area/material to act a a heat sink, and therefore be better, but alotted rotors are better looking lol Not to mention my driving is not racing around town and slaming on brakes so I doubt I would feel any diff.
second maybe I should have phrased it as "I have an idea of the braking system" and have read all over the place of slotted/drilles does nothing major on a DD cand AND the better pads these days do not release gases as much as the old ones did.
ALL I needed for an answer was "No it's no advised since the rotors are heat treated AFTER drilling/slotting."
I would have had my answer and been done with this but people have to become a smartass when something is ovbious to THEM and not other people. (not making enemies but yea I got pissed when people throw this in my face over a simple question)
...ok I'm done the pissy rant...
Third, I'm not getting drilled because of the horror stories of cracking, I was only going as far as slotted or slotted an dimpled. I would really like to see some calculations of blank surface area vs slotted or slotted/dimpled and follow through with real life tests. Clearly the blanks will have more surface area/material to act a a heat sink, and therefore be better, but alotted rotors are better looking lol Not to mention my driving is not racing around town and slaming on brakes so I doubt I would feel any diff.
05-04-2010, 06:31 PM
#27
$300 is a little exaggerated.
My .02
Go for it! I've had ideas and experimented with them. Just make sure you take every precaution.
And a way to get around the heat treatment thing...just keep the rotors cool while machining them. If you don't you can potentially change the alloy and the material could become brittle and crack.
Do your homework and try it out. Just remember it is a rotating mass so symmetry and balance are VERY important.
Good luck and happy machining!
My .02
Go for it! I've had ideas and experimented with them. Just make sure you take every precaution.
And a way to get around the heat treatment thing...just keep the rotors cool while machining them. If you don't you can potentially change the alloy and the material could become brittle and crack.
Do your homework and try it out. Just remember it is a rotating mass so symmetry and balance are VERY important.
Good luck and happy machining!
05-04-2010, 08:32 PM
#28
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: KY, was MA
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thanks for the replies guys, this was not something I had my heart set on doing...it came into my head so i figured i would ask that is all. and if it was somewhat possible and worth doing i MIGHT have gone through with it. I have ideas come into my head on a daily basis and maybe 50% I act on and attempt. I know the importance of brakes so i was not going to go at them with a friggin hand drill and worn out bit...
IF I did it, a program would be written and machined on a CNC by a CNC macinest who does nothing all day BUT use that machine lol
the heat treating aspect pretty much stopped me in my tracks on this. I know what heat treating can and does to metals and how easily you can mess up, so for that reason i would not feel comfortable doing this then putting them on the car only to have one 80-30mph stop and they break apart in the process. even IF it comes out looking like a million bucks lol
IF I did it, a program would be written and machined on a CNC by a CNC macinest who does nothing all day BUT use that machine lol
the heat treating aspect pretty much stopped me in my tracks on this. I know what heat treating can and does to metals and how easily you can mess up, so for that reason i would not feel comfortable doing this then putting them on the car only to have one 80-30mph stop and they break apart in the process. even IF it comes out looking like a million bucks lol
