Do You Know What Kind of Brake Rotors Are on Your Vehicle?

The brakes on our cars, trucks, and SUVs are arguably the most crucial part of the vehicle. If you lose the ability to slow your car to a stop at any point, not much else matters. While having good tires might be just as important, if you can’t stop them from spinning, then you’re in a bad situation. We often have people here at McCluskey Chevrolet looking for brake service near Loveland. We love getting the chance to keep their brakes in great shape, but we’re often surprised by how frequently our customers don’t know what kind of brakes are on their vehicles. Knowing what different brakes do and how they work might not be essential, but we still think it’s worth knowing about your car. So today, we’re going to look at the different types of brakes and rotors found on new vehicles so you’ll know a little more about your ride.

Types of Brakes: Drum vs. Disc

Before we get into the specifics of different brake rotors, we should briefly mention two different types of brakes. Older vehicles often have drum brakes, which use a drum connected to the wheel that a shoe will press against to slow down and stop the vehicle. If you’re driving a newer car around Loveland, you likely have disc brakes on your vehicle instead; disc brakes use a rotor attached to the wheel, which pads clamp onto to slow you down safely. “Rotor” is just the technical name for the “disc” in this type of setup; it can be made from different materials and use different designs, so let’s look at what’s out there.

Materials Used in Brake Rotors

Easily overlooked, the material your brake rotors are made from dramatically impacts how well they perform and how long they last. This is only one part of the equation, so to speak, but it’s an important part, so it’s worth considering. These days, there are six basic materials used to make brake rotors, so let’s briefly check each one out.

Cast Iron

Cast iron is generally the most common material used in making standard brake rotors on passenger vehicles today. It’s reliable, inexpensive, and effective. There’s nothing particularly exciting or romantic about cast iron brake rotors, but they do a good job. The biggest downside is that cast iron is heavy—just ask anyone who enjoys cooking with it. That weight can negatively affect your car’s performance and fuel efficiency.

Steel

One good way to reduce the weight of brake rotors is to use lighter material, which is where steel rotors come into play. Steel is iron that has been smelted and worked to remove impurities and make it stronger. This means steel brake rotors can be thinner and lighter than cast iron ones, but that tends to come with a loss of some durability. They can warp over time with use, so they’re not always practical for daily driving.

Layered Steel

As a solution to the durability issues, layered steel can be used to make brake rotors that are still lightweight but less prone to warping. This is just what it sounds like: layers of steel laminated together to create a single rotor that is light and durable; the multiple layers work to prevent bending or other damage. Due to more complicated manufacturing, these tend to cost more, so they’re primarily used for racing vehicles.

Aluminum

Aluminum, as a metal, is lightweight and dissipates heat incredibly well, but it’s not exceptionally durable and has a relatively low melting point. That means it’s not a great choice on a large SUV or truck (or even a sedan) that generates a lot of heat when stopping. Brake rotors made from aluminum are great for motorcycles and similar light vehicles, however, so that’s where you’ll typically find them.

High Carbon Iron

If you add carbon to iron, it can be made more durable and heat resistant; add even more, and you get strong metal that can take a ton of abuse. High-carbon iron brake rotors are a great choice if you need something that can handle severe heat and stress with a low chance of breaking or cracking before it would naturally need to be replaced. These are pretty expensive, however, so they’re mostly found on performance or specialty vehicles.

Ceramic

If you have a C8 Corvette that you want to drive around Loveland or take through Hocking Hills every weekend, then ceramic brake rotors can’t be beaten. Ceramic dissipates heat beautifully and can handle tremendous pressure to help control powerful cars. They’re expensive, however, so they’re used almost exclusively with performance cars like the Corvette and similar models. If you have something like that and want to get the most from it, these rotors are perfect.

Different Brake Rotor Designs

In addition to the various materials used to make brake rotors, several different designs are also used. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, so care needs to be taken when choosing the right one for your vehicle. One of the easiest ways to choose is to simply use the same type that came with your vehicle when it rolled out of the Chevy plant. But if you’re interested in changing things up, then that’s something we would be happy to discuss with you. The four designs for brake rotors are:

Blank & Smooth

Just what it sounds like, these rotors are blank, smooth discs designed to get the job done. This is the most common design and what you’ll find on most passenger vehicles. Not particularly fancy or built for a specific use, they still work well, and that’s good enough for us.

Drilled

If you take a blank & smooth rotor and drill holes through it in a pattern, you have these drilled rotors (these names are all descriptive and straightforward). The holes in the rotor allow dust, water, and air to move off the surface of the rotors, helping with heat dissipation and ensuring better contact between the brake pads and rotors. These are great for areas with a ton of rainfall, like the Pacific Northwest, but they’re probably overkill for driving around Loveland.

Slotted

Rather than holes drilled through them, slotted rotors have grooves or slots carved into the surface of the rotors, but not all the way through. When braking, air can move along these slots to dissipate heat more effectively than blank & smooth rotors. That makes these an excellent choice for a full-size SUV or truck, particularly if you do a lot of towing. The slotted design means they can wear out faster, but that can be worth it for improved stopping power.

Drilled & Slotted

As the name suggests, these rotors have holes drilled through them and slots along their surface, giving you the benefits of both previous types. They work incredibly well for handling heat and enhancing braking power, especially at high speeds, and are great when dealing with wet roads. They’re expensive and can wear down faster, but their effectiveness makes them great for a Corvette or other high-performance vehicle.

Keep Your Brakes in Great Shape for Driving Around Loveland

With a good sense of what kinds of materials and designs are out there for brakes, note that the rotors you have on your vehicle will be some combination of these. If you have a typical passenger vehicle, don’t be surprised to find cast iron blank & smooth rotors on your wheels to help keep you in control on the road. Compact and lightweight cars can have steel rotors to keep weight down, while large trucks and SUVs might have slotted rotors to improve braking under a heavy load. Suppose you have a Corvette or similar model that you drive around Loveland and want to take to the track. In that case, ceramic drilled & slotted rotors might be perfect for you. Just be sure to have your brakes checked out regularly and replaced as they wear down so you’re always safe and in control on the road.