I have a 2009 XF Supercharged. I've had it a short time, only since May and put less than 2k miles on it (most were put on from the pickup of the vehicle 700 something miles). Earlier this week I found out my rotors are warped, so now I am trying to find a quality set of brakes and rotors. I am not sure why would be a quality style/set. I know I want ceramic brake pads but when it comes to rotors I am not sure what is the best; basically looking for low noise, low brake dust and reduced warping on normal driving usage. Many people have different opinions, slotted/drilled/grooved, brembo/baer/porterfield. What has worked for you?

 

I am going to be following this as I need a new set for my car. Mine is a regular 5.0 not supercharged and I believe the rotors are a bit smaller than supercharged models. Hopefully someone can chime in and recommend a set of pads/rotors.

 

R1 Concepts is having a 15% off / free ship sale right now.

were great to deal with on the transaction.

haven't installed yet, but got drilled / slotted rotors and semi metallic pads.

less than $700 all in for corners, included new wear sensors and any shims needed.

your exact year / model can be input on their webpage to determine cost and available parts

 

Interested to know people's opinions on slotted/drilled rotors, as the R1 concepts deal is tempting (I have a set of new front/rear EBC Redstuffs so could just get the rotors). Seems like the internet can't agree on whether slotted or drilled or just plain rotors is the best way to go. I've read about micro-cracks (whatever they are) around the holes, and the lower surface area being gripped by the pads resulting in less "bite" as reasons to actually avoid drilled rotors but I have no idea if this is true.

The idea of slots preventing pad glazing and drilled holes to improve cooling as well as reducing unsprung weight all sounds good in theory, but I have no experience of them. Thoughts?

 

Buy the plain and you'll be fine. Quieter, too.

 

I have the R1s and i love them. granted i don't autocross or anything, but they've lasted well pad wise, and the rotors are top notch and will last way longer than i had hoped. Very quiet, never a problem with them.

 

I have had the R1 drilled and slotted with posiquiet semi metallic pads (that were advertised as ceramic so watch out..) on my 2010 XF SC for about 2 years and maybe 8000 miles. Overall I have been pleased - quiet, no squeal and very low dust. Definitely less bite on the brakes but perfectly powerful when needed

However about 3 months ago I started to get a vibration on the front end. Thought it was tyre balancing but they are true. Then a hard vibration on braking. So appears that the front rotors are warped

That said I like the style and they have been good until recently so I’m replacing them with R1 concepts Drilled slotted rotors again and ebc redstuff pads this time.

 

do you have the "E-Line" or "Carbon Geomet" line? i got the drilled / slotted carbon geomet and will install soon. From the look of them i just cannot see warping as a possibility but who knows.. if these warp i have no confidence in any brand rotor not warping. about 40# each for front rotors!!

 

I got the Eline as a replacement as they look v similar to the ones I bought 18 months ago and not planing to change the rear ones. However these are also very heavy and chunky so hard to believe they warped... I don’t brake that aggressively
Folks claim the pulsing is differential wear or brake pad deposit vs actual warping - I’ll test using measuring calipers when I take the old ones off to see what actually happened. Maybe I just got unlucky

 

Several of you are taking far too literally the term "warping" as applied to disc brake rotors. This term does NOT mean that the metal material of the disc has become bent or altered in shape due to intense heat and/or pressure (something that is next to impossible in any kind of street use) but rather it means that due to uneven permanent build up of pad material on the disc that it feels to the driver AS IF it were actually warped. In some cases the disc can be machined on a lathe to remove all of the pad material and some of the metal to give an even smooth all metal surface again. In other cases the disc does not have sufficient remaining thickness to be safely machined and it must be replaced. The weight of the rotor has absolutely no bearing on any of this. All disc brake rotors have this build up and "warp" over time, although driver braking style and some pad materials can make it much worse.

 

Yes - that was my point above. That I’ve heard the view that discs don’t warp and it’s actually bad buildup.
However my rotors are shiny clean metal all the way around with no pad buildup. But when I jack up and spin the wheel they are definitely uneven as they brush the brake pads in the same place each revolution. So it seems there is either uneven wear or it’s warped. I’ll test when I remove it and let you all know what I find.

 

Pretty sure I have read that it's not always possible to see the pad deposition build up, and they may look nice and clean and flat to the naked eye.

 

Yes. That could be true

From what I read about it, if the rotor is not installed perfectly true or a lug nut is over torqued then the rotor can brush the pad slightly each revolution. That seems to be happening on mine. Over a few thousand miles that will wear a patch of the rotor down more than the rest and cause the vibration on braking. Apparently common that it happens around 5000 miles in. With semi metallic pads like mine it wears down a ‘low spot’ and apparently with ceramics it can cause an extra deposit. (Not sure why the difference - something to do with the properties of the pad when it gets overheated by constant friction every revolution)

Anyway when I take it off I’ll check it out as I’m curious to see what happened. And ensure it doesn’t happen again! I’ll check for a sticking caliper too as that would be a classic cause but don’t think it’s the case on mine.