Have been thinking about upgraded brakes when the time comes. My search lead to this thread. I must say it is a very good discussion about cross drilled/slotted rotors. My 2000 XKR has standard single piston caliper brakes (guess the Brembos came out later). From your discussion, drilled and slotted rotors don't improve braking performance for "normal" street driving. In fact since the surface area is actually reduced, they possibly aren't as effective as solid rotors; and they eat pads. SO, aside from looking cool, you guys would not recommend them? Just curious...Rev Sam what did you buy? Did the asthectics (sp?) override the sound logic against drilled rotors?

Now I've also read that the Jaguar Brembos don't really work all that much better than standard. Is that true? I would be very surprized 4 piston calipers don't significantly out perform single pistons (albeit a large single piston). Does anyone think it would be worth converting if I could find used Brembos from a salvage yard? AVOS what do you have?

 

I have done many brake upgrades from EBC to Alcon 6 pot (I did a Tarox 12 pot but that was on a different car), using a variety of different rotors, drilled, slotted, hook cut.

I would not necessarily agree on the less braking surface as the brembo discs are much larger and so are the pads which more than compensates for the holes/grooves.

Are they any better than standard? Yes, of course they are, but if you have drilled you will need to maintain them, keep the holes clear.

Would I recommend drilled rotors for everyday driving? Depends on what you are after, if its asethitics then, yes I would, if you drive like a lunatic, yes I would, if you poodle around and just like cruising, no I wouldn't.

Upgrade to brembo brakes but buy the non-drilled rotors, for a cheaper option go for EBC grooved discs with some red stuff pads, they work well once warmed up.

I am not a fan of drilled rotors as a rule as they do take looking after and on road use they can have a habit of cracking between the holes and if left can implode, could be nasty, but they do look cool .

I have actually bought plain rotors for my XKR and going to groove them myself, grooves are much better for road use, they work well and have similar characteristics as drilled (remove gases between the pad and rotor) but without the maintainence.

Yes you will get through pads quicker, but I do like to drive to like a lunatic


I will post this pic up again as it does look

 

@Fla Steve,

I had the same small stock brakes, and it didn’t take me long to go to the Brembo Big Brake upgrade kit, and what a difference that was.

Can’t really recommend the red stuff on the brembos (have no idea how they work on ebc rotors), I had them for a short while, and the main disadvantage is that they do need to be warmed up before they bite (and even then the Pagids RS 4.2.1 I used where much better gripping). The disadvantage with the non-ceramic brake pads is the dust, that required me to clean the wheels at least once a week (drive a lot), and as the red stuff didn’t work (though very less dust), I finally found the Hawk Ceramics. They do already grip from cold, and dust is minimal (and light grey, so not less visible), and am now on my 4th set iirc.

If it is stopping power for street use you are looking for with the brembo rotors then probably the Pagids/Ferrodo DS2500 would the best.

Drilled rotors do indeed need taking care of, I regularly drill the holes out to clean them, but other than that I am fine with these.

 

Can't say I have ever driven with redstuff pads on brembo discs either but I have many with the EBC rotors and find them pretty good.

For a cheap upgrade, it works.

 

It's not easy to compare the standard brakes to the Brembos unless you are on the track and measuring and timing or on a long deserted road in the boon docks doing 150 or more. Then the difference will show up, the Brembo brakes will be more reliable on hard runs without fade. Around town in traffic, you won't be able to tell much. I am guessing that most XKR owners never explore the performance of the brakes at their limits...including me. The XKR is a luxury GT and not a track racer, so the Brembos are mostly just for stylin'...just my lone opinion.

 

Thank you all for your responses. I kind of thought what I'd read about Brembos not being that much better was off base. Oldmots may have a good point; however, Avos says they make a big difference. If I can find them reasonable I may go for it. I think the verticle uprights are different as well as the caliper brackets, and of course the calipers and rotors.

AVOS, in the book... XK8 - A Modern Sporting Icon, your buddy Norman Durban replaced the Brembos with High-Spec Motorsport brakes. (Obviously he wants ultimate perfromance) ... He kept his 18" Double Five wheels. These are what I have and I want to keep them. Do you know if they fit over Brembos? XKRacer, Do you or anyone else know?

Now that everything is up to snuff, I want to start enhancing...Nameless Performance CATs have been ordered.

 

For me my car is indeed a luxury GT (with a tad more umpf) and no track car, which I am also not looking for. Most enjoyable was the low amount of effort you have to apply to the brake pedal to get a response, that gave me much more confidence than before with the 325mm ones. You can brake much more precise, and the differences become bigger once you ask more of the brakes. I don’t drive my car on the track, but I could be called a spirited driver (now end then) and I am sure it will perform there even better in prolonged usage.
NormanD is using spacers to allow the big brakes, not sure if it was 10 or 15mm per wheel, it wasn’t that much.

 

I think you find he actually uses 20mm spacers, I could be wrong, but the smallest spacer you can get away with is 15mm anything smaller and the studs will not have enough material to grip too.

 

SO after much deliberation on what rotors will actually fit my car, I called SNG Barrett and spoke with Tony. Extremely knowledgeable guy, and while he could not confirm 100% that the Brembo rotors he ordered for me will fit, my independent research leads me to believe they will.

The model number for genuine brembo's is C2N3427, for the cross drilled and they cost $240/pr for the fronts. (SNG Barrett's price) These pads work for VINs A30645 and above (according to Jaguar XK8 - XKR--Brakes)
The non cross drilled are C2N3428. And they apply to the same VINs

Rotor model JLM21749, is for XKR's w/Brembo Package 96-03 and end at VIN A30644

Hope this helps!

Does anyone have a tutorial or service manual for the replacement of the rotors and pads? I have found some conflicting advice on here as to the exact procedure. Specifically, information on releasing the rotor from the hub.

 

I have done the fronts on the Brembos. Very easy and straightforward...except, the 2 bolts that hold the caliper onto the hub are a b@#th to get off.

 

Other posts already detail the care required for cross-drilled rotors.

Now here is a viewpoint taken from elsewhere:

For most drivers, the factory brakes are plenty good enough.

Once you lockup your brakes, you have reached your braking limit. Similarly, on ABS, once the ABS kicks in, you have reached the limit of the demand on the brakes. More will not stop you faster.

If you can lockup your brakes three times in a row without brake fade, then that is likely to be good enough for most situations you will encounter in normal driving.

ps. If anyone needs to lockup their brakes three times in a row in normal driving, they ought to rethink their driving.