Any Experience with ATE Grooved Rotors?

[Silent Runner]

At 287K, Km. I'm needing new brake pads soon, and I'm thinking that the OE rotors are probably worn to or below tolerances for machining. So.. I've been looking at replacement rotors, front for sure, maybe back (although I want to do the ES 300 upgrade on those 1st). ATE supplies a grooved rotor through Partsource (here in Can.). This part is more than 2x the cost of a regular rotor from PS. (@ $80 each), and I'm sure about 1/2 the cost of Toyota OE. (haven't checked yet). This is theoretically a performance upgrade to the brakes, sort of a lite version of slotted and cross-drilled, to allow better heat disappation. Has anyone tried these rotors, and to what outcome? I'm kind of tempted to try them since all my braking hardware is on display through the big 17" OZ's and they will also look kind of OE+.

[uibalnme]

unless racing, anything other than standard rotors would be pointless, IMHO.

[Hajoca]

The monroe discs that Canadian tire carries look decent, I put on as wet for a friend's camry last summer, and they are well made, cleanly machined / balanced.

Measeure your old rotors if they are still 25 mm or more.

The ATE grooves are also a wear indicator according to their literature.

[Silent Runner]

Originally Posted by uibalnme

unless racing, anything other than standard rotors would be pointless, IMHO.

I agree, to a degree, that the cars standard brakes are adequate for regular use. When you are trying to enhance a cars abilities though, you may not necessarly be looking for racing capability. Bigger wheels and wider tires will improve the cars traction. Cornering and braking limits are now higher, and other elements of the cars design parameters are worked harder. Greater cornering ability from tires, will tend to expose weakness in a cars sway and shock control. To a lesser degree in what you might run into on a day to day basis, your cars braking elements can also be loaded more than they were originally designed to handle on a regular basis. - Now lets consider an emergency stop, or braking requirement on a highway pass from 100-120km/h. If you can shorten your total stopping distance by 25ft, thats the difference between a "holy crap was that scary", and an airbag deploying smack that will mess up more than just your current day. Even a 10ft shorter stop from 70-80Km/h could save a pedestrians life, or save you from swapping paperwork with a fellow city commuter and his $60K BMW.

Performance mods are not all necessarly about increasing your ability to drive around like a nut cake, they can also be about increasing safety, comfort, and durability margins in regular driving.

[N/A Camry Sleeper]

Interesting rotor there...Not sure what brakes you have on your car - but if you are interested in stopping quicker with 17" wheels - I would consider upping to larger front and rear rotors. Was in the parts yard today and compared my 1996 I4 Camry to a 1991 LS400 - the LS400 has a dual-piston setup - both pistons are about 1.75" diameter. The I4 Camry has a single, ~2.25" diameter piston. Since dual pistons will take away more heat from the pads, they will be less likely to fade and eventually boil the brake fluid (which is why I bought the LS400 brakes!). Toyota made it real easy - just swap calipers, backing plates, pads, and then bleed the system and you're done! If you really want the extra insurance, get the LS400 master cylinder, but that may be more work than is needed.

However, there comes a limit when getting larger and larger brakes...

If your tires are not grippy enough then the most advanced brakes will do no more good than OEM. Larger wheels are harder to stop since the rotational inertia is further from the axis of rotation - 17" wheels are not too much of a difference, but it they were my wheels I would have "AA" traction rating so a BBK or equivalent could maximize its potential. On my car I still have the OEM 4-cyl stuff and I have seen GREAT braking improvements with weight reduction and lighter rims. I lost 4.5lbs per rim when going from 14" steelie to 15" 1995 Mazda Millenia aluminum rims. Braking was immediately "a little better" but the tires I replaced were still "A" rated for traction.

Will be interesting to see how the carbon brakes work - I have a feeling that they will be very touchy initially when I switch over to the LS400 setup - I am more concerned with the longevity...I'd hate to spend all this time and money only to find out that the rotors are only good for 15K miles! But we'll see

[Buurin]

That groove looks cute.

[fenixus]

very decent grooved rotor I would say. ATE is a good brand

[Eye8Pussies]

I've used them on my dad's sienna before, and they were pretty decent. I can't say if they were better than stock though

[JohnGD]

If "display" is your objective then these should be fine. The rotor is anti-corrosion coated as well.

Otherwise ~$20 Centric rotors and more costly ~$50 Brembos should do.

Originally Posted by Silent Runner

I'm kind of tempted to try them since all my braking hardware is on display through the big 17" OZ's and they will also look kind of OE+.

[Chris Crash]

If you're about to drop $160 on rotors, I would say do a supra TT conversion if you're going for looks instead.

[Silent Runner]

Originally Posted by Chris Crash

If you're about to drop $160 on rotors, I would say do a supra TT conversion if you're going for looks instead.

I'ts definitely interesting to read that substantial braking upgrades can be done on our cars! -like a Supra TT conversion, or LS 400! Wow, now that would be nice if I didn't have a very good set of stock 15" Alloys, with very good winter tires mounted, for driving on 6 months out of the year.
Since the stock rotors and calipers are a pretty tight fit on these 15" wheels, I think these upgrades would preclude the option of putting nice cheap winter tires on the car.

Very cool stuff to know though.. thanks!

Edit: Ya, I would like something cool to show off inside these wheels, mostly for looks reasons, It's the genitics of an engineer that make me think in this way, and so many Honda's and Chevy's running around with huge tires/wheels, and silly little brake drums inside.