Dba Vs Rda Slotted Rotors

[wasxaman]

DBA - Overpriced, some say too hard and tend to crack particularly the drilled type.

RDA - Reasonably priced, far better than stock particularly the slotted type. Overall better bang for your buck.

Edited 24/09/07 01:25 PM by wasxaman

[SavageF6]

Well that's that then. Some say DBA are sh*t, some say RDA are sh*t.

I may as well keep the stockies, because I'm sure to be wearing them DOWN to sh*t

Seriously though, how can rotors be 'too hard'?? Also, drilled rotors have no place on the racetrack, DBA themselves recommend slotted only if doing track work.

Edited 24/09/07 01:33 PM by SavageD

[aiboart]

  wasxaman said:

DBA - Overpriced, some say too hard and tend to crack particularly the drilled type.

RDA - Reasonably priced, far better than stock particularly the slotted type. Overall better bang for your buck.

All drilled rotors will crack in extreme applications.

Drilling is a design that has been superceded by slotting.

Slotting provides the same bennefits as drilling but does not suffer the same fate in respect to cracking. Some tracks ban drilled rotors.

drilled = bling + compromised performance.

Regards,

aa

[senna_T]

that's right, drilled discs look cool, ever seen a V8 Supercar with drilled discs? All I can say is that my pbr's are holding up great, if the DBA or RDA rotors hold up the saem, you'll be happy

[bugster70]

Thanks for the replies guys. I've also heard that the drilled ones crack under extreme use, so will certainly steer clear of them. A number of rotors appear to be out now that are both slotted and 'dimpled' - I guess that's for those who like the drilled look but don't want the associated cracking issues?!

Of all the replies though, I'm most persuaded by RAP1D's and Mr Man's responses, as both have come from personal experience. Mr Man actually backs up my own thoughts in that RDA may be a little inferior to the DBAs, and RAP1D's track experience with standard sized DBAs reinforce this, so thanks for that insight.

[ZAP]

The rotors that have holes in them can be created either by drilling (not good) or casting (very good).

Brembo rotors have cast holes, and are not prone to cracking. Most of the rotors with holes are drilled and should be avoided due to the crackiing.

Do not assume that holes are just for bling as many street perfomance cars like AMG/Porsche/ Ferrari's run holed disks, but they have cast holes, not drilled.

As for choice, I would not skimp on quality. DBA's are a very good choice and will be mine once the factory rotors have been worn. I will go for the DBA5000's on the front and the 4000's on the rear with slots only.

[aiboart]

  SavageD said:

Well that's that then. Some say DBA are sh*t, some say RDA are sh*t.

I may as well keep the stockies, because I'm sure to be wearing them DOWN to sh*t

Seriously though, how can rotors be 'too hard'?? Also, drilled rotors have no place on the racetrack, DBA themselves recommend slotted only if doing track work.

I fitted a set of DBA5000’s to the BA’s factory premium brakes.

Whilst the factory premium discs are superb for their intended (road) application in respect to bite, performance, linearity, feel and heat resistance, the DBA5000’s are better. Unexpectedly, even in modest applications there was a significant improvement in refinement, linearity and feel (solidity) with the DBA5000’s.

This is an important to me, this is the third set of discs on the car; I like good braking. I suspect that the improved refinement is due to better dimensional stability and cooler running in the DBA5000’s as compared to the factory premium discs and for that reason I think that the performance gap between the factory premiums and the DBA5000’s may well widen as the operating environment becomes more challenging.

Further, the lighter weight of the DBA5000’s can be felt as a refinement in the suspension and steering.

The DBA 5000’s are a good thing.

Regards,

aa

[aiboart]

  ZAP_F6 said:

The rotors that have holes in them can be created either by drilling (not good) or casting (very good).

Brembo rotors have cast holes, and are not prone to cracking. Most of the rotors with holes are drilled and should be avoided due to the crackiing.

Do not assume that holes are just for bling as many street perfomance cars like AMG/Porsche/ Ferrari's run holed disks, but they have cast holes, not drilled.

As for choice, I would not skimp on quality. DBA's are a very good choice and will be mine once the factory rotors have been worn. I will go for the DBA5000's on the front and the 4000's on the rear with slots only.

You are quite right, drilled may not equal holed as the holes may be cast, which is a different matter.

FWIW, I checked with one of the guys I work with about the holed (as opposed to strictly drilled) vs slotted disc design thing for race cars. This chap is the engineer for a current Porsche cup car.

Interestingly this is the result.

The Porsche cup car manual depicts the Cup car as running holed discs.

However, according to the engineer, the actual discs are slotted!

Regards,

aa

[loopism]

Looks like DBA don't have the 5000 series in the BF sizing yet: http://www.dba.com.au/2006/new_products/FordBF_XR6T_XR8.asp Not listed in the catalogue for the BA sizing either

[SavageF6]

That's the 'new products' link only.

Here's the full catalogue, BA & BF fully supported:

Full DBA 2007 catalogue

After reading the rest of this thread, I'm definately going for the DBA 5000's on the front, and 4000's on the rear as I said. Slotted only. Besides, the twin piece 5000 disks with the chrome locking nuts look trick as is

For those with the BF big Brembos (6 pot front, 4 pot rear), the required part number are as follows:

Front left: DBA 52102BLKSL ---> 5000 series, black hat, slotted left.

Front right: DBA 52102BLKSR ---> 5000 series, black hat, slotted right.

Note: for the 5000 series, you have a choice of Black, Blue, Red or Gold for the hat. I've just listed black above, because you cant get the other colours in the rears (4000 series) to match, unless you want Gold for the cross-drilled and slotted rear 4000s. Normal 4000s, including slotted, are black 'hub'.

Rear left: DBA 4507BSL ---> 4000 series, slotted left.

Rear right: DBA 4507ASR ---> 4000 series, slotted right.

Mmmmm, 5000 series.....

Edited 26/09/07 11:22 AM by SavageD