Exploding Rotors: why you do not drill

[AudiBiTurbo at aol.com]

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OK, hopefully my last post on the subject.  Modern Audis (the S4 is a great
example) don't have enough thermal mass in their brakes for track usage.  The
speeds even a stock S4 or TT can obtain are far too taxing on the brakes.  I
sell Stoptechs for S4s (as an example) not because of a bad caliper design, but
because Audi used odd sized rotors and you have to replace the entire system
to use a standard sized floating rotor with enough thermal mass to withstand
track usage or even aggressive street driving.

Using cross drilled rotors in an effort to cure what is a thermal mass
problem just doesn't make sense.  Drilled rotors are marketed as being cooler than
plain finish or slotted rotors.  Cooler looking perhaps, but testing doesn't
always back up marketing hype.

Don't discount the typical reaction when someone does a brake upgrade or
*thinks* they've upgraded the brakes... you're harder on them by braking deeper.
I won't kid you, I'm just as guilty.  We tend not to do upgrades to build in
more margin, we do upgrades to move the performance "upwards."  We want to
utilize this performance, real or imagined.

Indirectly I've speculated, but I really feel it's a combination of how the
products where used.  That means not only the physical application of the
brakes in this situation, but the suitability of the application for drilled
rotors.

Let's not hang a good TT owner (who shall remain nameless) or a good company
(Zimmerman).  Let's just put more thought into our open discussions, hopefully
learn, be safe, and have FUN!

Best to all,
Mark Rosenkrantz
AudiBiTurbo at aol.com