928drvr86.5

My front rotors have a lip on the outside edge about the thickness of a penny and the resulting squeal draws more embarassing attention at stoplights than a Civic with 15" subwoofers. Anyway, I am debating whether to replace the rotors or go whole-hog and upgrade to GTS brakes.

Are the GTS brake upgrades that are available from the Big Three a direct bolt on for my 86.5? Does the GTS upgrade require different Front/Rear biasing or any other modification to the system? Is the GTS upgrade just for the front brakes? Did the GTS's have the same rear braking as the S4's?

If i decide to keep my S4 brakes rather than going GTS what type of rotors should i replace mine with? is there much benefit to be had with slotted or drilled rotors or should i just stick to the solid/vented OEM type? I have heard cast hole is better than drilled as the drilled rotors tend to fracture around the drilled holes, is this correct?

I am just full of questions today.

928drvr86.5

notice the lip.

Shane

Yes, GTS brakes are direct bolt ons.
No new bias is not required but I would to get a little more out of the rear brakes.
Yes the upgrade is for the fronts only.
I think it is the same rear brakes.
Cast hole or slotted rotors. Slotted actually work better, but the cast holed look Cool!
You can also upgrade your rear brakes to a larger size as well,just more dollars!

dr bob

I suspect that most of the big brake upgrades are wasted except for the bragging rights factor. If you have enough to stop the car in your own driving conditions, well...

Holed and/or slotted rotors look cool, but only help when the brakes are so hot that pad offgassing would otherwise create a layer that would prevent the pads from putting full pressure on the rotor. They look cool, but are a maintenance challenge when it comes time to true them. They must be ground rather than just turned on a brake lathe. Worth it for the bling?

All that said, rotors tend to last a long time so maybe the maintenance isn't a big deal, they do look "fast", and you obviously like to draw attention to the red rotor hats and the yellow calipers you already have.

John Veninger

Using anything other than S4 calipers and solid rotors is for looks on a street car.

ErnestSw

Your squeal is not related to rotor wear. Be sure to clean your calipers and, if necessary, replace your dampers when you do the rotors.
What John said.

Daniel Dudley

I have seen people go through the new pad and rotor thing and still have a squeal. Often it is the back of the pad to the caliper interface. We used to use a blue goo there years ago, and we would also knock off the lip and buff the rotor on the car with scotchbrite on a rotary wheel. Another option is to use them as is harder and more often . Can't hurt, Ten to twenty good stops with a half mile between them could be all you need. Big reds do look nice though. Let me know if you want to sell your old stuff.

928drvr86.5

I have done all of that, so i beg to differ about how/why this squeal is being generated. I tried both the spray on blue goo and also an adhesive backed sheet type damper in addition to 3 different sets of front pads. The rotors are somewhat out of true (warped) and grab at certain places in the rotation of the wheel subsequently causing the pads to glaze. It's not enough to impede rolling but enough to heat and glaze the pads i think. The squealing is a result of the pads glazing. After changing each of the 3 sets of pads over five years the brakes were quiet for about a week until they glazed from dragging on those certain spots on the rotors. Matter of fact, on this last set i decided to leave the dampers off and like I said, quiet for about week. The calipers have been cleaned MANY times in 5 years of ownership.

ErnestSw

Like I said, your brake squeal is probably caused by your rotors.

928drvr86.5

The lip i have worn onto these rotors can't help either. When rotors are channeled, grooved, lipped or otherwise less than smooth it is my theory that the pad is making less surface contact with rotor itself and thus causing more friction over a smaller area of the pad in turn causing it to glaze.

928drvr86.5

Damnit Ernest.... That's what I'm trying to tell you

ErnestSw

Why didn't you say so?!?

928drvr86.5

No.. but anyway.. I think i will just replace the pads (again) and with new rotors this time since advice seems to slant against the GTS upgrade for anything but looks. I'll tell you what though, we have a handheld infrared temp meter at work I will run a self prescribed braking run on the test track with the old worn out rotors/pads and then again once i get the new stuff installed. It will be interesting to see how much cooler the brakes actually run.

928drvr86.5

Those infrared meters are cool, we're always shining the laser at each other's crotches.

mark kibort

put on some new rotors and be happy
there is NO need for a GTS brake system , unless you are racing, have 420hp at the wheels and are racing at tracks like laguna or road america!
the lip is not an issue either. squealing is. you may be able to put some brake pad stuff on the back of the pads to stop that. if the rotors are not warped, i wouldnt worry about the lip. (for street driving) however, rotors are pretty cheap, and the drilled ones look good


MK