This is not an in-depth tutorial on how to replace your rotors. It's more a basic overview with some pics and impressions of my DBA rotors after having them for a few months.
These Disc Brakes Australia (DBA) rotors were installed in August. They are the 4000XS Series (cross-drilled and slotted). They are a direct bolt-on replacement for the OEM rotors and are the same size.
Part #: 42960XS (Front), 42961XS (Rear)
I was originally going to purchase just the slotted rotors but none were available at the time. I was offered the XS for almost the same price so went for those. Here's what they look like straight out of the box:
Installation
Installation was straight forward. Brake calipers were removed (and painted), and after removing the OEM rotors the hub face was cleaned to remove rust scale. The hardest part was removing the original rotor from the hub. This has been explained by a guy on another forum so I'll just repeat here what he said (the photo shown is taken by him):
"Now here comes the fun part. In order to remove the rotor, the screw holding the hub to the rotor need to come out. ["To remove the screws on the rotors, you need to use an impact driver" (Quote MX5RACER)]. If they do not come out easily, get the drill ready to drill out the screw heads. You really don’t have to replace these screws, the wheel hold the rotor on just fine. With the screws off, remove the rotor. If it won’t come off itself, use a bold in the threaded rotor hole, and screw it in until the rotor brakes free"
After mounting one of the new DBA rotors loosely on the hub the gold color of the inner rotor didn't fit with the rest of the colour scheme of the car, especially the blue calipers. The gold paint was more obvious on the rear rotors. I'd seen a Liberty and MX-5 with the same DBA rotors who left them the original colour and it didn't look too good to me:
So I decided to sand off the yellow and repaint it black. Here's some before and after shots:
Original colour
Painted Black
I loved the polished look after the yellow paint came off (made the rotors look bigger) but after a few weeks it would have turned rusty and looked crap. So they were reluctantly painted black:
Original vs new look before fitting:
Here's the finished job:
Before (caliper had just been cleaned prior to painting)
After
Impressions:
Initially I was disappointed with the new DBAs. The most obvious loss compared to the old rotors was a reduced sensitivity in the brake pedal. I have to press the pedal more firmly with the new rotors. My original brakes were super-sensitive, to the point of annoyance in some cases, but i could live with them most of the time. So after losing this initial sensitivity after fitting the DBAs I was worried I had made a mistake. But after some driving I came to realise that the DBAs are a lot more progressive in their feel compared to the OEMs. With the OEMs it felt like braking was an all-or nothing affair, but this is not the case with the DBAs. So there's been a loss in sensitivity with initial or light braking, but the more progressive feel as you press harder on the anchors is a braking characteristic I much prefer.
In terms of overall stopping power the DBAs might have a slight edge, but it really is hard to tell. I don't flog my car and haven't pushed it hard enough to cause brake fade with either the old or new rotors, so I don't know if the DBAs are more fade-resistant. To be honest I don't know if the rotor itself has much to do with brake fade, or whether it's more to do with pads and brake fluid overheating. However I feel more confident in braking with the DBAs compared to the OEMS because the progressive nature gives more control.
One thing I've noticed concerns touching the brakes in order to cancel the cruise control. With the old rotors the smallest of brake taps would result in the car decelerating noticably; it was almost like the brakes were being over-assisted, especially at higher speed. With the DBAs this annoyance has disappeared.
I have some mild brake squeal every now and then but it doesnt bother me that much. It mostly occurs when breaking from 20km/h or less. There is also a slight 'shhh' noise when you brake, as a result of the pad brushing over the slots and drills. This noise is amplified considerably if you brake alongside a concrete barrier or in a tunnel.
It's interesting comparing the braking in my car to my dad's 6MPS. His brakeas are nowhere near as sensitive compared to my car with the original rotors (production tolerances maybe??). However after the install of the DBAs on my car, his brakes feel slightly more sensitive in comparison, but once again not as progressive as the DBAs.
Overall I'm happy with the upgrade. The more progressive feel in the brake pedal is welcome, but a little more bite on initial braking wouldn't go astray. I'm guessing this lack of initial bite is down to the reduced surface area of the rotor created by the cross drills. If I was to do it all again I would have waited for the slotted rotors and passed on the cross-drilled/slotted ones that are now on the car. Sure, the slots combined with the drills looks cool, but the greater pad/rotor contact of the slotted rotors would most likely give that bit more initial bite that I am craving, while also keeping the progressive feel. So if you want the best of both worlds I'd recommend the slotted rotors.
I've recently installed the DBA 4000 slotted front rotors with Mintec pads and I think you've pretty much summed up the differences, though with the slotted (for me) the initial feel at soft braking is almost the same as stock, though my stock brakes were not extra sensitive - ie. a tap of brake pedal to disengage cruise control did not create any braking. The progressiveness increases as you apply braking force, overall they feel great and the dust from the Mintec pads is approx 25% less than stock pads. I also get some minor noise under braking next to a barrier, more like rapid clicking but you have to have the window down to hear it and then it's not loud and no other noises with the slotted!
Al I used a wire brush and rubbed all the dirt/dust off with that, then some degreaser, followed by water and meths to get the surface all clean prior to painting. After 6 months the paint is holding up very well. Also after applying the decals I sprayed them with heat resistant clear coat! Allow yourself plenty of uninterrupted time to prep and paint, did mine over the course of a day, got the kids to help for bit and then played with them in between coats of paint
Senior Member
DBA cross-drilled/slotted rotors - pics, install, thoughts
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