Z1 2-Piece Rotors and Carbotech 1521 Pads
 

Thanks to the lovely black friday sale at Z1, I got my hands on a few brake goodies this year:

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...ps66ea4e87.jpg

Of course, these are the 20-lb (And they are indeed 20 lbs, I weighed both of em!) 2-piece rotors, in drilled and slotted fashion, accompanied with Carbotech "Bobcat" 1521 street pads, and a bottle of Motul of which I ended up not having to use, as I didn't lose enough fluid to warrant a refill.

I've been driving on this setup for the past 300 or so miles, and after the initial break-in right after installation, as per Carbotech, the stopping power feels incredible. The initial bite is hard and travels linear afterwards, and the fade doesn't come on until many hard stops. A much needed improvement over stock.

The car is also quicker on its feet - shaving 20 lbs of rotational weight is a big deal in terms of acceleration and suspension performance!

I have to report however, that the pads did squeak - no, HOWL, for the first 250 miles at speeds below 8 mph. Trust me, I got very awkward looks at stop lights. After this, however, I applied that red break squeak medic stuff, and since then, they only squeak at low speeds occasionally, and when they do, it's a quiet, livable squeak. I honestly debated selling the pads at a loss and going OEM, but now I am okay with them.

And here's some gratuitous shots of the installed product:

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...ps5ba1f3b3.jpg

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...ps4cdef77d.jpg

I cannot wait to put these on, I got slotted only, but have to wait till spring, the guys in the shop as well as myself were beyond impressed with the initial quality of the rotors, just need to get some rears when they come out!

Damn looks good!

Nice! One of my rotors arrived dinged unfortunately. There's a big dimple protruding out of the friction surface. The box is fine so I think someone dropped the rotor during packing or at the factory. I'm almost tempted to grind it smooth myself! Sending z1 pics tomorrow to hopefully get a replacement.

They are definitely a great buy, if anyone is curious. I've always been an avid fan of efficiency > raw power when it comes to cars, and shaving 20 lbs of rotational mass is making the car faster, respond better, and stop quicker. No downsides to that! It's all about maximizing what your car's setup can do.

And also, Z1 isn't the only choice - you have CZP, ZSpeed, DBA, and Racing Brake selling 2-piece rotors. So far though - Z1 has the lightest in the market, and as far as I can tell, they are very nice quality.

Cant wait to do mine!:happydance:

Ill add my review in here

I put mine on last weekend and I am really enjoying the extra nimbleness added to the front of the car. It is a noticeable improvement!

I kept the OEM pads for now...no other braking mods either for now.

One thing that isnt really being talked about so far is the larger width of the cooling track and directional vanes. I didnt get a picture of this but if you compare it to stock its a no brainer this is absolutely going to help with cooling.

Now I can't wait to put mine on. I did the Black Friday deal also. And I'm gonna slap on some Hawk pads while I'm at it.

Hmmm that can hurt to though. Less metal means the rotor will heat up faster. It will be a fine line which comes first.

Whats wrong with the initial warm up occurring slightly faster, if the max temp is ultimately slightly lowered?

THAT would be ok. But baits are used to slow you down. Slow down, less air, hotter.
More meat means that if a disc is 400 degrees, you hit the brakes, heat them to 500. Less meat means you heated them to 550, yeah, it will cool faster, but 550 May have already killed you're pads and fluid.


All that being said, I LOVE my Z1 rotors. Definitely can feel the performance

But is it? Its a chicken or the egg come first kind of thing. More metal means in turn 1 from say 140mph down to 40 you heat a thicker rotor to xxx while a less material rotor goes higher. Now onto turn 2 the more airy less material rotor is cooling faster but it started at a higher temp in the first place. Now only turn 3 will show the winner as one will be hotter and will have more fade which means you need to brake later ultimately. Tracks will also differ a winner depending on braking zones etc. like a bike with sprockets, one setup doesn't work everywhere.

I see your point but on the flip side of that the Z1 rotor may not be at 400 initially. Maybe it's at 375 and goes up to 490...bigger jump in temp but still lower than stock and then cools back down faster than stock.

lol, truth is we dont know. but I love the rotors

rotors look sweet man...I'll wait for the rears to become available before I pick up a set.

I see both views. What I get told all the time by hard core track guys is that they go to a BBK not for extra stopping power, more for extra meat. Because they can get maybe 10 track days on OEM rotors, but since the BBKs have more meat they take more heat and may last 20 at best