Vented Disc's Worth it?

[skip]

I need to replace one of my brake rotors due to a sticky situation with a right caliper.

Questions:

1) Are Grooved/Drilled Rotors are worth the added expense for street driving?

2) Is/has anyone run Braided Stainles Flex brake lines? They are supposed to give a firmer pedal and incresed response. Thinking of going with the 5 line kit.

I am thinking about replacing the pads with Greenstuff pads at the same time (replacing rear shoes with regular lining at same time). I've never had the discs hot enough to experiance any brake fade, (in a Mini at least). Which is why I am questioning running the grooved rotors. They look cool and in theory are supposed to deliver increased pad life.

[minied]

I like braided-stainless brake hoses. Probably more reliable too. I've had them on a couple of my Minis and will go that way for sure the next time I buy brake hoses.

[mascher]

I agree with Ed on the braided lines, buy good ones.

The drilled or grooved discs aren't the same as vented. Vented will require wider calipers. The drilled or grooved discs won't do much for a street car and I haven't seen them used very often on race Minis either. Probably not worth the money.

The Green Stuff pads don't really have a very good reputation on Minis. You might want to do a little more research on the various Mini forums. If I recall correctly they take a while to warm up and start working.

Cheers,

Kelley

[timc]

I'm no expert, but i've have green stuff pads on two of my minis and had good results as far as i could tell. Didn't seem like they needed a warm up at least. Then again i don't have to much to compare to... i have so other brand of pads on my green mini, and thats all i have to compare to...seems the same to me. Greenstuff pads claim less dust too, but i don't seem much difference really, still takes only a few days of driving before the front wheels need cleaning.

only reason i used green stuff pads is because i had such good luck with them on my other cars as well. maybe they arn't the best choice for a mini,

[skip]

The vented disc title was a brain fart on my part, what I really meant was cross drilled and grooved. (I have a few gray hairs now, I'm entitled!!)

In theory the holes and grooves are supposed to give the brake dust generated by hard braking a place to go away from the disc and pad. The holes and radius of grooves also act as a stress reliever making the disc less likely to warp after severe braking.

Greenstuff pads are the Kevlar pads right? It was my understanding that the Kevlar didn't require as much heat as a racing pad and gave off less dust. I could be wrong though.

[mascher]

I think timc hit the nail on the head. Most of us don't have a lot to compare when choosing brake pads or even when assessing braking effeciency. That's why I suggested looking at other forums.
Have a look at:

http://www.theminiforum.co.uk/forums...1&#entry740571

I've never really thought about brake dust being a bad thing. Something has to wear for brakes to work, I would prefer it was the pad.

Cheers,

Kelley

[Mark]

I'll third the braided lines. I LIKE them. On the rotors and pads, get the green stuff if they aren't much more than a PBR metalmaster, otherwise, they may not be worth the extra cost. Get the rotors with the spiral cut grooves, especially if you rain drive your mini. There are a fair assortment of 8.4 suitable brake parts, so getting pretty much exactly what you like shouldn't be too tough.
My caveat: all of the disc brake info I have to offer here is based on German cars as daily drivers. I've only owned one "driving" disc brake Mini, and that was only for 2.5 years. ( standard small discs under 10" wheels, so, while better than the dual leading shoe drums, still not too much to write home about. So, not too many memories about them.)

Happy Stopping!
MSH