Brembo’s X Range consists of Brembo Xtra perforated rotors and rotors featuring grooves on the braking surface - Brembo Max - also referred to as slotted brake rotors, as well as Xtra brake pads.
Perforations and grooves on the braking surface significantly improve the performance of the braking system, by affecting the following:
- improved grip
- cleaning and renewal of friction material is assured
- dispersion of water
- dissipation of gases
- increased cooling rate of the braking system
The advantages of holes and grooves on the braking surface
The presence of holes and grooves (also referred to as slots) on the brake disc provides better grip and undoubtedly faster and a far more effective response by the braking system, which ensures a higher friction coefficient.
Moreover, another important advantage of using perforated or grooved rotors is the cleaning and continual renewal of the brake pad friction material. Holes and grooves generate a “scraping” effect that cleans the surface of the brake pad of harmful deposits of material.
Holes also help break up the film of water that may form on the braking surface, when driving in wet conditions. Specifically, brake rotors have grooves facing outwards, effectively dispersing water that may be present on the surface of the brake disc.
Not only do the holes and grooves help disperse water, they also ensure better dissipation of the gases that form at high temperatures between the surfaces of the pad and the disc. These gases may cause fading that reduces the friction coefficient between the disc and the pad with consequent loss of braking efficiency.
Lastly, the presence of holes or grooves result in an improvement in the heat dissipation capacity of the disc and pad, with an improvement in performance of the overall braking system.
Xtra brake pads in BRM X L01
Perforated or grooved rotors may give rise to higher brake pad wear, which is why it is highly recommendable to use purpose-devised brake pads, such as Brembo’s Xtra brake pads, which have been made with the BRM X L01 compound. This material consists of more than 30 different components, and it was successfully tested by Brembo on premium sports cars, as well as on mid-range vehicles to accommodate the needs of sports driving fans. The compound assures higher friction coefficient stability in all driving conditions, avoiding the formation of hot spots on the braking surface, and hence vibrations. This is supplemented by a better braking feeling for the driver, for maximum driving precision. Additionally, the use of BRM X L01 ensures more mileage and uniform wear, which translates to less dust and cleaner rims.
ECE R 90 type-approved designing and production
The designing and production stages of perforated and grooved rotors need to meet the strictest requirements to ensure maximum reliability in terms of strength, performance, durability and, above all, safety.
The design stage needs to investigate the number, size, shape and position of every hole or groove and the machining process must be followed by dynamometric bench and on-road tests to ensure maximum performance at all times and in all driving conditions while equally meeting all the safety and strength requirements expected by car manufacturers. For this reason, the entire range of Xtra and Max brake rotors and the Xtra brake pads are ECE R 90 type-approved.
It is always advisable to choose a brand with proven consolidated experience in the designing and production of perforated and grooved rotors just as it is recommended to use brake pads which have been specifically designed and tested for such special rotors.