What's the best choice for my car, Max or Xtra discs?

 

Brembo Max discs have slots while Brembo Xtra discs are cross-drilled. Both of these features significantly improve the performance of your braking system, by:

 

 

The cross-drilled holes or slots in a brake disc ensures greater grip between the disc and the pad. This translates to more immediate brake response and a more effective braking system as a whole. This is because the holes and the slots increase the friction coefficient of the discs surface, which improves braking performance in particular when the brakes are initially applied.

 

Another important advantage of cross-drilled or slotted discs is that they keep the pad clean and continuously remove old friction material so that only new pad material is in contact with the rotor. The holes also break up the film of water which may form on the braking surface. This means that even in wet conditions, the braking system responds effectively right from the first time you step on the brake pedal. Similarly, the outward-facing slots expel any water building up on the surface of the disc more effectively, ensuring more predictable behaviour in all weather conditions.

 

Just as they expel water, the holes and slots also improve the capacity of the disc to dissipate the gases released between the pad and the disc itself in high temperature conditions. These gases, produced as the resins used to make the friction material combust at high temperatures, can reduce the friction coefficient  between the disc and the pad, leading to a loss in braking efficacy known as fading. The cross-drilled holes or slots in the brake discs allow the disc itself to expel these gases more rapidly, restoring optimum braking conditions very quickly.

 

Lastly, slots and holes also increase the capacity of the system to dissipate the heat generated by disc and pad, improving the performance of the entire braking system.

Created specifically to improve braking performance, in certain conditions and depending on the design of the pad and the friction material used, cross-drilled or slotted discs may lead to faster brake pad wear.

 

Generally speaking, cross-drilled and slotted discs offer comparable benefits in terms of performance. In motorsports, slotted discs are used more often as they offer better water and gas expulsion, while cross-drilled discs are used more frequently on sports road-going cars, as they are not as harsh on the friction material of the pads. From a purely cosmetic standpoint, on the other hand, cross-drilled discs give the car a more sporty look.

 

As both cross-drilling and slots are machined into the structure of the disc, potentially weakening it, it is clear that design and the production process play fundamental roles in ensuring the reliability - in terms of mechanical strength and durability- and, most importantly, the safety of the disc. 

The number, size and location of each individual hole and slot must be defined precisely for each specific disc during the design process.

 

The resulting machined disc is then subjected to bench and road testing to ensure that it delivers outstanding performance in all driving conditions, and meets all the requisites for safety, mechanical strength and durability specified by the manufacturer of the vehicle.

 

 

To sum up: as can be seen in the following table, generally speaking, Brembo Max (slotted) and Brembo Xtra (cross-drilled) discs offer the same advantages.

 

 

Change your look. What suits you best - the sportier, more aggressive character of a cross-drilled disc or the decisive elegance of a slotted disc?

 

It's crucial that you choose the right product for your car for your braking system to work correctly. Please make sure that you choose the right part number.