Disc Choice for Astra AH CD

[HoldenAstra]

Car has done 50K, will need new pads soon, so I am considering to get some new discs.

DBA Street Series have two products for Astra AH CD: Standard and Slotted. On DBA website, Standard front is $85 each and Slotted one is $170 each. Car is daily car, no track at all, just want better brake.Pads will be HPX I think.

So, questions are:
Are the slotted ones worth the extra $170 per pair?
Is there big performance difference between standard and slotted?
Are standard and slotted the same thing, except that slotted has the cut and the paint?
And, is DBA standard one better than GM factory one?

Thanks.

[sooty]

For what you want, I'd stick with just the plain DBA rotors, and the stock pads. The stock pads have an amazing initial bite, whereas the HPX's really come into their own when you're pushing the car and apply more brake pressure.

[HoldenAstra]

thanks
but the stock pads have loads of brake dust

[Wraith]

thanks
but the stock pads have loads of brake dust

Change to different 'standard spec' pads...lots of aftermarkets advertise that they work with reduced brake dust, however some that I've tried over the years also had poorer stopping performance due to harder materials or more metal used in the pad make up...

[poita]

have a look at the QFM pads supplied by GSLRallySport on the forum here.

many of the guys are running these with great results

[HoldenAstra]

have a look at the QFM pads supplied by GSLRallySport on the forum here.

many of the guys are running these with great results

yeah, QFM HPX, as I mentioned in the thread.

Still waiting for other guys' experience with the discs, cheers!

[HoldenAstra]

Change to different 'standard spec' pads...lots of aftermarkets advertise that they work with reduced brake dust, however some that I've tried over the years also had poorer stopping performance due to harder materials or more metal used in the pad make up...

what do you use now, pads and discs?

[guy 27]

i'm have been running HPX pads with DBA slotted rotors for a very long time (over 100k km) on the front.
very long lasting setup although the track day i did took 1mm of the pads.

Initial bite is good from cold and gets better as the warm up.

Unless your going to be doing lots of sprinted drives or a few track days, non slotted rotors will be fine.

[Wraith]

what do you use now, pads and discs?

My Calibra has had the discs changed with aftermarket DBA's standard disks, ie. not slotted or grooved and am currently running Metal King pads...brake dust is slightly reduced, but I've noticed more fade than the OEM stock pads previously used...

TS Astra has standard discs and pads...and yes huge dust/debris build up as per most stock pads, but they pull up extremely well...

Prior to these I had a HSV R8 running Harrop calipers and slotted discs with high performance pads (sorry can't remember the brand of the pads) but again lots of brake dust, however these too were very fade resistant...

I'd say if the guys above have tried QFM and HPX pads with encouraging results then they're the go...I too may try one of these when I next need to replace pads...

[HoldenAstra]

Thanks for sharing your experience!

I will get DBA Standard Discs and HPX Pads all around!

But still curious:In DBA Street Series, do they just cut and paint the standard one to make it slotted for the extra price?

[Wraith]

Thanks for sharing your experience!

I will get DBA Standard Discs and HPX Pads all around!

But still curious:In DBA Street Series, do they just cut and paint the standard one to make it slotted for the extra price?

Don't know myself...I'd take a guess and say they are the same with the modifications, but maybe having slots/grooves or holes may weaken them and cause flex or bending with the extreme heat generated during operation, so they may be different in some way, maybe the metal is a different grade ??

Probably be a good idea to ask that question to the manufacturers themselves or reaserch it over the net, I'm sure you'll find some answers that way :)