I drive an 02 Lightning with 11k miles on it. I drive it maybe once a week or so, but I am looking at getting some corssdrilled and slotted rotors. I hear those are easily warpable and am wondering how eaily, and will i know when they warp?

 

Warped rotors can be caused by any number of things, but the top two on my list are excess heat (caused by heavy braking) and inferior materials (caused by bean counting).

If you're considering aftermarket rotors made by a reputable manufacturer, the material thing should not come into play. As for the heat, one of the advantages of cross drilled / slotted rotors is the ability to shed heat faster. That would mean - all things being equal - the modified rotors should not be as likely to warp. Hope that helps!

 

Some folks say that uneven lug-nut torque can also lead to warpage... just a thought.

I had some pricey AP cross-drilled rotors, had good luck with them until a stuck caliper dug a trench in one...

Couldn't afford replacement APs, so I got some Quickstop cross-drilled rotors. Happy with them so far...

Quickstop uses a good OEM-quality Federal-Mogul blank to start with so they are't crappy. The holes are radiused to prevent cracking.

My bro-in-law has had good luck with his PowerStops, they have holes that are chamfered but are little harder to find these days, I'm told.

I put 30K - 40K on the APs with Hawk pads, and never once did they warp.
We tow heavy boats thru the desert in the summer, too... The Quickstops have not warped in around 5K miles of hard use, and I don't anticipate that they will.

Like anything, make sure you get good quality stuff. Cheesy cross-drilled rotors with holes that aren't radiused or chamfered will lead to cracks.

 

so when your rotors are warped, is the alignment off when you tried to brake? or just a slight anything? I just dont want to have my rotors warped and not know it until I need my brakes and dont have them because they're warped.

 

Your truck will shake while braking if your rotors are warped. It is very noticeable.

 

Many times you get a shake in your steering wheel when the fronts are warped. The fronts take more abuse. Measuring the runout on the rotor is how you evaluate it.

 

I think this has been posted before but it is the one of the best articles I have seen on brakes:

http://www.stoptech.com/whitepapers/...otors_myth.htm