There was a similar thread about slotted rotors somewhere else recently, and I, like you, observed that no one I asked about the rotors actually seemed to have used them. The most people would do is repeat the bit about "gas dispersal" that the marketing people put out. This "gas dispersal" theory has always struck me as dubious, for the reason that as the rotors turns any gases released by the pads should also be being dispersed. Of course, at some point perhaps so much gas is being released that it can't be dispersed either through the normal sweeping action of the rotor or if the pad lifts slightly, but this should also be a problem with the slotted rotors---after all, if the idea is that the slots cause the gas to disperse, then the slots can only disperse a given amount of gas before they, too, will be overwhelmed. So, how much gas is "too much" for regular rotors to handle, and how much gas is "too much" for slotted rotors to handle? Good question, and I have a hunch that the level is WAY higher than you will ever see on the street, and probably in most high speed racing situations our cars are likely to encounter. Also, a DOWNSIDE to slotted rotors is the fact that the slots REDUCE the available contact surface with the pad. No one discusses this. Furthermore, can you reface slotted rotors without affecting them? Or do you have to buy another pair? No one discusses this, either.
--Chris Kennedy
Houston, Texas
