Power Slot rear rotors for WRX sedan
 

Hi,

I need to replace my rear rotors in my WRX sedan. I found some cheap vented and slotted rotors from an aftermarket company named "Power Slot". Here's a link to a vendor.

[url]http://www.hopupracing.com/poslreslroki1.html[/url]

Has anybody used these rotors before? Do they make them with durable cast iron? Are their flatness and concentricity machining tolerances decent? Do they brake well? Will they crack? Do they weigh a lot relative to the Subaru OEM solid rotors?

The price seems really low so I'm a little curious about their quality. I'm not interested in a mega-bucks Brembo or Pro-Drive rear rotor package because the rear rotors don't take all that much load compared to the fronts. Any experiences with "Power Slot" products would be very much appreciated.

Regards,

Dave.

I haven't used them on the subie but have on a Mustang. Power slots(combined with some street grade aftermarket pads) are the best upgrade to a stock system. They weigh approx the same, cast iron. Run out is good out of the box, but as with any new rotors try them first, if they pulsate you can re-surface(machine them on brake lathe) them true again. The Power Slots are a far better choice over cross drilled rotors. The slots allow hot gases to escape faster than stock without much of the rotor strength compromised. The crossdrilled rotors work the same way but strength is an issue as tons of users have complained about rotor cracks after a couple months of use. I have 40k on the clock and hope to have some Power Slots on my car soon.

[url]www.tirerack.com[/url] has them too. They support and sponsor the SCCA, and most of the forums you visit:D

I also used Powerslots on my last car, an Integra GSR. Replaced them with Hawk pads. Made a big difference in braking response and feel. I would consider using them when I have to replace the rotors, but I am also interested in the Baer rotors on the Tirerack website. I just wish that Hawk would make pads for the '04 WRX. As far as I know they have not done this yet. If anyone knows any different let me know.

My DBA's have done very well....

Thanks for all the feedback fellas.

I took the big plunge last week (more like a little splash as far as car upgrades go) and bought the rear WRX PowerSlot rotors from [url]www.subarustore.com[/url] . They are affiliated with Titan Motorsports I think. I dealt with Bottle (?!?). Anyway, they were in stock and they arrived promptly a few business days later. Good price and good service.

The weight is very similar to OEM. I thought the rears were vented but they're only slotted. They are apparently machined from the same blanks as the OEM rotors so that would explain the similar weight and why they're not vented.

The machining looks good. The surface is very even and you can see they lathed all external visible features for good cosmetics and rotational balance. All mounting surfaces are machined flat, of course. Even the external corners are chamfered, which is a nice touch. They plated the rotors with cadmium for rust resistance. Nasty heavy metal but I suppose they choose this for a reason (corrosive brake dust resistance?).

They went on just like stock and they seem fine. I've bedded them in but it's rainy tonight and I'm supposed to refrain from extreme braking for the next 300 - 500 miles so I can't really comment on their performance. They felt good during bed-in.

I replaced these rotors because I have a vibration somewhere in my rear drivetrain. The mystery vibration hasn't completed abated now that I've replaced the rotors but it's fundamental mode has shifted up to 55 - 60 MPH and seems to cover less range. I think the old rotors were creating another similar mode at 40 MPH. These replacement rotors appear to have improved the situation. Next step . . . the axle. Let my foolish powersliding on snowy roads be a lesson to every rally driver wannabe. Curbs hurt.

So all in all, the rotors appear to be just as good as OEM with the additional cadmium plating and slotted surfaces to boot. At 2/3 the price of OEM, it's hard to let friends get suckered into buying OEM. The PowerSlots for now appear to be a cheaper and hopefully superior alternative to OEM. I'll follow up once I've had a chance to push them a little but it's pretty hard to say with rear rotors because they do such little work in comparison to the fronts.

Dave.

Thanks for the feed back. Hope you can identify your vibration soon.

Suggestion, a helper will be nice to have, try spinning the back wheels, by hand, while jacked in the air, as fast as you can, and watch for wobble in the wheels. This will identify hub or wheel runout(bent).