Smooth rotors are the most common type as it's what most original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs, use on their vehicles.
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Types of Brake Rotors
Smooth Rotors
Smooth rotors are the most common type as it's what most original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs, use on their vehicles. There are also plenty of aftermarket brake conversion kits that rely on this type of rotor. Smooth rotors have the advantages of long pad life, low noise, and ample stopping power under normal conditions. They are not the premier choice for performance applications, but modern advancements do narrow the gap between smooth and other rotor designs. It’s also important to remember that pads and tires are far more important to brake performance than the rotor alone.
Drilled Rotors
Drilled rotors have a series of holes drilled through them. These holes are present to help gases created by hot pads escape to keep performance consistent in heavy braking situations. There are three drawbacks to this design. One is the reduction of the rotor's structural integrity. The presence of holes also increases pad wear and drives up the selling price. That might be a fair tradeoff if the holes did more for the driver. Today's pads don't have much of an issue with off-gassing, and many manufacturers feature them in rotors because of their aesthetic appeal.
Slotted Rotors
Slotted rotors feature grooves that run along the surface of the rotor. This design helps to deal with the glaze left on overheated pads and improves braking consistency. Of course, the presence of slots reduces the rotor's structural integrity, but to a minimal degree. The other tradeoff is reduced pad life, which is thanks to the intentional removal of a small layer of the pads as slots pass by them to remove glazing. Even so, slotted rotors are far more practical in today's day and age than drilled rotors and are the choice for vehicles that see actual track time or any other kind of hard driving.
Drilled and Slotted
This type of rotor combines the features of the previous two types discussed, making for a design with the advantages of both. The presence of holes and slots does lower the structural integrity of the rotor, and manufacturing becomes more complicated, which drives the cost up. These do wear through pads much more quickly than the other types of rotors, further driving up the expense of ownership.
Brake Rotor Pricing
It's difficult to put a set price on brake rotors. The make, model, and position of the rotors on the vehicle largely determine what you're going to pay, but stock-type rotors don't usually cost more than $50-$100 apiece. Moving to aftermarket specialty rotors can double or triple the price, depending on the manufacturer and specialty features included.