Can You Turn Drilled and Slotted Rotors? (Explained)

Drilled and slotted rotors are responsible for improving the braking mechanism of your car. It also keeps the brake disc clean by getting rid of excess dust and moisture. Basically, drilled and slotted rotors increase the brake performance of the car.

Today, we are going to discuss and find out whether one can turn drilled and slotted rotors or not.

Can you turn drilled and slotted rotors?

One can certainly turn the drilled and slotted rotors for maintenance purposes. Turning or resurfacing the drilled and slotted rotors have been known for increasing their lifespan. A drilled and slotted brake rotor is essential for the braking system of a car and it should be turned frequently.

Let’s look at the drilled and slotted rotor below to find out if it can be turned.

Cross drilled and slotted rotors:

Cross drilled and slotted rotors are special kind of a rotor which can enhance the braking performance of your car. But a cross drilled and slotted rotor also has a definite lifetime and needs to be resurfaced when it becomes faulty or old.

Resurfacing a cross drilled and slotted rotor is known as turning it.

Deciding the time to turn a cross drilled and slotted rotors can be difficult if you do not have any prior experience regarding the matter.

But a cross drilled and slotted rotors should be turned when the time for a braking pad change comes along.

A cross drilled and slotted rotor decreases the number of frictions inside the braking system. It is designed to improve the state of your braking system.

That is why you should not keep driving with a faulty cross drilled and slotted rotor for your own safety.

Turning or resurfacing a cross drilled and slotted rotor is very cheap it will cost you only fifty dollars or so. Driving around with a old cross drilled and slotted rotor will only damage your car and increase the maintenance cost.

If you cannot turn a cross drilled and slotted rotor yourself, then you should get it done by a mechanic.

Is there a direction for drilled and slotted rotors?

The internal cooling vanes on the drilled and slotted rotors can often decide the installing direction of these rotors.

If the slots and internal cooling vanes of your slotted rotors follow the exact direction, then the rotation of your slotted rotors should be backwards in direction with the car.

But if the slots and internal cooling vanes of your slotted rotors follow the opposite direction, then the rotation of your slotted rotors should be upwards in direction with the car.

On the other hand, slotted rotors that have internal cooling vanes with straight lines can be installed in any direction you want.

However, the drilled brake rotors come with labelling such as driver’s side and passenger’s side which make the installation process easy. As you do not have to find out the direction of the rotor using the drills and vanes.

4 reasons why you can turn drilled and slotted rotors

There are a lot of reasons why you can turn drilled and slotted rotors. Let’s discuss in detail about them.

Feasibility:

The major reason why you can turn a drilled and slotted rotor is because it is possible to do it. If you follow the correct steps and methods, you would be able to turn or resurface your drilled and slotted rotor quite easily.

Beneficial:

It is very beneficial to turn a drilled and slotted rotor. Like other parts of the car, you drilled and slotted rotor has to be maintained as well.

This is why experts suggest that you should turn your drilled and slotted rotor when you are about to change the braking pad.

Turning the drilled and slotted brake rotor will enhance the brake performance of the car by controlling friction and heat inside the system.

A worn out drilled and slotted rotor will not able to perform this critical function and will have to be turned. You are practically increasing the lifespan of your drilled and slotted rotor by turning it on a regular basis.

Cost effective:

Turning the drilled and slotted rotor is also more cost effective than replacing it. In fact, turning the drilled and slotted brake rotor will only cost you somewhere between fifty to one hundred USD.

If you find something is wrong with your drilled and slotted rotor, then you should try to turn it rather than replacing it.

Saves the braking pads:

Turning the drilled and slotted rotor also improves the condition of your braking pads. The general rule id to change the braking pads when you are turning the drilled and slotted rotor.

Newly installed braking pads and turned drilled and slotted rotor complement each other well.

Where to get drilled and slotted rotors turned?

You can get your drilled and slotted rotors turned by a mechanic or do it yourself. It is recommended by experts that you get it turned by a mechanic if you are inexperienced in this field.

It is always better to get turned at a mechanic shop than your home garage.

You will have to turn your drilled and slotted rotor at its surface by removing. The removal process can be done by with the help of a grinding wheel. Another way to get your drilled and slotted rotor turned is with the help of a lathe.

You should be cautious about the whole process as not to damage the drilled and slotted rotor. Because you will have to replace it rather than turning it.

How to turn drilled and slotted rotors?

Turning a drilled and slotted brake rotor might seem like a daunting task if you do not have any prior experience regarding the matter.

However, there are some steps and methods you can follow that will help you to accomplish the task. Let’s discuss in detail about them.

Inspect the drilled and slotted rotor:

First of all, you will need to inspect the condition of your drilled and slotted rotor. The reason behind this is that sometimes your old drilled and slotted brake rotor might need replacing because of overused.

If you have already turned your drilled and slotted rotor several times, then it might be possible that you will have to replace it instead of turning it. But you can turn the drilled and slotted rotor if it seems to be in good enough condition.

Select the place:

You will have to select the place where you want to conduct the turning process of the drilled and slotted brake rotor. The garage might not be big enough for such process and you might have to take the car out of the garage to perform the action.

Gather the tools:

Next, you will have to gather the tools required for turning your drilled and slotted brake rotor.

The list of tools includes lathe, surface leveling wheel, braking pads , dyna braid, headgear protection,  dyna file, and safety glasses. You will be good to go after collecting these tools.

Get rid of the braking pads:

You will have to get rid of the braking pads from the drilled and slotted rotor. The calipers needs to be removed too.

Clean the drilled and slotted rotor:

The surface of the drilled and slotted rotor has to be cleaned with the help of a wire brush. A dirty rotor surface will make the process difficult.

Turn the drilled and slotted rotor:

The brake lathe is the most important tool required for the entire process. First of all, the setting of the brake lathe has to be set at the slowest possible level.

Then, you will need to place the drilled and slotted brake rotor onto the brake lathe. You will have to cut the drilled and slotted rotor with the brake lathe.

After cutting the drilled and slotted rotor, it can be turned properly by fitting everything into place and installing the braking pads.

Are drilled and slotted rotors worth it?

The drilled and slotted rotors have been a proven performer for the braking system of a car. They are great at controlling and navigating the friction and heat inside the braking system. That is why experts suggest you to use drilled and slotted rotors in your car.

Some people might find the drilled and slotted rotors to be expensive. But the benefits provided by the drilled and slotted rotors outweighs its expense. Drilled and slotted brake rotors are known for improving the lifespan of braking pads too.

Using, turning, and replacing a drilled and slotted rotors are thus worth the effort and the money.

Final Thoughts

The drilled and slotted brake rotors can be turned for operational purpose. Turning the drilled and slotted brake rotors on a regular basis can decrease the maintenance cost of the car. But a corroded drilled and slotted brake rotor needs to be replaced rather than turned.