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Which is better; vented rotors with directional vanes or radial vanes?
Any idea what I'm talking about? If not, keep reading and it will all make perfect sense. If you know what I'm referring to, read it anyway. The rest of the interweb is all reruns this week.
"Ventilated" or "vented" brake rotors are rotors that have holes in them that run from the center of the rotor (the hub) to the outer edge. Those holes are called "vanes". Those without vanes are called solid rotors. The vanes allow the disc to work like a centrifugal pump. Cooling air enters from the hub area, running through the vanes and cooling the disc along the way.
There are different types of vanes; curved and straight. The curved vanes are called directional vanes, while the straight vanes are called radial vanes. The directional vane design is more effective at cooling the disc.
The downside to directional vanes is cost. I'm told they cost more to manufacture AND they require a left and right side. The left and right requirement is because directional vanes have to spin a certain direction to be effective.
radial vanes |
directional vanes |
If you want to know about cross drilled ventilated rotors, they're for looks. That doesn't mean people with cross drilled ventilated rotors are poseurs. I actually like the way they look. However, having holes in the side of a ventilated rotor has no funtional value. The details of which can be read about here