To the naysayers in this thread:

You cannot compare a $12-$15 Autozone part to the new brake rotors Enterprises will sell. A much better comparison would be with the cost of Brembo rotors.

You must take into consideration the cost spent by Enterprises in the development of these rotors.

1. These rotors were Difficult to Build. They are taking a solid rotor which is considerably thinner than your average vented rotor and adding vents. This is not an easy part to manufacture so it was difficult to find a qualified manufacturer. Substantially more labor goes into manufacturing custom rotors with special vents than anything you are buying from Auto Zone. That labor costs money.

2. Consider the Cost of Custom Manufacturing. We are talking about a custom part made for race cars with a total volume of perhaps 200 cars / 800 rotors per year? It is completely unreasonable to compare a $12-$15 cost for a rotor where the manufacture in China makes 50,000 rotors per year. Try doubling or tripling that $12-$15 number.

3. Consider the Cost of Quality Manufacturing. All metal treatment hardening processes are not equal. The longer the steel is treated the harder the part will be and the costlier the manufacturing process will be. Quality manufacturing costs money.

4. Consider the Cost of Engineering Manpower that goes into designing a new specification, requesting quotes, evaluating manufacturers, developing a new part, resolving manufacturing issues, testing parts, etc? All of that requires labor at Enterprises and race engineers are not cheap. We are talking thousands upon thousands of dollars. Divide that number ($10,000???) by the number parts Enterprises will sell in a year and add it to the cost.

5. What Distributor Markup would you consider reasonable to provide service to a relatively small niche market? Enterprises dealers are not in this business for charity. They have families to feed. Multiply the above cost by that markup.

When you factor in all these considerations SCCA Enterprises has priced these rotors cheap. I come from an automotive parts distribution / manufacturing background. Even without any inside information I can tell you these parts are very reasonable for a race car designed custom brake system.

By the way, consider these five areas when thinking about any upgrades introduced by Enterprises in the future. Stop thinking about pricing from Auto Zone.

I want to throw out a quick thanks to Eric, Mike, and the others who worked on and tested the “brake package”. I’ve been doing this SRF thing for a while but it has only really been the last couple of years that I’ve started pushing the car’s brakes and my technique. I’ve been surprised by the amount of wear and how fast I was going through parts. Longer wear, cooler temps, and the potential for additional improvement. Hey, it’s a no brainer in my book. I can’t wait to get the rotors on the car. Bring’em on.

Dave
SRF 2 - Atlanta Region

I got a chance to try out the new rotors this past weekend at Sebring too - and I think they're a tremendous improvement. Sebring has some really hard braking and those brake zones are pretty close together so overcooking the brakes is really an issue - even in cool weather.

The feel of the vented rotors is much more consistent throughout a session - and the overall pedal pressure is significantly reduced. Using the Hairpin at Sebring as an example - you approach it at around 110 mph and have to knock off around 70 mph - so you are braking for 3 to 4 seconds. With the solid rotors, the pedal effort tends to increase over the course of the brake zone (and overall pedal effort increases over the course of a session). With the vented rotors, the initial pedal feel is very similar, but as you get deeper into the brake zone it feels like the brakes are gaining bite rather than giving up - and that sensation did not change over the course of a session.

They'll be on my car as soon as they're available.

Charliep, you hang around; seven posts is not enough. That's nailing the critter to the barn door while its still squealing - a perfect head shot- and ought to shut the damned thing up for good. If it were not for Enterprises and the CSR business model, guys like me would be playing golf instead of doing something foolish with their spare time.

Eric, Mike D, don't let me play golf,
tony

Ok, since I am the one who mentioned the "$12-15 rotors" that have been the source of much discussion so far (/sigh @ theinternet), here's what I'm talking about.
When I mention $12-15 Chinese rotors, I'm talking about getting an email from an online parts dealer telling me that they are ridding themselves of stock of all of their cheap 1984 RENAULT ROTORS. I might be able to get 4 matching ones, I might not. Normally they are more in the $20-30 range.
Are they matching manufacturers? Quite often, no.
Do I have any idea about quality control? No.
Are they cheap? Yes.
Do I like them? Not particularly.
Do I like the fact that they seem to be disappearing at a very quick rate? Not at all.

And go back to the part where they are ROTORS FOR A 1980's RENAULT. I just checked my facts and the part number I last purchased shows up as matching only 1983-1987 Alliance and Encores.
I challenge all of you to post each and every time for the next three months when you see a Renault Alliance on the street. If I started a thread for that now, I bet it would still be empty by next Summer.

I see a lot of people upset about "new rotors due to the new motor". If that's the case, I've never heard that nor understood that that was the case.
The equation is simple to me.
Do we need new rotors for sourcing reasons? Yes. -> Begin working on rotors.
New motor needed? -> begin working on new motor.
Motor plan completed and announced before rotors.
Rotor plan completed and announced, so why not *add* the fact that the new rotors will better support the new drive train? Makes sense -> rotors announced, including that fact -> people lose their minds because Enterprise is forcing a new motor on the class with higher performance numbers which is clearly (?) causing a cascade effect in requiring "higher performance" parts such as, lo and behold, new fancy rotors.
If the complaint from the upset folks is rather that the message was somehow lost or twisted in its delivery, then that is a fair reaction and a data point that should be heard and processed. My comments here are not directed at you if that is your complaint.

So back to the cheapo rotors. Do they work? Yes. Do I think I ever got beaten, even once, at any track over the past three years because of someone else's Brembos? Absolutely not.
Are these cheapo rotors going the way of the dodo? Yes.
They need to be replaced. Again, THEY ARE FOR A 1984 RENAULT. I think it's safe to say that that target demo is, well, shrinking rapidly. Why else would I be receiving the "get 'em now because we'll never stock them again!" emails for those rotors?
So far, I personally like the results of the testing and if the TCO (total cost of ownership) of the new rotors goes as I think it might, they may just cost me the same as the cheapos in the long run, plus save extra maintenance time on the car.

Now two quick comments on the new rotors based on testers' observations:
- In general, I like the fact that more rear bias is required with these rotors. There is one potential cascading effect of this though, and I think Mike and Erik should think about it. I know there has been discussion at some point of going back to smaller front tires. Make sure you test first with the new rotors based on this anecdotal bias change information (I know you will, just calling it out ) as smaller front tires could easily drive bias even further rearward. That will generate more heat in the rear where we already have plenty... etc. Just a thought.
- If these new rotors seem to maintain or improve bite deeper in the braking zone, that implies a higher operating temperature to me than the old ones. My question/concern here is brake bite in the rain. How will these rotors/pads work under initial application in the rain when they are very cold and cannot be applied as aggressively? Only testing will tell.

Whew, ok. Back to work now.
Denny

Another interesting data point on the cheapo rotors. In case there was a question as to whether or not they are manufactured differently (and probably of varying material percentages), check this video out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KjIE39j ... ture=g-upl
Go to about 2:45 in and watch/listen to the braking zone for T1. This one set of rotors (in fact, I felt like it might only be a couple of the rotors) squealed so loudly that I had corner workers from time to time seek me out after races to let me know that it sounded like I had something seriously wrong with my car. They performed fine (I had a great season), but every time they cooled down from an extended time at full throttle, the next hard braking zone would sound like something out of the movie Aliens.
This was the only set I had that ever did this and I ran them for almost a full season.

Racer X wrote: My question/concern here is brake bite in the rain. How will these rotors/pads work under initial application in the rain when they are very cold and cannot be applied as aggressively? Only testing will tell.

Sorry I couldn't help you out with that one. I was asked to slap on a set at Mid-Ohio in October. While the team was contemplating the decision to swap out rotors for the upcoming race, the driver was contemplating the decision to even race....due to rain! (and no rain tires, of course)
The driver was offered the use of rain tires, as well...and passed.
The driver was, apparently, too much of a pussy to go out with 25 SRF and 25 Spec Miata, on a wet track, in race conditions with a mystery variable like BRAKES!!

H.(meow)B.

Denny - on the rain thing I can offer an opinion, but it's not based on any wet testing. The vented rotors have pretty good bite when they are cold - like coming out onto the track from the grid - it's not at all like the old PFC pads where you had zero brakes until things warmed up. You'll have brakes when they're cold (I think - hope?? )

My theory is that the apparent increase in bite later in the brake zone comes from one of two things. First - it may be my imagination since I've been trained for years to expect the brakes to give up towards the end of long brake zones. Second theory is that the brakes reach the optimum temperature for the pad material part way through the brake zone (I think this one is more likely - and I also think it's why there was some discussion of possible later pad compound changes). I really didn't run the rotors long enough to fully understand all the ins and outs although it sounds like Tray has done so.

These rotors are easier to lock up than the solid ones - so a "delicate" foot will be very important in the wet.

I'm hoping it will help us weak old guys to keep up with all you young'uns out there.

LeeHill wrote: I'm hoping it will help us weak old guys to keep up with all you young'uns out there.

Have you seen my hair (what remains of it)? Methinks not.

I should add that the vented rotors we ran in a 4-hour enduro were not using Goodyears, but an actual set of properly sized Toyo tires that had sat in the garage for about a year and half, so my excitement may also have been amplified by running both great brakes and great tires (of the proper size). Absolutely no issues with getting the bias right. My final wish for changes is to get onto a standard radial street tire that lasts competitively more than 8 heat cycles. BTW, this set of tires had run about 13 hours before we ran them again...