[DeTomaso] FANTASTIC brake rotor news!

[Joseph F. Byrd, Jr.]

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
I have all ideals when I got around to shaving off the rust from my original
rotors they would be pretty thin.

PLEASE continue the search for rears

Joe/NC

-----Original Message-----
From: DeTomaso [mailto:detomaso-bounces at server.detomasolist.com] On Behalf
Of Mike Drew via DeTomaso
Sent: Saturday, January 21, 2017 0:40 AM
To: B Hower via DeTomaso
Subject: [DeTomaso] FANTASTIC brake rotor news!

> Hi guys,
> 
> Some years ago, some smart people here figured out that 1965-1967 Mustang
front brake rotors were a perfect replacement for the stock Pantera front
rotors, with the advantage that they were vented.  The Euro GTS had vented
rotors as an option, but original Euro vented rotors are rare and
exceptionally expensive.
> 
> Stock Mustang rotors were cheap and readily available until a few years
ago.  Then the industry changed, and instead of manufacturing them like
before (where the hub and the rotor were two separate parts, as on the
Pantera), they went to a one-piece casting where the hub was cast integral
with the rotor.  While they were a cheap and reasonable option for the
Mustang crowd, that made them no longer suitable for Pantera use.
> 
> A few years ago, I stumbled across a Mustang vintage race prep shop in
southern California that said they had tooled up to reproduce original-spec
Mustang rotors, produced by a company called Centric.  Besides the normal
option, they also offered them with nice optional features, such as slotted
surface, cryogenic treatment, or both.  I organized a group buy here, and
over 100 of you ordered some.  I filled the orders, but then it wasn't
possible to get any more unless I did another volume buy.
> 
> Fast-forward to 2017.  Turns out Centric is the OEM arm of the aftermarket
company Stoptech (or perhaps Stoptech is the aftermarket arm of the OEM
supplier Centric).  And it further turns out that these discs are now
readily available from multiple sources, for a fair bit less (maybe even
substantially less) than what I had to pay, and was selling them for.
> 
> I just ordered a pair of slotted, cryo-treated rotors from Summit for a
guy in Germany, and they are PERFECT.  They will bolt right up to the front
end of the Pantera in place of the stock solid rotors.  The outside diameter
is ever so slightly different (no factor), as is the offset.  However, when
De Tomaso engineers designed the front end, somebody forgot to carry a '1'
and the caliper offset was incorrect relative to the stock solid rotors, so
a thin spacer had to be introduced to space the caliper inboard.  The
different offset of these Centric rotors means that band-aid spacer is
removed, and the caliper is thus perfectly centered on the rotor.
> 
> Centric offers a dizzying array of options, starting with a plain,
standard OEM-style Mustang rotor, all the way to a cross-drilled, slotted,
cryogenically treated rotor (slotting makes them handed, with different part
number for left and right).
> 
> This link takes you to the Centric catalog where all the rotors are
listed--16 in all:
> 
>
https://centricparts.centriccatalog.com/Inquiry/PartInt.aspx?pn=121.61053&id
=WEB_DISC&v=LD&y=1965&m=54&mm=688&uid=ANR&sid=0
> 
> There are actually three different brand names used.  I think C-Tek is the
'bargain' brand, although I'm not sure.  Centric is the premium OEM
replacement brand, while StopTech is the high-end brand.  All three seem to
use the same basic design, but the Centric and StopTech rotors use better
materials and feature a premium finish.  Here's a link to the description of
the Centric premium rotors:
> 
> http://www.centricparts.com/products/centric-premium-brake-rotors
> 
> And here is the description of the higher-end StopTech rotors, which are
the same as the Centric rotors except with the benefit of optional features
such as cryo treatment, slotting, drilling, or any combination of the three:
> 
> http://www.centricparts.com/products/stoptech-sport-rotors
> 
> Best of all is the price--these high-quality rotors are much, MUCH less
expensive than custom Wilwood rotors, or rotors that are intended for other
applications (such as Porsche) that go through an extensive/expensive
machining/klugeing process to make them suitable for Pantera use.  For
literally less than half the cost, you can just pull quality rotors out of a
box and bolt them right up to the front of your Pantera.  Happy days!
> 
> The standard rotors are available from Summit, although their online
catalog isn't smart enough to list them by application (1965-67 Mustang).
Going backwards from the Centric catalog and searching on the part number,
these appeared:
> 
> https://www.summitracing.com/parts/ceb-120-61053
> 
> The rest of the offerings can be found in a similar fashion; here's an
ugly link to the StopTech offerings:
> 
>
https://www.summitracing.com/search/year/1965/make/ford/model/mustang/depart
ment/brake-systems/part-type/brake-rotors?SortBy=Default&SortOrder=Ascending
&N=4294947032%2B4294951343%2B4294951333%2B4294947838%2B4294947817%2B402150
> 
> A word on drilled rotors--most people who run cars hard agree that drilled
rotors are a bad idea.  They were fashionable for awhile, as they nominally
offered better cooling, but they also tend to lead to cracks.  Race cars
that used drilled rotors usually see them thrown in the trash at the end of
the day.  They look cool, but aren't really a good solution, and most race
cars no longer rely on cross-drilling.
> 
> Slotting the rotors does seem to pay big dividends with no penalties.  The
slots sweep away pad debris and water, offering superior stopping
performance.
> 
> Cryo treatment also pays dividends.  Through some magic that isn't
well-explained (I'm sure you can Google it and find out specifically why it
improves rotor life), cryo treatment makes the rotors last longer.
> 
> So, to my mind, the best possible option would be a cryo-treated, slotted
rotor.  The slots make the rotors 'handed' (that is, there is a left and
right side rotor), while the plain rotors are designed to be run on either
side.  The part numbers for the slotted rotors including "L" or "R" at the
end accordingly.
> 
> If you search on the part number, you can find these rotors on Amazon,
PartsGeek.com and other places as well.  Generally the parts prices are
lower than Summit, but Summit offers free shipping while the others charge
$25 each or something like that, meaning that the best overall deal is
probably from Summit.  You can probably also order them direct from your
local auto parts store, if that turns you on.
> 
> Over 100 of you have already installed these rotors on the front of your
Panteras, so you know that they fit and they work great.  That means the
rest of you can buy with confidence.
> 
> One final word on this subject:  The stock solid brake rotors work
absolutely fine for 90% of Pantera owners, perhaps even more.  If you have
never pushed your car hard enough so that the brakes overheated, so the
pedal got squishy and the pads started stinking, then you will see
ABSOLUTELY NO BENEFIT from changing to these vented rotors.  However, if you
have found yourself at the bottom of a winding mountain road with a long
brake pedal, or had to back off during a track day because the brakes
started going away, this is a very simple, cheap way to at least initially
address the problem.
> 
> Granted, a full-on Godzilla Wilwood brake setup will certainly offer
superior performance under extreme use.  But for aggressive street driving
or moderate track-day work, these vented front rotors, in conjunction with
the stock rear rotors, with good Porterfield pads, braided stainless hoses,
a master cylinder in good condition, and the stock proportining valve in
good working order, will likely produce all the braking power you will ever
need.
> 
> (Note that the stock Pantera rear rotor has a larger diameter than the
front rotor, so these rotors will NOT work in the rear.  It's quite likely
another Ford product has a rotor that would do the job, but unfortunately I
don't have knowledge of that, although I do plan to research it someday....)
> 
> Photos of the StopTech 126-61053CSL (slotted/cryo) rotor appear below.