Slotted discs - which direction?
Discussion
zs said:
with or opposing wheel (forward travel) motion direction?
Worst I dont know which upgraded discs to go for, on my Viper, post ever.To be fair I dont think it really matters but I do believe that on my car the grooves are like the top picture, ie the grooves curve up towards the back of the car, not down towards the ground.
Its the internal cooling vanes that determines the install of a vented slotted disc not the slot direction pattern.
If the internal vane is straight then it will make no difference which way round a slotted disc is installed. You can install these types of disc which way you think looks best.
If the internal vane is curved/angled then the disc needs to be installed with the curved/angled vane pointing the rear of the car. These types of discs will generally be marked as to which side of the car they are for.
If in doubt ask the disc manufacturer
If the internal vane is straight then it will make no difference which way round a slotted disc is installed. You can install these types of disc which way you think looks best.
If the internal vane is curved/angled then the disc needs to be installed with the curved/angled vane pointing the rear of the car. These types of discs will generally be marked as to which side of the car they are for.
If in doubt ask the disc manufacturer
Edited by diddles on Tuesday 24th November 03:07
It's the vents inside the disc that are more important than the grooves on the outside. On most discs, however, these will be angled in the same direction.
Cooling air is designed to be taken into the centre of the disc, and expelled out of its perimeter. Likewise, the cleaning grooves are meant to clean the material out of the disc, rather than towards the hub.
The discs on that (abolutely stunning looking) black Viper appear to be fitted the wrong way around - i.e. to the wrong side.
Cooling air is designed to be taken into the centre of the disc, and expelled out of its perimeter. Likewise, the cleaning grooves are meant to clean the material out of the disc, rather than towards the hub.
The discs on that (abolutely stunning looking) black Viper appear to be fitted the wrong way around - i.e. to the wrong side.
The primary consideration is as others have said, that the cooling vanes, if curved internally, must be aligned so there is a low pressure area behind the vane to draw the air out from the centre of the disk.
If the internal vanes are just straight radials (rare) or there are just pin separators (as on cheapo vented discs) then the alignement of the slots will determine of the pad gets pushed to the inner or outer of the caliper fitting. If your calipers hold the pad by one central pin on the outer edge (often with a spring), then make sure that the grooves tend to push the pad inwards where there are two bearing surfaces (one at each end of the pad)
If the internal vanes are just straight radials (rare) or there are just pin separators (as on cheapo vented discs) then the alignement of the slots will determine of the pad gets pushed to the inner or outer of the caliper fitting. If your calipers hold the pad by one central pin on the outer edge (often with a spring), then make sure that the grooves tend to push the pad inwards where there are two bearing surfaces (one at each end of the pad)
jshell said:
This pic is wrong, they should be the other way round.
Sorry, but that is nonsense. There is no way you can tell unless you know who make the disks. The Brembo kit on my Mustang and the AP kit on my track car both have slots/holes that face "forward". Both are fitted correctly.

Edited by benny.c on Tuesday 24th November 09:43
benny.c said:
jshell said:
This pic is wrong, they should be the other way round.
Sorry, but that is nonsense. There is no way you can tell unless you know who make the disks. The Brembo kit on my Mustang and the AP kit on my track car both have slots/holes that face "forward". Both are fitted correctly.The direction of slots does! It's basic engineering principle in the way that a pump impeller, a compressor's vanes or the way ventilated discs work. The slotted spinning disc ejects material (water/dust etc) outwards using centripetal force. The slots pointing forwards prevent this happening as efficiently as they scoop air and debris from the outside of the disc and try to force it inwards against the favourable debris path. The 'trailing' slots help this work as they scoop air from the inside of the disc and throw it outwards together with the debris.
You need to swap sides with your discs.
jshell said:
You need to swap sides with your discs.
You need to stop making things up. As others have said, it is the vane direction that does the cooling. On APs the vanes run in the opposite direction to the slots. If I swap the disks I would get no cooling from the vanes. You'll forgive me for following AP's advice wont you?http://www.apracing.com/info/info.asp?section=Disc...

benny.c said:
jshell said:
You need to swap sides with your discs.
You need to stop making things up. As others have said, it is the vane direction that does the cooling. On APs the vanes run in the opposite direction to the slots. If I swap the disks I would get no cooling from the vanes. You'll forgive me for following AP's advice wont you?http://www.apracing.com/info/info.asp?section=Disc...

That pic does show the slots running forward, I just don't see the reasoning for that at all.

benny.c said:
jshell said:
You need to swap sides with your discs.
You need to stop making things up.jshell said:
Always follow the manufacturers advice!
That pic does show the slots running forward, I just don't see the reasoning for that at all.
The cooling vanes do run as I said above though to throw air outwards for cooling. I always thought the disc clearing function of the slots would operate in the same way!
Looks completely wrong but I'd like to think AP know what they are doing!That pic does show the slots running forward, I just don't see the reasoning for that at all.

If it's any consolation, we fitted them on the wrong side before we read the instructions

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