Rotor upgrade. Is it sensible?

Justin3.6R said:

Knowing that the OB is designed for some off-road duty, does it make sense to install drilled and/or slotted rotors? Seems like they would trap debris and be worse for wear.
I had them on the wife's Cadillac STS along with EBC red pads, but it was a heavy street machine. She loved that car. Considering installing them on her Impala when the time comes.

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Drilled or slotted rotors are designed that way to 1). Allow for improved cooling and 2). Better "self-cleaning" of the rotor's and pad's surfaces. For most of the applications you'll encounter with an Outback, I'd believe that installing these types of rotors or having yours drilled, won't really improve things.

It won't help, the pads will have less surface area to create friction. Your rotors also will be weaker.

Drilled rotors are for high speed/frequent braking situations such as racing. I hardly think an Outback fits the parameters of such applications - unless maybe there is a lot of downhill braking going on for extended periods (as in mountain highway driving). In that case I'd probably choose to gear down instead.

Nope. Waste of money. But, they do look cool.

Unless you are overheating your brakes a lot either going up and down long grades or racing (in an Outback??) then it is definitely not worth it.

GM tends to put the minimum spec rotors and pads on a lot of their vehicles. They aren't undersized, but they are for every day use, not aggressive use. Lots of GM vehicles cook brakes fast when pushed, so it makes sense that the Caddy was improved with the drilled rotors.

That being said, there are way better rotors out there than what Subaru supplies as OE. Stick to top line, coated rotors from known brands (coated rotors from Centric, PowerStop, Dynamic Friction or the NAPA Premium line are all good choices) and you will be happier than with OEM.

Not sure what could be wrong with OE rotors, my 2015 is still braking relatively smoothly on the original rotors, and they've got over 145k miles on them. I've checked them a few times with a micrometer - all still well above the wear limits listed in the FSM. What more could I want?

My '17 3.6R Touring still has the original fronts with plenty of life left as measured by the dealer. Rears were replaced at around 100K. Approaching 141k miles currently. Will be going back with OE when needed. I have had good luck with PS Z36 kits on a Jeep Commander Limited Hemi and on a Ram 2500 Laramie truck.

In my dreams I have drilled and slotted rotors on all 4 corners as I speed around The Brickyard in my Subie to the oohs and awws of packed stands. The race girls are already getting ready for me in the winner's circle.

The reality is that I just drive to Dunkin.

I went through similar thoughts and utilized BuyBrakes.com to try and compare the attributes of rotor’s performance to get the best rotor for my needs. I wanted better than OEM performance without a significant noise, dust or cost increase.

For my spirited, hilly almost daily commute I went with Raybestos Element 3 rotors and Centric 105 ceramic pads. Very happy so far.

Drilled/slotted are only sold OE only on the most high performance cars, so I doubt you'd need them for normal Subie tasks. If, however, they make you smile and you'd like to install them, have at it. Life is short! I can think of hundreds of things that are worse ideas.

If you are spending $100K+ on a fancy car, you can afford $100K+ of "just a bit better", at the cost of more expensive parts and quicker failing components.