Brake discs are one of the major brake tuning options which a
professional race team has at their disposal at any typical race weekend. There
are many subtle changes that can be made to a brake disc casting or configuration which can drastically influence braking
characteristics. A brake disc’s face type (slot / groove pattern) is one of
those changes, and can influence many braking characteristics.
Some of them are:
- Initial
response (bite)
- Control
and modulation
- Release
- Pad
wear
- Disc
wear
There are also many variables which are considered when
engineering a brake disc face type. Changing some of these variables can
drastically influence the overall performance of the brake disc. Some (of the
many) variables which are taken into consideration for brake disc slot design
are:
- Slot
depth
- Slot
angle
- Length
of slot
- Number
of slots
Brembo and Brembo Racing primarily offer 4 different brake disc
face patterns based on the application, intended use, driver preference, and
other technical requirements of the application or chassis.

- Benefit: offers the highest initial response of all the available disc face types while continuously refreshing the braking surface and being also typically a bit lighter.
- Drawback: Drilled discs are generally more prone to heat checking and thermal cracking if used consistently at extremely high temperatures. This however, really depends on the track, driver, and chassis setup.
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Type-1: Brembo
“8 straight – slot” face type with an emphasis on stable brake feel and
improve resilience against thermal cracking.
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Type-3 (Aggressive Face Type): motorsport developed face type with an emphasis on high
initial response while maintaining a smooth pedal release.
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Type-5 (Endurance Face Type): motorsport developed face type with marginally less initial
response compared to the Type-3 face type. The Brembo Racing Type-5 face type
was also designed to have lower pad and disc wear for certain long distance
endurance races (mostly 10, 12 and 24 hour races).
- Benefit: braking
modulation and control
- similar to
Type-3, while offering lower overall pad and disc wear on the track.