Lotus Evora Rotor Options: Slotted, Drilled or Two-Piece

By Core Brake Parts Tech Team — Circleville, OH warehouse

The Lotus Evora left the factory with two different front brake packages, and that decides your rotor options. Early cars (2009 to about 2015) use one-piece vented cast-iron rotors, plain or cross-drilled, so the direct upgrade is a slotted one-piece rotor such as the DBA 4000 Series T3. The Evora 400, 410, 430 and GT moved to larger two-piece rotors, so those cars need replacement rings or a complete two-piece assembly, not a one-piece part.

Which Brakes Does Your Evora Have?

Every Evora uses AP Racing four-piston calipers front and rear with a Bosch ABS system, but the rotors changed with the Evora 400 in 2015. Identify your car before you order anything, because a rotor from the other package will not fit.

The quickest check is to look through the wheel at the front rotor. A two-piece rotor has a separate aluminum center hat fastened to the iron friction ring. A one-piece rotor is a single iron casting from hub face to outer edge. If you are unsure, your Lotus dealer can confirm from the VIN.

Slotted, Drilled or Two-Piece: What Each One Does

Plain one-piece

The base Evora rotor is a smooth vented disc. It is quiet, easy on pads and the right choice for a car that only sees the street.

Cross-drilled

Lotus fitted cross-drilled rotors to Sport Pack cars and to the 400 series. Drilling vents gas and water from the pad face and saves a little weight, and it looks the part. The tradeoff is that holes are stress points. DBA itself says its drilled rotors are not recommended for track day use, which tells you where drilling belongs: fast road driving, not repeated hot laps.

Slotted (DBA T3)

Slots do the same cleaning job as holes without removing material through the whole face. DBA's T3 pattern uses symmetrical slots to clear friction dust and gas from between pad and rotor, which gives a more consistent pedal. On the DBA 4000 Series the iron is a high-carbon alloy that goes through DBA's Thermal Stability Profiling, the vents use the Kangaroo Paw design of 144 diamond and teardrop pillars (DBA claims about 30 percent more surface area and 20 percent better cooling than a straight vane), and the rotor carries thermographic paint that changes color as it reaches set temperatures, so you can see how hot your brakes really get on a track day.

Two-piece floating

A two-piece rotor fastens an iron friction ring to a lighter aluminum bell. On a floating design the ring can grow with heat without distorting the hat, which is why the heavier, faster Evora 400 and later cars got two-piece rotors from the factory. When the ring wears out you replace only the ring and keep the bell.

The Right Rotor for Early Evora and Evora S

For 2009-2017 cars with the 2GR-FE V6 and the one-piece brake package, the DBA 4000 Series T3 slotted front rotor (DBA42364S) is a direct replacement for the factory front disc. At the back, the DBA 4000 Series T3 slotted rear rotor (DBA42361S) matches it. Before ordering, confirm your car has the one-piece rotors described above: a later car with factory two-piece fronts takes a different part.

A slotted T3 is the best all-round pick for an Evora that is driven hard on the road and sees the odd track day. It keeps the pad face clean like a drilled rotor, avoids the cracking risk around drill holes, and costs far less than converting to two-piece.

Rotor Options for Evora 400, 410, GT and 430

These cars came with two-piece 370 x 32 mm front rotors. You have two routes:

• Replacement rings on the factory bells. Rings are sold to fit the original equipment hats. Alcon's replacement rings, for example, are slotted CM-250 cast iron with directional vanes and are listed for the 2015-2018 Evora 400, 2017-2021 Evora 410 and GT410, 2017-2018 GT430 and 2020-2021 Evora GT, replacing Lotus part numbers A132J4103F and A132J4104F.
• Complete two-piece assemblies. EBC offers a fully floating 370 x 32 mm two-piece front disc for the Evora with an anodized aluminum bell, stainless bobbins and a grooved G3500 high-carbon iron ring with 48 curved vanes. It uses grooves instead of drilled holes.

Do not try to fit a one-piece early-car rotor to a 400-series car. The rotor diameter and caliper mounting are different, and the part will not fit.

Match the Pads to the Rotor

A new rotor needs fresh pads bedded to it. Pad shapes also changed between the early and later cars, so order by year and model:

• 2010-2016 Evora 3.5L: EBC SR-11 sintered race front pads (DP8036.16SR11) or EBC RP-1 race pads (DP8036RP1).
• 2010-2015 Evora: DBA DB1938RP race performance pads.
• 2015-2021 Evora 3.5L supercharged: EBC SR-11 front pads (DP8042.17SR11) or EBC RP-1 front pads (DP8042RP1).

Race compounds bite hardest when hot and can be noisy and dusty on a cold commute. If the car is mainly a road car, choose a street performance pad from our brake pad range instead.

Installation Notes and What to Replace at the Same Time

• Replace in axle pairs. Always fit rotors in left and right pairs and fit new pads with them.
• Clean the hub face. Rust or debris on the hub causes runout, which feels like a warped rotor within a few hundred miles.
• Torque to spec. Tighten caliper bolts and wheel fasteners to the values in the Lotus service manual.
• Refresh the fluid. Hard-driven Evoras boil old fluid. Bleed with the fluid type Lotus specifies for your car.
• Check hardware and lines. Worn pad pins, clips and hoses are worth replacing while the wheels are off; see our brake hardware kits and brake lines.
• Bed in. Follow the pad maker's bedding procedure before any hard use.

Swapping one-piece rotors on an early Evora is a straightforward job for a competent home mechanic with a torque wrench. Two-piece ring swaps involve removing and refitting bell hardware, so many owners leave that to a shop. Browse all options in our brake rotor collection.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are slotted rotors better than drilled on a Lotus Evora?

For track use, yes. Both clear gas and dust from the pad face, but drill holes are stress points that can crack under repeated heat cycles. DBA does not recommend its drilled rotors for track days. Slotted rotors such as the DBA T3 are the safer choice for hard driving.

Will the DBA 42364S fit my Evora 400?

No. It is a one-piece rotor for the early 2GR-FE Evora brake package. The Evora 400 and later use larger 370 mm two-piece front rotors and need a two-piece ring or assembly.

Can I fit the later two-piece rotors to an early Evora?

Not as a bolt-on swap. The later factory two-piece rotors are a larger diameter than the early 350 mm fronts, so the conversion needs parts designed for it.

Do I need new pads with new rotors?

Yes. Old pads are worn to the shape of the old rotor and carry its transfer layer. Fit new pads and bed them in.

How do I know when my Evora rotors are worn out?

Measure thickness against the minimum in the service manual or stamped on the rotor, and look for deep grooves, a large lip at the outer edge, heat cracks running from drill holes, or a pulsing pedal.

Sources

1. The Car Guide: 2010 Lotus Evora review - 350 mm front and 332 mm rear discs, four-piston calipers, Sport Package perforated discs, Bosch ABS
2. MotorWeek: 2010 Lotus Evora road test - AP Racing four-piston calipers, optional cross-drilled rotors
3. SAE Mobility Engineering: Evora 400 - two-piece cross-drilled ventilated rotors, 370 x 32 mm front and 350 x 30 mm rear
4. DBA: 4000 Series brake rotors - T3 slots, Kangaroo Paw vanes, Thermal Stability Profiling, thermographic paint, drilled rotors not for track days
5. Alcon: Evora 400/410/430/GT replacement rotors - two-piece fitment by model and year, OEM part numbers
6. EBC Brakes: two-piece discs for Lotus Evora and Emira - 370 x 32 mm floating disc construction