Royalty Cross Drilled Rotors: Product Review

peacock · Post by **peacock** » 18 Oct 2010, 23:44

After buying the wrong rotors (wrong size) like and idiot from fcp groton they were very nice and took them back. In exchange i got the 11.25" Cross drilled and slotted Royalty rotors, which the salesman said were fairly new in stock and they had not heard much back about them.

As per their request and for your enlightenment I felt I would share my experiences so far.

Fitment: As should be expected they fit fine and are very close to the size of the ones I had on there from advanced auto parts (weaver I think)

Looks: To be honest they look pretty sweet, I don't do any racing or anything super strenuous on them so the full advantages of drill holes and slots don't often get utilized. Paired with any Volvo wheel they should look fine and still pretty discreet as is the way with the Volvo brand any way.

First impression performance: My pads are from a previous warped set of rotors and i still haven't coughed up to replaced them (lazy i know) the rotors quickly corrected this to the extent that they should have and the breaking became a lot smoother very fast. I didn't romp on them at all to start with so as to let them wear in properly.

2 month usage impression: I am happy with them thus far, when I change my shocks and check the life left on the pads i will then know how fast they are eating up my mid level brake pads. there is an average amount of squeaking that can occur at low speeds but it quickly corrected with a release and re application of the pedal or a firmer press down. this is probably another factor such as pad vibration or a lack of that grease stuff on the calipers (i put them in).

Success Story: On the way back from a second trip in 10mins to Buffalo wild wings b/c they shorted us 6 of our 36 other wise delicious chicken wings i was rolling to a yellow light at about 830pm. I didn't see any one coming and i knew that it was a long yellow. Here i shifted back into drive from my neutral roll and hit it. The turbo kicks in i'm hitting 55-60 just 20yards before the cross walk when another car makes the left into a Tim Hortons at absolutely the worst time. Seeing him and reacting as fast as possible with 2 dear friends in the car i stopped on them so hard it actually evoked some noise from the tires (may have been those slickness of the cross walk stickers they lay down and damp roads), if not i've never done that before with any other brakes. I ended up coming to a full stop in what was about 3ft past the crosswalk line just out of reach of the car if it had stopped as well. thankfully they kept going, the donuts are good but not that good (sorry any Canadians)
as you may realize there is no picture of what likely would have been a very close to totaled Silver s70 t5.

Final Judgment: For the do it your self guy they are just barely a little bit pricey at what i recall was above 160$ for the pair. I am no expert in cars and real brake performance but i have been satisfied thus far. After having proven their worth i wrote this review on them and would honestly say they are likely a 4 of 5.

Final Grade: 4 of 5

Post: they also haven't begun to rust or corrode any ware for any length of time they have been left sitting we will see what the buffalo winter does to them

After Suspension and Brake change.

I now Have Koni FSD shocks in my s70 as well as PBR Green box pads. On the firm setting braking is very different from the stock ones in every way. the car stops feel better cause of the newer suspension components, and now the brake wiggle under hard braking is gone.

cxf · Post by **cxf** » 08 Nov 2010, 07:40

I certainly hope they are better than the crap Nordic rotors they also sell.

Post by **Red-Arrow** » 08 Nov 2010, 15:51

I like your story and its reminded me to get something to eat but its not a meaningful test really. I believe brake test are done with road marking and set speeds. Get some chalk and a 100ft measuring tape and do some emergency stops from 20,30,40,50,60 and 70-mpg, take two passes for each speed in both directions and take the average stopping distance. This should eliminate any benefit from the road incline or decline in theory.

lhailah · Post by **lhailah** » 09 Nov 2010, 17:58

I came on here today to find some advice on brands of rotors.
I buy from fcpgroton because i usually get my parts the next day and no one beats their prices om volvo parts and i like to go oem.
they have the volvo rotors which i will most likely get. yet I am curious about these royalty rotors I know the drilled and slotted ones kill your brake pads, but they do look nice and I plan on gettin some black rims in the spring of the year. I rather get new pads than new rotors so if they are better quality than the oems i'd buy them. They work out to be the same price.

peacock · Post by **peacock** » 13 Nov 2010, 09:27

in response to the stopping distance post by red arrow, the road is new so the pavement was good and it was a cold night on a very level road.