Hawk Performance Talon Rotors Deliver Premium Stopping Power

Talon Rotors are new to the Hawk Performance line and are quite possibly the best option available for street-driven applications. Learn more about why you should consider them for your next upgrade!

So, the time has come to replace the brake pads on your daily. No big deal, right? You can hear the pads squealing and have noticed a loss in power, but it’s a pretty cheap fix so you’re not too bummed out. That is, until you take a look through the spokes of your wheel and discover a rotor chewed up by clutter from Hell. All of a sudden, you’re out a couple hundred bucks for the replacement cost of new rotors.

So, what gives?

You don’t drive high speeds like you’re at the track. You don’t ride the brake downhill. In fact, you’re just cruising through regular traffic to get to work. Why are rotors eating up so much of your budget?

Well, to be fair, the street is one seriously hostile environment for brake parts. The constant stopping and going, inconsistent driving patterns, and natural elements all work together to wreak havoc on your stopping power. And like most people, you’re probably on a budget, making it that much easier to reach for the cheapest units available when replacement time creeps up.

Now, I’m not saying that your $500 beater warrants high-cost brake parts because, quite frankly, it’s your beater and is there so you can, well, beat it. However, if you drive a performance sports car or modified vehicle, it makes sense to equip it with the proper performance pads and rotors.

Hawk Performance is a leading manufacturer of high-performance aftermarket brake friction products, with a particular focus on vehicles that see street and track use. (Don’t worry truck lovers and Jeepers, they have parts for you guys too.) You might know them for their excellent brake pads, but today we’re going to look at Talon Rotors, Hawk’s proprietary street performance line of rotors and brake kits.

Why Talon Rotors?

“Decades of experience, continuous research and development, and dedication to bringing the highest quality premium friction products have led to Talon Rotors,” says the company. “Leveraging the high-quality performance of Hawk Performance’s unique and proprietary DTC curved slot design, they are built to OE specifications, weights, and production processes, and are engineered to fit a vehicle’s current braking system without modification.”

So, what does all this mean? With hundreds of performance street rotors available on the market, what makes the Talon so special?

Well, for one, these rotors use G3000 metallurgy. This sounds like a space-age material, but it’s essentially a type of automotive gray cast iron. Gray cast iron includes raw materials like iron, carbon, graphite, silica, and pearlite. G3000 (formulated specifically for use in brake rotors) uses a formula that has a higher concentration of carbon. This naturally makes it more rigid, but also increases dampening characteristics, making for a stable, durable, and quiet rotor that is perfect for performance street applications.

Like other performance rotors, Talon rotors feature a CNC-machined surface that features a slotted and cross-drilled design. As always, the slots keep a clean pad surface and swipe away debris produced by braking, while the cross-drilled design increases thermal efficiency, heat dissipation, strength, and improves wet braking. What’s more, “Because the number and positioning of the Talon slots is designed specifically to each vehicle’s weight and center of gravity, these rotors grip using the optimal footprint of the brake pad,” explains Hawk Performance Product Manager, Bruce Berentz.

And, what does this mean for you? Noticeably safe and secure stopping power in real world situations.

It’s also worth noting that Talon rotors are available in a cross-drilled and slotted design or a slotted-only configuration for heavy duty applications.

Corrosion-Free

What really makes Hawk Performance Talon rotors shine though, is their Magni™ coating. This black finish does more than just make for a slick-looking rotor. It also acts as a protective barrier against corrosion.

“Where other manufacturers use electroplating to apply their coating, the Magni™ coating application process used on Talon allows for variable thicknesses,” says Berentz. This unique process allows Hawk Performance to apply more coating—especially in the areas that need it most, like on and around interior veins as well as the more porous center of the rotor’s core. (This is where rust will grow the fastest.)

This feature is great for combating Mother Nature’s abuse on your ride. In fact, Hawk spray tests its rotors per ISO-9227—exceeding the 240-hour requirement.

Applications

When introduced last year, Hawk Performance Talon rotors launched with availability for more than 16,000 different vehicles. (So, you shouldn’t write them off as being late-model-performance-only.) In fact, these rotors are ready to roll for a number of heavy duty and light truck applications and soon even Jeeps.

Now, car owners already have an idea of what pads to pair with these bad boys—but if you rock 4WD, we suggest you take a look at the brand’s LTS pads. Designed to handle the bigger wheels, tires, and brakes of light trucks and SUVs, they provide 20-40% more stopping power over stock replacement pads.

What’s stopping you? Replace those stock rotors with Talons and grip onto brake performance in your street car!