this is just my opinion.
Solid rotors give you the most friction surface possible. that part is logical and can be proven. AS far as heat goes though, it is not the rotor that is getting too hot, you are exceeding the amount of heat that the brake compound was designed to perform. This is called brake fade.
Slotted rotors help with pad gas out but you will loose a little of the friction surface. If you are experiencing brake fade, then it comes at you from two different directions but from the same source. Becasue you have to use the pedal longer and longer to get the same amount of deceleration, you are building up heat. Heat in the pad will cause gassing from the adhesion agent and other parts of the cmpound. This puts a small layer of air between the pad and the rotor. It also transfers heat into the brake fluid via the caliper which is hlding the hot pad.
Cross drilled rotors break, period. They are fine for a show car, or for a very light weight track car. The entire process of drilling through the rotor to allow for cooling and pad gassing is valid on paper, but the facts are it weakens the rotor and disrupts the crystaline structure of the metal. On a 4000 pound pplus truck, you don't need week rotors.
Don't get me wrong, I've broken every kind of rotor out there, it happens, but those are generally from red flag stops wher eyou have not time to cool off.
My recommendation:
Use race compound pads, not high performance street pads. These pads will be expensive, dusty, and noisy. They have a much higher tolerance for heat and in most race compounds, you have to heat them up a little but before they grip optimally. THese pads gas very little if they are bed correctly.
Use a quality high boiling point brake fluid. I use Motul 600, but ATE (blue or clear) or Wilwood are also great fluids. I would look for at least 550 degree dry point fluid. Use DOT4 not DOT5. While DOT5 has a higher rating, it is not intended for uise in these trucks.
If you do the first two recommendations, then it really wont matter that much which rotor you use. I used RUslows slotted rotors, but once I got rel race pads, I wondered if I was giving up a little stopping distance becasue of the slots. I would still probably recommend a slotted rotor just to be safe though.
While you are changing your rotors, I always recommend changing you wheel bearings. Especially if you are still running the OE FFord ones, I always used Federal Mogul bearings, butI don't have the part numbers handy.
If and when you do pads/fluid/rotors you may want to consider the brake lines. There is nothing wrong with the OE lines, they will hold up for AutoXing just fine, however you will get a much firmer pedal feel with a SS brake line.
There is a ton of great information at
www.stoptech.com for further reading
Hope this helps you out
