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NEW EBC X AND XC ROTORS, JUST HOW GOOD ARE THEY ??????
X and XC discs and bedding in procedures, quality and tolerances
After a lot of research and market tests we have found the following:
1.
 Production quality of rotor blades in new stainless material

We measure every single rotor blade for flatness and parallel and visual after production and apart from occasional human error, quality is now well proven and documented. Numerous race rotors have returned to us after abusive race test with excellent results.
2.
 Consistency of buttons

All 6 button X and XC rotors use stainless buttons which guarantee better centering of the hub and rotor and much reduced radial runout.
Each button is also centered on the press to make sure the rotor blade is concentric about the hub. (Read more below in point 6).

3.
 Alloy Hub concentricity

The bore of any EBC alloy hub has always been machined together with the bolt holes and the button pockets on the same setting to be 100% sure of concentricity.
4.
 Alloy Hub side to side runout

The wheel bolt up face is used as the datum for the rotor blade location face and therefore no side-to-side runout can be expected here.
5.
 Wave washer pressures

There have been some comments about the wave washers being too tight. The answer is they SHOULD be tight. It is not at all ideal for there to be excessive slack of the rotor blade about the hub caused by sloppy or weak washers not simply for the reason that they would fracture very early in service life but there is a good reason for holding the rotor blade still. Neither should it be possible to push the buttons from side to side. Loose buttons or weak wavy washers cause pad “Knock Back” and are undesirable/dangerous.
6.
 Assembled unit concentricity

Because of the design of the X and XC rotors it is not possible for the rotor to have excess runout up and down as viewed from the front which we call TIR (Total Indicator Reading) .If runout is observed it is either incorrect bolts being used which we agree is rare or a faulty rotor which is equally rare given the above inspection procedures. Experience has shown us that a small up and down runout is not a cause of vibration and its effect is minimised by balancing the wheel after the fitting of new rotors. For this reason, EBC strongly recommend balancing wheels after fitting new rotors just as you would after a tyre change.

In test measurements the EBC X and XC rotor because of its SD square button drive system with a mere SIX buttons is more accurate than our competitors using even TEN buttons.

EBC TIR reading on EBCX and XC rotors is max 0.50mm or 0.020 inches
Italian Competitor 10 button rotor TIR 1.12mm or 0.045 inches
Japanese OEM part 7 button rotor TIR 0.90 mm or 0.035 inches.

EBC rotors are double the accuracy in concentricity terms of others (even OEM rotors) whilst at the same time offering 4-5 times the amount of radial expansion capacity. In the drive direction EBC also has far less slack due to the SD system componentry.
7.
 Bedding in of EBC stainless rotors and pads

If new pads are being used, bed in time is almost DOUBLED. Compare the bedding in of both new pads and rotors as removing the peaks from two sets of mountains rather than one. In the bed in procedure light strobe-like stripes can appear on the rotor but bear in mind that these are dimensionally MICRONS and will wear down quite quickly. Even a small bed in vibration is quite normal and will go away once the bed in procedure is complete. EBC rotors are ground in a radial direction and this is why strobe stripes may appear compared to cross ground rotors where peaks are more random but bed in times are longer. There are varying opinions on bed in but EBC suggest

First we only expect EBC pads to be used, many other pads have been shown to exhibit much more aggressive braking and NO WARRANTY exists using EBC rotors with any other brand of pad, period .Proof of purchase will be required in any warranty discussion.

For street use – Medium  braking force rather than LIGHT braking  from 70 mph to 20 intermittently for a minimum of 100 miles of urban style driving (100 brake cycles)  where braking actions occur every mile at least  is recommended without harsh braking unless in an Emergency…. This seems to work best and very LIGHT braking has been found to cause glazing and pick up problems. Pick up is described as small disc particles being dislodged from the rotor surface. If pick is observed during bed in, you CAN accelerate this with a  fix by removing the pads and removing any small silver particles embedded in the pad surface( using a pointed knife or similar tool )taking care not to damage the pad surface excessively, care needs to be taken and if needed call our help line or e mail our tech department on biketechnical@ebcbrakesuk.com . The rotor surface will correct itself and no sanding or filing of the rotor is advisable.

There are NO silver particles at all present in any EBC pad material therefore any that become embedded in the pad are rotor material and to produce best pad and rotor surface quickly, this procedure is recommended. Without this procedure, the slots in EBC rotors WILL do the job for you but you may see slight scratch marks on the rotor during the first 1000 mile street use.

For Track use – As above but with speeds of 80-90 Mph down to 50 Mph 2-3 times per lap for a minimum of 5 laps but moderate braking is needed rather than light or heavy gradually increasing the brake force on the last lap of 5. If Strobe marks still remain, continue the procedure for 2-3 lap or until the strobe stripes have gone and a full width pad contact is observed on both the pads and the rotors, remove the pads and inspect for 95% minimum surface contact on the rotor.

Any questions should be addressed by email to the above with photos if possible.