Paragon Model S two-piece Rotors installed

[Noahweb]

Good evening TMC!!

I jumped at the opportunity to secure a set of Paragon Brakes newest product; Model S two-piece rotors! Fantastic price at $950 for a set, and while that does not include brake pads, enables you to pick a set that matches your driving requirements. The quality is on point and it was a direct bolt-on with zero modifications required.

Paragon Brakes advertise a weight of 21.1 for a weight savings over OEM of 8.2 pounds per side. I can attest that it is an accurate claim!

My OEM rotors w/ 71k miles weighed in at 29.4 pounds, making for a difference of 8.2.

This makes for a front axel rotatinal weight reduction of 16.4 pounds.

The install took about 2 1/2 hours, with that being 30 mins to setup and get the car in the air, and 1 hour per side ensuring correct torque for calipers, cleaning various bits while in there, etc. Is there long-term gains…too soon to tell! I reset trip B having covered ~6k miles and 348 watts/mi if memory serves. Additionally, the steering feel is much improved. More akin to having the 19” Slipstream wheels before I changed over to the 21” Turbines.

Overall, I’d recommend getting a set! Doubly so if you have 19”s and what to maximize your efficiency!! Looking forward to installing the rear rotors shortly and will provide an update once they are on!

 

[quickstrike12]

Those look great. I’m very curious to hear what the steering feel is like and the whpm reduction if any is gained.

 

[Noahweb]

Those look great. I’m very curious to hear what the steering feel is like and the whpm reduction if any is gained.

Steering feel is lighter, more precise/composed and more akin to having the 19” slipstreams back on the car, despite the added weight of the 21”s. Effectively this negates to weight difference between the 19”s and 21”s. It simply feels less heavy than before, which given that 16 pounds of rotational mass vanished…who’d be surprised!

And WHPM?? After 28 vehicles, countless dyno sessions…never heard of this acronym! Learning something new!

 

[quickstrike12]

Sorry. Should have spelled it out. WHPM Wh/mi or watt hour per mile. The average energy being used number displayed when we drive on the energy display. Average over 5/15/30 last miles.
I was curious if the reduction in weight from the spinning mass had any effect on this. I doubt it, but thought I’d ask.

 

[Noahweb]

Sorry. Should have spelled it out. WHPM Wh/mi or watt hour per mile. The average energy being used number displayed when we drive on the energy display. Average over 5/15/30 last miles.
I was curious if the reduction in weight from the spinning mass had any effect on this. I doubt it, but thought I’d ask.

To soon to tell. Need a few thousand miles to collect some accurate data.

 

[Noahweb]

Rear rotors on the way now!! Will install and update late next week.

The fronts are amazing! The rear feels much heavier by comparison…kinda difficult to explain. And initial numbers show notable improvement in efficiency.

 

[Noahweb]

Rear Rotors arrived and installed! 9.6 pounds per side, 19.2 pounds total on the rear, saved from the OEM rotors. Install was rather straight forward with the only real hiccup being one of the caliper carrier bolts snapped. More on that in a bit…

Total weight savings of rotation mass between the F and R is 35.6 pounds; nothing to sneeze at for sure! Has there been an efficiency difference?? Honestly can’t tell yet; not enough data.

That said, I do recommend replacing the rear caliper carrier bolts with new ones “while your in there.” This sucks! Lucky to have found a correctly threaded bolt that is 1/8” too long, but holds until the OEM bolts arrive tomorrow. EVParts has them for $10 (Tesla Model S Rear Brake Caliper Bolts, Mando Caliper, Pair, 2016-2021)

Paragon Brakes has been absolutely phenomenal to work with! Clear, honest communication and every commitment they made, they kept. I couldn’t recommend a business any better than Paragon. For $2000, it isn’t cheap, but does afford you a direct bolt on two piece rotor system that drops nearly 36 pounds of rotation mass. Are there gains? Physics says yes, working on collecting the data now to justify it. That said, the ride is notably improved and the MS feels like its been on a diet.

Pair that with the Ohmmu Battery I installed a few months ago and I’ve lighted my Model S by ~56 pounds.

 

[Noahweb]

Quick update for the broken bolt.

Upon discussion with my local Tesla SC, we believe the bolt was incorrectly installed/torqued prior to delivery and failed when I removed it. Thankfully the threads weren’t buggered up and the broken bolt end was able to be removed.

Tesla does NOT list a part number for the bolt which broke. I can’t edit the above post any longer, however do NOT use the above part for a caliper to carrier bolt; that part number is for the Hub to caliper bolt which is an OEM Torx head.

Lastly, I did let Paragon Brakes now of the above. They unexpectedly followed up with me today to check and see if things were good. Solid customer service!!

Otherwise just finished a road trip from San Antonio to Houston and back. There is a 20 Watt/mi improvement over my long term trip A data; not exact but indicates an improvement!

 

[Loco_Nomad]

Hi OP, it is been almost a year, any input? I'm about to order a set for my car, hoping to see real world review

 

[Noahweb]

Short answer, buy them! There have been no issues, sounds, or abnormalities since install.

The only recommendation I have is to order the coated ones. There is a ~20mm band of surface rust on the rear rotors where the pad doesn’t sweep owing to the difference between the calipers & pads from non-performance models and performance variants. The coating would improve cosmetics only.

Overall, I have the look of the 21” Turbines but the efficiency of 19”s Slipstreams. A win! Plus reduced rotational mass, plus less unsprung mass meaning the bearings ought to last longer, and the stopping is improved.

 

[Noahweb]

Update - Now with ~35k miles on these rotors and having completed a pair of subzero Kansas winters…

No issues. When the temperature is -20F and the rotors are cold, they are LOUD. No different than on our Volvo. There remains a rust ring around the rear non-performance caliber which is kind of annoying. I maintain the recommendation for the coated rotors nice non-coated.

From an efficiency gain, yes there is a gain. I’d give it about 10-15 watts per mile on the average on a long-distance drive.

If you are looking for maximum efficiency, reduced un-sprung weight than two-piece rotors are the way to go!!