I plan to do brakes on my truck here soon.

And am wondering is the drilled and slotted rotor upgrades really worth it ?

Was looking at the Power Stop kits and at almost $500 for the front and rears, is there a noticeable difference over a standard kit

Or just a good ceramic pads and new rotors good enough

I do plan to do some towing with it next year is why Im considering the upgrade.
But if there no gains to be made I'll stick with stock

Brakes require Surface area to change mechanical energy to Heat energy. Why would you want to reduce surface area of your Brake rotors?

I get that Race cars have drilled rotors 1 in an effort to save weight, 2 They claim they cool better, Hmmm correct me if I am wrong but Brake rotors are hollow with fins to draw cooling air through them as they spin.
A Nascar race car doesn't really stop on the Track it slows down they need to cool down fast to maintain braking, They are also travailing at close to 200 mph only slowing in corners and occasional wreck They get Red hot repeatedly
all day long.

I am all for Better Brakes that stop better faster and a cool brake does just that BUT is your Daily driver Hot rod that only gets driven in city Traffic and the Hiway really need that stuff? Just my opinion But NOPE!
I run exactly what the factory put out for it and is available down at Napa. I keep the extra coin in my pocket.

BUT if you like the look and want all that your not gonna hurt anything run em. Is it gonna make it stop any faster? I think no. just my opinion.

Functional trailer brakes are a better upgrade than anything you'll find for the truck. E towed a 7000# camper with our 2011 and braking was never a problem.

Stiffer rear shocks are highly recommended, 1500 are pretty softly sprung and the whole deal would porpoise a fair bit.

Drilled/slotted non serviceable…. I also discard the pads at 50%. Linings dissipate heat.

Drilled or slotted can't be turned on a lathe. But they can be ground IF you can find someone with the equipment. Basically yes throwaway parts.

Everything in brakes need to shed heat, the rotors are the primary heat sink.

I have a 12 ram 1/2 ton 2wd as well. The PO set this truck up with a trailer brake box and supplemental air bags in the back.
It had brand new brakes done 5000 miles before I got it.
I've put 35k on this truck since I got it. Ive done a little towing with it this past summer, a Small camper that weighs about 1/2 the supposed rated tow capacity for this truck.
I noticed the first time I towed this camper (of 4 times total) my truck started pulsating/thumping hard. I replaced the front rotors with the "oe replacement grade" EBC rotors. Pads were still well over 1/2 so I left them for now. It still pulsated. Definitely not as bad but still there. Yes the trailer has brakes which work as they are supposed to.

So before the 2nd campout I bought the same brand and grade for the back and put those on.
Problem gone.
I've towed this camper for 2 more campouts since, and still good. The shop the PO had do the brakes while he had it used "Federated" auto parts store brand parts, I don't know what grade.
EBC doesn't come from China. I think they're the only ones that don't. They are made in England if all places.

I have been turning drilled and slotted rotors on old fashion ammco brake lathes for 25 years and this is the first time I heard anyone tell me you can't do it, I have even done it on fancy BMWs and stuff that come from the factory with them and have service limits published (most wear out too fast but occasionally you get some that are not worn too far). I guess I need to go back and call all those customers and re-do all their brakes for free now.

Now that I said that I see no benefit to them as it reduces surface area that you need for braking. Unless your upgrading the size of the rotor to make up for the lost surface area I sure don't think they are gonna help anything and more than likely make it worse. Those cars that come from the factory with them all have huge brakes already to accommodate the loss in surface area. It is just a sales gimmick for your truck.

First off I have been running Drilled and and Slotted rotors on my Street ( Currently a Magnum and Ram 3500) and race cars for years (Decades). Drilled/slotted rotors make a positive difference (stopping distance). Among other reasons the purpose for the drilling/slotting rotors is for heat dissipation along with dust and gas evacuation generated during braking, there by Increasing friction during braking. As a side benefit the Drilled and slotted rotor mfg's that I have been using (EBS and Powerstop) use a better base material quality and along with the previous mentioned benefits have more than doubled the service life of my braking components. That's an opinion from someone that actually uses them.

I was wondering about having to have a different alloy metal on the rotors if using drilled/slotted vs not...
I can see someone with a mill/lathe trying to DIY their own slots/drill their own holes and it turning into a disaster

I recently bought a power stop brake kit for the front of my Jeep XJ. It has 35" tires and the stock brakes don't last long and don't stop the best, even with the explorer rear axle having large disc brakes.

I bought the best kit they listed for the 97 XJ, it came with pads and drilled and slotted rotors. I am really impressed, it made a noticeable difference in stopping power. Not sure how long they will last but it only sees a few thousand miles a year anyways. Now I have to address nose dive(lifted 5,5") and the issues that come with that in a panic stop.