Overheated brakes?, Ever actually done this? Options

[lapuwali]

With all of the recent caliper discussions, I got to thinking: has anyone here actually suffered from stock rotors overheating? Street or track? Which calipers? Which MC?

I've personally only ever suffered from brake fade caused by overheating brakes twice, and neither time was in a 914. Once on a Alfa with inboard rear brakes and an overenthusiatic romp along a road with lots of downhill hairpins, the other time on a Mini with drums all round, also on a romp through a (different) set of downhill hairpins. The Alfa was heavy and suffered from bad cooling of those inboard brakes (which had vented rotors), and the Mini just used cheap iron drums (and I was deliberately trying to induce fade). Interestingly, another very similar Alfa that was much lighter (400lbs or so, from lighter body stampings and a four instead of a six) never suffered from fade despite solid rotors at both ends, on the same roads that would cook the brakes on the later, heavier car.

Much as I approve of the idea of good strong brakes, I wonder just how necessary big, heavy, expensive vented rotors really are on the car (at least with stock or near-stock power).