What Brake Rotor & Pads do you use/Why?

[loganss]

As the title says, what brake rotors and pads do you use for your car. If it's not too much trouble could you also mention why you use a brand other than OEM. I am tired of being overcharged at Midas n other similar companies.

I looked online at Autozone and I'm considering getting the Duralast Rotors and Duralast Gold Pads (mainly because of lifetime warranty). If I can find a nice priced set of ceramic pads I'd get those.

... Also where do you guys buy your brake products from.

[Intruder]

Pigeon pointed out some nice Brembo rotors for less than $25 a piece or something close to that. They can't be bad.

[loganss]

Nopionline sells Brembo Front Rotors for $25.72.

Advance Auto sells:
Wearever Front rotors for $19.88
Raybestos Front rotors for $19.88 (Uses Noise dampening iron. How well it works who knows)
Beck/Arnley Vented rotors for $16.99

I'd like to know what would make the Brembos so superior.

Advance also sells:
Bendix D466CT Ceramic Pads w/ lifetime warranty for $49.88

I'm thinking about the Bendix pad and Beck/Arnley Vented rotors now. There's an advance just around the cornor from me.

Just found an interesting thread after searching for brembo rotors:
Click 4 thread

[Intruder]

Whether they're actually better, I can't tell, but I am going to buy new rotors soon and they'll be Brembo.

[beetle_orange]

intruder, are you doing a rear disc swap or keeping your drums when you are done with the BP swap?

[Intruder]

I am going to swap to discs in the rear. I was actually going to do it now, but I've decided to focus on the swap. What good are those brakes if I can't use them?

[Gro Harlem]

don't get duralast, they are ****, rust immediately & warp easily...piss poor quality. I had some for 4 months earlier this year on my mx3 and had a problem with warping so I replaced it with brembo blanks from nopionline.

[Intruder]

Brembo blanks.

[beetle_orange]

intruder, what did you mean "what are those brakes if you cant use them?" did u get it from a 1st gen? are you gonna use a proportioning valve and are you changing the front disc to the bigger 1st gen LX as well?

[95ProLeila]

I would avoid things with lifetime warranties, they're your brakes, they're supposed to wear. Personally, I like just standard OEM blanks. I'm happy with my Stillen pads, just be sure to get the right ones, because there are some that are mis-labeled, they say that they're for years 91-95 or something like that.

[loganss]

I would avoid things with lifetime warranties, they're your brakes, they're supposed to wear. Personally, I like just standard OEM blanks. I'm happy with my Stillen pads, just be sure to get the right ones, because there are some that are mis-labeled, they say that they're for years 91-95 or something like that.

The lifetime pad warranty is similar to the one Midas has. Bring the pad back before it reaches the bare metal (or whatever the material holding the pad is called) and they replace the pad.

[pigeon]

Either way, get good rotors.
Dont get the cheapie ones from autozone, they will crack/warp/deform in one way or another before the higher end ones will.... so make sure you get the premium ones.

I would however suggest the brembo ones, especially cause they're only $5 more than the other ones you posted... pack a lunch one day for work instead of buying mcdonalds and BAM you just saved 5 bucks... lol

In regards to pads... it depends on how you drive really.
If you cruise around town, with few and far between spurts of speed.... then you will be fine with the high end autozone stuff... if you dont autox or if you arent an aggressive driver and you dont plan on racing.
In this situation you probably wont reap the full benefits of a performance pad, you might actually just get pissed off at them more cause they're louder and more expensive

The only pads I know that are availabe for the 2nd gens are the mazdaspeed pads, metal matrix, and KVR... there might be a few more, like as proleila said the stillen pads?

I've only used OEM pads... the canadian autozone premium equivalent.... and KVR.
I've heard of people using the metal matrix pads, and theres no complaints... but i havent heard too much more info.
I got no info on the mazdaspeed ones either.

What I can tell you is the OEM ones that I had stopped well under normal circumstances... or the "surprise" panic stop...
They however dusted badly as well as they would fade with hard braking.

The ones i got from the canadian autozone equivalent (Part Source), they were quietest of all the pads i've used... they also work well in normal circumstances... they didnt dust bad...
But if you got on the brakes really hard for more than a few hard stops, you might as well open the doors to stop from wind resistance, cause the brakes werent gonna do it for ya.

The KVR pads, I've had 3 sets on my car so far, and have been totally impressed every time. But with every set, they were louder... and the very first stop when you get in the car... they dont stop that well... once they become a bit warm they're great... but the first stop can be misleading.
I've also never been able to overheat the KVR pads, they just gripped no matter what I did.
I have this route I take to work/school every day.... it goes down the escarpment.. but its like farmland. Its all twistys and then one HUGE downhill.... and i'd go as hard as i can on that road every day, with no complaints from the brakes.

EDIT: There was one instance where I overheated the pads... I did that route to work, but I did it with 4 people in the car... and at the bottom of the hill, the pads were really hot and were starting to become ineffective... it took about 3 minutes before they felt like normal again.

The time when I participated in a solo1 event, my fluid boiled before the pads overheated. (If youre going to be driving aggressively, use the ford dot3 brake fluid... its best bang for your buck for sure... its not a nice high dry temp)

I also had someone with a civic sir get a set of front and rears... break them in, and then head out to shannonville and was nothing but impressed
Completed over 20 laps on a high speed course, and not a hint of break fade. In that situation tho, he experienced a lot of dusting.... and dont expect them to last very long if you do solo1 racing or road course lapping.... but you will be happy with how well they work.

Anyways, as you saw in the thread I made in the vendors section...
The fronts go for $60.00 USD shipped. They're actually only $10 more than your bendix ones, and from a performance standpoint will be far superior. And im 99.9% sure I have a few sets sitting here... if you're interested or anyone else let me know and i'll run downstairs to make sure.

You are however loosing the lifetime warranty... and will have pads that are slightly louder.

And lastly, with whatever you do decide to get... BREAK THEM IN PROPERLY.
If you dont, they wont last long at all and they wont work properly... and make sure you put them on either resurfaced rotors... new rotors... or rotors that are smooth with no pitting and still over the min thickness.. that has been cross hatched with garnet sandpaper

Then bring the car up to 80kms and slow it down to 10kms... 4 times
Each time with harder pedal pressure.

Do NOT come to a complete stop, and by the fourth time you should smell burning... this is normal. Let the car cool down to the touch, and then drive for 500 kms like a normal human... in normal stop and go traffic.

After that, they should be seated nicely, and you could beat the piss out of them if you please.

[loganss]

Thanx for the info.

Based on peoples comments I ordered the Brembo rotors from Nopionline. Ordered this morning.

I don't think the performance pads are for me based on your description pigeon. I'm just going to go with the Bendix Ceramic pads. I'll try and let you guys know how I feel about the pads.

[Intruder]

intruder, what did you mean "what are those brakes if you cant use them?" did u get it from a 1st gen? are you gonna use a proportioning valve and are you changing the front disc to the bigger 1st gen LX as well?

I meant that the brakes don't matter at this point in time because the car is parked indefinitely.

I have not gotten any parts for the swap. I was very close to ordering Brembo blanks but decided not to for reasons previously stated.

I was also at the junkyard and I attempted to remove the front spindles from a 92 LX. Couldn't get the axle nut off of one of the axles and time was running out so I left it for a different trip.

Right now I have no parts whatsoever, but when I do it I'll be cloning the ES setup.

[pigeon]

I meant that the brakes don't matter at this point in time because the car is parked indefinitely.

I have not gotten any parts for the swap. I was very close to ordering Brembo blanks but decided not to for reasons previously stated.

I was also at the junkyard and I attempted to remove the front spindles from a 92 LX. Couldn't get the axle nut off of one of the axles and time was running out so I left it for a different trip.

Right now I have no parts whatsoever, but when I do it I'll be cloning the ES setup.

I still need to get the front spindles... i got ES calipers with DX rotors... lol
The pad is too big for the rotor, and a part of it isnt even being used

I got rotors/pads here i cant use until i get the spindle