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Time for new brakes

16K views 34 replies 17 participants last post by  keg97 
#1 ·
Almost 90K and my garage guy told me while doing my oil change that it's time for new brakes. This is my first set so I'm quite happy that I got that many miles out of the OEM set up.

Any suggestions for brand or specific type? I'm looking at ceramic pads right now. Should I go a different route?
 
#3 ·
R1 Concept rotors and pads.
 
#4 ·
Do they still sell them for the Armada? Last time I checked all the had is the blanks.
 
#6 ·
I too got a little more than 90K out of mine. I'll still had probably another honestly 20K with of life in the pads but the rotors got that warped sensation so I replaced all on the front, pads and rotors. I used the Napa lifetime replacement rotors and pads. Also up-graded all 4 brake lines with steel braid. Couldn't be happier with that setup!
 
#11 ·
I too got a little more than 90K out of mine. I still had probably another honestly 20K with of life in the pads but the rotors got that warped sensation so I replaced all on the front, pads and rotors. I used the Napa lifetime replacement rotors and pads. Also up-graded all 4 brake lines with steel braid. Couldn't be happier with that setup!
Edit; correction made after re-reading
 
#7 ·
I got Power Stop Front and Rear Brake Kit from Rockauto but have not put them on yet.
I heard a lot of good words of this Brake kits from Titan sites which pretty much uses the same parts.

I have 70k miles on my 2005 Mada and last time I checked, the brake pads still have approx. 30% left. I am going to wait another 5000 miles before replacing them. :)
 
#8 ·
For rotor I have r1 (had for awhile now) power stop I heard are good too. Pad I had ebc yellow stuff but didn't like them. But I found another set of green stuff (ebc)for the front from a member here which was a good price so I gave it a try. Not to bad. I replaced my ebc yellow stuff from the rear 2 months ago with Wearever. It stopped better then the ebc. Reasonable price. Fwiw.
 
#9 ·
I recently put on a set of powerstop rotors and pads, not the extreme pads. I like them so far. Just a bit of brake dust and, most importantly, they stop the truck well. I probably won't be towing much until spring so I can't comment on that. I did not really want cross drilled rotors. Buy that's what they are. Had them about 6 or 8 weeks and no rust or discoloration yet.
 
#10 ·
I'm planning on both pads/rotors. I need to confirm with my garage guy, but I assume that I only need to replace the fronts. Don't they do 75% of the braking?
 
#13 ·
I had R1 concept pads and rotors for 50k, but they eventually started cracking. I have PowerStops now that I bought off amazon for less than 1/2 what I paid for R1's. The Powerstops have been great and still look new (no rust or dust).
 
#14 ·
Here is my experience with PowerStop Extreme Z36 front pads:

I replaced my OEM pads with PowerStop Z36 ones, since I tow my race car quite a bit during the season. The Z36s quickly started building up deposits on the rotors and caused a bad vibration under braking and a slight vibration at highway speeds. I decided to put new PowerStop drilled and slotted rotors on, but kept the Z36 pads. After bedding in the new rotors, within 50 miles the same deposits started forming on the new rotors.

I contacted PowerStop with my issue via email and haven't heard boo from them in 3 days... not the technical support response I was expecting.

I am now done with the Z36 pads and have ordered EBC Yellow Stuff pads and will be putting them on shortly. The 'warpage' on the new rotors is not bad, but I look forward to trying a more aggressive compound with a wider temperature range. Read a lot of good reviews and hope that the yellows perform as advertised.

The rear Z36 pads I bought will be going back to Rock Auto, as I have yet to put them on. Plan to put EBC Greens on the rear axle. I don't trust the Z36 compound and have had tons of various race pads on my track whore Corvette and never had any issues. YMMV.
 
#15 ·
why not simply stay with stock? unless you plan to drive your classy ride like a hot rod, i think the stock pads/rotors are just great. I mean look how long they have lasted!

when i go to replace the pads on the '12 qx, i plan to keep it stock. YMMV and this is my opinion of course...
 
#16 ·
Good point but I tend to believe that there are better options that offer more performance for a similar price point.
 
#20 ·
I have put these rotors on, but with the Z36 pads. The rotors are OK, but a little noisy due to having the slots and being drilled. They so far have done OK, but the main downside is that you can cut/turn them if you start having pad deposits (warped rotors). A set of decent blanks may be a better choice, due to that fact. I have used frozen rotors on another vehicle a few years ago and didn't notice much of an advantage over other premium quality blanks.
 
#23 ·
I had R1 rotors and pads and they warped to nothing and rusted out in no time. At a cost of over $600.

I recently got the PowerStops with the regular pads for $325 off amazon.

They work very well in combination with my SS lines - like having a chain attached to your tow hook and a M1 tank on the other end.

What I don't like about them is I get a clicking sound when the windows are open and I've been trying to track down an intermittent squeal in the rear.

Other than that they have served me better than the OEM or R1s for the last 7000 miles.

The stainless lines I got from tirerack and there is a good write up on the site for installing them. A little tricky but not too bad once you figure out how to orient them.


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#25 ·
I had R1 rotors and pads and they warped to nothing and rusted out in no time. At a cost of over $600.

I recently got the PowerStops with the regular pads for $325 off amazon.

They work very well in combination with my SS lines - like having a chain attached to your tow hook and a M1 tank on the other end.

What I don't like about them is I get a clicking sound when the windows are open and I've been trying to track down an intermittent squeal in the rear.

Other than that they have served me better than the OEM or R1s for the last 7000 miles.

The stainless lines I got from tirerack and there is a good write up on the site for installing them. A little tricky but not too bad once you figure out how to orient them.


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I had the same issue two summers ago and had originally thought it was the rear brake pads. After installing new read pads (Wearever platinum, which btw seems to be equivalent to higher end pads from Hawk, EBC) the intermittent squeal was still there.

I decided to clean the entire rear brake assembly and upon removing the rotors, I noticed uneven pad wear on the passenger side parking brake shoe. It looked as if the pad was sticking to the inside of the rotor. It wasn't completely burned off but obviously not wearing down correctly.

I replaced all the small parking brake/drum hardware parts and parking brake shoes and haven't heard that intermittent squeal since then.
 
#27 ·
Exactly as you've described. I remember when it first happened, we were on our way down to VA. It didn't start to squeal until I hit some light stop and go traffic a couple blocks right before Lincoln Tunnel. It would intermittently return while down in VA and usually in stop and go traffic. Thats why I thought it was the pads and when we got back from VA, I inspected them and they weren't even worn halfway.

Even after replacing the pads, I was still hearing that intermittent squeal. Thats when I decided to clean out the entire rear brake assembly and found the uneven wear on the parking brake shoe.
 
#29 ·
I've started to service the slider pins and boots about every 12 months to avoid uneven pad wear. The pins and boot kit is about $18 but usually just need cleaning. All my brake hardware seems to rust out fairly quickly and the parking brake hardware will def need replacing this summer. Wish there was a treatment to stop the parking brake assembly from rusting so much.
 
#30 ·
I forgot to mention when I had installed the new parking brake hardware, I coated the parts with lithium grease. It came with a small packet of lithium grease but I decided to just spray the parts instead.

When I had to remove the passenger rear axle last spring to repair a torn outer boot, I inspected the rear brakes and it looked great. I did spray on a fresh coat of lithium grease on the parking brake hardware.
 
#31 ·
I will definitely try the lithium spray next time. Thanks.
 
#32 ·
i am almost at the time of replacing the pads, one thing that bugs my wife and me is the squeaking sound they make, i just want a pad that does not make noise, from what i read, all of the ones mention here do, maybe i should just install the OEM since it doesn't fix the annoying sound.
 
#33 ·
The pads/rotors I installed do not squeek. Interestingly, the OEM pads/rotors on the rear do make a sound, even though they're at 30-40%. My mechanic says it's b/c they are old.
 
#35 ·
Power stops
 
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