'15 Journey rotor and brake recommendations

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Mantooth

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Jul 26, 2015
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Southern Indiana
Rotors on the wife's Journey are about shot, vibration has gotten to the point where its almost unbearable. The brakes on this vehicle has been its weak link and has been a problem since we bought the car. Back in 2015, my wife found this car in Cincinnati optioned with everything she was looking for. We drove up there one Sunday, bought it, and she drove it home. Halfway home - the rotors warped. Took it to a dealer the next day and they would not repalce them. They stated the manufacturer called for turning them and would not cover replacement. Fast forward 2 years and 50,000 miles of rural hwy / interstate driving and they are shot. My question is: what are some good replacements brands? I've considered going with OE but I'm open to other brands that may have better quality/performance? Thanks!
 
Akebono makes very nice zinc coated rotors that are comparable to OEM, although I see alot of similarities between them and the Textar and Bosch brand. They both have a shinier silver coating, where the Ake are more OE zinc, but the packaging is identical. All quality. Same goes for the pads, Ive put Bosch on alot of cars and they are a nice lower dust OE replacement, whereas Textar is OE but more dusty. Akebono makes great pads as well.
 
There are two schools of thought. 1)Replace with OR or the best aftermarket you can afford(Brembo/Centric Premium/Raybestos ProGrade etc.) 2)Replace with the least expensive rotors you can find as they're(Best & Economy) are all about the same per vehicle. As far as pads go, I like ceramic. Middle of the line to the better ones. Others will chime in with their opinions.
 
I've had good luck with Centric rotors, didn't warp or Powerstop rotors. Pads, anything Ceramic, I'd use Centric, Powerstop, Akebono...
 
Originally Posted By: Slick17601
Brembo rotors from Tire Rack are always a solid choice.
I'm part of the second school of thought, get cheap rotors and good pads. Had Brembo before, they also warped. Got better pads and the rotors stopped warping even with cheap rotors. One popular theory is that the warping is from brake pad material on the rotors. That's why the cheap rotor/good pad theory is popular also.
 
Originally Posted By: Mantooth
Back in 2015, my wife found this car in Cincinnati optioned with everything she was looking for. We drove up there one Sunday, bought it, and she drove it home. Halfway home - the rotors warped. Took it to a dealer the next day and they would not repalce them.
Good God, which dealer was this? I used to live down there and ones of the reasons I bought a car four hours away to avoid the dealers in that area.
 
I agree with getting mid level centric rotors and good pads. We have economy centric rotors on the matrix and they are excellent. No rusting and no vibrations. I've had top dollar rotors warp and cheapest of the cheap go 5 years with no vibrations.
 
Originally Posted By: TinyVoices
I agree with getting mid level centric rotors and good pads. We have economy centric rotors on the matrix and they are excellent. No rusting and no vibrations. I've had top dollar rotors warp and cheapest of the cheap go 5 years with no vibrations.
Sweet, thanks for this. Need new rotors on the 05 Matrix. Still have the originals on there and they have a lip of rust around them. Kind of dragged my feet a bit because of all the options.
 
Originally Posted By: SatinSilver
Originally Posted By: TinyVoices
I agree with getting mid level centric rotors and good pads. We have economy centric rotors on the matrix and they are excellent. No rusting and no vibrations. I've had top dollar rotors warp and cheapest of the cheap go 5 years with no vibrations.
Sweet, thanks for this. Need new rotors on the 05 Matrix. Still have the originals on there and they have a lip of rust around them. Kind of dragged my feet a bit because of all the options.
I put centric ceramic pads on it and centric c-tek standard rotors. Working perfectly. Quiet, stops well, smooth.
 
Coated rotors are a MUST to stop the rust. Non-coated rotors rust overnight. Centric Premium or Wagner E-shield rotors are both good choices. For pads, the best choices are Akebono ProACT, Wagner Thermoquiet or OEX.
 
Rotors don't really warp, folks -- they just get uneven pad deposits. Even StopTech (who is owned by Centric) has written whitepapers about this.
 
Originally Posted By: SatinSilver
Originally Posted By: Mantooth
Back in 2015, my wife found this car in Cincinnati optioned with everything she was looking for. We drove up there one Sunday, bought it, and she drove it home. Halfway home - the rotors warped. Took it to a dealer the next day and they would not repalce them.
Good God, which dealer was this? I used to live down there and ones of the reasons I bought a car four hours away to avoid the dealers in that area.
Technically, it wasn't Cincy. Wyler Jeep-Dodge in Fort Thomas had the exact color and options the wife wanted. Their price beat all our local dealers. Local Journeys had fewer options with a high price tag. Finding an AWD was like finding a unicorn. Louisville isn't the best market to get a car (unless you have a hook up.)
 
Since new, we have experienced brake pulsation about every 30,000 miles on our RX330. Discount tire has always torqued the lug nuts when rotating, so I don't think that is the issue. And now, at about 222,000 miles, the brake pulsation has occurred again. I saw the note dparm was referencing and after trying Akebono ProACT ceramic, Advics ceramic, Toyota/Lexus OEM (which I think is made my Advics) and different brands of rotors (to include 'frozen rotors'), I am trying the Porterfield R4-S carbon kevlar brake pads. They were a bit more expensive, but since I change the pads/rotors myself, I have decided to try them out. Guess time will tell if this type of material will alleviate the probable pad transfer issue that we have experienced over the years.
 
Originally Posted By: Curtis Newton
Discount tire has always torqued the lug nuts when rotating, so I don't think that is the issue.
Right but first they use the air gun to tighten them, then check afterwards with the torque wrench. So yes they could be the culprit. Many reports on here of them breaking wheel studs. Other than that I like DT for their free flat repairs, good tires deals, excellent customer service, etc...
 
Originally Posted By: dparm
Rotors don't really warp, folks -- they just get uneven pad deposits. Even StopTech (who is owned by Centric) has written whitepapers about this.
This is absolutely NOT TRUE as someone who has machined THOUSANDS of drums and rotors I can ABSOLUTELY state that drums and rotors do warp. However that being said, as of late I've had excellent luck with Raybestos Rust Prevention Rotors (RPR) and Advanced Technology (AT) rotors combined with Raybestos EHT (enhanced hybrid technology) pads. The EHT pads are currently on my Lexus with AT rotors. The rear has Akebono PRO ACT with Bosch Quiet Cast rotors. The front used to have ACT as well but I wanted to try something new in search of more bite, hence the EHT which are GG friction code. Much to my surprise they're lower dust than the ACT they replaced and even lower dust than the rear ACT pads despite doing more work on the front axle. They currently have about 8,000 miles on them and have been absolutely fantastic. I recommend this combination to everyone I recommend brakes to lately and I used to push the ACT pads. This is my new go to. I second the coated rotors, I wouldn't use anything else anymore. Both the AT and RPR rotors are coated.
 
Checked out Rock Auto. Liked their prices, but shipping sucks away any cost savings. I get that rotors are heavy and costly to ship so I not complaining. I just wish the chain stores offered a better quality selection.
 
Originally Posted By: Mantooth
Checked out Rock Auto. Liked their prices, but shipping sucks away any cost savings. I get that rotors are heavy and costly to ship so I not complaining. I just wish the chain stores offered a better quality selection.
I bought rotors from Rock Auto 6 months ago, and it was like $15 shipping for four. Even with shipping, they were cheaper than Amazon, or any local parts store, even AAP's discount codes smile Are you going to replace all four pads and rotors, or just the front? One more thing to remember is that truck/SUV pads and rotors are bigger and heavier than those used on regular cars. For less than $200, including shipping, the DuraGo electrophoretic rotors and Akebono ProACT pads are less than $200 for the front pads and rotors. The same DuraGo coated rotors and Wagner OEX pads are about $150 including shipping smile Part numbers DuraGo BR90108802 (front rotors) Wagner OEX1589 (front pads) Akebono ACT1589 (front pads) I used zip code 47175 Remember the rockauto 5% off codes that are always available.
 
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