Dust isn’t a huge deal as I wash my cars at least a few times a week. Although the ebc red stuff pads were insanely dusty for the first 5k but then settled down. How they advertise that pad as low dust is beyond me? Bite, quietness and rotors that aren’t vibrating after 15k are my main asks. Thus far brembo has checked all those boxes and excels in the clean wheel dept. I piece things together well before I need them via Amazon or wherever I can find things cheap.
Do you have a go to rotor/pads combo you like?
- Thread starter ZZman
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Tried many kinds of pads and rotors over the years in many different cars, as have my family and friends.
The only option that always delivers is OE.
When aftermarket parts are cheaper than OE, they always seem to have some kind of downside. I've seen aftermarket parts that are comparable overall to OE, but they're the same price or more and usually still have some downsides, so I almost never see the point. I don't think I've ever seen anything in the aftermarket that was all upside, barring certain high-end conversion kits ($$$).
Sometimes you're forced to go aftermarket because your use cases is very different from what the brakes were specced for (e.g. extended track use). Or you have a specific performance preference that's so strong that big downsides are acceptable (e.g. you'll accept noise and dust if it means more bite). But even in cases like those, you're not getting something that's better than OE; you're accepting something that's worse overall because that's the only way to get what you want.
The only option that always delivers is OE.
When aftermarket parts are cheaper than OE, they always seem to have some kind of downside. I've seen aftermarket parts that are comparable overall to OE, but they're the same price or more and usually still have some downsides, so I almost never see the point. I don't think I've ever seen anything in the aftermarket that was all upside, barring certain high-end conversion kits ($$$).
Sometimes you're forced to go aftermarket because your use cases is very different from what the brakes were specced for (e.g. extended track use). Or you have a specific performance preference that's so strong that big downsides are acceptable (e.g. you'll accept noise and dust if it means more bite). But even in cases like those, you're not getting something that's better than OE; you're accepting something that's worse overall because that's the only way to get what you want.
Hey, a reasonably accurate AI summary! Nice.
I may be the exception because ford flex is very heavy for it'd brakes but ford oem never played well with my car and my driving style. It brakes just okay but it just chews through the rotors and pads fast and warps half way through it's life. At least in my experience.
I mean, you pretty much said it – it sounds like there's a mismatch between what Ford specced the brakes for and how you're using them, so you have to go aftermarket. Very much in line with what I was trying to say in my last paragraph.
Have you found pads and rotors that work for you?
There is a big other factor. I live in Buffalo NY which makes this just about the worst place of rust belt to due duration of moisture and levels of salt are just about the worst.
So it has to perform well in cold, be rust resistant and well not overheat and warp.
I am using akebono ceramic ultra performance (asp part number)
So far it did well in cold, seems to be holding up in the rust department(my yearly inspection will tell a complete picture). I can't say much about the stopping power because almost any good quality pad locks the wheels up long before the pads exceed their capacity.
I had cheap generic auto parts store pads and they failed on more than one criteria above.
A lot of pads in Buffalo start to fail due yo rust. You probably get more brake jobs here due to rust than actual worn brakes.
I had good luck with centric rotors, will try coated rotors next. I usually have to replace the rotor due to wear long before the rust eats it from the inside to unsafe levels. I also don't go for any of that stuff with holes in it. To me its a liability.
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