I have CarQuest brakes on my mom's car and have no problems. They're quiet and longlasting and made by Raybestos.
Raybestos also makes NAPA brakes.
Lets talk brake pads
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I have CarQuest brakes on my mom's car and have no problems. They're quiet and longlasting and made by Raybestos.
Raybestos also makes NAPA brakes.
I bought the Ultimates for my RX8 a couple of months back. Iagree on the very good performance and bite; but for day to day use, the added noise and dust just don't justify keeping them on, IMO. I put the OEM pads back on and I think I'll save the Axxiss Ultimates for track day events. The OEMs are quite good, and very quiet after Mazda repaced w/the 'v.2.0' pads as part of the squeaky-brakes TSB.
at some point I'll have to replace the OEMs for day-to-day; so depending on what Mazda wants for replacement OEM pads, I may go for some Hawk HPS, which I had success with on my previous car.
There was an test of different brake pads and "big brake" kits on a Subaru WRX in Car and Driver a few years ago. They found that while brake pedal feel, responsiveness, and fade varied somewhat from one pad to another, stopping distances did not vary by large margin - even with the big brake kits. Only when stopping from very high speed, or when repeatedly stopping from high speeds was there a big difference. From ordinary speeds using brakes that haven't been heat soaked from repeated high speed stops, even the weakest brake pads was able to exert enough force to stop the wheels from moving. The factor that determined stopping distances had more to do with the traction available from the tires than it did with the brake pad/rotors ability to halt the wheels from rotating and to dissipate their kinetic energy.
I've always had good luck with Napa brake pads.
The last time I did the brakes on my car I used Wagner Thermoquiet brake pads on the original rotors. They were hardly grooved and still braked smoothly. I just sanded the rotors and replaced the OEM pads with the Wagners and they work great. They stop well and are quite. No noticable dust between car washings which can be several weeks for me. My OEM pads were old but were not worn down and they had just came apart. The pad separated from the metal plate, I had never had that happen before. I will be getting the Wagner Thermoquiet brake pads again for sure. There is nothing more annoying than getting brake parts that are noisy or don't work how you want so I will stick with them for replacements for now.
I just put Napa pads and rotors on my Cherokee.
I used Akebono ceramics with Brembo rotors in five applications front and back all with good results. Quiet,clean and good life.
I used Hawk with Brembos in an Avalon, and the stopping power is better. Quiet. Some dust but not much. 20k and lots of meat left. Twice the price!!
Akebono has three categories of ceramic pad, I think, and that may explain some of the warping and complaining. I used their best for all five of those vehicles and never had an issue. Over spending? Maybe. Maybe not. $ is time. Time is $
I used Hawk with Brembos in an Avalon, and the stopping power is better. Quiet. Some dust but not much. 20k and lots of meat left. Twice the price!!
Akebono has three categories of ceramic pad, I think, and that may explain some of the warping and complaining. I used their best for all five of those vehicles and never had an issue. Over spending? Maybe. Maybe not. $ is time. Time is $
It has been my experience, on Hondas, Benzes, and our lone Ford, that OEM pads usually work best overall. Note that the original pads typically last about forever (72K on the Ford, 90K+ on everything else), so that life is not really a factor. As for stopping, along with long rotor life, the OEM carefully considered that in specing the friction material. Sometimes, we are better off going with the engineers who developed the vehicle, rather than looking to the advice given on a website that sells brake pads.
true, except for those of us with older vehicles, the aftermarket pad formulation may have made more advances than the OEM's...ie, my 2001 F150
Good point! However, going back to the mid 'eighties, I have found OEM pads to be pretty good. Prior to that, pads often had very short lives, and calipers were sometimes not too good either.
The longer I live, the more I learn that what I thought was true is entirely wrong. I know an indie mech who actually went to the Honda school for the NSX. Know what parts he uses? OEM Honda, only.
The longer I live, the more I learn that what I thought was true is entirely wrong. I know an indie mech who actually went to the Honda school for the NSX. Know what parts he uses? OEM Honda, only.
now on Hondas, for some odd reason, I've found that you are 100% correct....
wait, i don't mean it's odd that you are correct LOL...but that Honda OEM is the way to go, even for our Civic.
wait, i don't mean it's odd that you are correct LOL...but that Honda OEM is the way to go, even for our Civic.
I second LT4 Vettes comment on the Bendix Import Quiets. They have good bite hot or cold, are quiet, and dust about the same as OEM Nissan's on my Maxima. The ones for my '97 Maxima had the Titaniametallic strip on them, whatever that is for. I bedded mine in using like 10 60 - 10 mph stops, and they work amazingly well. I would use them again in a heartbeat.
I also mostly agree with the poster who said stopping distances between pads isn't really much. There are some differences between cold and hot pads though. But I've found that tire traction is usually the deciding factor in my stopping distance, as every pad I've used can lock up my wheels with enough pedal pressure (I don't have ABS). My Avon Tech M550's on the car now help it stop much shorter than the Daytona HR4's that were originally on the car. The Avons can be made to really dig in when needed. I've been very pleasantly suirprised with their handling (easily on par with the Bridgestone Potenza RE750 summer ultra high perf they replaced, which were pretty awesome tires except in snow).
Dave
I also mostly agree with the poster who said stopping distances between pads isn't really much. There are some differences between cold and hot pads though. But I've found that tire traction is usually the deciding factor in my stopping distance, as every pad I've used can lock up my wheels with enough pedal pressure (I don't have ABS). My Avon Tech M550's on the car now help it stop much shorter than the Daytona HR4's that were originally on the car. The Avons can be made to really dig in when needed. I've been very pleasantly suirprised with their handling (easily on par with the Bridgestone Potenza RE750 summer ultra high perf they replaced, which were pretty awesome tires except in snow).
Dave
Personal experience:
Axxis Ultimate - Dusty, to a point that I have to wash my steel wheel with hub cap every other day, but my G*d, the stopping power is unmatched in street pad. One tap and your car will stop instantly.
Hawk HPS - Not as good as Ultimate, not as dusty, but do stop ok. It takes quite a few weeks to break in and afterward it is acceptable. Not worthed the money IMO.
Performance Friction Carbon Metallic - Very good compromise for street use, quiet, and very little dust, and very cheap, $40 for corolla's front. It is the best you can get for your family members who may complain about any compromise.
Acura/Honda OEM - Decent stopping power, no dust, expensive. The one I had was from Nissin
Toyota OEM - Same as Acura/Honda OEM (Nissin)
Ford OEM (Taurus) - Get off the road and replace the pad NOW, wait, OMG, the car won't stop..... H_E_L_P!!!!!
Axxis Ultimate - Dusty, to a point that I have to wash my steel wheel with hub cap every other day, but my G*d, the stopping power is unmatched in street pad. One tap and your car will stop instantly.
Hawk HPS - Not as good as Ultimate, not as dusty, but do stop ok. It takes quite a few weeks to break in and afterward it is acceptable. Not worthed the money IMO.
Performance Friction Carbon Metallic - Very good compromise for street use, quiet, and very little dust, and very cheap, $40 for corolla's front. It is the best you can get for your family members who may complain about any compromise.
Acura/Honda OEM - Decent stopping power, no dust, expensive. The one I had was from Nissin
Toyota OEM - Same as Acura/Honda OEM (Nissin)
Ford OEM (Taurus) - Get off the road and replace the pad NOW, wait, OMG, the car won't stop..... H_E_L_P!!!!!
I would like to believe this is what is happening to my 2001 Acura CL-S, but the only other opinion I have found comes from the Stoptech article. Has anyone cured a brake vibration by just swapping to more aggressive pads?
Never had to use an aggressive pad, but rather dress the rotor before new pads go on. I keep a set of used pads from each vehicle and bond 220 garnet paper to them. DO NOT use regular sand paper or any with aluminum oxide as an abrasive material. Reinstall and drive SLOWLY in an area with no traffic (high school parking lot across the street works for me). Apply brakes often or "ride" them for a short distance. This will usually grind any pad material off, leaving the rotors with a fresh surface to bed the new pads.
I have "cured" a few cases of "warped" rotors by simply bedding them in aggressively. Only twice in the dozens of brake jobs have I measured rotors with enough lateral run-out to be considered "warped". All the other were uneven pad material deposits.
If you participate in any track events or auto-x, here is another alternative. Get a good set of dedicated track (race) pads. Install them before the event and drive to the track or drive around before practice. Keep them in "abrasive" mode by going easy on them to keep the heat down. This should abrade the previous transfer layer off and leave a fresh surface to bed the track pads on. Bed the track pads to get transfer layer on rotors. After the event, and when the brakes have COMPLETELY cooled down, drive home or drive around in the "abrasive" mode again. Swap back to your street pads and bed these back in and you're good to go. Lots of guys in the club circuit around here do this now. Saves the hassle of swapping rotors each time.
i got through brake pads every six months "spirted drivng" so i use the cremaic pads because i hate doing brake jobs!
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