Please recommend brake pads for 2018 Mazda CX-5
- Thread starter Dave Hess
- Start date
Was going to recommend this as well since dust is not a problem but bite / stopping power is. Now that I'm older I'm not using it anymore. Akebono ProAct or Wagner Thermo Quiet now, they are about the same to me.
Do you know the procedure for retracting the parking brakes into maintenance mode?
I put Raybestos Element 3 pads on my Mazda 6 and find them to equal or exceed factory braking performance.
- Joined
- Jul 10, 2022
- Messages
- 5,932
tempted to try them as they are significantly less costly than ProACTs. But I've been using ProACTs for 15 years now....and actually still have them in my basement for 2 cars....
ProACTs are gentle on rotors and basically dustless but are behind in initial bite and some might argue linearity. To me they feel wooden. they used to be my goto pad until about 6 years ago. I was towing often and they simply couldn’t cut it in my application. I found the raybestos EHT pads which have much more bite and a good pedal feel. I’ve installed them in several vehicles now.
the only place where EHTs didn’t work great was in a vehicle with extra large performance rotors and brakes, and the driver wasn’t aggressive… the EHTs never worked hard and had to be occasionally re-bed.
they do make a squeak at the first stop of every day, and are quiet after that. If you’re interesting in stopping power, while still being easy on the dust, I’ll offer the EHT as a good choice.
I haven’t tried the akebono performance pads. I expect that they may be similar to the raybestos. I looked good and hard at them yesterday but in some pictures it looked like the pad material was more narrow, smaller, not filling the backing plate, as much as other brands like Bosch. As such, I ordered a full set of the EHTs both for my wife‘s crv, and my son’s 4Runner.
I’ve found one bad review of EHTs where the material crumbled apart for an unknown reason. I’m sure there are better boutique pads out there, but it hasn’t been worth the risk for me to start doing that again.
I suspect they have some small amount of metallic property to them, or at least used to.
the only place where EHTs didn’t work great was in a vehicle with extra large performance rotors and brakes, and the driver wasn’t aggressive… the EHTs never worked hard and had to be occasionally re-bed.
they do make a squeak at the first stop of every day, and are quiet after that. If you’re interesting in stopping power, while still being easy on the dust, I’ll offer the EHT as a good choice.
I haven’t tried the akebono performance pads. I expect that they may be similar to the raybestos. I looked good and hard at them yesterday but in some pictures it looked like the pad material was more narrow, smaller, not filling the backing plate, as much as other brands like Bosch. As such, I ordered a full set of the EHTs both for my wife‘s crv, and my son’s 4Runner.
I’ve found one bad review of EHTs where the material crumbled apart for an unknown reason. I’m sure there are better boutique pads out there, but it hasn’t been worth the risk for me to start doing that again.
I suspect they have some small amount of metallic property to them, or at least used to.
Ever since pad formulas have shifted to low or no copper, this has been a common issue....mostly with aftermarket pads. It seems like OE pads generally don't have this issue since they spend more resources with managing NVH issues during development.
@Dave Hess
What pads did you end up installing? How are they working out?
What pads did you end up installing? How are they working out?
I owned a 2014 CX-5 from new until 2021.
When I replaced the original pads, I went with EBC Ultimax 2.
Very similar to OEM performance in cold and wet conditions, and great wear characteristics.
I turned the original front and rear rotors when I installed the pads, and the car never had an issue with the brakes since that point on.
I did have to order new Mazda rear caliper hardware (the large metal springs that hold the pads to the caliper mounting bracket), as my CX-5 was one of the early ones that came with faulty hardware that caused pulsation in the rear pads, which lead to a slight vibration while braking in the first 35k miles of the cars life.
With the freshly turned rotors, new pads, and new hardware, the brakes were fantastic.
I've run Green Stuff, Red Stuff, and Yellow Stuff pads on other cars I've owned (2007 Nissan Altima, 2008 Chrysler Crossfire, and 2011 Mazda RX-8, respectively), but I've found the Ultimax to provide the better day to day results on the 2012 Fiat Abarth and the 2014 CX-5, honestly. I already have a set to go onto the 2022 Stelvio when that time comes up (won a set on a forum a year ago).
OEM only. Not the value brand. And you have to order that hardware kit separate. At least thats how it was with my mazda6
