recommended brake upgrade for 15 Rav 4 XLE ?

[apollo18]

hey all, i have a 2015 rav 4 xle and i want to upgrade the brakes. the origianals were tbh fine. I heard the LE had the small brakes that suck but the XLE got the bigger ones. Truth be told I could just go with the normal XLE brakes as they were fine. I am due for a change but I thought why not check around and get a better brake if im already spending the money

i usually use rockauto and saw they have tons of brands etc

if it matters, all i am looking for is the best braking performance. i don't care about noise, dust, or longevity. i just want strong brakes such that if i ever am in an event where i need to slam on the brakes that i would not regret getting the best ones vs some cheap ones that suck

of course i don't want to spend an arm and a leg but whatever is the best brake for a decent price i think i would be down to spend it. for example under the 'premium' rockauto category it seems to be rotors and pads combo for like $250 for front and rear. i think that would probably be my upper limit on budget.

i see raybestos, powerstop, r1 concepts + whatever else

or is this a time where it best to go with oem or like akebono / advics?

theres just so many brands and different models, anyone know what the goto is?

ty very much!

 

[Tkonrr]

Semi-metallic pads would fit your needs well. My favorite by far would be Pagid brand low-metallic pads. They're ceramics are easy to find but their low-metallic pads facilitate much quicker stops although not available in all applications. My second choice would be Centric brand semi-metallic pads.

 

[D1dad]

Ebc plain rotors and ultimax pads. Decently priced and would make a big difference.

 

[apollo18]

Ebc plain rotors and ultimax pads. Decently priced and would make a big difference.

awesome, is there a preferred site to get ebc?

 

[apollo18]

Semi-metallic pads would fit your needs well. My favorite by far would be Pagid brand low-metallic pads. They're ceramics are easy to find but their low-metallic pads facilitate much quicker stops although not available in all applications. My second choice would be Centric brand semi-metallic pads.

ty ill check em out

 

[D1dad]

awesome, is there a preferred site to get ebc?

Buybrakes seems to be about the cheapest and most reputable I’ve found. They have a coupon if you sign up for their emails. I’ve tried most of the mainstream brands and will grab ebc everytime, unless there’s a deal I can’t pass up. Brembo is top notch as well. I installed their rotors and nao ceramics on my 18 rogue and they’ve held up beautifully in a few Ohio winters. Cheap brakes are exactly that. My tech is running Powerstop z23 pads and swears they’re right there with ebc street/light race pads (redstuff). I have no personal experience them, although I do trust his recommendation. If you want rotors that won’t pulse in 20k and pads that won’t cause you to wash your wheels every other day, I’d go with my 1st recommendation.

 

[Rust_Belt_Pete]

EBC rotors made in UK and Hawk pads or Akebono pads made in USA.
Actually scratch Akebono, they are GREAT brakes but you want performance and dont care about dust or longevity.
You want EBC Yellow pads (also UK made)
Or Hawk HPS or HPS 5.0 or LTS pads.

 

[RitcheyRch]

I like Akebono Ceramic Pads.

 

[Rust_Belt_Pete]

I like Akebono Ceramic Pads.

He wants performance not longevity.

 

[crashz]

I bought a set of Powerstop drilled and slotted rotors with pads for my wife's Atlas rear axle. It was a short term solution as I didn't have much confidence it the rotors or the pads, but was throwing them on to pass state inspection. I was wrong. They have held up for three years under very hard driving (my wife is not easy on cars) and have respectable stopping power in a 6K lb SUV. Nothing is going to make a SUV turn into a Miata, but these have a minor stopping upgrade from the rear only. I will be doing the fronts this year and will likely go with Powerstops again.

 

[VersatileGuy]

Semi-metallic pads would fit your needs well. My favorite by far would be Pagid brand low-metallic pads. They're ceramics are easy to find but their low-metallic pads facilitate much quicker stops although not available in all applications. My second choice would be Centric brand semi-metallic pads.

IMO, not necessarily. A 25 dollar pair of semi-metallic will stink just like 25 dollar ceramics, and it will devour the rotor.

I would instead go for an EBC or Hawk performance pad if performance is everything, and longevity matters not. The Red Stuff of EBC did work brilliantly on a Toyota Matrix. Absolutely noticeable. But lifespan is not long.

 

[Rust_Belt_Pete]

IMO, not necessarily. A 25 dollar pair of semi-metallic will stink just like 25 dollar ceramics, and it will devour the rotor.

I would instead go for an EBC or Hawk performance pad if performance is everything, and longevity matters not. The Red Stuff of EBC did work brilliantly on a Toyota Matrix. Absolutely noticeable. But lifespan is not long.

This. I compared the same pad from centric and akebono for my ford flex. Night and day difference.

 

[apollo18]

Ebc plain rotors and ultimax pads. Decently priced and would make a big difference.

btw do u mean plain rotors such as the ebc smooth basic rotors?

rn when i tried pricing it out seems to be about $307 usd for front rotors pads and rear rotors and pads, does that sound correct?
ty

 

[VersatileGuy]

This. I compared the same pad from centric and akebono for my ford flex. Night and day difference.

I used Centric's semi-metallics as well. One of their sub-30 dollar lines maybe 7-8 years ago, bought from Rockauto. The rotors were eaten up deep. The pads lasted sure, but it ate up the rotors.

 

[Rust_Belt_Pete]

btw do u mean plain rotors such as the ebc smooth basic rotors?

rn when i tried pricing it out seems to be about $307 usd for front rotors pads and rear rotors and pads, does that sound correct?
ty

That's cheap compared to my ford flex rotors.

 

[Kalle.J]

Ebc plain rotors and ultimax pads. Decently priced and would make a big difference.

Difference in what? Tires are 9 times of 10 (conservatively) the limiting factor in brake distance.

 

[Rust_Belt_Pete]

Difference in what? Tires are 9 times of 10 (conservatively) the limiting factor in brake distance.

In case of my 5300 pound ford flex 9.9999999999 times out of 10
My 2005 Stripped down mini cooper with performance summer tires? Not so much.
Rav4 with upgraded brakes as in this case? Probably somewhere in the middle. I can only hope that OP also spares no expense for good tires too.

 

[D1dad]

btw do u mean plain rotors such as the ebc smooth basic rotors?

rn when i tried pricing it out seems to be about $307 usd for front rotors pads and rear rotors and pads, does that sound correct?
ty

Yep, just the smooth rotors. That price sounds about right depending on the application.

 

[D1dad]

Difference in what? Tires are 9 times of 10 (conservatively) the limiting factor in brake distance.

Obviously good rubber makes a difference. I won’t buy cheap tires or brakes.

 

[D1dad]

In case of my 5300 pound ford flex 9.9999999999 times out of 10
My 2005 Stripped down mini cooper with performance summer tires? Not so much.
Rav4 with upgraded brakes as in this case? Probably somewhere in the middle. I can only hope that OP also spares no expense for good tires too.

I love the ford flex. After watching “daddy’s home” I wanted to go out and buy one, but the wife stopped it before I could look.