Rotor and Pads Recommendation for 2004 Sentra

[JTK]

Living in Florida or non rust belt areas, if the car is in good shape and you plan to keep it a long time, I can see buying premium pads and rotors.

Living where I do, there's little point in it given the corrosion and road grit that effects brake parts.

Not a sentra specifically, but I just bought a $55 pad and rotor set for the front of my 2015 Nissan Versa off eBay. TEC branded ceramic pads w/ hardware kit and nice looking white box rotors. The pads have rubberized shims bonded to the backings. Everything looks great, it's just been too cold and snowy for me to get out in the garage and do it.

I had put a similar $55 special on the rear of our 2016 Nissan Quest minivan. They worked out perfectly.

 

[Sayjac]

Originally Posted by Fitz98
Looking at a couple options and comparing, I noticed on Rock Auto website, that the Raybestos Element 3 rotors have a less than .004" lateral run out, while the Raybestos Specialty Street Performance line for twice the cost has less than .002" lateral runout.
I did not see any advertised specs on lateral runout on any of the other rotors.....
The last piece of information is curious isn't it. As the .004 runout is a max spec, could well mean it's ~.002 too. I installed the Raybestos RPTs (now Element3) fall 2018 on an Accord, still working fine for me. I'll post a pic follow up at next DT rotation on the RPT thread, but I'm satisfied to this point. As noted I coupled them with Akebono ProAct pads.

 

[doitmyself]

LOL, brake recommendations will always elicit as many brand suggestions as there are posters. If you spend an hour or two searching BITOG, you will find some good recent discussions about rotors, including the Raybestos runout specifications. You will also find some negative reviews of the popular recommendations for both pads and rotors.

After MUCH investigation, I decided to give EBC Ultimax II front pads and coated plain rotors a try about 6 months ago. My OEM FCA rotors/pads were excellent, but I couldn't stomach paying 3x to 5x $$ over quality aftermarket components. I've been very satisfied with EBC to date and would use them again. About $90 delivered for front rotors and pads.

This last change was the first time I used the $22 Harbor Freight rotor dial caliper to check and tweak runout. Both my rotors measured o.k. first try, but simply rotating the rotor position made runout almost nil. Probably not required, but it was a fun DIY process improvement. https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/foru...t-time-rotor-dial-guage-user#Post5213185

 

[GZRider]

When in doubt go with Akebono pads on a Nissan or Toyota.

 

[HangFire]

Originally Posted by Fitz98
Looking at a couple options and comparing, I noticed on Rock Auto website, that the Raybestos Element 3 rotors have a less than .004" lateral run out, while the Raybestos Specialty Street Performance line for twice the cost has less than .002" lateral runout.
I did not see any advertised specs on lateral runout on any of the other rotors.
Is that anything that needs consideration on new rotors?
Is the .002" difference between the Element 3 and the specialty street performance rotor anything that would be noticeable?


Runout specs only matter if you can check them on the vehicle. Perfectly flat rotors can go on crooked, just a bit of sand or peened metal on the hub can throw out much more than .004". And .004" is on the high side, I do not accept that for a new brake install.

 

[HangFire]

I should add, my last set of pre-Element 3 Raybestos rotors (05 Honda Pilot Rear) had no measurable runout.

 

[JTK]

That's what you gotta love about BITOG

It's a thread about rotor/pad recommendations for a 2004 Nissan Sentra and we're chirping about $300 pad/rotor sets and 2 to 4 THOUSANDS of an inch in rotor irregularity. All that really matters is can you feel it when the vehicle is in service? Everything changes and tweaks with the vehicle on the ground moving, doing it's thing.

I got that brake job done yesterday on my 2015 Nissan Versa with the $55 dollar eBay special pad and rotor set. It worked out awesome. The backings on the TEC Chinese pads looked just like the factory originals that came on this made in Mexico versa. The horribly rusted factory rotors didn't require much beating to remove thankfully. Lil file and clean of the caliper bracket clip area, cleaned the hub faces, new abutment clips, clean/lube the pins. Good as new and saved about $350 over having a shop do it.

 

[HangFire]

Originally Posted by JTK
That's what you gotta love about BITOG

It's a thread about rotor/pad recommendations for a 2004 Nissan Sentra and we're chirping about $300 pad/rotor sets and 2 to 4 THOUSANDS of an inch in rotor irregularity. All that really matters is can you feel it when the vehicle is in service? Everything changes and tweaks with the vehicle on the ground moving, doing it's thing.


The OP brought up the 4 THOUSANDS of an inch thing. And yes, that matters, you can quibble if you want but that's what 2 of my Factory Service Manuals give for max runout, .004". And I was not chirping, or writing, about any $300 set of anything, even including measuring instruments.

Can you feel it in service? Yes, after 10K miles and the pad material builds up on the high spots, and the steering wheel shakes every time you hit the brakes. But when first installed, usually feels great.
Originally Posted by JTK

I got that brake job done yesterday on my 2015 Nissan Versa with the $55 dollar eBay special pad and rotor set. It worked out awesome. The backings on the TEC Chinese pads looked just like the factory originals that came on this made in Mexico versa. The horribly rusted factory rotors didn't require much beating to remove thankfully. Lil file and clean of the caliper bracket clip area, cleaned the hub faces, new abutment clips, clean/lube the pins. Good as new and saved about $350 over having a shop do it.


Good for you. Odds are it'll continue to feel good just as long as the average shop job, too... where they don't bother to check runout, either.

 

[GMBoy]

Raybestos EHT (Enhanced Hybrid Technology) - great pads and very reasonable on RockAuto

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted by HangFire

The OP brought up the 4 THOUSANDS of an inch thing. And yes, that matters, you can quibble if you want but that's what 2 of my Factory Service Manuals give for max runout, .004". And I was not chirping, or writing, about any $300 set of anything, even including measuring instruments.


I wasn't directing that at you. I've been in on the fun as well!

I hear you. It can be felt in the wheel depending on the circumstances.

To me, the whole "best" pad and rotor thing is like the best tire, battery, etc.. They vary so much per make/model vehicle, the differences can be huge.

The OP would be best suited to search a Sentra specific forum to read people's experiences on what they've used on their sentras.

 

[wdn]

Brake pads are a commodity, a replaceable wear item. There are a lot of good brands Wagner, Raybestos, Centric, Bendix, Akebono. And of course OEM. As long as you do not cheap out with budget pads, if you purchase a mid- to upper product line of ANY of these makers you will get fine pads. By that I mean 95% of the cars people drive like this 2004 Centra, not performance cars like a Supra or a Corvette. Read Bob long enough, you will see people debating brands in mind numbing detail .