Well it's time to change the brakes on the 2006 Grand Caravan. When I was reading reviews before buying this van, one of the major weak spots noted in this vehicle was brake life. So I've decided I'm definitely going to go with the ceramic brake pads. The point where I'm a little undecided is the rotors. There doesn't seem to be much information on rotors to indicate if any of them bould be better than others. Most of the rotors seem to be in the $30 each range. Advance has a wagner for $17 and a wearever for $32. Oriely has a BrakeBest for $32 and a Bosche quiet cast for $50. And Autozone has a Duralast Gold for $50 and duralast for $30. The only one that really claims to be anything special in the Duralst Gold which is described as being a high-carbon steel. Otherwise there doesn't seem to be any indication of quality other than the asumption that more money means more goodness. Any thoughts on which one's are going to have the best life span? Is the high-carbon steel really anything special?
Rotors for 2006 Caravan, recommendations??
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NAPA Rotors and Adaptive One pads are my go to for most any vehicle. I've used them several times, always a winner.
I doubt cheap rotors will be high carbon steel. High carbon steel rotors are often used in high performance cars.
The high carbon ones are better, they brake better and last longer, and we can use as much braking power and longevity as we can get, The pads are the crux here, you wrote that you plan to use ceramics because they last longer Right? well in my experience that is not the case, ceramics are "generally" better for noise (less of it) and dust in the wheels, the longest lasting ones are the carbon metallic ones, and the ones that brake better, but and is a "big" but, all depends on the brand and the intended use, I.E. in our T&C (same car as yours) the next pads will be Carbotech AX6, they will be much much noisier and dustier but that van drives 90% of the time in the highway at 70+ MPH for hours so when I apply the very cold brakes I want them to grab as hard as possible and continue to grab that hard or even more as it heats up not fade, so in my case AX6 fit the bill, in the other van that I use as work truck in the city in constant start and stop I want a pad that will grab when hot , last a long time and be kind to the disks so I don't have to replace it that often so it has Hawk's HPS ferro-carbon (their name) but once they are gone the next ones will be either AX6 or most probably Performance friction carbon metallic more or less the same as Hawk's but cheaper. So as you see you need to match the pads to "your" use.
The district rep from Autozone was in our shop today and showed us the new Duralast Gold Rotors. Very nice looking, powder coated, higher carbon content. They are made by the same company that makes Centric, another very high quality aftermarket rotor. I would definitely run these on my vehicles.
Go with wagner. They are good and have a lifetime warranty
If you can get locally or online the Centric premium rotors have the e coating powdercoat on the entire non friction surface making them much more resistant to rust, plus they are mil spec balanced for less vibration.
If you can get any pre coated rotors go for those. I haven't heard of Autozone coated rotors but if so they will be my new go to local choice.
Almost all rotors are now cast in China and are pretty thin on the disc material with wider air gaps. The smaller the air gap and thicker the material the better.
If you can get any pre coated rotors go for those. I haven't heard of Autozone coated rotors but if so they will be my new go to local choice.
Almost all rotors are now cast in China and are pretty thin on the disc material with wider air gaps. The smaller the air gap and thicker the material the better.
Pads are where you should spend your money. Akebono ProAct or Wagner TQ. You can get $30-$40 rotors at NAPA and they will be fine.
Originally Posted By: Donald
Pads are where you should spend your money. Akebono ProAct or Wagner TQ. You can get $30-$40 rotors at NAPA and they will be fine.
Donalds right, a lot of people think they have warped rotors.They don't, they have pad deposits from brake pad material welding itself to the rotor. I've run napa or cheaper rotors and hawk or wagner quality brake pads with out issue. I like at least EF or FF rated pad.
Pads are where you should spend your money. Akebono ProAct or Wagner TQ. You can get $30-$40 rotors at NAPA and they will be fine.
Donalds right, a lot of people think they have warped rotors.They don't, they have pad deposits from brake pad material welding itself to the rotor. I've run napa or cheaper rotors and hawk or wagner quality brake pads with out issue. I like at least EF or FF rated pad.
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IDK if the 06 is known for short pad life... I think the pre-2000s were. The T&C I have now, and a 2001 I had a while ago, were very easy on them. I recently put fronts on ours... I believe it was akebono (if not it was wagner TQ). It took a while for them to bed in but once they did it has been a very nice combo. I need to do the back at some point too.
My favorite combo so far has been akebono pads with wagner advanced technology rotors with the pseudo-slots machined in to them to allow gas clearing without excessive cooling. On my wife's MDX, this has given far more progressive and powerful braking in surprise-braking situations. I absolutely want to put the same rotors in the truck, which needs every bit of help it can get when towing.
My favorite combo so far has been akebono pads with wagner advanced technology rotors with the pseudo-slots machined in to them to allow gas clearing without excessive cooling. On my wife's MDX, this has given far more progressive and powerful braking in surprise-braking situations. I absolutely want to put the same rotors in the truck, which needs every bit of help it can get when towing.
I have gotten best results with mid-grade or above Raybestos rotors. Carquest and NAPA have them. Duralast Gold brake bads give you the most life for your money.
Don't buy Mopar brake rotors. I have never dealt with more warp prone rotors in my life, unless you can get extremely cheap rotors with no name on them. What also annoys me is that they are made in Canada, yet perform worse than many rotors made in China.
Don't buy Mopar brake rotors. I have never dealt with more warp prone rotors in my life, unless you can get extremely cheap rotors with no name on them. What also annoys me is that they are made in Canada, yet perform worse than many rotors made in China.
Thanks all for your input. I decided to try out the Duralast Gold rotors. Maybe sometime in the future I can contribute some feed back about how they turn out. I realized I didn't mention in the original post that the current rotors are very worn. At least they are the worse I've ever seen. There is a huge lip on the outer edge of the rotors. So I'm going to go with a premium rotor and see if it makes any difference.
I think of rotors as consumables. If i want really good braking, the pads and rotor have to wear. Again i don't use expensive rotors, but i do use good pads. I just consider rotors a replacement item when i do brakes. I care little if they are usable for another set of pads. I have pad slapped a few cars when the rotors looked good.
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