What are the best brake pads to get locally?

[xBa380]

In the end, the brake pads and rotors were fine! The issue was mainly the brake fluid, which was still original at 113,000 miles... We ended up putting a new battery in, replacing the coolant (original, but not that dirty), cleaning/lubricating the brakes and pins and replacing the brake fluid.

Rotors looked great and pads are at maybe 40-50% life left if I had to guesstimate. Being driven now only 3,000 miles per year, should last for a few years. I found no need to replace them yet.

And wow, those 2005 Mazdas rust so bad. Its a complete mess rust wise! I have seen older cars look better. Does not surprise me though, considering you see them all rusty here (those specific model years).

Appreciate the help everyone! Great reference to have for future brake jobs.

 

[Donald]

When you say "the issue was mainly the brake fluid" what do you mean? It was dirty looking, it caused brake problems or it just needed to be changed based upon time in use?

Why did you think you needed to do a brake job this weekend?

 

[artificialist]

Originally Posted By: racer12306
What about the Duralast CMAX Gold?

They work perfectly, and also cost less than most other brands.

 

[xBa380]

Originally Posted By: Donald
When you say "the issue was mainly the brake fluid" what do you mean? It was dirty looking, it caused brake problems or it just needed to be changed based upon time in use?

Why did you think you needed to do a brake job this weekend?


Well it's not my car. It is my girlfriends moms, and she wanted me to replace the brakes as they felt off to her. Spongy in the pedal. She thought the brakes were completely worn out. I did not see or drive the car until yesterday to check it out.

The pedal did feel a bit spongy. I thought seized pins myself. After I cleaned and inspected the pads, noticed they had plenty of pad left. Wear on rotor was even with no strange wear pattern. No point to change these with years left of use (with her limited mileage per year).

When I bled the fluid, it was brownish in color. Got all the fluid replaced and the pedal feels better. More firm and a bit more responsive.

 

[nleksan]

I use StopTech Street Performance pads for street use, with everything from OE brake systems to my ST Trophy 6/4 piston BBK and PFC BBK and I love them. They are the best performing Street pads I've used and are extremely well priced.

 

[SteveSRT8]

^^^Add me to the StopTech pads fans. They are a GREAT compromise, and still have enough guts to hold up at track events.

I have used 7 different pads on this car trying to find a good one that is quiet and yet still can perform when my foot gets heavy.

Stoptech's proprietary formula is the bomb!

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: xBa380
Originally Posted By: Donald
When you say "the issue was mainly the brake fluid" what do you mean? It was dirty looking, it caused brake problems or it just needed to be changed based upon time in use?

Why did you think you needed to do a brake job this weekend?


Well it's not my car. It is my girlfriends moms, and she wanted me to replace the brakes as they felt off to her. Spongy in the pedal. She thought the brakes were completely worn out. I did not see or drive the car until yesterday to check it out.

The pedal did feel a bit spongy. I thought seized pins myself. After I cleaned and inspected the pads, noticed they had plenty of pad left. Wear on rotor was even with no strange wear pattern. No point to change these with years left of use (with her limited mileage per year).

When I bled the fluid, it was brownish in color. Got all the fluid replaced and the pedal feels better. More firm and a bit more responsive.



Well there was air in the system and bleeding the brakes to get new fluid did the trick.

The question is how did they get that way?

Air cannot get in a properly functioning brake system.

Were the brakes always that way since the last time she had work done or did that condition develop?

 

[SteveSRT8]

The question is how did they get that way?

Air cannot get in a properly functioning brake system.
[/quote]

may be a tough one to answer. I have found air in what seemed to be perfectly sealed systems with low miles...

 

[xBa380]

Not sure to be honest. I am not sure if there was air, but I thought if fluid was old enough it could feel less responsive? Especially if it was quite dark and mucky looking.

The cleaning and lubrication may have helped as well. With the slide pins greased and such. Either way the car has a better pedal feel, more firm. So I think she will be happy.

 

[Dan55]

The rear pads in my 2005 3S were in bad shape at 30k. IIRC on that vehicle the rear brakes engage first to prevent nose diving. I replaced them with Centric and they are still going strong at 100K. The fronts were done last year and I had a rough time getting the rotors off. Rust had built up on the inside of the hat area, reducing the clearance between the hub and the hat. It took 45 minutes with a 3LB lump and a lot of PB Blaster to get it off. Luckily the other side came off without too much trouble. I replaced the brake fluid a few years ago it made a noticeable difference.

 

[Thax]

Originally Posted By: artificialist
Originally Posted By: racer12306
What about the Duralast CMAX Gold?

They work perfectly, and also cost less than most other brands.


Also all pads from Autozone come with a lifetime warranty replacement. Buy the CMAX one time and have pads for the life of the vehicle. All one must do is keep the original box and turn in the pads when they are worn out but before there is only metal. All Autozone's will defective exchange the pads for new ones.

 

[wag123]

Originally Posted By: Donald

Well there was air in the system and bleeding the brakes to get new fluid did the trick.

The question is how did they get that way?

Air cannot get in a properly functioning brake system.

Were the brakes always that way since the last time she had work done or did that condition develop?

The reason that ALL of the car manufacturer's maintenance schedules include replacement of the brake fluid at regular intervals is because brake fluid absorbs water. As it absorbs water the boiling point goes down. When the boiling point goes down the brake fluid can/will boil under severe braking conditions. When the brake fluid boils, THAT is where the air in the system comes from.
Just bleeding the air out of the brake system doesn't correct the basic problem. The old/spent fluid needs to be flushed out, and then the system needs to be bled.