Brake disk question on my wife's van
 

My wife's van seems to wear out rotors. Our second set is now wrapped. Tired of buying it from the dealer, suggested by my mechanic. So off I go on my key board looking for the next best deal. Wow, they are sure cheap for a set of pads and rotors. The pricing swing is pretty great, so are there any difference between them in terms of quality? I am having second thoughts about turning them to make them true again since everything now is basically throw away after first use. They will only get thinner making our next mountain decent, well, less fun.

I know some of you guys are in the business, what would you buy? Heck, they even performance slotted and drilled rotors for my Sienna van, woo-hoo. Suggestions?

Spend the $30.00.

Get new rotors.

Remind wife not to drive with the left foot.

Big difference between the 200 dollar set vs. the 29.00 set?

I buy all my stuff from brakeperformance.com. I get the slotted/dimpled rotors guaranteed not to warp, comes with free pads. They always have sales.

I installed a set on my buddy's Sequoia and he pulls a camping trailer. No more warped rotors, much better braking performance.

I've had them on a Tundra, Speed3, ML350, Pilot, etc.. Never an issue

171 profit (markup)...

Go ahead and get two sets and forget about changing your wife's driving habits though.

Much cheaper in the long run :)

As far as next level performance goes, I really liked my ebc rotors and greenstuff pads on my Xterra. My only gripe is that their pads dont a tattle tail on them to indicate the pads are worn down.

Performance was awesome though.

She could try downshifting when going downhill.....instead of riding her brakes.

I will be THAT guy that says brakes are cheaper than transmissions.... so keep riding them down the hill... although does it really wear the transmission out prematurely by doing that?

The root of the issue is running the pedals and steering wheel. Probably not news to you.

i have no problem buying cheap parts from rock auto for utilitarian use. Im sure the OEM rotors are a bit better than the cheapos, or at least go through more rigorous QC, but I dont think it matters.


I have $59 empi cv axels on the front of my subaru. They are at about 50k miles and still seem to be ok, the OEM ones are 350$

Burner is right. Don't shop for the cheapest parts or else you'll likely get what you pay for.

I am trying to avoid that. Done with cheap crap and only have tod o it again in a couple weeks.

Cool, thanks. I will give them a shout.

Rides the brakes? This woman doesn't know what that means. Get to the corner and bam, on the brakes and come through the corner and back on the gas. She likes driving my S2000 that's for sure.

I would spend the extra money on ceramic pads instead of the OEM rotors. They run cooler, do not squeak, are cleaner, and last longer. Just my experience with my fleet of six.

I have had great luck with Akebono ceramic pads and centric rotors...

Sounds like a problem with heat removal to me? A great example of this was with the solid rotors installed on 914's, early VW's, ETC. That will cause warping of the rotors very quickly. If possible, get the thickest and slotted rotors you can find and also as noted ceramic pads will dissipate heat quickly. If you have a mechanic do the install, make sure the wheels spin freely with full pad retraction when the pedal is fully back. If the pedal is causing a drag the rotors will warp quickly too.

Not sure about rotors, but in pads you get what you pay for....There are good aftermarket pads like EBC, but don't go with the cheep Made in China junk that is listed online everywhere....

why isn't ceramic pads not recommended for mid duty trucks or heavy vehicles?

Rotors seldom warp.What usually happens is that overheated pads smear material on the surface of the rotor which then exhibits different friction around the surface (no, you are not able to see it). In the end, it feels just like "warped" rotors but is really a pulsating brake. A overheated (cheap) pad will smear. A stuck pad will overheat. Dirty/corroded carrier guides will make pads get stuck. Also, proper bedding will deposit material evenly and as long as pads do not melt/overheat, the brakes will stay true.

Make sure that you bed your pads properly and that pads themself aren't stuck in carriers. Rotors themselves are just a piece of iron and I wouldn't be too worried about price difference. The pads are important though. Stay clear of multicolored EBC pads, buy either OEM or known vendor.