Pad and Rotors - what's everyone using?

fishtizzy

fishtizzy

New member
Looking to replace/upgrade my wife's brakes. She does 80/20 highway/in-town driving and we drive up to the mountains (breck, keystone, vali) every weekend during ski season about a 3-4k elevation difference so a lot of "riding the breaks" in traffic. We do not tow anything now but maybe a motorcycle or a couple jet skis are in our future with this vehicle. I'm already looking at EBC 6000 series pads and 3GD Series Dimpled and Slotted Sport Rotors.

I've been cruising the forums but I wanted to see if anyone had any updates on what they have used, what lasts, and what they are using today.

Any and all thoughts/suggestions will help! Danke.
 
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EBC rotors and "green stuff pads". Yellow's squeal a bit, dust a lot, but brake even harder.

Fill out your signature line- what year and model truck? Two different sized front rotors- SR5's have the little ones.

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zimm said:
EBC rotors and "green stuff pads". Yellow's squeal a bit, dust a lot, but brake even harder.

Fill out your signature line- what year and model truck? Two different sized front rotors- SR5's have the little ones.]
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Updated my sig. I have the 319mm on the front, says WL or WG on the back of my caliper.
 
When I do mine this winter, I'm simply going to the local auto parts store and buying 338mm rotors, calipers, and regular semi-metallic pads. Works excellent and keeps costs in check.

I've used ceramic pads and fancy equipment before and for the price I was not impressed at all.
 
I've used ceramic pads and fancy equipment before and for the price I was not impressed at all.
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I agree. Slotted or drilled rotors really don't give much in performance for our trucks. Fine for race cars (which they are designed for). The whole idea of them is to keep the rotors cooler during hard braking.

Stick with the standard OEM type pads/rotors and you'll be far better off then most of the upgrade cr*p that's on the market today.
 
MikeInNH said:
The whole idea of them is to keep the rotors cooler during hard braking.
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Wrong. Vented rotors "vent" gases that form between the pads and rotors. They don't run cooler. In fact they reduce swept area so one could argue they brake less. But they look cool.

Stick with the standard OEM type pads/rotors and you'll be far better off then most of the upgrade cr*p that's on the market today.
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I can't talk for some brands of stuff, but EBC isn't cr*p from china- they make top notch stuff and I can vouch that my brakes stop better than the OEM stuff. More dust and noise, but that's a trade off. Nothing is free.
 
I would love to argue that the OEM toyota pads are cr*p but from what I can tell looking at service records from the previous owner, my pads have lasted at least 65-75K miles. That's impressive for a 5500lb vehicle, imo.

Pads out here in CO get a lot of use/abuse - especially when driving out of the mountains back to the plains. The ride from Frisco/Breck area to Colorado Springs is literally all downhill so you are on the brakes maintaining speed a lot of the time. So I need something that lasts a long time and provides better than OEM braking.
 
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Unless the OEM pads end up costing a ridiculous amount, I'd just go with em. The PO of my 4Runner got the OEMs replaced at 80k. That's a pretty good service life. I don't have any records of the rears ever being replaced and lately I"ve had a little 'squeak' as I start to apply the brakes. Could just be dirt (haven't washed it in a couple of weeks).

I put EBC rotors/pads on my old VW and had not issues though.

Oh, and re: vented/slotted brakes. I've got a couple of friends that have put them on their vehicles and they've had issues with warping. Could be their driving style, hard to say. I'm always careful not to keep my foot on the brakes after coming to a long and/or extended brake/stop at stoplights. I'll put it in neutral and let off the brakes when possible. Or stop early and left off the brakes and 'roll' the vehicle a little so the brake pads don't keep applying heat to the rotors. If that makes sense….
 
boondoggle said:
Oh, and re: vented/slotted brakes. I've got a couple of friends that have put them on their vehicles and they've had issues with warping. Could be their driving style, hard to say. I'm always careful not to keep my foot on the brakes after coming to a long and/or extended brake/stop at stoplights. I'll put it in neutral and let off the brakes when possible. Or stop early and left off the brakes and 'roll' the vehicle a little so the brake pads don't keep applying heat to the rotors. If that makes sense….
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I have read a couple reviews of people having issues with the EBC sport (slotted) rotors warping down the road. They did not speak to their driving style but this is for my wife, she is a "late-braker" so I don't want to worry about premature warping. If i asked my wife to put it into neutral like you do at a stop light, she would look at me like I'm crazy. And TBH, it even seems a bit overkill to me what you're doing there. But to each his own, and thanks for your input.

Has anyone else had issues with warping and EBC rotors?
 
lol. Yeah. It probably is a bit of overkill. It's not something I do often. But occasionally when coming down the mountains, if I end up having to break a lot and we get stuck in some Sunday afternoon traffic or something and I feel like I'm braking a lot, I'll just try not to hold the hot pads on the rotor for very long.

It's not something I do everytime I stop. :)

I just looked up the cost of OEM pads and they run about $70 online. Seems kinda high for OEM. EBCs start at about that price. YotaDan's Z36 series are in line with that price but I'm familiar with the brand. hmmm….

My wife is a late breaker too. I'm currently investigating rear brakes for her Ford Freestyle. Will probably go with some Centrics or something for it. We don't take it up the mountains often (never if I can help it, hate the CVT tranny in that thing). It's a kid hauler. :)

Anyhow, good luck!

Edit: apparently there's even some controversy on the interwebs about whether rotors really 'warp' but the last time I had 'pulsing brakes' I did some research and that's when I learned about the rolling stops and preventing heat/deposit transfers what have you.... http://backfires.caranddriver.com/posts/837-brake-rotors-don-t-warp

Kind of interesting.
 
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Wrong. Vented rotors "vent" gases that form between the pads and rotors. They don't run cooler. In fact they reduce swept area so one could argue they brake less. But they look cool.
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Sorry...but your are partially right. The gas buildup is what causes the rotors to get hotter. But I will agree on our vehicles it makes little to no difference. For race cars it makes a HUGE difference. The gas buildup and drastically increase the temps of the rotor and cause warping.

Brakes: Cross Drilled vs Slotted Rotors ? Which is Better? - Redline360
 
I've got EBC street pads on my motorcycle and so far they seem to be good. I've stuck with OEM pads and rotors on Japanese cars and trucks since I did a Maxima with non-OEM but reputable (Bendix) and never got the squeal out.

Rear OE pads lasted 94K, 1st set of OE front pads=50K 2nd set of OE frt pads = 42.8K
 
The OEM stuff has the longevity, clearly - but I am looking for a bit of a upgrade as I feel OEM is a little too mushy. Can anyone counter that argument? I have never driven a 4runner with brand new brakes but I have a co-worker with an '07 Sport v8 and he agrees OEM brakes are soft. He upgraded to TRD rotors and pads and noticed a difference, but doesn't recommend due to higher cost.

Can anyone else speak to the Centric/Akebono setup or YotaDan's Z36 series? Stoptec?
 
I've been sporting EBC 3GD Dimpled/Slotted Sport Rotors with Greenstuff 7000 Series SUV Pads (front) and 6000 Series SUV Pads (rear), along with Slee Offroad Stainless Steel Extended Brake Lines (Front/Rear) for about 20,000 miles and have been very happy with the feel and stopping power over OEM.

I went with dimpled over drilled for offroad because I didnt want issues with stuff mucking up the holes. I've had no issues with warping, vibrations, noise, or excessive dust.

My only gripe with the brakes on the 4Runner has to do with the calipers repeated episodes of freezing in the past. As I've written about on this forum and elsewhere, that seems to be a design flaw and I've alway got my eyes pealed for a reasonably priced alternative caliper set up...
 
Spenser said:
I've been sporting EBC 3GD Dimpled/Slotted Sport Rotors with Greenstuff 7000 Series SUV Pads (front) and 6000 Series SUV Pads (rear), along with Slee Offroad Stainless Steel Extended Brake Lines (Front/Rear) for about 20,000 miles and have been very happy with the feel and stopping power over OEM.

I went with dimpled over drilled for offroad because I didnt want issues with stuff mucking up the holes. I've had no issues with warping, vibrations, noise, or excessive dust.

My only gripe with the brakes on the 4Runner has to do with the calipers repeated episodes of freezing in the past. As I've written about on this forum and elsewhere, that seems to be a design flaw and I've alway got my eyes pealed for a reasonably priced alternative caliper set up...
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Do you have excess brake dust and squeaking? I have heard/read that the 7000's have both BUT do provide awesome stopping power. Thanks for your input [MENTION=76452]Spenser[/MENTION]
 
No issues with squealing or brake dust. It may be relative, but my wife's BMW generates so much brake dust that it appears mine don't generate any...
 
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