Power Stop (K5873-36) Z36 Review/Update

[robaroni]

Power Stop (K5873-36) Z36 Extreme Severe-Duty Truck & Tow Brake Kit

After about 18 months and less than 20K miles since install I started getting pulsing under moderate to heavy breaking. Had to replace the rotors and since I was at it also the pads. The pads seemed fine and were at about 50%.

Would not recommend! Just though I'd share.

 

[Terminator03]

Power Stop (K5873-36) Z36 Extreme Severe-Duty Truck & Tow Brake Kit

After about 18 months and less than 20K miles since install I started getting pulsing under moderate to heavy breaking. Had to replace the rotors and since I was at it also the pads. The pads seemed fine and were at about 50%.

Would not recommend! Just though I'd share.

Not what I want to hear. I just installed the whole package late last fall. Did you do the 5th gen version? I also used their red calipers as well (5th gen). I’ve been very impressed with the performance, but that sucks they were already so worn at 20k miles! I guess if you think about it though, most performance based aftermarket pads do wear a lot quicker than stock style pads though, and the more aggressive compounds sometimes wear rotors quicker too. Everything with brakes seems to be a trade off unfortunately. Did you replace with the same pads and rotors, or go with different stuff this time?

 

[inscarguy]

Wow, im suprised at this. I've had this system on the front and rear of my '06 limited for years now and no issues. I did do the 5th gen upgrade.

I guess it depends on how you drive and if the calipers are in perfect working order.

 

[Gatafly]

Had their drilled and slotted rotors with their ceramic pads a couple years ago and hated them. Brakes started pulsating within 10k miles of easy driving with occasional light towing. Calipers were fine at that time.

 

[That_Titanium_4RNR]

Had a kit by them (can't remember which one specifically) on my silverado and was not impressed to say the least. Definitely won't be buying their products again after that. I used Akebono pads and Centric rotors on my 5th gen swap and they are awesome.

 

[Inv4drZm]

Are you sure it isn't uneven buildup on the rotor causing the pulsing?

 

[JONBOY345]

Hard to definitely say if rotors warping are a manufacturing fault or just from use.

If you hit a puddle after braking heavily, that can cause the rotors to warp due to the uneven cooling of the rotor and a section of metal contracting more quickly than the areas surrounding it.

Do that repeatedly and it's gonna get bad, quick.

 

[Formidable]

Thank you for sharing. It’s important to post feedback and product reviews whether they are positive or negative. There’s a lot of nonsense, entirely useless posts on the forums. We don’t need to add to them.

I post reviews on almost all products I install and follow up on them. Positive or negative issues.

You probably know this already but just in case... Warped rotors are more often than not due to improper bedding of pad material on the rotor. Please make sure to properly bed the new system. 10 back to back aggressive slows from 45-5 mph should do the trick. DO NOT engage ABS and do not bring to complete stop during the bedding process - it will result in uneven distribution of pad material. If you need to bring the car to a complete stop during this process put the car in park.

Power Stop (K5873-36) Z36 Extreme Severe-Duty Truck & Tow Brake Kit

After about 18 months and less than 20K miles since install I started getting pulsing under moderate to heavy breaking. Had to replace the rotors and since I was at it also the pads. The pads seemed fine and were at about 50%.

Would not recommend! Just though I'd share.

 

[Bluesky 07]

I've had Z36 4th Gen rotors and pads for nearly a year and 13K miles and so far, it's been an excellent upgrade. (My calipers were fine.) To the point by [MENTION=112299]Formidable[/MENTION], I made sure to bed in the pads. That's not to say the OP did anything wrong, just speaking for myself.

While this review will be motivation to keep close tabs on my brake setup, I've been on both sides of this kind of situation - others had issues but I didn't, and vice-versa - and there are so many variables in play for each individual's usage of a given product that I'm not overly concerned. In fact, I'm kind of looking forward to seeing how my experience with the Z36 kit turns out.

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

Thank you for sharing. It’s important to post feedback and product reviews whether they are positive or negative. There’s a lot of nonsense, entirely useless posts on the forums. We don’t need to add to them.

I post reviews on almost all products I install and follow up on them. Positive or negative issues.

You probably know this already but just in case... Warped rotors are more often than not due to improper bedding of pad material on the rotor. Please make sure to properly bed the new system. 10 back to back aggressive slows from 45-5 mph should do the trick. DO NOT engage ABS and do not bring to complete stop during the bedding process - it will result in uneven distribution of pad material. If you need to bring the car to a complete stop during this process put the car in park.

I won't rule out a manufacturing defects in any aftermarket product. But I have these sets on both my 4th and 5th, no issues what so ever. I do thoroughly Bed them in, 70mph down to 10 mph 10 times in a row hard. It's a little tricky finding a place to do this because you need some space with no stops in between runs. Brake residue is all I can smell for 2 days after. I've had my 5th gen (a heavy 5800 lbs) in some winding mountain roads and have gotten em pretty hot with no issues.

 

[Bluesky 07]

[MENTION=109424]robaroni[/MENTION] - did you contact Power Stop? If so, what was the response? Even if a product is out of warranty, I always inform the manufacturer if I have an unusual or premature failure. Results have ranged from “Yeah thanks for letting us know” to replacement with a new item. Never hurts and sometimes they will surprise you by actually caring about their reputation and customers’ experiences.

 

[Terminator03]

I won't rule out a manufacturing defects in any aftermarket product. But I have these sets on both my 4th and 5th, no issues what so ever. I do thoroughly Bed them in, 70mph down to 10 mph 10 times in a row hard. It's a little tricky finding a place to do this because you need some space with no stops in between runs. Brake residue is all I can smell for 2 days after. I've had my 5th gen (a heavy 5800 lbs) in some winding mountain roads and have gotten em pretty hot with no issues.

I agree, finding an area to do the bedding is the hardest part. Fortunately, when I did the bedding on my Powerstops, I decided to try a short highway section near me that has a rotary connecting the east/west directions, so I waited until night time when traffic was almost non existent. I was able to do the bedding, and because of the rotary, I was able to coast around it with no brake use, then continue back the other way to allow for proper cooling. Worked perfectly, although it could have gotten me pulled over for erratic driving by the state police if they happened to be patrolling that evening! I’m sure I could have explained what I was doing, but it may have messed up the bedding process. Just something I thought about while I was accelerating, then hard braking repeatedly...

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

Worked perfectly, although it could have gotten me pulled over for erratic driving by the state police if they happened to be patrolling that evening! I’m sure I could have explained what I was doing, but it may have messed up the bedding process. Just something I thought about while I was accelerating, then hard braking repeatedly...

lol If I got pulled over I'd refer to my smoking and stinking brake pads. I've actually had to stab my E brake a couple times before when someone ended up in front of me poking along looking for their turn. But Yes Sir, night time for the best results with traffic.