Front brake pads, OEM?

[brocklanders]

So I'm about to replace the front pads (possibly rotors...I'll decide when I'm into it) on my 2007 Mazda 3 sport GT. I have 2 questions:
1: I've done brakes on my fair share of cars, so I'm fairly experienced, however I've not touched my or any other Mazda for that matter. Is there anything 'funky' I have to know about? I assume pads come out & in pretty normal, the caliper bolts are a standard Allen Key..etc?

2: Pads. I've read the sticky, but it seems there's not much comparison to both quality and longevity to OEM. While I've always found the Mazda brakes VERY grabby, I'd like to keep it similar in pedal feel as it's mostly my wives car and I'll never hear the end of it ;)
The price I was quoted for OEM fronts was $118. That's a fair amount, but I'm not after the cheap crap either. My Sunfire runs on complete NAPA brakes....and boy do I regret it.

Thanks!!

[brocklanders]

I forgot to ad:

If there are better and cheaper replacement Pads, is there a local place in the Oshawa/Bowmanville are that anyone would recommend? I'm not driving to Toronto to save a few bucks on brake pads.

[Harbour Rat]

I had all 4 calipers off my 08 to clean/lube the sliders last fall. That seems about half-way to changing the pads. The calipers come off easily enough - 7 mm Allen wrench for the slider pins and a flat screwdriver for the retaining clips. Nothing funky or exotic there.

Getting the rear caliper pistons retracted will require either an a proper caliper piston tool or a very carefully applied pair of needle nose pliers to rotate/retract the piston. Again, nothing strange or unusual if you've worked on rear disc brakes before - my 82 Datsun used pretty much the same set-up so it doesn't seem like there is any odd-ball new-fangled mechanical stuff going on in the world of rear disc brakes. Personally, I'd spend the few bucks for the right tool - if you slip with the needle nose pliers you could tear a dust boot then you're looking at the cost of a reman caliper plus the hassle of changing it and bleeding the brakes.

As for pads, if you like (or are at least used to) how the OEM pads work then they are a safe bet for replacements. As you say, OEM prices are kind of high but how do they compare to premium line pads from suppliers like UAP/NAPA, Canadian Tire etc? I haven't had the need to comparison shop for brakes so I can't say, just suggesting.

I don't know about the rotors, never had 'em off so I just can't say.

[Touge Tuning]

OEM are quite expensive, Hawk HPS which are a great street performance pad are significantly cheaper.

http://www.tougetuning.com/store/mazda3-20042009-brakes-c-43_48_49.html

[TheMAN]

keep in mind that some aftermarket pads dust more and squeal more than the OEM ones
the OEM brake pads are ATEs AFAIK... but I personally recommend akebono or sumitomo (they both are suppliers for mazda and other auto makers) pads as far as something non-performance stock replacement pads since they have similar characteristics as many OEM brake pads :)

[Impressive]

$118 for both or each?

[TheMAN]

you can NEVER get pads for only 1 side
they always come in sets!

[brocklanders]

O.K so I'm After Either the Hawk Brand or most likely akebono or sumitomo. Where would I find these pads?
Thanks for the responses!

[brocklanders]

So is $132.99 for Hawk pads competitive?

[brocklanders]

Pardon me, $81.99. That's actually not bad.