Brakes - What are you using?

[SilentJay]

So, i've hit 71k, and apparently my brakes are wearing a bit thin, according to QEW (7mm & 8mm). I wouldn't think that my rotors need replacement, but then again, i've never done brakes on a Mazda before. Anyone know how thick the OEM blanks are when new?

Anyhoo, I called up QEW and got a quote for the OEM stuff, and it came out to being around $540, pre-tax and pre-discount. Ouch!!

I can go with Nextmod's GB (if Peter will let me in), and get "Aimco" cross-dirlled rotors and semi-metalic generic pads for $260, but am kind of "iffy" on the aimco brand... never heard of 'em.

They also have OEM blanks and semi-metalic pads for $220, and Magnum (these, I've heard of) cross-drilled rotors, and Hawk HPS pads for $370.

Cross-drilled would be nice, I suppose, though if it's at the cost of $150+ with limited or no difference in braking power/brake dust, i'll happily stick to OEM.

Thoughts?

[kjmckenz]

Thoughts?

Ribfest, Centennial Park. =D

[S.F.W.]

Magnum cross-drilled rotors, and Hawk HPS pads, that is my setup, and am very pleased. Running about 18 months now.

[shu5892001]

Magnum cross-drilled rotors, and Hawk HPS pads, that is my setup, and am very pleased. Running about 18 months now.

+1 running for 2 month now

[Slade]

71K and you need brakes? :|

I had 105,000 on my 3 when I took it back and the brakes still had plenty of meat left on them, with city driving every day.

[Donutz]

My current set up is RacingBrake slotted rotors with HPS pads; add in ss brakes lines with motul 600 fluid and I can out-brake most cars on the road. Before this I had Rotora slotted rotors and HPS pads (minus the ss lines and fluids). Not a bad set up but I ruined the rotors in 2 years.

My advice to you is first decide if drilled rotors are what you really want. They were my first choice, but after some investigation I decided against drilled and went with slotted. After you decide whether to go with blanks, slotted, drilled, or other variations then look at brands.

As for pads, what are you looking for? Oem performance or better stopping capability? Once you know what you want then choose pads. HPS are decent pads but OEM aren't terrible either.

Personally, I suggest that you don't 'cheap out' on brakes because they can save your life, and someone elses. Its nice to get a good deal on quality parts though, so be diligent in your research.

[kjmckenz]

Magnum cross-drilled rotors, and Hawk HPS pads, that is my setup, and am very pleased. Running about 18 months now.

Hmm, I heard (read) that crossed drilled rotors have a tendency to warp more frequently than blanks...

Is this only under certain driving (braking) conditions?

[Donutz]

I don't believe they have that tendency. I think it is moreso related to how brakes are treated (read abused) by the driver.

[Dave_The_BMXER]

x - drilled are more prone to warping/cracking from what I have read.

That being said I have inexpensive x drilleds that are fine so far.

[SilentJay]

Well, I figured if I kept up my driving habits, my brakes would be toast in the middle of winter. I'd rather forego a little bit of remaining brake life, in exchange for a warm garage to do my brake job, towards the end of summer.

Really, slotted or cross-drilled doesn't matter to me. If it's a small bump in price without sacraficing brake performance, fine - but if they perform worse than OEM, i'd rather stick with OEM stuff.

[skunk2]

ran xdrilled magnum rotors and hawk hps for about 3 years.
the magnum's were warped in about 1.5 yrs (maybe less).....i just didnt replace them right away. wouldn't recommend those rotors anymore.
my set of magnums seemed decent in the beginning, the counter sunk holes seemed pretty good but then they rusted up and plugged the holes.
then they started squeeking. yes, they are very affordable but in the long run were not worth it.
the hawk pads cost more than 4 rotors, go figure.

running ebc rotors and hawk hps right now. so far so good.

[Turok]

I'm running stock rotors and Hawk PC Ceramics and they generate very little brake dust.

[Fuman]

oem rotors with Oem pads (front), EBC Red stuff rears.
avoid EBC, the EBC Red Stuff for the Front messed me up bad

[mzkaye729]

Aftermarket OE blanks for rotors and also aftermarket OE brake pads. Finally the squealing has died down !

[condor888000]

I'm running cheapo chinese blanks with Hawk HP+ pads and have no issue. That includes braking from ~170 at Calabogie...

Pads are the big difference for braking performance, then fluid. Rotors are not as huge a deal. Blanks will be sufficient for this car. Cross drilled wont' do anything other than look pretty. Oh sorry, they do also wear the pads more than blanks. The point about cross drilled being likely to crack is also true. The reason is that they're mostly just blanks run under a drill press. The act of drilling creates a stress point, which is more likely to lead to a crack than a full rotor. This issue is much lessened if the rotor is cast as a cross drilled rotor instead of a blank. Cracks will also occur more frequently if the brakes are run at a higher temperature, IE track.

Slotted suffer from the same wear problem, however slotted at least clear water away through the slots. Gives you slightly better response in the wet. Dry performance is unaffected and they don't have the same sort of cracking issue that you get with cheap drilled rotors.

Anyway, my point is that if you want cross drilled or slotted for looks, go for it. Just expect your pads to need replacement a little more often. Blanks will be fine for any street driven car.

On pads I really like the HPS. Quiet, awesome response, great heat range(for street, little to low for track), only slight issue is that they're a bit dusty. Just spray your wheels down every so often and you're good to go.

I'd suggest HPS and blanks, and I'd also preform a brake fluid change. ATE Superblue is a good fluid, little pricey though. Motul RBF600 is very pricey, but very good. Not needed for street. You can just go with Prestone stuff at CT if you don't plan on tracking. I'd go with the DOT 4 stuff though, DOT 3 is recommended, but DOT 4 has a higher heat tolerance.

[btown-mazda]

I've been Rotora slotted and Hawk pads for close to 2 years now, no problems.

[SomeGuy]

Nobody's mentioned it, but if you actually have 7-8mm of pad material left...they still have 10's of thousands of kilometers left. New pads have like 10mm, and they don't need replacing until you're down in the 2-4mm range.

[SilentJay]

Interesting. Again, I haven't dealt with Mazda brakes, so i'm kind of in the dark. My regal/impala have like inch-thick pads, whereas my Altima had razor thin ones.

[Nextmod]

oem rotors with Oem pads (front), EBC Red stuff rears.
avoid EBC, the EBC Red Stuff for the Front messed me up bad

those are made for track actually

[tweak_s]

OEM rotors (bought from nextmod though), with HPS pads.

[kiloaway]

I think I'll go for OEM rotors and HPS pads. I'll go check out nextmod tomorrow.

[RedRaptor]

Anybody have DBA rotors? Looking at the 4000 series (slotted or slotted & cross drilled). They are pricey but are they worth it?

[Donutz]

DBA's are my next rotors. I've heard that they are good. Worth the price though? I don't know about that.

[laksman91]

I'd go with OEMs if they were reasonably cheaper than DBAs.

[taz4432]

OEMs are substantially cheaper than DBAs. You're looking at $600+ in just rotors to do a full set of DBA4000s (plus taxes) and then you still need pads.

I'm running PowerSlot Rotors and Hawk HPS Pads up front. My rears are nearly toast so I'm getting either PowerSlot or DBA4000 rear rotors and either HPS or HP+ rear pads. I also have GoodRidge SS Brake Lines and Brembo High Performance Brake Fluid (DOT 4).

Do not get cross-drilled rotors unless you are willing to pay for quality ones that are done right (e.g. Brembo). Otherwise stick with blanks or pick up some slotted rotors.

I have no complaints about my setup as is and it's lasted through a couple of track days as well as spirited driving without any issues.