Rotor and pads recommendations

[HACK BLOCK]

It's about that time for me to change my rear brake so I was wondering what pads and rotors you guys recommend that would be about one notch better than OEM replacements? My front brakes seem to not be an issue but should I change them anyway because I'm changing the rear? a shop is charging me $150 for labor to change the pads and rotors

 

[RST Dana]

It's about that time for me to change my rear brake so I was wondering what pads and rotors you guys recommend that would be about one notch better than OEM replacements? My front brakes seem to not be an issue but should I change them anyway because I'm changing the rear? a shop is charging me $150 for labor to change the pads and rotors

Powerstop. I’ve put them on 3 vehicles so far and have been well pleased.

 

[wjburken]

Powerstop. I’ve put them on 3 vehicles so far and have been well pleased.

x2 in Power Stop.

Have put them on my Yukons, friends cars and my ‘97 K1500 just yesterday.

 

[OR VietVet]

People here rave about the Power Stop brakes and I have no reason to doubt them. I personally like the miles I have gotten on my AC Delco brake pads and rotors on my vehicles, so I will stick with them.

 

[Big Mama]

Same here only used Delco and happy with how long they last.

 

[HACK BLOCK]

I seen the power stops but when I was comparing prices on different sites they were listed as Autospecialty so didn't know if it was a difference. are you guys using the oe replacement kit?

 

[drakon543]

oe delco stuff will get you stock long lasting components. if you want similar stopping power but a bit longer lasting i suggest powerstop blank coated. stock type rotor its just coated so the rotor lasts longer. i believe centric also makes a similar rotor and is also a good notablr brand. if your after more bite powerstop z23 or z36. z23 is the stock upgrade and z36 is supposed to be thier hd kit. ive used both and didn't notice any real difference except the pads seemed slightly thicker. you can also opt for a little more cash upfront and get the full caliper rotor pads kit. the calipers are just stock units but they are powder coated.

 

[HACK BLOCK]

so I ended up taking my truck to a shop to change the rotors and brakes and I was in and out no problem. on my way home I felt like the truck was slowing down a little faster than usual. after I got home I noticed smoke coming from the brakes and I could tell it was burning hot so I called back the shop and told them what's going on and now they're telling it needs a new caliper on one side. is this something that just happens or am I being taken for a ride?

 

[HACK BLOCK]

truck was fine when I brought it in just had noisy pads and decided to change the rotors just cause

 

[OR VietVet]

They have to collapse the caliper pistons to be able to make room for the new pads. If there is a problem with collapsing, then they should have said so then but the collapse may have been no problem and the act of doing that caused an internal problem with the caliper. When you do the caliper, do both of them. They may just charge you parts and work with you on the labor. When I ran shops, I would have worked with the customer on something like this. Plus, the caliper hardware is suspect and should be new too.

 

[HACK BLOCK]

after going back he said when he removed the pads one side was completely worn and the other looked brand new. he was able to collapse it without a problem so he figure it should be good. but after using the brakes it got stuck so I ended up just paying for the part no labor to change it

 

[OR VietVet]

I still would have done both and if my tech in shops I ran, ever told me about that uneven wear I would have stopped and called you, the customer, and let you make the decision. If I did that at one of my shops and the customer said no, I would have had the customer sign a disclaimer before leaving with vehicle.

Hell, I had a car come in with grinding brakes and found the pad metal backing plate was gone and the caliper piston was hitting the rotor. They did not want us to fix. I would not put it back together. I told her it was unsafe to drive and I was not going to allow it to be driven away. I paid for a tow to another shop. If she had left and crashed or killed someone, we would have been on the hook for that. The tow bill was the best peace of mind.

 

[dwinters14]

I still would have done both and if my tech in shops I ran, ever told me about that uneven wear I would have stopped and called you, the customer, and let you make the decision. If I did that at one of my shops and the customer said no, I would have had the customer sign a disclaimer before leaving with vehicle.

Hell, I had a car come in with grinding brakes and found the pad metal backing plate was gone and the caliper piston was hitting the rotor. They did not want us to fix. I would not put it back together. I told her it was unsafe to drive and I was not going to allow it to be driven away. I paid for a tow to another shop. If she had left and crashed or killed someone, we would have been on the hook for that. The tow bill was the best peace of mind.

You seem like an awesome shop owner. I'm sure you have a ton of happy customers.

 

[OR VietVet]

Not running shops any more. That all ended about 10 years ago. But for the 30+ years I did run shops, I would have done as I said.

 

[new2yukon]

Uneven wear on brand new pads in no time at all and few miles....and smoke...

And the techs that are supposedly trained don't replace the caliper after the return from new install?


Sometimes I feel dumb...sometimes I feel way to smart.

That tech was not thinking or completely ignorant. YouTube and my manual teaches me well I think.

 

[afpj]

Well crap, after reading this thread over the past few days, decided to check my brakes. The rears were wearing unevenly, down to 1 mm on one side. Funny, the squeel warning tab wasn't noisy.. The brake fluid was dark brown. Seeing as I only had one day to do it, went to the Chevy dealer and they did not have rear brakes in stock, went to the GMC dealer, same thing What the heck? Everybody's doing rear brakes at the same time? Ended up going to O'Reilly's getting their top-of-the-line best brakes pads. I'll know tomorrow if those pads are ok.

 

[jeff armantrout]

I put DBA rotors and Hawk Performance pads on my 2500 Suburban and the difference was pretty dramatic.

 

[Bigshawn]

I got Wagner rotors and pads all the way around with the protective rust coating because of living in PA and salt just eats everything. I've had them on for a year or year and half. Have had no issues with them at all. I put new hydraulic hoses on too while I was replacing everything.

 

[Danny3737]

I guarantee the side that toasted the pads glazed the rotor or at the very least changed the temper in the rotor making it more likely to warp

after going back he said when he removed the pads one side was completely worn and the other looked brand new. he was able to collapse it without a problem so he figure it should be good. but after using the brakes it got stuck so I ended up just paying for the part no labor to change it

 

[PNWYukon]

I would not mess around with issues like that because you can cause way more damage, lost time, etc. I would immediately either rebuild all four calipers or buy reman AC Delco.

Obviously, that shop was shady as hell to do that to you. Anyone that has ever worked on brakes can tell that the caliper pistons are crusty or frozen. A few more miles and your whole rear end could have caught fire.

As for pads and rotors, never buy the cheapest version of anything unless that is all you can afford to keep your rig on the road.

Brakes and their components are too important to f around with.