Looking for rear brake suggestions.
12-18-2010 | 12:13 PM
#1
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Looking for rear brake suggestions. I'm looking for some recommendations for what rear brake pads and rotors to buy.
When I bought my 98 t/a the rear brakes were pulsing pretty bad so I had the rotors resurfaced but they warped again within a few weeks and the rear brakes were pulsing once again and have been ever since. Another issue I'm having is that the brakes squeal like crazy unless I pull the rear calipers and lube the heck out of everything with anti-squeal grease, this has to be done every 750-1000 miles to keep the brakes from squealing.
I'd like to get some new rotors that WONT warp, and pair them up with some new pads that won't squeal. I'd like to know what you guys are running that is working well for you. Thanks for any advise in advance.
When I bought my 98 t/a the rear brakes were pulsing pretty bad so I had the rotors resurfaced but they warped again within a few weeks and the rear brakes were pulsing once again and have been ever since. Another issue I'm having is that the brakes squeal like crazy unless I pull the rear calipers and lube the heck out of everything with anti-squeal grease, this has to be done every 750-1000 miles to keep the brakes from squealing.
I'd like to get some new rotors that WONT warp, and pair them up with some new pads that won't squeal. I'd like to know what you guys are running that is working well for you. Thanks for any advise in advance.
12-24-2010 | 09:02 PM
#3
Unless you push a lot of power in your trans am, brembos aren't worth the money. Get something OE like such as Wagners. They come with a lifetime warranty so if they ever warp you can exchange them for new ones free of charge. I ran them on my V6 Firebird for 110,000 miles with no warping. Front rotors are usually the ones to develop a highspot any ways. For pads, Wagner Thermo Quiets are great for no noise as well as many other ceramic pads. However, ceramic pads are expensive and more harsh on the rotors. Also, if you do choose ceramic, pay attention to the % of ceramic in the pads. Some brands advertise ceramic pads when in reality there's only like 5% ceramic in their product.
01-03-2011 | 11:03 AM
#5
Couldn't tell you what a good % of ceramic is, however I know that some companies will advertise ceramic pads but their pads will only be coated in a ceramic compound instead of having that ceramic compound throughout the entire pad. All I can tell you is research the specific "ceramic" brake pad before you buy it. See what others have to say about it.
01-04-2011 | 12:58 PM
#7
rear brakes do only about 30% of the work, it's the front brakes that do the most work and where you would gain the most from ceramic pads... or looking specifically for ceramic pads for the rear is kind of a waste unless you plan on doing the fronts in the near future with ceramics also. If you have regular semi-metallic on the fronts, then go with semi-metallics for the rear. for pad noise and squeal, coat the backside of the pads with CRC disk brake quiet. it's orange, in a little bottle and cost $5.
other thing that stands out is you warped the rears, but not the fronts?
the rears do little work and should rarely warp.
So since they did, you may want to have the brake line pressures checked between the fronts and the rears and make sure they're proportioned correctly, but i doubt that is the problem. More than likely unequal torque was used on the lugnuts holding the wheel on which will cause the rotors to warp. safest way is to use a torque wrench by hand and tq the lugs to 100 lb-ft. The other cause which is also common is rust on the axle hub and the rotor wasn't sitting flush on the hub. wire brush the axle or wheel hub prior to putting the rotor on. Make sure there is no rust buildup or other contaminants on either the hub or mating surface of the rotor which would cause it not to sit completely flush. Other than that, for the rear a bent axle would cause rotor warpage but you'd also feel that vibration. Has the car or rear axle hit curbs or potholes that you can remember, if so you may want to make sure with the rotor tightened down that you have no runout, you would need a dial caliper and a competent brake shop would be able to check that. Typically this kind of problem is on the fronts where the wheel bearing is going bad and has endplay, causing rotor runout and eventually warpage. In both cases you would get some vibration and noise, and with the fronts that usually causes the car to pull or drift like there is an alignment problem.
I had bought 4 rotor from ebay, drilled & slotted, for like $200 and have about 20k miles on them and they are fine. I bought semi-metallic bads mailorder from brakeworld. I would caution you against buying the cheapest pads from places like autozone, had bought theirs and only lasted 10k on my altima- it was a pad problem, resurfaced the autozone rotors and using wagner pads with no problems for last 10k.
other thing that stands out is you warped the rears, but not the fronts?
the rears do little work and should rarely warp.
So since they did, you may want to have the brake line pressures checked between the fronts and the rears and make sure they're proportioned correctly, but i doubt that is the problem. More than likely unequal torque was used on the lugnuts holding the wheel on which will cause the rotors to warp. safest way is to use a torque wrench by hand and tq the lugs to 100 lb-ft. The other cause which is also common is rust on the axle hub and the rotor wasn't sitting flush on the hub. wire brush the axle or wheel hub prior to putting the rotor on. Make sure there is no rust buildup or other contaminants on either the hub or mating surface of the rotor which would cause it not to sit completely flush. Other than that, for the rear a bent axle would cause rotor warpage but you'd also feel that vibration. Has the car or rear axle hit curbs or potholes that you can remember, if so you may want to make sure with the rotor tightened down that you have no runout, you would need a dial caliper and a competent brake shop would be able to check that. Typically this kind of problem is on the fronts where the wheel bearing is going bad and has endplay, causing rotor runout and eventually warpage. In both cases you would get some vibration and noise, and with the fronts that usually causes the car to pull or drift like there is an alignment problem.
I had bought 4 rotor from ebay, drilled & slotted, for like $200 and have about 20k miles on them and they are fine. I bought semi-metallic bads mailorder from brakeworld. I would caution you against buying the cheapest pads from places like autozone, had bought theirs and only lasted 10k on my altima- it was a pad problem, resurfaced the autozone rotors and using wagner pads with no problems for last 10k.
