[Deputy Dog]

Dealer did an oil change yesterday. They said I had 2 mil. left of the front pads. Should I let the dealer replace or go to another shop. Also what the best replacement. The only thing I don't like about OEM is the break dust. Whats an alternative? Whats an average cost on labor? I havn't brakes done since 2 cars ago. So I'm ignorant on todays pricing.

[chaospiece]

I got all my brakes replaced for $80 labor.
As for brake pads, depends what you want.
The stock brembos do have alot of dust though, not a fan of that.

[GroundhogSS]

I got the PowerStop, like a lot of people here. Almost no dust and stops about the same as the stock Brembos. Probably not as good if you track the car, which I don't

[Gunkk]

Powerstop Z26 pads = zero dust. They are NOT performance pads, so no track stuff. But they're excellent on the street.

[1hprush]

Originally Posted by Gunkk

Powerstop Z26 pads = zero dust. They are NOT performance pads, so no track stuff. But they're excellent on the street.

I agree! First mod I did to my ZLE!

[dviper42]

My brakes lasted about 30,000 miles. My wife talked me into OEM brakes from the dealer. They were making noise and getting worse. The dealer checked them out and said the rotors need to be changed also. The list price for OEM everything was $1800 includes replacing the brake fluid. I called around the best price for OEM replaced was $1400+ tax from a mom pop shop. I talked them down to $1500 out the door including tax all OEM. Now I baby the brakes that was too much. Where I live now I cannot do my own. When I move this year back to the west I will do all my own repairs.

[trohde78]

Another option with similar results (no dust, good braking) to the Powerstop Z26 is the Hawk HPS.

[cdrptrks]

Originally Posted by dviper42

They were making noise and getting worse. The dealer checked them out and said the rotors need to be changed also.

Next time buy some digital calipers from Harbor Freight or a hardware store and measure the rotor thickness yourself and compare to manufacturer spec original and minimum thickness before you pay to have rotors replaced at 30k miles. Seems unlikely that rotor replacement was actually necessary with just street driving unless you ignored the chirping noise from the squeaker tab designed to warn you to change your pads and continued driving on the brake pads until they were completely gone with just the backing plate against the rotors which could put grooves in the rotors requiring premature replacement.

[Deputy Dog]

Originally Posted by dviper42

My brakes lasted about 30,000 miles. My wife talked me into OEM brakes from the dealer. They were making noise and getting worse. The dealer checked them out and said the rotors need to be changed also. The list price for OEM everything was $1800 includes replacing the brake fluid. I called around the best price for OEM replaced was $1400+ tax from a mom pop shop. I talked them down to $1500 out the door including tax all OEM. Now I baby the brakes that was too much. Where I live now I cannot do my own. When I move this year back to the west I will do all my own repairs.

I have over 32k on my OEM brakes. Getting low on the front but back is still good. Not sure why you replaced your rotors. You should have just turned them. That was probably most of your expense. Rotors are ussually good for at least two turns= 2 sets of brake pads.

[Deputy Dog]

Originally Posted by Gunkk

Powerstop Z26 pads = zero dust. They are NOT performance pads, so no track stuff. But they're excellent on the street.

Does non performance mean these brakes will fade under heavy braking as in coming down a long steep mountainous road. Also over 32k on the front of oem, can I expect the same wear on the z26 brakes?

[DIYguy]

FWIW-
I have had really good luck with Centric pads on multiple vehicles.
They are not the most dust-free though, I must caution.
However they stop well, don't wear the rotors as badly as some other brands, and are quiet.
Quiet is in fact the reason I first tried them (their "Posi-quiet" pads specifically).

[Deputy Dog]

OK I have decided to get the Z/26 Maxi Pads. Where is the best place to buy??

[ctrlz]

Originally Posted by Deputy Dog

OK I have decided to get the Z/26 Maxi Pads. Where is the best place to buy??

Amazon, at least when I bought them.

Originally Posted by dviper42

My brakes lasted about 30,000 miles. They were making noise and getting worse. The dealer checked them out and said the rotors need to be changed also.

I did not have good luck with the stock pad/rotor combo. Twice I developed "rotor warp" (which is really disc thickness variation) and was told I was overheating my brakes. This car is a DD and drives about 20 miles/day with an elevation change of maybe 4 feet. I don't ride the brakes. Anyway, first time got new rotors under warranty. 2nd time they turned them. Based on some reading I theorized that the semi-metallic pads were killing my rotors. I switched to power stop ceramics (immediately after they turned the rotors) and everything has been fine since (and less dust too). A lot of members here love the stock pads and have had no problems. From what I gather the only reason this car comes from the factory with semi-metallics is so they can sell it as "track ready."

[Deputy Dog]

Originally Posted by ctrlz

Amazon, at least when I bought them.


I did not have good luck with the stock pad/rotor combo. Twice I developed "rotor warp" (which is really disc thickness variation) and was told I was overheating my brakes. This car is a DD and drives about 20 miles/day with an elevation change of maybe 4 feet. I don't ride the brakes. Anyway, first time got new rotors under warranty. 2nd time they turned them. Based on some reading I theorized that the semi-metallic pads were killing my rotors. I switched to power stop ceramics (immediately after they turned the rotors) and everything has been fine since (and less dust too). A lot of members here love the stock pads and have had no problems. From what I gather the only reason this car comes from the factory with semi-metallics is so they can sell it as "track ready."

I stay away from Amazon. Just ordered from Summit, cheaper than Amazon too.