80k on factory breaks!

[GhostOutlaw]

So, pads are finally just about done at 81k miles. Impressive, expected for a manual, though.

Rotors are still good (I think, have to double check, not sure if the stock are dispoable or if i can cut them) but I am debating doing an upgrade on the brakes.

Not being super mechanically inclined (I can change my brakes and do my oil but I wouldn't know what it takes to do an upgrade) I want to change the breaks to a ceramic kit. Is that just a matter of buying ceramic pads? Or do I need to change the rotors, shoes and the whole kit?

Also, whats the current flavor of the month for an upgrade like this. I know Brembo is a solid brand, but thats about the extent of it.

Thanks everyone!

[hworth18]

I changed my brakes at about 73k and I still had plenty of pad left. I just wanted to go with slotted/dimpled rotors and better brake pads.
In your case, you will only need to have the rotors turned and nothing else to switch to ceramic pads. I didn't go with ceramic because I didn't feel like the extra cost was worth it. I went with Hawk HPS pads and am very happy with them.

[GhostOutlaw]

I actually want to do the crossslotted rotors with the ceramic pads, I read somewhere that ceramic pads/rotors need to be prepped and installed a certain way?

[Norm Peterson]

All new pads should be bedded in to their rotors (it's a fairly simple procedure, with slight variations from mfr to mfr and perhaps among different pad types).

In the somewhat unlikely case that you're able to re-use your original rotors without having them cut, you'll still want to scour/sand all of the old pad transfer material before using the new pads. This is true almost regardless of what pads your swapping from and what pads you're swapping to; otherwise you can get a vibration that you'll mistake for "warped rotors". Swapping among the various Carbotech pad compounds is the only exception that I know of.

If you can get both rotors on the same axle safely cut, you'll want them cut to the same thickness. If one rotor cannot be cut because it's already too thin or is grooved too deeply or for any other reason, you'll need to get both rotors for that axle.

Brembo calipers have a reputation for not fitting behind all wheels that fit the car, and not because the rotors are too large a diameter. The calipers are thick enough to hit the back sides of the spokes if the spokes are not shaped on their back side to clear. This may or may not affect you, either now or later (if you decide to get new wheels).

There's slotted and there's cross-drilled, and there's dimpled. If you use your brakes hard enough, cross-drilled rotors tend to develop cracks starting at a hole. This usually means road course track driving, but I'd be a little uneasy about making any hard runs through the mountains with cross-drilled.

I will just say that I am not at all thrilled about mass-market ceramic pads (the kind you get at Pep Boys/Advance Auto/Autozone with names that suggest they last a long time). I'd step up to SS brakes and use OE SS pads first, which will fit behind your RS wheels assuming that they are identical to SS/RS wheels.


Norm

[Avenging Orange]

If I got 80k out of my brakes....I sure wouldn't be upgrading them..I'd be buying the same stock pads!

[Norm Peterson]

Heh . . . I'd have to be really happy with the feel of those stock pads to keep them on my car that long even if I thought they could last that long. Once you've experienced pads with stronger bite, where it doesn't take as much pedal force to get an immediate and solid feel that you're slowing down, you may find yourself spoiled.


Norm