# Brake pad/rotor recommendation?



## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

Premature front rotor warping can be a cause of poorly adjusted rear drums. Have you done that yet?

I can't comment too much on front replacements; just don't get drilled or slotted rotors. 

Consider flushing your brake fluid. It really should be done every 3 years. The Amsoil Dot3 fluid vastly improved pedal feel if you're interested. 

Sent from mobile.


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## Smurfenstein (Nov 16, 2011)

I remember somewhere that our car cant even generate enough temperature, even under heavy breaking to actually warp a rotor. Not completely sure if thats true or not, but if it is, then what happened is you probably got your pads hot, then hit the brakes till you came to a stop and left some of the brake on your rotor. Which means that its possible for you to get your rotor re-surfaced to clean off the build up.

If not, then I would recommend AC Delco for the rotors, they make a very good non drilled/slotted rotor with a "rough" machined face to still give you some decent bite for being a solid rotor face. As for pads, which you should replace regardless, I would recommend the Hawk HP Plus pads, Green stuff is fairly popular, but in the same way that a civic is popular, and Hawk is easily one, if not THE best pad out there on the market without, and are good for street, to heavy tracking.


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## AVCruze12 (Feb 27, 2013)

I have been using Centric premium rotors for the majority of my brake jobs I do and they are always true right out of the box , as for pads just get a set of akebono which are oem I believe


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

I know for a fact my Cruze brakes are not going to last as long as other vehicles, car has very little engine braking power, so using them a lot more. Cost wise besides mpg, extra braking should also be part of the equation.

Yet another cause of excessive brake wear is a dragging pad or rotor. So take a quick walk around when stopped holding the back of my hand next to each rotor or shoe. If I feel extra heat, know something has to be done. A strong believer in shoe or pad lubrication, they have to be able to snap back on their own when releasing the pedal.

Does road salt really save lives? Can only wonder about this, when this salt is highly responsible for wrecking your brakes. Ever feel like the world is against us? Not only nature, but man made stuff just as well.


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## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

Look at the Zeckhausen Racing site (don't know how to make a link) and go to the FAQ section......you will be overwhelmed with info.

Rob


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## Dragonsys (May 27, 2013)

Rotors can be warped just by getting them hot and then driving through cool water. The amount of miles on them is not a huge factor, unless you are wearing them thin by not changing the pads when needed.



Robby said:


> Look at the Zeckhausen Racing site (don't know how to make a link) and go to the FAQ section......you will be overwhelmed with info.
> 
> Rob


Just Copy & paste the link into your post, or highlight the text and click on the little globe /w chain link icon


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## sixtyin3 (Apr 1, 2012)

So what is the consensus on a good pad for an every day car? AC Delco's? Centric? Hawk seems a little extreme for a car thats driven everyday.


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## zeoalex (Aug 24, 2013)

I'm glad nobody has recommended drilled/slotted rotors. REALLY GLAD.
with that said, take a look at brembo blank rotors, I had them on some previous cards and they were great. as for pads, I saw someone recommend hawks, they make some stellar stuff.


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## Dragonsys (May 27, 2013)

Brembo & Stillen (still Brembo BTW) make excellent solid rotors, but they can be pricey.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

Smurfenstein said:


> I remember somewhere that our car cant even generate enough temperature, even under heavy breaking to actually warp a rotor. Not completely sure if thats true or not, but if it is, then what happened is you probably got your pads hot, then hit the brakes till you came to a stop and left some of the brake on your rotor. Which means that its possible for you to get your rotor re-surfaced to clean off the build up.
> 
> If not, then I would recommend AC Delco for the rotors, they make a very good non drilled/slotted rotor with a "rough" machined face to still give you some decent bite for being a solid rotor face. As for pads, which you should replace regardless, I would recommend the Hawk HP Plus pads, Green stuff is fairly popular, but in the same way that a civic is popular, and Hawk is easily one, if not THE best pad out there on the market without, and are good for street, to heavy tracking.


I second the Hawks, just don't get race pads for street use.


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## 2013LT (Jul 3, 2013)

OEM rotors. They are hands down the beside and resist rust the best. 

Pads are a tossup and depend on what you want. 

Ceramic are the quietest and least dusty but are not as good at stopping as semi metallic which are more dusty and noisy.

Napa has good pads if you don't want to dish out for the Hawks


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## Smurfenstein (Nov 16, 2011)

sixtyin3 said:


> So what is the consensus on a good pad for an every day car? AC Delco's? Centric? Hawk seems a little extreme for a car thats driven everyday.


Nothing is too extreme for daily driving in terms of braking, unless you're doing a custom brake upgrade to increase the rotors from 11-13 or 14" rotors, with upgraded calipers/etc.

You can never have too much stopping power when it comes to safety for everyday driving.

Same logic applies to getting coilovers, or chassis braces on a daily driver. You might not race it frequently, but chassis braces don't just work when you're taking a hard corner, they work all the time, and the difference in steering response can be felt at all speeds, even on a slow corner.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

> OEM rotors. They are hands down the beside and resist rust the best.


Not GM's OEM ones. I've already had mine turned once (all warranty would cover - @ 8000 miles) and they're shaking again under high-speed braking. There have got to be better options out there.


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## brian v (Dec 25, 2011)

I just feel like chiming in here and write that we need to get a consensus statement about which pads are best for every day use .. Toss ups are not a reasonable response
For which pads are effective at stopping the cruzen at highway speeds with minimal distortion and ware to the rotors . 

Reanalyze everything , and give me your preferred Pad to Rotor analysis !


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## KMGLTZ (Oct 31, 2013)

my rotors were completley warped at 35k miles. rotors were warped from excessive heat, pads still had half life left but i replaced the rotors and pads with all NAPA.. we'll see how the last

i drive the my cruze pretty hard, and like others have said, theres not much engine braking on these cars.


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## cruzeCTRL (Feb 8, 2013)

*Brake rotor wear*

Like the poster, I am very easy on brakes - having little to no wear on my 2001 Trail Blazer at 100,000+ miles - but my Cruze's rotors are warped at 50k... the dealership's service dept said there was no wear on the pads, but the rotors were too thin to be turned. Something isn't right.


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## sixtyin3 (Apr 1, 2012)

Bumping my own thread.

I put the following parts on the car at 35k miles:

Raybestos 580770R Professional Grade Disc Brake Rotor 
Raybestos PGD1522C Professional Grade Ceramic Disc Brake Pad Set

Car has 85k miles on it now, and no more brake issues at all. I keep the rear brakes adjusted by manually adjusting them every 7,500 miles when I rotate the tires. The pads don't even look half worn yet and no noise at all. Getting ready to put the same parts on my girlfriends Buick Verano.


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## UpstateNYBill (Jan 14, 2012)

It's pretty amazing how there can be such a difference in experience with the OEM rotors.

I have 148,000 on the original rotors with one pad change (OEM) and my Cruze still stops on a dime with zero braking problems.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

UpstateNYBill said:


> It's pretty amazing how there can be such a difference in experience with the OEM rotors.
> 
> I have 148,000 on the original rotors with one pad change (OEM) and my Cruze still stops on a dime with zero braking problems.


If you're driving heavily highway, they won't wear at anywhere near the same rate as someone else's will. It's all driving conditions. 

I had to get rid of mine by 50k because of the pulsating. It was unbearable.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

I've had Hawk HPS pads on my Cobalt for probably around 60-65k (maybe even 70k) miles or so, and they still have probably 50% life left. I've gone through a set of rotors, turned them, and then replaced them with the ones currently on there now, all on the same pads. They're fantastic. They have a good initial bite - and when they get a bit warmer, they're even better.

And that driving includes a lot of freeway - but more city now, and also a good few high-speed autoX's as well. I definitely use them.


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## UpstateNYBill (Jan 14, 2012)

XtremeRevolution said:


> If you're driving heavily highway, they won't wear at anywhere near the same rate as someone else's will. It's all driving conditions.
> 
> I had to get rid of mine by 50k because of the pulsating. It was unbearable.


Just out of curiosity, how many miles of your daily commute would you say are city miles, or even miles in the 'burns?


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

AC Delco pads are doing very well on my Cruze, very little wear even after 40K miles, so more than likely will stick with them.










Only 30 bucks at rockauto.com. Can't say much about the rotors, but with the 04 Cavalier, had much better success with aftermarket rotors. OE's were in pretty bad shape after 40k, aftermarket were good even after another 100K. But who knows who made your rotors for your Cruze since Chevy has a super long list of vendors for the same part. 

Kind of play this by ear and luck.

Oh, and you sure need those new clips that come with the Delcos.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

UpstateNYBill said:


> Just out of curiosity, how many miles of your daily commute would you say are city miles, or even miles in the 'burns?


Based on average speed, 63% of that driving was city, so 31,500 miles. 



NickD said:


> AC Delco pads are doing very well on my Cruze, very little wear even after 40K miles, so more than likely will stick with them.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Of course they last. They're ceramic, which are much harder than semi-metallic pads, and cause far more rotor wear. You're not seeing the pads wear because it's the rotor wearing.


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## jmsanti (Feb 4, 2015)

For the pads, I like the Hawk. Great stopping power and less dust. Akebono is another good option.


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## jbaker2810 (May 14, 2013)

Just a heads up for anyone who is considering getting the ZZP Big Brake Kit. 

I have had a terrible experience with the rotors that come with the kit. I have cracked two rotors. ZZP themselves have been great however! Took pictures of the cracked rotors and they sent me new ones! If you are looking at the kit I'd try calling ZZP and see if you can purchase without the rotors and pads. Pads just not impressed with either


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

jbaker2810 said:


> Just a heads up for anyone who is considering getting the ZZP Big Brake Kit.
> 
> I have had a terrible experience with the rotors that come with the kit. I have cracked two rotors. ZZP themselves have been great however! Took pictures of the cracked rotors and they sent me new ones! If you are looking at the kit I'd try calling ZZP and see if you can purchase without the rotors and pads. Pads just not impressed with either


Are those drilled rotors?


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

Assuming this is the kit, then yes: 










Gah...drilled rotors...never have been a fan (other than the fact they look cooler).


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## pandrad61 (Jul 8, 2015)

they are proprietary so you have to buy the rotors from them unless you drill the rotors for the studs. i like the kit i hate having to only buy rotors from them. i like blank or slotted rotors not drilled.


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## jbaker2810 (May 14, 2013)

XtremeRevolution said:


> Are those drilled rotors?


Yes, they are drilled and slotted rotors. I have a suspicion the rotors are Chinese steel. AKA weak


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## Dvan5693 (Jul 8, 2014)

sixtyin3 said:


> So what is the consensus on a good pad for an every day car? AC Delco's? Centric? Hawk seems a little extreme for a car thats driven everyday.


Not if you drive like an @sshole lol


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## Samuel (Jun 4, 2014)

Dvan5693 said:


> Not if you drive like an @sshole lol


Not our fault everyone else on the road is an idiot?


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## Dvan5693 (Jul 8, 2014)

Samuel said:


> Not our fault everyone else on the road is an idiot


Lol this applies to my life so perfectly.


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