Brake upgrades

[Century7667]

Bunch of my cars have Wagners, nice pads... no noise, no dust, etc. You should be flushing the system every spring! really great brand!

Since the passing of EIS many years ago, Wagner is the gold standard for me. They stop well, and are quiet. I always run semi-metallics though.

I have put Raybestos on probation for poor customer service for that ball-joint fiasco last year.

Ken T.

[lackneramanda]

I use Wagner brakes but not the cheapest ones... I have also used Bendix Titanium... Rebestos is good stuff... You get what you pay for...

I bought Bendix Rotors( when they were USA Made ) for my 95 Bonneville, Bought the Bendix Titanium Pads.... The set up has been on the car for almost 5 years... The pads are half worn Rotors are still in great shape... At the time these were the most expensive Bendix parts I could get... To this day I don't have much of anything for brake fade on a long drive.... Its nice when you can come to stop on command without trying to bend the brake pedal....lol

Bunch of my cars have Wagners, nice pads... no noise, no dust, etc. You should be flushing the system every spring! really great brand!

[Jr's3800]

I use wagner but not the cheapest ones... I have also used Bendix Titanium... Rebestos is good stuff... You get what you pay for...

I bought Bendix Rotors( when they were USA Made ) for my 95 Bonneville, Bought the Bendix Titanium Pads.... The set up has been on the car for almost 5 years... The pads are half worn Rotors are still in great shape... At the time these were the most expensive Bendix parts I could get... To this day I don't have much of anything for brake fade on a long drive.... Its nice when you can come to stop on command without trying to bend the brake pedal....lol

[DarkFox]

I've gotta say, I used to go with Wagner / Advance's in-house brands, whichever was on special.
I would get the standard rotors / drums with Cermaic pads and shoes, religiously.

I asked a mechanic friend what he thought about slotted rotors, because I wanted brakes that could handle more heat because I always seemed to roast the econo-specials with hard driving.

He laughed when he heard I was using Wagner / in house and told me to get some Raybestos equipment.
I was skeptical, but this guy knows his sh*t, so I went ahead and ordered a full set of Raybestos "Heavy Duty" everything for my Century from Rockauto.com

That's Rotors, pads, drums and shoes.

Before, my Century could NOT lock the wheels even if all 250lbs of me stood on the pedal, and the parking brake was a joke.

Those Raybestos brakes kick ass, major, MAJOR improvement in STOPPAN' POWA.
The parking brake will also easily lock the rear wheels resulting in some FWD ass-dragging if you're not careful, lol.

That said, I'll deal with the extra brake dust the Raybestos semi-metallic pads throw over the Ceramics for the drastic improvement in braking.

Plus, from RockAuto, an entire set of brakes ran about $250-270 with shipping, which kicks the crap out of Advance's pricing!

[Jr's3800]

On my van I replaced the center bar to frame bushings with Moog Bushings... Been several years and they are in great shape... At the time I went with Energy Suspension Ploy bushings for the sway bar to control arm... This made a good difference... Later down the road I added an Addco rear sway bar... That was another leap forward... I was also running 225 60 R 16's ... Later ran 235 60 16's... That was tuff as the Van is not set up to run a 225 or for that matter a 235... I had to use spacers... I ran 5mm with the 225's and 10 mm with the 235's and still had rub... Even the 225's rub at full lock... But I might use a set of Bonneville torque star rims and 225 sumitomo High Performance all seasons... I drove this van from FL to WV and back and was pleased with the ride and handling... Felt very sure footed and more car like then van...

[Duke George V]

Yeah, I just went with some Pep Boys specials for the front brakes. They feel about the same. I imagine replacing the struts and sway bar bushings will make a bigger difference. I know it did when I did the same on a '92 F150 for a company I worked for a few years ago. Completely redid the brakes front and back, along with the master cylinder. It stopped better, to be sure, but it still lacked something. I then replaced the shocks all around, and it was like night and day.

[Jr's3800]

Agreed... I have always used Wagner on every car I have worked on... No complaints or rework for that matter... 2 of my Vehicles are running Wagner pads... Highly recommended...

[Century7667]

I've been running Wagner since EIS has been out of business. Very good luck with them.

[lackneramanda]

Not sure... The van does stop good, great really for a van... But I would like to have more bite when I have the clamps to the floor... Rare but it does happen... I have replaced the Master cylinder, wagner brakes Hoses, Wheel cylinder, rear shoes, Drums... Only thing left are the calipers up front...lol Looking at the AC Delco or Rebestos slotted..

It's that time for new brakes again. What do you think about Wagner rotors and thermoquiet pads? my cousin got them on one of his cars and they seem fine.

[Jr's3800]

Not sure... The van does stop good, great really for a van... But I would like to have more bite when I have the clamps to the floor... Rare but it does happen... I have replaced the Master cylinder, Brake Hoses, Wheel cylinder, rear shoes, Drums... Only thing left are the calipers up front...lol Looking at the AC Delco or Rebestos slotted..

[SCREECH]

I am thinking of doing the brakes on my 95 TS...Thinking of getting...a set of slotted rotors...Thoughts?

I've never tried any rotors other than standard style rotors. I would be interested to know how much of a difference upgraded rotors would make.

[Jr's3800]

I agree David...

Ok getting back to Brakes...lol

I am thinking of doing the brakes on my 95 TS.... Only items that are original at this point are calipers... Thinking of getting some new or reman calipers( wagner or the like ) and then going with a set of slotted rotors...

Thoughts?

[turbokinetic]

Yep thats exactly it in a nutshell David...

You have been here before, its quiet... The neighbors don't care that I work on cars( My one neighbor does the same )... No one cares here... I can do what I want... County rules say that 3 of the cars I have sitting here are a no no.... But the county is not going to care as long as the neighbors aren't complaining... 2 of the 3 neighbors have the same thing going on that I do...LOL..

I wish I had a little more land tho, and a shop..

Yep you have a good location there. Quiet and peaceful!

It is very sad to see a person "trapped" in an urban area like my friend near DC. I would never even consider that lifestyle. Not. Ever. I've seen many countries around the world and can say..... the urban lifestyle in the northeast USA is possible second only to third world Africa.

[Jr's3800]

Yep thats exactly it in a nutshell David...

You have been here before, its quiet... The neighbors don't care that I work on cars( My one neighbor does the same )... No one cares here... I can do what I want... County rules say that 3 of the cars I have sitting here are a no no.... But the county is not going to care as long as the neighbors aren't complaining... 2 of the 3 neighbors have the same thing going on that I do...LOL..

I wish I had a little more land tho, and a shop..

[turbokinetic]

That was one of the biggest reasons I got away from the apartments... Got tired of that... Right before I moved I was under my hood checking the oil and got a mouthful from the Resident Manager... I told him I was checking the oil... Got another mouth full of his garbage... I told him my car does not leak a drop of anything... I even scrubbed down my parking space when I moved in.. I pointed to the other spaces and said if its such a problem that I might drop a splash of oil on the ground then why aren't you pestering all the other people... I told him to go F*** himself, Evict me for all I care... Pissed me off so bad I was out 3 weeks later...

Looking forward to hearing the OP say... Man these brakes are pretty good....lol

Apartments are nearly criminal. A friend of mine pays far more for RENT (never see a penny back) on an apartment (one bedroom) than I pay for loan payment (can get money out of it if I sell) on a 4 acre property with house and barn. He is given a slew of bullshit rules and harassement from the management for many reasons. Their car rules give the management the option to fine or kick out a tennant for:

-Having the hood open more than 5 minutes per day. (yes you read that correctly)
-Having the car jacked up for any reason (including a tire - flat tire = tow truck to the tire store)
-Parking a car with visible body damage of any sort. (even if car still runs and is still daily driven)
-Pushing a car. If you can't get it started and can't reach it with jumper cables - you call a tow truck, not push it out of the spot so the cables can reach.

And that's just the car rules. It goes beyond that.

It would be a COLD DAY IN HELL before I would accept this type treatment for this amount of money.

Sincerely,
David