Not always worth trying to save a buck (brake update 3)

[Guest bastaad525]

Well in my last bit of dealing with what has got to be the longest running brake job ever I finally figured out that Auto Zone brake pads suck I couldn't stand them anymore, after having them in for a couple weeks I got fed up and got rid of them.

 

The auto zone pads (not even sure what brand) were squealing like crazy, didn't stop the car nearly as well as the pads I had before, which had me chasing my tail trying to figure out what was 'wrong' with my brakes. And they were dusting my wheels like crazy. I got really fed up with everyone saying "oh they are squealing because you didn't resurface the discs right". Well whatever I put the Nissan pads in and they are silent, and the car stops much better, and from what I've heard, they should have almost no dust. So... lesson learned... sometimes it's not worth trying to save a buck.

 

I wanted to try a higher performance pad but impatience got the best of me... I hate ordering stuff and waiting and whatever I have shipped there is ALWAYS some problem.

 

Just out of curiosity though what are good performance pads that are not hard to get that will fit stock 240 calipers? no squealing and minimal dust are very important.

[mark]

try these guys. Great product. http://www.carbotecheng.com/

[Cody 82 ZXT]

I've had real good luck with KVR pads. Thats what I had on the front of my ZX for years before I upgraded everything. I think you can get them from Ross.

[JMortensen]

My only suggestion is NOT the Metal Masters. They suck AND eat rotors IME.

[Drax240z]

KVR... no dust, no squeak, no rotor wear... good street pad.

[Guest zfan]

NEVER and I mean NEVER run Auto Zone pads/shoes. They suck to say the least. Been there done that. They will eat rotors and do not last. 5k on one set.

 

My Buddy is a mechanic and he said to never use them and I should have listened, stupid me.

 

Mike

[Guest bastaad525]

yeah lesson definately learned.

 

Odd thing is, I HAVE used auto zone pads on most of my other cars and never had any problems. But again, I've NO idea what brand they were then, nor the brand that they were this time. I used Auto Zone pads on my ZX, which is the car I've owned the longest... put well over 50,000 miles on it, and I think I only replaced the pads once or twice all around, with auto zone pads. And they NEVER squeaked on me, even though I never even resurfaced the rotors.

 

So this whole thing really strikes me as odd... but as I said... lesson learned, I won't be using pads from them again. So far the Nissan ones are performing very nicely... not a hint of squeal from them, and they seem to grab much better than the auto zone pads... though the pedal still seems soft until I use them a bit and they warm up?? Does that seem normal?

 

I want to try to bed them in as per the procedure given on some websites which is basically to abuse the crap out of them for 8-10 hard stops...

[cygnusx1]

I have been using Axxis Ultimates on my Subaru WRX and I love them. They have great initial bite and improve with heating. The dust level is pretty high though. I get no squeeling.

 

http://www.brakewarehouse.com is a great source for all kinds of brake parts and they are very knowledgable and willing to work with you.

[SleeperZ]

NEVER and I mean NEVER run Auto Zone pads/shoes. They suck to say the least. Been there done that. They will eat rotors and do not last. 5k on one set.

 

My Buddy is a mechanic and he said to never use them and I should have listened' date=' stupid me.

 

Mike[/quote'] I second that. I bought ceramic "lifetime" pads from AZ for our Subaru, and the braking sucked. No bite, and the system developed a shake on braking a year later. I ended up replacing the rotors and some OEM pads, and it works now like it's supposed to.

[Wagz]

I'm going to be doing a brake job on my 260Z and on my Maxima. For those that may have experience with both brands: Which would you recommend between KVR and Hawk HPS pads?

[peej410]

i have ross' vented 4 piston setup on the front of my Z and i droveit around for a week or so with no rear brakes at all (bad idea i know) but the kvr pads were awesome. good pads mean the world for brakes. we put hawk hp on my brothers 300zx (much heavier car than 72) and it seems to be really easy to over heat the rotors with the hawks but my brother drives like an *** so i dont know. both are a good pad but i sort of prefer the kvr

[Modern Motorsports Ltd]

I'm going to be doing a brake job on my 260Z and on my Maxima. For those that may have experience with both brands: Which would you recommend between KVR and Hawk HPS[/b'] pads?

 

Hawk pads have their place certainly and are excellent in their designed high heat track scenarios etc but not on typical Z builds IMO.

 

Our brake packages have always included KVR pads in ,most all but competition autox or competition track scenarios, and we've never had one complaint on them. Low dust/no noise (I've yet to ever use a noisey pad, but that would drive me nuts!) and excellent linear friction response with excellent rotor wear.

 

I can set you up with the maxima pads as well (any KVR application), just drop us a direct email if interested.

[Alri]

I just replaced the brake pads on my Z with KVRs. They work perfectly now without making noise. The brakes kept squealing, so I replaced the pads 3 times, replaced rotors, brake calipers, all because I never realized that autozone brake pads are garbage for Zs. This was the longest brake jobs ever. Thanks to this thread I saved a lot of money because I was going to take it to Just Brakes (AKA Just Ripoffs).