Brakes, what to buy?

[Overland-Indiana]

I have a 2004 Jeep WJ, my rotors have a slight warp in them and you can feel it when you apply the brakes. I am going to be putting new calipers and rotors on the front and new pads all around.

I usually run Wagner Thermo-quiet pads on my vehicles, the have a lifetime warranty and are ceramic so very little brake dust on the wheels. When they wear out i take them back into Advance Auto and they hand me a new set.

Any suggestions for other brands? Should i do standard rotors, cross drilled rotors or? My rig sees probably 90% pavement and 10% off road.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[mmnorthdirections]

Hi, just 2 cents here.
Cross drilled or slotted can pick up debris and for an off road not the best, but they can run cooler than standard if your having heat issues.
Hard pads/shoes semi-met pad = less dust = less friction (Hardness) = less brake force. And eat rotors faster. Greater stopping distance.
Soft organic or ceramic = more dust = greater friction (softness) = eat rotors slower. Shorter stopping distance.
My go to brand has been EBC for years in big and small vehicles and are currently installed on the FJ. When I did brakes on the FJ
it was like driving a completely different machine WOW.
You may be able to save the rotors and solve your rotor warp. Check in your area if any of the brake shops have the machine to resurface the rotor on the vehicle. This will take into account run-out and that could fix that problem and install new pads just prior.
I have used Les Schwab Tire and they are great here....
Good luck.

 

[Overland-Indiana]

I considered having the rotors resurfaced but, as cheap as they are i might as well replace them.. I have looked at the EBC brake pads but I don't think we have any local dealers, and from what i saw online they were on the salty side.

 

[mmnorthdirections]

Look into the rotor resurface machine on the vehicle to get rid of possible warp, it does the entire rotating assembly.
It also takes the least amount of material off the rotor. A standard rotor resurface machine does not help with run-out.
? caliper resurface?

 

[Spyduh]

1. you shouldnt need to get new rotors unless they are leaking or you just want to upgrade to larger piston calipers.

2. I think you're mixing up rotors vs calipers. You don't resurface calipers, you resurface rotors.

3. I never resurface rotors anymore as they get to thin even if they are still in spec. In my area, it's stupid expensive to resurface rotors and it'ls only a little more money to buy a new set of rotors. Check out www.rockauto.com. Still with OEM or high quality parts. Don't cheap out on brakes!

Note: There's no reason to resurface rotors except you want to reduce the life of them! If they don't shake when you step on the brake and theres no deep grooves then they are good to reuse. I just take some fine grit sand paper and scuff them up evenly and throw on a new set of pads.

Have fun.


and.... when you're down there. go ahead and bleed all the brakes!

 

[TreXTerra]

I am not a fan of resurfacing a rotor, in my experience the warping comes back quickly and worse than before due to the material removed. The big reason for vented or drilled brakea is to help with high-speed performance. If you want more stopping power on an SUV or truck (especially for off road use) then I would get larger brakes. This means more surface area, better heat properties due to the larger amount of steel, and more leverage on the wheel. Long-life pads are harder material, and I would rather have the cheaper pad wear out than have the pad kill the rotor. That's like having the TV melt to protect the fuse. This is just my opinion, so don't take it as gospel. If you can score lifetime warranty pads and lifetime warranty rotors then it probably doesn't matter either way.

 

[mmnorthdirections]

Spyduh.
Absolutely agree. The rotor resurface idea was just to correct his run-out warp problem...

 

[mmnorthdirections]

That's the ticket, cheap pads are soft and wear out fast and stop real well....

 

[Overland-Indiana]

Look into the rotor resurface machine on the vehicle to get rid of possible warp, it does the entire rotating assembly.
It also takes the least amount of material off the rotor. A standard rotor resurface machine does not help with run-out.
? caliper resurface?

Meant Rotors...was typing and not paying attention haha

 

[Overland-Indiana]

I'll do some research into the EBC pads, and i'll just replace rotors with OEM replacements. I think going to something else could cause issues if something breaks on the trail or traveling finding replacement parts, OEM stuff is cheap and easy to find for these Jeeps. I also am going to replace calipers because the slides and boots on them are wore out and it is cheaper to buy new calipers than to rebuild them. Plus, all these parts have 100k miles on the (Except pads) and should be replaced, IMO anyways.

 

[Overland-Indiana]

I am very much overkill on stuff. If I am working on something in a general are of the vehicle i replace most the parts there just so i don't have to tear into again later to replace a different broken part. I plan on having this Jeep a very long time and i am not sure how the previous owner treated it (It looks as if they took good care of it though) so I am going through it with a fine tooth comb. I do not want stranded somewhere because i overlooked something, my wife gets mad when that happens lol.. In my last Blazer i had issues with the 4wd and Half-Ass'd it to work....the TCCM (transfer case control module) went out and it got stuck in 4lo.....200 miles from home. Needless to say wife wasn't happy!

 

[mmnorthdirections]

WOW that was a long ride!!!! I hear you. I was in the Air Force for 25yrs (Heavy Aircraft main) and my right ear is bad so I don't hear her, I mean hear as well as I should........
I'm way OCD on my rig....
I mean detail oriented!

 

[NorthStar96]

When I baselined my FZJ80, I replaced the Rotors, Calipers and pads and shoes. I went with Powerstop slotted rotors, and EBC Green pads. and Napa shoes. .....I can stop very good. would recommend.