Eric BMW

Howyd fellas. obviusly im new.

Im looking to find some brake pads for my parents 1990 Lexus LS400. Any recommendations? The car is an absolute tank with OEM brakes that couldnt stop the car if it were in Park... in any case ive seen the following brands

PBR
EBC
Aikaido??
Pref something

I was thinking about pbr ceramics as I have them on my car. ive nvr tried ebc but im sure they are satisfactory. greenstuff of course.

Any recomendations on where to get them online for cheap? Only need a front set. Ive found some places that have the greenstuff and ultimates for $62 with free shipping. Any cheaper sites you guys know of?

-Eric

Eric BMW

Yeah I guess so. I dont plan a BBK for the car my mom drives. In any case I ordered axxis ultimates just like I have on my car. Here's were only $62 with free shipping.

Nice little forum yall got here. I might stick around and see what I can learn about Lexus.

Kansas

I agree completely with migirdech. I had a 90 LS for almost 14 years and agree that the braking was marginal. In fact, I remember an early Road & Track magazine "road test summary" that showed the early LS400 having the 2nd or 3rd longest stopping distances of any of the 100 or so cars they listed.

The small tires also contribute to long stopping distances. Using 225/60-15 tires instead of the standard 205/65-15 tires seemed to make my 90 LS stop a lot better and also made the car feel more stable at highway speeds. Using 225/60-15 tires kept the speedo accurate too and they are well within the size that can fit on the standard 6 1/2" wide wheels.

On the downside, the 225/60-15's made the car ride a bit harsher - if you use this size, it is particularly important that you keep the tire pressure near the minimum which, if I remember correctly, is 30 psi for a 90 LS.

ychachad

Raybestos Ceramics made a big difference over the OEM compound. First I tried the front, as most of the braking bias is in the front. Big difference. So I changed the rears too, not expecting much. I was surprised how much changing the rears made as well.

MRLEXO

I'm planning on upgrading to a Supra TT brake setup or maybe 95-00 LS400 brake kit onto my 1st gen. The Supra brakes have been done before, but I don't beleive the 95 brakes has been attempted.

mmccutchin

1993 LS400 here. . .recently had local dealer replace front and rear break pads. . .now there's this occasional squeaking noise when you hit the brakes. . .both in dry and wet weather conditions. . .I'd say about 2-3 times for every 10 times you brake. What could be the problem?

CUMan

These brake pads have shims which help to prevent squealing. Make sure that the service people reinstalled these shims.

Also, it is always a good idea to apply anti-squeal material to the back of the pads and to the shims. This material is cheap and takes only a few minutes to apply. I would think that all brake repair folks would use it, but some don't..

Eric BMW

Stealerships generally dont use the anti squeal stuff because OEM pads generally never squeak. How long ago did you change your pads? Very recently? Within 100 miles?



Im hoping to see if improvement with these pads andthen may consider hving them put on 225 tires and swap them to the rear because their fronts are about to go.

-Eric

mmccutchin

Former owner had new front and rear brake pads installed at 161K. . .car now has almost 165K. . .I like the checking for "shim" idea. . .anything else I should have the dealer look at, so as to eliminate the squeak noise?

SportyStar

Howdy,

I think that third brand you have in your list up there, might you be referring to "Akebono"? Akebono is actually an OE manufacturer of brake components for many Japanese vehicles, but recently they've expanded their aftermarket operations and now offer their "Pro-Act" and even newer "Euro" and "Street Performance" line of ceramic pads. I use Akebono on my other cars, and plan to use them on my IS350 when the time comes. I've had great results - no squealing, no vibration, ultra-low brake dust, and smooth, consistent braking. The front set for the LS400 retails for about $60+ if you can find them in your area. There aren't too many distributors, but I think if you call around, or check the net, you might find something. I would highly recommend them, they're well worth the cost.

Eric BMW

I ordered online. The idea of a low brake dust pad escapes me. It kinda defeats the purpose of a brake pad in the first place...

SportyStar

Glad ya found what you were looking for. Oh, what I meant about "low brake dust" is that the friction material doesn't "shed" all that dust on the wheels, which makes it more of a chore to keep those nice wheels clean.

Eric BMW

A brake pad that isnt shedding much dust is a brake pad that isnt working very well in my eyes.

Kansas

I think you have gotten too used to how long brake pads last on European cars and how much dust they give off. I rarely got more than 25K or 30K miles from front brake pads on the three Mercedes I have owned. A retired friend of mine is having the same situation with his Merc E320 and he certainly doesn't drive the car hard.

Brake pads last much longer on an LS400. For example, my current LS400 has 68,000 miles on it and still has the original brake pads. When I checked the front pads a few weeks ago it looks like they might last until the 90K service.

I suspect that the main reason that my current 00 LS stops so much better than my previous 90 LS with its standard skinny tires is simply that the 00 LS has a substantially larger tire contact patch grabbing the road.

Interestingly, at the time I bought my 90 LS with its skinny 205/65-15 tires, BMW was equiping its 1990 5-series cars with 225/60-15 tires.