cabby850

HI,

The front rotors and pads of my 95 LS400 need to be replaced soon and I am thinking of taking this chance to upgrade to performance brake rotor. Does anyone have experience with Brembo Cross Drilled rotors with Porterfield brake pads in a LS400? I was able to find them for $320 combined.

Should I go with these after market performance brakes or should I just get Factory Lexus rotors and pads? And Why?

Any suggestion is appreciated.


THanks


Ed

95ls400

Cross drill rotors is superior for braking power but you will trade off for reliability. They been know for easy wraping and crack. Best use for them is for the race track or show car queen. I would recommend go with fatory rotors and a high performance pad for street use. EBC pad is good choice.
Every time you service the front brake I also recommend do the rear at the same time. That way you get even wear front and rear and also even brake distribution front and rear.

scbysnx

I thought cross drilled warped less because they dissapated the heat better

Lvangundy

hmm your 95 may have better luck than my 90 did with aftermarket rotors and pads. The 95 has a dual piston caliper, while the 90 has a single piston.

I tried powerstop cross-drilled rotors in the front and it didn't take very long before they warped. They were also very noisy. I didn't notice any better stopping power, but from what I'm told the pads are more of a concern with stopping power. I also tried some generic performance semi-metallic pads but they squealed bad and started grinding alot. I also went through another set of generic rotors after the cross-drilled and those seemed OK.

I replaced the fronts with toyota factory rotors and pads about 2 months ago and everythign has been good. Stopping power is better than before.

Just rememeber, it's hard to tell if the pads you try are better than what you had on previously as the old pads are most likely worn anyway. If you're really up for comparing, get a new set of factory pads (toyota) and a set of green stuff or other performance pad and see what you like.

Anything new is better than some old 5% remaining pads and rotors.

95ls400

Yes they do dissapated heat better than regular rotor but since they been cross drill, their structure intergity has been compromised and become weaker than regular rotor

seanl

I don't agree with this....the front brakes on most front engine RWD cars do significantly more work than the rears....on our LS400s it's probably 65/35. The rear brakes don't wear at the same rate as the fronts.

I would inspect the rear pads as frequently as the fronts, but they won't need changing that often.

Regards,

TomWahjudi

Alright, too many myths floating around

X-drilled rotors are usable when your brake pads outgas. The holes are there to relieve the gasses produced by overheated brake pads. On street cars, they are useless other than wearing the brake pads very quickly. Same with slotted rotors. Just think cheese graters.

Case in point is my brother's twincharged MR2. He put x-drilled/slotted rotors on all 4 corners. He's now complaining about how his expensive EBC Greenstuff pads on all 4 corners already needing replacement only after 9-10 months of use.

On top of it, the holes/slots reduce the rotor mass that's useful in thermal capacity. On top of it *again*, the holes serve as stress risers, this is why x-drilled rotors crack. You might argue: well, they are chamfered to reduce stress. The answer: you cannot chamfer the inside surface of the vented rotors.

Then some of you might argue, then why Porsche uses x-drilled/slotted rotors on their 450+hp 911 turbos ? Well, they are not x-drilled/slotted, they are cast/forged with holes/slots built into them. Still stress risers, but they are much better.

Recommendation: get plain jane rotors and save your money. If you can find plain Brembo or Brady brand, it's better. As far as brake pads, go get the ones that you like (less dust, no squeal, rotor friendly, etc.). My favorite is EBC Greenstuff for street use. I even autox on them since both of our pseudo race cars use EBC Greenstuff. The LS400 will have it too once it needs replacement.

Porterfield is a good brand. I have no experience with them, but I have heard good reviews. The price is about the same as EBC Greenstuff. Make sure you stick with the street compound (R4S if I'm not mistaken). R4E will need a little more temperature to reach operating range.

Also, at least on UCF22 the front calipers have FOUR piston and the calipers are fixed instead of floating. These are the same calipers from JZA80 with smaller rotors. I doubt the UCF11 has single piston front calipers, it has to have at least two piston floating calipers.

If you are just going to replace the front pads/rotors, that's fine, but do check the rear, if the rear pads/rotors are still in good condition, there is no need to replace them if they are. But then, it's up to you. Most of the time, the rear is worn so little compared to the front. I have gone thru 2-3 sets of front pads on my Talon AWD and the rear still has the original pads that the car came with.

Good luck on your search and don't get ripped off. Those front pads (without rotor replacement) only needs 15 minutes each side to replace Gotta love 4-piston fixed calipers !

TFW

healerhand

I cant speak for 95, but my 90 had been there few times.

When i got the car, i needed to change the rotors. I was recommanded by my mechaninc to use Brembo. After less than two thousand miles, the POS was shaking during freeway speed braking. Took my car back and got me another set of Brembo. Same thing happen after few thousand miles.

Next i got smart and got some cross and drill rotors by Bredi (spelling). The POS happen also after few thousand miles. FINALLY, I got some OEM from Lexus dealer. Its holding up great. Get OEM Lexus Rotors.

seanl

I agree with TomWahjudi 100%....I just didn't have the time to go into as much detail.

I do have experience with Porterfield pads, I used the R4-S compound as my Viper's street (S) pad. Great pads, quiet, relatively clean (compared to others) and work well cold. That's what a good street pad should do.

But don't know what compounds they make for Lexus. I recently replaced my front pads with factory Lexus pads that I ordered from Carson Toyota. They work fine and are quiet, no squeals.

jasoneyes

I believe in OEM. OEM rotors are always true never warped. Aftermarket can't come close to the quality control of OEM. As far as brake pads,OEM is best. Most OEM pads these days are special ceramic formulas which are quiet,long lasting,low dust,good heat transfer,excellent stopping power,and for the most important part......OEM pads will not overheat your rotors which will warp them and make your car shake like hell. Clean everything spotless and Don't FROGET TO GREASE YOUR BRAKES AND YOUR CALIPER PINS!!
CORNING MOLYKOTE M77<-----this stuff is awesome. A good OEM brake job will outlast any other period.

ATSOU

So the best combination is stock rotor with stock pad or stock rotor with aftermarket pad?
And how about the caliper? My brakes are so squeaky......I really need to get them fix.




SLOWEST LS on the street with the WORST BRAKES:
www.sounddomain.com/id/kenjitsou

95ls400

let me explain
it is true that on most car, the front brake alway work harder than the rear but they will have to work together in order to have max braking power. Let say you replaced the front brake and keep the old rear brake. The rear brake already wear out a little and will have more clearance between the pad and the rotor than the front since the front brake is brand new. In case of light braking the front brake will enage first and the rear will engage later, that mean only the front brake is working to slow dow the car. When you apply full braking and the rear brake will fully engage as the front. So it will be best to have the front and the rear engage at the same time.

seanl

This is incorrect. The rear piston extends further out of the caliper housing as the pad wears....there isn't an ever increasing 'wear gap' as the pad gets thinner. Since the braking system is The fluid level drops a small amount as more fluid is drawn into the caliper to push the piston out.

I'm sorry, but this is totally incorrect. I don't mean this to be taken as a flame, but have you ever worked on a braking system before?

Regards,

jasoneyes

Lexus OEM Rotors,Lexus OEM Pads,New Hardware(Clips Shims),
If you replace everything OEM and grease your brakes properly,
THEY WILL NOT MAKE EVEN A WHISPER. If you use aftermarket this and that something always happens during the life of the brakes. Lexus OEM brakes are more than adequate.