Carver

I got the Brembos from speedydynamic.com. They will drill, slot or both for about the same price as plain disks. I got all four for 219.00US.

I've never had drilled rotors before so I don't really know how pad life will be, especially with ceramics. I had them om my previous car, a Town Car, and got 35K on the front pads but that was with factory rotors.

hitthepin

Those Brembo's look nice.

Without knowning much about rotors till my recent brake job, the Rotora's I have to say is a nice product. However, I paid a little less than twice the price of what you paid for the Brembos. I couldn't tell ya if they are better, but they do seem to stop better than factory.

Carver

Brembo is OEM for Ferrari so I figured it's good enough for my 220 HP RX300. They are absolutely great so far. There's a difference in Brembo factory drilled (cast?) rotors and those that are drilled by distributors but c'mon, we're dealing with luxury SUVs here. I'm happy with them, they are beautifully finished for a rotor, zinc plated and they look good behind the wheel, now I just need red calipers.

hitthepin

..and which ones do you have? The factory drilled Brembos or the distributor drilled. Also what is the difference?

My Rotora's are slotted, but not drilled. I really like the look of the drilled. Maybe next time I'll go with those. My Rx300 is actually my wifes car. She could care less what the parts look like as long as the car stops.

When I was going through my ordeal of getting the rotors, she didn't understand what all the fuss was all about. SIGH..

She drove the car today and gave me a big smile and thumbs up when she came home. I should be able to watch football without being disturbed for the rest of the season now.

Carver

I don't know if there's any functional difference between distributor drilled and factory but I understand there's a substantial price difference. Like you, I wasn't schooled in the finer points of rotors and didn't know until after I owned them there was such a thing as distributor drilled and factory.

I'm very pleased with the appearance and function and it would be difficult to convince me I should have spent more money for the factory version.

Lexmex

I prefer slotted since the drilled actually reduces the total surface area, which is the reason I would like to go with Rotoras (or slotted rotors).

tuxlexus

Hi,

I just took my Dad's RX300 for 30K service (car actually has 28K) and I was told that the front pads only have 3/32md of materials left and that the rotors are rusted. They recommended the replacement of pads and rotors for all 4 wheels for about $1200. Having done the same type work of a few cars (BMW E36/E46 3 series and a Maxima), I felt that it didn't warrant that much money.) I did a quick search in google and came to this site. After reading through this thread (got a lot of useful info) I have the following questions:

- Is it really necessary to disconnect the brake hose to change the pads/rotors? I am trying to avoid a flush of the brake fluid.

- If I have to flush the fluid, is there a specific brand of fluid I need to use? Can I flush one axle of a time or do I follow the RR, RL, FR, FL pattern? I have a jack and I can only do one axle at a time. From Auto Repair Reference site, it appears that I only need to flush the front? Thanks Tammy by the way.

- Also, what is the torque spec for the wheel bolts.

- Is it worth it to buy this Haynes service manual?
http://www.***************/mmparts/lex...ir_manual.html

Thank you very much for reading so far. I think from now on I will do the routine maintenance myself and save my Dad some money from the stealer.

TunedRX300

No need to disconnect brake lines, but you need to at least bleed brake fluid to get rid of air bubbles introduced when installing pads and rotors.
Manual calls for DOT3, any fluids will work fine. I used a DOT 4 fluid, ATE Super Blue, which has higher dry and wet boiling points.

tuxlexus

Thanks for the response. Since the dealer just change the brake fluid as part of the 30K maintenance, I will just bleed it. Is there a special procedure for bleeding the fluid or do I just use the "fill the up the reservoir, open the cap, and pump the pedal" steps?

Tammy

If you would, start a new thread, up at the top dropdowns next to search; cut and paste the requests of your post number #67...

When these post get too long, people don't check them as often.

You'll find you'll get better responses, Thanks

hitthepin

Here is a link that TunedRX300 contributed on bleeding the brake fluid. Not sure if you started the brake job yet, but becareful with the rubber boot on the brake pistion.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...RX300+lug+nuts

tuxlexus

Thanks for the link on the informative procedure about the bleeding procedure. Did you perform the exact procedure when you did the pads and rotors change?

I guess I am still not sure from the information that I read so far whether bleeding the brakes after the pads and rotors change is a necessary step.

hitthepin

"I" did not bleed the brakes. I took it to a local shop and had them do it just cause I was tired of working on the car(I did some work on the idol-control valve a couple of days before the brakes).

Though from what I've been told, its always best to bleed or flush the brake fluid. It does make sense. However, I'm willing to bet you'll get differences in opinion. I know some that did not changed or bled their brakes lines after changing rotors and pads and not had a problem.

With my luck though, I didn't want to take the chance. Especially since its a small expense or you can do it yourself.

TunedRX300

I agree it is wise to bleed and flush the brake lines. It does not make sense to spend big $ to upgrade brake components yet get lazy on brake fluid. The physical principle is simple, liquid is not compressible, air is. when I watch all those tiny bubbles coming out of the brake line, I would not let my family to ride the SUV with them. Heck I never like a weak engine but I hate weaker brake even more.

tuxlexus

Thanks. When I bleed the brakes, is it necessary to replace bleeder valve? I have the hose, a handmade bleed pump, and a can of fresh ATE Super Blue in my house. Do I go with the RR, LR, RF, LF order? Also, do you bleed each wheel after you change the pad and rotors or do you bleed after finish changing 4 wheels?

Mu apologies for all these questions.