I need new brake pads for my 2007 RX350. I called Napa and they gave me a price for premium rear pads as well as adaptive rear pads. Wondering if anyone has had any experience with either of these as I'm not sure if its worth the extra money to go with the adaptive? Or if I should even be getting the break pads from Napa in the first place. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!!

 

why would you buy aftermarket brake pads? do you think they'd make a performance difference? is it worth the likely squeal and groaning noises you're gonna get?

i use OE brake pads on all my cars, with the exception of my race car, where noise is not a concern...

 

Thanks Narfy! You are probably right! Think I will just go to Lexus, buy the pads use those instead of using the napa pads.

 

I have used "cheaper" aftermarket brake pads and OEM brake pads on various vehicles (Lexus and non-Leuxs), and I don't find any difference. For most daily driving, there is no performance difference between OEM brake pads and aftermarket brake pads.

 

i've run both aftermarket brake pads, aftermarket high performance brake pads, and OE brake pads...

i'll use either aftermarket high performance brake pads if i track or race the car, autoX or circuit... or OE brake pads for EVERYTHING else that gets street driven... the price difference is negligible...

 

the only time i would get aftermarket brake pads is if the oem pads are squeaky and kick up a lot of brake dust.

having said that, i do notice that a good set of aftermarket performance brake pads do provide a better initial "bite" when braking. so if you want better braking feel, it does help to upgrade.

 

With "performance" pads, because of its higher operating temperature range, the performance on normal street usage is actually worst.

Therefore, performance/endurance/race pads should be avoided for normal daily usage.

 

Price difference is actually quite huge between high performance brake pads and OE pads. A set of Porterfield R4 racing pads = +$150. A set of OE pads = +$40.

 

OE pads are typically $75-100... porterfield R4 pads are $150ish.. and they squeal and groan... not a pad i would run in a luxury daily driver... would i run it in a track prepared S2000, miata, or my AE86? hell yeah...

for what OE pads cost, and teh fact that they're designed spefically for each vehicles application, i'd use those on my daily drivers...

ps.. i've never seen or heard of OE lexus/toyota brake pads squealing if installed properly with new or resurfaced rotors...

 

I had heard to avoid the life-time warranted pads because they wear rotor down first. Makes sense to me.

 

I heard about those brake pads where you buy a set and for the life of the vehicle they would replace the pads when they are worn down for free.
I am sure there are fine prints somewhere.
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably itsn't true.