Brake Rotor recommendation
#1
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
What brand for brake rotors and pads?
I coming up on 50k miles on my 14 rx f sport. Looking to replace my rotors and pads. What brands do you like? I'm doing them diy after watching many many YouTube videos. I'm not looking for racing performance, but good quality pads and rotors. Any advice?
#2
Pit Crew
I like Brembo rotor and EBC pads. But I cannot find any Brembo OE rotor for Lexus RX Gen3, so I might go with some other brands I familiar like AC Delco, Bendix or Bosch. If you like more sporty rotors you might try slotted rotors, but not cross-drilled ones which are easily cracking or becoming concentric circle wavy.
#5
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
try these....... I've heard some good things. I think pads are less important....
https://www.tirerack.com/brakes/brak...RatingsReviews
https://www.tirerack.com/brakes/brak...RatingsReviews
#6
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
#7
Moderator
The advantage of OEM is you know what to expect .. just like eating at McDonalds.
There are too many variables when it comes to brake setup, longevity, dust, warping, weight, rotational inertia, heat retention and radiation, fading, boiling etc.
Much of the conventional thinking gets thrown out of the window due to ABS. Regular thinking has been effort of braking and wheels comping to a stop, but the abs releases the pressure.
Since manufacturing is predominantly done in China, most after market product comes from there. My intention is not to bash/poo-poo stuff from China, but buyers need to be aware where the product has come from.
Lexus pads produce nominal dust till they get worn down to 90% and then lot more dust.
The rotors have a greenish coating to prevent rusting, but the pad contact area gets rust spot by just washing the vehicle. The brakes squeal till the rust is rubbed off (typically one drive).
On my first gen 225K miles, I never needed to have the rotors turned and had I taken the vehicle for a brake job they would have turned them [un-necessarly] . I have stayed with OEM pads and had no issues ever.
Salim
There are too many variables when it comes to brake setup, longevity, dust, warping, weight, rotational inertia, heat retention and radiation, fading, boiling etc.
Much of the conventional thinking gets thrown out of the window due to ABS. Regular thinking has been effort of braking and wheels comping to a stop, but the abs releases the pressure.
Since manufacturing is predominantly done in China, most after market product comes from there. My intention is not to bash/poo-poo stuff from China, but buyers need to be aware where the product has come from.
Lexus pads produce nominal dust till they get worn down to 90% and then lot more dust.
The rotors have a greenish coating to prevent rusting, but the pad contact area gets rust spot by just washing the vehicle. The brakes squeal till the rust is rubbed off (typically one drive).
On my first gen 225K miles, I never needed to have the rotors turned and had I taken the vehicle for a brake job they would have turned them [un-necessarly] . I have stayed with OEM pads and had no issues ever.
Salim
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#8
Instructor
My experience has been quite bad with the OEM set up. Here in Los Angeles where many unlicensed and un-insured people drive, there is no constant flow of traffic. You are always stabbing on your brakes and accelerating like you are on a the COPS TV show. On my gen 1 RX, OEM rotors were warpped in less than 20k miles. At some point, I got sick and tired of resurfacing rotors (and eventually replacing them) that I just gave up and got slotted aftermarket rotors. That's was done at 120K miles. Now it's got 252K miles and I still use the same rotors (the pads were replaced, however).
Last edited by MellonC00; 04-10-17 at 01:29 PM.
#9
I've had very good experiences with Centric rotors for using them over 15 years. They are the parent company of Stoptech which makes high performance brake parts competitive to Brembo with equal quality. For a passenger car like the rx350 i suggest a ceramic style pad like the factory pad. I've used Akebono ACT and Powerstop ceramic forumlas with good experience and OEM feel without harsh wear characteristics on the rotors and similar light dust characteristics. Be sure to break in any combination of rotors and pads properly for best performance and avoid hot spot pad deposit buildup which is often mistaken as "warping".
#10
Lexus Champion
Never had good luck with aftermarket pads/rotors. I stick to OEMs. I know exactly what I'm getting and what to expect and that's important to me, as I have been burned by it in the past.
No screeching noises, no excessive dust, no hissing due to slot surface, etc.
Originals lasted me 50K miles and all were due for replacement. The new ones went in, including new shims, sliding pins were lubricated (must do!) and that was it.
Done and dusted, no unexpected surprises. Drives and brakes like new again.
No screeching noises, no excessive dust, no hissing due to slot surface, etc.
Originals lasted me 50K miles and all were due for replacement. The new ones went in, including new shims, sliding pins were lubricated (must do!) and that was it.
Done and dusted, no unexpected surprises. Drives and brakes like new again.
#11
Brake Rotor recommendation
Hi
My front and rear pads and rotors need to be changed.
The car has 75k miles. (rx350 2010)
Im planning on buying my part from Rockauto because its the cheapest option for Canadian owners
Pads (front and rear akebono.60$ per set approx from rockauto )
But for the rotors (front and rear) I have no clue (Wagner,centric, raybestos and others professional, premium grade brand).
oem is very expensive almost 100$ per rotor so its not an option for me.
what do you guys recommand ? Its just a daily driver for the wife doing 5-6k per year.
My front and rear pads and rotors need to be changed.
The car has 75k miles. (rx350 2010)
Im planning on buying my part from Rockauto because its the cheapest option for Canadian owners
Pads (front and rear akebono.60$ per set approx from rockauto )
But for the rotors (front and rear) I have no clue (Wagner,centric, raybestos and others professional, premium grade brand).
oem is very expensive almost 100$ per rotor so its not an option for me.
what do you guys recommand ? Its just a daily driver for the wife doing 5-6k per year.
#12
Moderator
I have the Raybestos Advanced Technology Rotors and so far their rust prevention has held up. I also have the Raybestos Element 3 pads all around and they too have worked well in the year or so they have been on. I think you cannot go wrong with any of the pads with rust prevention coating in the Premium Section (OE quality with added features) at Rock Auto as all appear to have a rust prevention coating, which is lacking in the OEM rotors. I see that Raybestos has a rotor in this category. I think in Canada you need the coating with all the salt on the road each winter. Even here in Virginia, my OEM rotors rusted pieces such that they failed the yearly safety inspection after 5 years. Good Luck.
Last edited by Clutchless; 09-24-17 at 04:13 AM.
#13
Have your rotors machined/resurfaced. The rotors can be machined at least 3-4 times before you really have to replace them. Lexus factory parts is best. For the price your paying for aftermarket pads, you might as well just buy the factory pads. They last longer and perform better, less noise.
#14
Personally I will never machine another rotor again, mechanic friends have advised the same. Past experience has been that it just increases how soon a warped rotor occurs. On my 2010 450h I reused the rotors as a little bit of rust doesn't scare me provided it is not in the wear area. Past experience on other vehicles has also been positive using premium napa rotors, my preference has been zimmerman rotors but haven't needed them for my 450h (yet) which has 212k kms on it.
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OttawaPhil (12-08-17)
#15
Personally I will never machine another rotor again, mechanic friends have advised the same. Past experience has been that it just increases how soon a warped rotor occurs. On my 2010 450h I reused the rotors as a little bit of rust doesn't scare me provided it is not in the wear area. Past experience on other vehicles has also been positive using premium napa rotors, my preference has been zimmerman rotors but haven't needed them for my 450h (yet) which has 212k kms on it.
You can safely reuse and machine the factory rotors as long as its within the thickness range. You must've had an inexperienced technician that improperly machined your rotors in the past.