kevinisbae

IS 350 F Sport AWD
Need something with that comes with rotor and brake pad for the front and rear (doesn't have to be in one set). Not looking for something over the top. Just something with good stopping power and low brake dust or is it better just to get OEM?

Not really related to topic but
Also want to know what I would need to get/do make rear brake same size as the front if I wanted to do this.

kevinisbae

Is it not possible or bad for the car?

Sasnuke

In reference to the brake kit, it sounds like you are just looking for rotors and pads.
There are several threads in the main 3IS forum that talk about brakes. For low dust the Akebono ceramic pads seem to be a popular choice. It seems the consensus is that they have near OEM stopping power.
As for rotors that's a whole debate...once again the consensus seems to be to stick with the blanks unless you plan on tracking the car...then you might look at slotted/drilled rotors.

As for making the rear brakes the same size as the front...it's likely not a good idea. The rear does approx. 35% of the braking, so putting way bigger brakes won't actually give you more braking, it will actually give you less since the OEM rears are only supplied so much pressure to apply them, now the same pressure will be applied to bigger calipers, so they won't have enough power to clamp down on the pads properly.
Additionally the 350 has enough mechanical braking power with the big calipers up front, so using better materials is the best way to improve the braking. Having said that, usually pads with more stopping power doesn't mean less dust, most often, quite the opposite.

kevinisbae

I just bought the Akebono pads and wanted them installed but my mechanic told me I should get new rotors or else I might get squeaks and vibration. He would have to resurface the rotors which would cost almost the same as buying a new one. I was thinking about returning the Akebono pads and buying a brake kit that came with rotors and pads. Thats why I made this thread. But I really do want to try the Akebono pads but can't find a budget rotor, they are either really cheap or really expensive or should I just replace the rotors with oem?

Sasnuke

I would agree that you should do something with the rotors when installing new pads, either replace the rotors or resurface them.
But...and not to doubt your mechanic...but resurfacing a pair of rotors shouldn't cost anywhere near as much to replace the rotors...not even on a good day.
Just to give you an idea about Toyota rotors (as I don't know the price for the Lexus ones):
New Toyota rotor, on average, is about $150-160 CAD (Canadian dollars)...so you're looking about $300 for a pair.
For the Toyota dealer to machine a pair of rotors, they typically charge about $100.
Factor in the cost of Lexus parts, and even add a higher door labor rate for machining rotors, they should still be a tremendous gap in cost.
I would call around for the resurfacing to see what other shops charge.
Consider this, if resurfacing was the same cost as replacement, why would anyone resurface a rotor?!

kevinisbae

My mechanic basically said he hates resurfacing because it takes a lot of time so he would charge me $300 to resurface and put the new pads in for the front and rear. But if I got new rotors, he would just charge me $100 to put the new rotors and pads in for the front and rear. So basically $200 window to spend on rotors. I already spend $100 on the Akebono pads or I could return the Akebono pads and buy a brake kit with rotors and pads for under $300.

Sasnuke

So he's basing his labor charge on his dislike of doing the work...um...yeah
Pretty sure that's a red flag to find a new mechanic.
Did you ask the dealer how much they would charge to resurface the rotors and install customer supplied pads? You might be surprised to find out it's less than your mechanic.

kevinisbae

I don't think the dealer will take my pads, one of the shop I went would not install the brakes pads for me cause its a safety thing and I could sued them if I had issues with the brakes. But if they ordered the brakes for me it would be different story cause they would be able to sued the company. I have a feeling the lexus dealership would say the same thing.

Sasnuke

Doesn't cost anything to call and ask them.
Certainly around here the dealer would install customer supply parts...and it would be noted on the work order that the customer supplied the parts, hence covering the liability aspect.
And I'm sure the shop would install the Akebono if they ordered them, but of course they would cost more than what you bought them for.
Sounds like you're in a tough spot there...all I'm seeing is red flags when you talk about the independent shops around you.

kevinisbae

Would you recommend me to just install the brake pads and skip surfacing/replacing the rotors? My car is only 19k miles

Sasnuke

You could install the pads without resurfacing/replacing the rotors. You may get some brake noise, and it will shorten the life of the new pads...although the Akebono are supposed to last longer than the stock ones, so it may wash in the end that they last just as long as the stock ones.

kevinisbae

I'm surprised they haven't made brake pads that would help resurface the rotors a bit when using them. I might just install them without resurfacing the rotors. Then when they are worn out, replace them both. How long should a typical brake pad last? Also which is better brand stoptech or centric? Couldn't seem to find any akebono rotors or kits for Lexus.

Sasnuke

Brake pad life is really dependent on driving style. There's some threads on here about brake pad life...at the end of the day it's still back to driving style.
For me I usually get about 50,000kms out of a set of pads. I've only had my Lex 1 year and 10,000 kms, so I'm waiting and seeing.

With the resurfacing, the rotor is actually mounted on a brake lathe. The lathe spins the rotor while a cutting blade on each side of the rotor basically shaves/machines/cuts a thin layer of metal off the surface of the rotor.
This will remove any hot spots, rust, slight warpage, and any old embedded brake pad material.
Usually you can get one good machine out of a rotor. By time the second set of pads wear out on that rotor, they are close to the minimum thickness and it needs to be replaced with the pads.

I think there is also a thread on here that talks about rotors. I've seen centric mentioned before, but stoptech is also a well known brand.