Brake Rotor/Pad set replacement: OEM or Aftermarket?

[TKDmasterZ]

I need some recommendation on replacement parts for front brake disk and pads for my 2006 EX-L 4WD. OEM parts are not too expensive, but there are a lot of aftermarket parts that are available for less. Please let me know the brand, model, and the place where I can get them. Thanks in advance.

[humanoid]

They are less expensive for a reason. Tim over at hondacuraworld.com (our site sponsor) sells OEM parts for cheap, give him a call and he can hook you up.

[belundy]

Check out Rockauto.com for non-OEM. Raybestos Professional, Beck Arnley, Wagner.

I bought Raybestos Pro's for a Highlander last year--great quality and machining. Perfect fit.

[whizmo]

There are some good aftermarket brake parts out there, but for an everyday car without unusual requirements, I like OEM for the assured quality and proper fit.

- Mark

[jestmaty]

Can't tell if you're in the US or not, but down in Texas, we have Autozone as a source for replacement parts.

I put on a set of Duralast Gold pads and have been VERY pleased since the job. Maybe 12,000 miles ago...

They are ceramic and are a very low brake dusting material. Like them so much that I took off the brakes from my wife's Pontiac Vibe and put the same Duralast Gold on hers too. That is after I did the first brake pad replacement about 15,000 miles ago and have a ton of pad left on the replacement pads.

Her car needed brakes at about 36k and I put Autozone semi-metallic on it and they were awful. They were grabby and absolutely COATED her aluminum wheels with brake dust. So... even though they still had a long way to go, I spent the $ and got the Duralast Gold and did a 2nd brake job.

If I recall, my '04 Pilot pads cost approx. $35 for the front set and $33 for the rear.

FWIW..

[godzilla]

Is there a way you can check the brake pads without taking the wheels off?

thanks

[whizmo]

Originally posted by godzilla
Is there a way you can check the brake pads without taking the wheels off?

Yep you crawl under the car with a strong flashlight and look into the ends of the calipers. It helps to know what you're looking for. Turning the front wheels full lock right or left helps too.

- Mark

[NJGuy]

You know... I didn't even check the rotor thickness at my brake change back in June. Ooops!
My neighbor has a micrometer and I'll check em soon and report back what I find out.

Just make sure the micrometer can measure thickness beyond 1 inch (I found out after the fact). The Pilot rotors are thicker than that when new or slightly worn.

Is there a way you can check the brake pads without taking the wheels off?

Sure, if the wheels have enough open space you can get a decent view of the outer brake pad thickness. However, the inner pad typically wears out a little bit quicker (not too much, but still a little bit more).
If you take the wheel off, there's a small window/opening on top of the caliper where you can see the brake pad thickness. If you undo the lower caliper bolt and rotate the caliper up, you can pull the pads out for an even better view.

Check out the DIY Brake Thread (stickied) in the maintenance section for more info.

[xGS]

Originally posted by whizmo

I see what you're driving at. Interesting question. I'm tempted to dismiss it out of hand, but I can see how the driver is going to take some small period of time to go from first brake application to full pressure and in this transition period, a pad-rotor combo with a higher coefficient of friction might lock the rotor a bit faster.

Yes, that was my point - actually that pads with a higher coefficient of friction and/or calipers with greater clamping force would lock the rotor "a bit faster" and thus reduce stopping distance. When you're traveling down the road at 100 ft/sec, achieving rotor lock-up just a fraction of a second earlier could result in a nontrivial reduction in stopping distance. This is independent of how hard or fast the driver applies the brakes, as long as it is held constant for the comparison. Likewise, the matter of subjective brake feel is an entirely separate issue.

[beer4799]

my local dealer has occasional sales on service. Last couple weeks has been brakes for $99 per axle. I had it done yesterday front and back, price was accurate.

It figures I missed the $400 timing belt, water pump deal, after I paid $800.

Can't win them all...Dealer is Hamilton Honda......I don't work there, just want to pass on the info...

Cheers!