Brake Pads/Rotors

[PlatMS6]

Ok my car is at about 45K right now, and my brakes are going to need replacing soon. I am actually very surprised on how they stood up to yr long of agressive driving :p. Yes i do experience brake fade \"BUT\" it is after a lot of play! Now when i change the pads im going to change the rotors as well and am unsure of whether to get everything OEM or go aftermarket...i think i will stick to oem rotors anyways, however that can change.

Now what are my options and also what kind of $$$ ?



...has anyone changed their brakes at a dealer yet? whats the cost?

[FLIPDADY]

As soon as my brakes wear down to minimum I\'m changing over to aftermarket. Ths factory FoMoCo(Ford Motor Company) issue brakes are crap. They haven\'t come out with an updated set yet so I\'m not waiting for that. Anyways the price of the factory brakes are a bit more expensive than some performance aftermarket ones.

[billyfo]

I want to change to cross-drill rotors, yeah laugh at me :D

[bluntman]

FLIPSPEED easily talked me out of getting cross drilled rotors. He said that he tried them once on his Eagle Talon in the winter and found the grip to be less than adequate. The snow that built up in the holes actually made the brake pads intermittently grab and release during braking. I didn\'t like the idea of having to change rotors everytime I swapped out my summer tires.

[civiclad]

Originally posted by bluntman


FLIPSPEED easily talked me out of getting cross drilled rotors. He said that he tried them once on his Eagle Talon in the winter and found the grip to be less than adequate. The snow that built up in the holes actually made the brake pads intermittently grab and release during braking. I didn\'t like the idea of having to change rotors everytime I swapped out my summer tires.

My buddy had the same issue with his cross-drilled rotors during the winter.

I would like to replace the brake pads this spring and I don\'t want to use any pads from Mazda. Not sure if there is any aftermarket, brake pads available for the Mazda 3.

[swales]

Originally posted by civiclad



Originally posted by bluntman


FLIPSPEED easily talked me out of getting cross drilled rotors. He said that he tried them once on his Eagle Talon in the winter and found the grip to be less than adequate. The snow that built up in the holes actually made the brake pads intermittently grab and release during braking. I didn\'t like the idea of having to change rotors everytime I swapped out my summer tires.

My buddy had the same issue with his cross-drilled rotors during the winter.

I would like to replace the brake pads this spring and I don\'t want to use any pads from Mazda. Not sure if there is any aftermarket, brake pads available for the Mazda 3.

You can get Hawk performance pads for the 3.

[Tires23]

Hawks is a great choice, also project MU.

[FLIPDADY]

I actually have a supplier that I but Motul oil from and he carries all the high performance racing goodies. I inquired about brakes for our cars just waiting to hear back from him.

[Ex-Rolla]

Originally posted by FLIPSPEED


I actually have a supplier that I but Motul oil from and he carries all the high performance racing goodies. I inquired about brakes for our cars just waiting to hear back from him.

do i hear a group buy? :D .... j/k

I\'m probably going to replace the pads too. The squeaking in the mornings really bothers me!

Mark

[FLIPDADY]

https://www.kvrperformance.com/can/canada.html

Here are some facts on various rotor styles, click on products. Make your choice.

[triplezoom]

I went to Avante just a few days back to get my car serviced. They have new rotors and brake pads in. So far, no squeaking yet. ;)

[FLIPDADY]

I had the front brakes serviced a couple of months ago and they\'re still squealing in the morning. So I\'m going to order the Hawk HPS pads and the KVR rotors.

[FLIPDADY]

Just talked to KVR, they have a larger 12\" rotor for our cars that comes with a caliper relocating bracket. They\'re sending me more information regarding the different options we have.

[civiclad]

Originally posted by FLIPSPEED


Just talked to KVR, they have a larger 12\" rotor for our cars that comes with a caliper relocating bracket. They\'re sending me more information regarding the different options we have.

Please keep me updated, I notice they only have the pricing for the rotors and not the pads.

[SoopaBanana]

I would love to see more info on that as well. My brake started squeaking approx. 1 week after I picked up the car... Is that even normal?

[civiclad]

Originally posted by SoopaBanana


I would love to see more info on that as well. My brake started squeaking approx. 1 week after I picked up the car... Is that even normal?

As far as I know this is NOT normal. I have had a few other cars and I have never had this problem.
Yep, the squeaking is just embarrassing.

[SoopaBanana]

Thanks Civiclad... time to give Avante a call!!

[FLIPDADY]

The problem is the brake pads and the rotors. I had mine machined already at 6,000km and they\'re still just as loud as they were before.(crappy pad --> meet crappy rotor) I\'ll keep everyone posted.

[triplezoom]

Originally posted by triplezoom


I went to Avante just a few days back to get my car serviced. They have new rotors and brake pads in. So far, no squeaking yet. ;)

I take that back. Brakes still squeak a bit in the morning, but not as loud as b4. :(

[MZ3_GS]

Cross Drilled Rotors are Rice

[mEtH]

do you happen to know the advantages of cross drilled rotors, or even cross-drilled and slotted at that.

[FLIPDADY]

From my experience on my 2 previous cars cross drilled rotors were better. On my Civic the difference was like night and day. Light pressure on the brake pedal and the pad bite was amazing. On my Talon I had both cross drilled and slotted but when winter came along the cross drilled holes iced up and were a bit dangerous to drive on. The cross drilled rotors cool better.

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Originally posted by FLIPSPEED
The cross drilled rotors cool better.

this is a common misconception. a properly designed vented rotor (no holes, dimples or slots) will cool far better than a cross-drilled or slotted rotor. why? heat transfer. the more surface area you can provide between the pad and the rotor, the better the heat transfer. as for cooling, the vanes in a vented rotor is what provides the air flow necessary for convective heat transfer. the better the design of the vanes, the better the air flow. this is why the front rotors are vented and the rear are solid discs - the fronts do a majority of the work and, thus will heat up more.

cross-drilled rotors and, subsequently, slotted rotors, were created to provide a channel for gases to escape. brake fade occurs when the rotor can\'t effectively dissipate the heat between the pad/rotor interface. when this happens, gases are formed that will prevent the pad from making contact with the rotor. you can try this yourself by doing multiple, successive high speed stops from 100km/h to 5km/h ...you will notice that, as you keep doing it, it will take more effort to push the brake pedal down.

thus, cross-drilled were \"first on the scene\" in race cars to provide a way to minimize brake fade. however, cross-drilled rotors have a tendency to crack where they\'re drilled. the only rotor that won\'t crack is one that has the holes cast in the rotor (expensive Brembo drilled rotors come to mind) - i.e. the holes are there as the rotor is made, not drilled after.

then came slotted, they eliminated the tendency to crack, provided a channel for the gases to flow through, but also reduced surface area - although not as much as cross-drilled.

take a look at most race cars, they will either have solid discs, or slotted rotors.

if you\'re getting aftermarket pads with stock rotors, 9 times out of 10, they will stop better than a combination of stock pads and a cross-drilled rotor, or aftermarket pads and a cross-drilled rotor (if bedded properly).

hope that helps :)

[MZ3_GS]

Originally posted by methodyst


do you happen to know the advantages of cross drilled rotors, or even cross-drilled and slotted at that.

I don\'t because there are none.
None What so ever.

Read the post above this one.

[midnightfxgt]

Simply adding cross drilled or slotted rotors wont improve much for you. I have had them. Unless you autocross, or are EXTREMELY hard on brakes you wont notice much at all. That being said, if you happen to come across a set of HPS pads, that will make a nice difference. The only reason I have bought cross-drilled rotors is because I set up a BB andthey were cheaper than OEM, and CAD. plated.

~JOHN

[Shat2]

how much are those HPS pads or those Cross drilled rotors... all this stuff is makin me jealous

[Shat2]

i saw some brembo rotors for 95 dollars each at pmall looked nice.. wanted to get some. i forgot the stores name.. :p

[civiclad]

I e-mailed the folks at KVR about the availability of Brake pads for the Mazda 3 GT and here is the reply:

I am assuming you have an 04\'.

At this time we do not have this brake pad application ( expected within 6 ~ 8 weeks -no pricing at this time )

Regards,

KVR

[PlatMS6]

when i looked at my pads and rotors today my fronts were still in excelent shape however my rears were chewed up pretty good. the rear rotors are looking deformed with practically no \"meat\" on the pads

ive been looking for replacements without success


1. how much will it be in parts for oem ones
2. any aftermarket ones out yet? rear pads + rotors (i have no need for crossdrilled/slotted rotors, just a good quality zolid one is fine)
3. est. cost of replacing these at a shop other than mazda


thnx guys ;)

[lukel90]

my rears are totally worm and i had them fixed (replaced) where as my fronts still have 50% life left according to the dealer. Rear pads were 101.34

[cookie]

Okay for the person who said their break squeeked did you get them replaced for free? Mine has been squeeking since I first got my car back in September and finally last month I went to the dealer and bitched about it and they changed all 4 break pads and the rotor as well. Does anybodies passenger window make this clicking noise when you are rolling up the windows? Mine does and they told me that all Mazda3\'s do that. What lazy mofos. Scarboro dealer sucks.

[bluntman]

Originally posted by cookie

Does anybodies passenger window make this clicking noise when you are rolling up the windows? Mine does and they told me that all Mazda3\'s do that. What lazy mofos. Scarboro dealer sucks.

Some people who have had the problem said that it was caused by a loose window crank motor and that simply removing the interior door panel and tightening the motor\'s bolts/screws will solve the problem.

[majic]

Originally posted by bluntman



Originally posted by cookie

Does anybodies passenger window make this clicking noise when you are rolling up the windows? Mine does and they told me that all Mazda3\'s do that. What lazy mofos. Scarboro dealer sucks.

Some people who have had the problem said that it was caused by a loose window crank motor and that simply removing the interior door panel and tightening the motor\'s bolts/screws will solve the problem.

ha.. i\'m not the only one.. i have that same problem. it\'s only on the up motion (power windows) and it seems to be front passendger only.

[cookie]

Yeah I think it is because the bolt is too loose. And probably if I keep rolling it up and down it could get and probably will get only looser. It\'s only on my passenger window when I\'m rolling it back up too. Did you get it fixed or you just left it?

[cookie]

Okay wth. My breaks are squeeking again.

[m_a_t_r_i_x]

my breaks squeek like im driving a dump truck (especially when it rains)....so fckin annnoying!...seriously considering changing them to aftermarket ones....

[cookie]

I just got my breakpads and rotors changed from Mazda in January too. But I went to the Scarb Mazda. Maybe that\'s why.