Opinions on T&C Minivan Brake Rotors & Disc Pads

I'm getting ready to do my wife's front brakes again on the 1999 T&C Minivan. It has 69K miles and this will be the third time the front pads and second time the rotors have needed to be replaced. The last couple of times I've gone with Raybestos Quiet Stop pads and their PG Plus rotors (I got away with resurfacing them last time around). Despite carefully torquing all the wheel lugs each and every time the wheels have been removed, they have not worn particularly well and with just 27K miles the pulsing has become unbearable, the stopping distance is absolutely terrible, and the pads are worn down so will need replacing very shortly. (I plan to do it when I get time come early September...)

I'd like to hear opinions/experiences on the Wagner line of Severe Duty front disc pads as well as the Raybestos Brute Stop and Super Stop compared with the current Quiet Stop pads I have been using. Also, any feedback on the Wagner rotors as compared to the Raybestos rotors would also be appreciated.

The van sees a lot of short haul stop and go driving and adding to that is the fact that my wife is pretty hard on the brakes to begin with... To be clear, I would like to accomplish the following in priority order: 1) provide minimum stopping distance as this van is too heavy and does not stop well to begin with, 2) eliminate/minimize the disc squeal when braking, 3) minimize time before rotor warpage/pulsing, 4) maximize time between pad changes and rotor resurfacing, and 5) minimize brake dust staining on the chrome wheels. Thanks in advance to all for their thoughts.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Shuman
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Bob,

I have always gone with the cheapest pads I can find, yes it generates brake dust, yes they wear out quick. A lot quicker than 27k miles. But overall I save money doing the brakes a couple more times than people who buy the long life pads. And best of all I never have to bother with resurfacing the rotors because the rotors do not get chewed up by the cheaper and softer pads. Putting new pads on is a snap, it takes longer to change into suitable clothes and jack up the van and remove the tires than to change the pads. And I don't care that the wheels are dirtier with the brake dust, nobody sees them on the highway anyhow.

At any rate, if you feel your going through front pads faster then you should I urge you to also do the rear brakes at the same time. Even though the rear brakes supposedly only have 10% of the stopping power than the fronts, if they aren't up to snuff it is incredible how quick the fronts will wear out. And if your rears are drum brakes it is really easy to see 50% left on the shoes and figure they are fine - when in reality the vehicle side of the shoe is worn almost completely out. And also another thing with drums is that drums seem to wear into a cone-shape and as a result the braking force gets concentrated near the top of the cone not spread equally over the drum - so the effectiveness of older rear drum brakes is terrible vn with brand new shoes. Whenever you do drum brakes you must check them for runout, even if they look fine with no grooves theye probably neeed turning.

Ted

Reply to
Ted Mittelstaedt

I think pads are the culprit in many of the situations like this where we automatically assume the rotor is the problem - even for vibration that we assume is rotor warp - I think it is often pad filming issues.

Try a set of Performance Friction Z-Rated? pads.

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')

Reply to
Bill Putney

Reply to
jdoe

Unfortunately, I didn't replace my pads and rotors last time my van needed service as it was in for inspection so I told the garage to go ahead and do the work. I don't know which manufacturer of parts they used specifically, but I know they bought both rotors and pads at the local NAPA shop. I'm guessing NAPA has a range of parts so I realize that doesn't narrow it down for you.

These parts are holding up better than the previous OEM parts did. No pulsing in the pedal after more than 20,000 miles and the pads look to have at least 70% of the material left. And the braking performance is very good.

I think the only solution to your problem is to teach your wife that the brake pedal is a more like a rheostat than a switch. She doesn't need to brake at 100% authority at every stop light. She can begin to coast to a stop when the light turns red and only brake towards the end. :-)

To help encourage this, give her the bill for the new brakes and tell her to think about the nice candle lit dinner this could have bought at your local fancy restaurant!

Matt

Reply to
Matt Whiting

Bill,

Who makes these performance pads? Are they quiet or will they squeal (my wife will make me take them off if they are noisy.) Thanks.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Shuman

Matt, Thanks for the response. My local NAPA offers Raybestos, Wagner, and Taiwanese import white box rotors. I went with Raybestos based on previous advice/recommendations in this newsgroup and they did fine from a warpage standpoint for the first set of pads. I had them resurfaced and now they are giving the trouble with the second set so that is why this time, even though they could probably get resurfaced, I will go for replacement again. Was just hoping Wagner might be a better choice or possibly might get different results with different braking material/pads.

And, yes, I know technique is part of the problem here, but there is no chance this will change with any amount of "instruction" or "coercion".

Bob

Reply to
Bob Shuman

Everything looks fine mechanically in the rears, and they are adjusted up such that the emergency/parking brake works fine and stops the vehicle from slower speed tests. I always thought it was just not proportioned properly directly from the factory.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Shuman

Ted,

Thanks for the insight on your alternative strategy. On my T&C, first, the

27K was a typo, as it has now been just 17K miles. Based on the remaining thickness, I could probably get another 5-8K miles out of them, but the warpage is too bad so they will need to get done sooner. I have averaged about 23K per disc pad set on the fronts.

As to the rear brake shoes, I got 51.6K out of those and they still look near new. I did turn the drums at that time. I do believe the front brakes do about 70% of the stopping on this van.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Shuman

Performance Friction is the manufacturer.

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Unfortunately their web site is no help in finding the Z-Rated part for a particular vehicle - best to call them. In playing with their parts identifier feature for my car, which I know they make the Z-Rated for (they're on my car now), only their carbon metallics seem to come up.

I have not had a bit of noise from them on my Concorde.

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')

Bob Shuman wrote:

Reply to
Bill Putney

Your wife will make you take them off, eh? Methinks I now understand your REAL problem.

Matt

Reply to
Matt Whiting

Reply to
jdoe

Here is an interesting article on the topic:

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Ken

Reply to
KWS

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