Looking for experiences... Used ceramic on last brake job and am very happy with them. Need to buy brakes for another vehicle tomorrow, and when I called the parts store the guy said that semi-metallic were noisier and dustier but "would handle the heat better" if I were to use a vehicle for towing/hauling (which is, coincidentally, entirely possible.) My previous impression was that ceramics were supposed to be better all around, including heat resistance. Not so?
Only reason I didn't pick up stuff right away is that apparently there are two options for rotors and there's no way to tell which I need until I get the vehicle back (it's at the shop that I dropped it off at for an inspection and oil change, and they haven't got to the oil change yet... and I'm happier leaving it there than in front of the house, because there's apparently a cop that wanders the neighborhood that would love nothing better than to write a ticket for no inspection sticker) and all the options are in stock at my FLAPS anyway, so I can just get home from work, throw the vehicle up in the air, pull a rotor, and then go to the parts store.
They're within 10 dollars, really just looking for a reality check on the statement that they don't handle heat as well as SM.
Although I might just order some Performance Friction "carbon metallic" and be done with it, they're actually cheaper online than any of the parts store stuff. Then I'm running the risk of being porked though for not having a valid inspection for a couple days...
The only way to know is try them. There's unknown variables, like how they will affect rotors and the "feel" you want. I think the organics have the best "feel." But that might be pure imagination. I've got ceramics on my Lumina and my son has them on his Bonneville and his wife's Caddy. No complaints from me. Son's been doing all the brake jobs and checks pad wear frequently. Says they hardly wear, and don't heat up as the others do. They never screech like semi-metallics often do. Also says they're said to tear up rotors faster than the others but hasn't noticed that, and doesn't care since GM aftermarket rotors are about 15-20 bucks so if he sees scoring he just puts a new rotor on.
Well I ordered the PF pads... should be here in a day or two. Don't know if that was the "best" choice but they've had a good name for years so we'll see *shrug* Still have to order rotors though... wouldn't you know it, the vehicle I have apparently had a mid year break in rotor style and I need to actually get it up in the air and pull a rotor to tell which ones I need. Was planning on doing that yesterday but we had snow/freezing rain overnight... it's not any warmer today but at least it's dry. Fun fun!
Anyone use "Centric" brand rotors? My FLAPS has rotors (both styles) in stock but they are just standard rotors; I can get Centric brand ones with an e-coating for about the same price online and that would make me happy because I'm kind of a detail freak. Are there any reasons I should stay away from them?
the rest of your verbal bowel movement is not worthy of response. but on this point, i simply have to mock.
no nate, there is no way for the [non engineer] consumer to evaluate "residual stress", the "there be dragons fear factor" you're trying to blather about. and if you knew why, you'd not even be trying to play that game in the first place because it proves that you are indeed the "history, tasting and lego" 6-year kind of "engineering" grad.
enjoy your nice warm sofa nate. i have to go get my hands dirty. and i hope your brake disks are made by someone who slept thorough their dumbed-down "materials for engineers" modules like you apparently did.
"I put Centric Posi Quiet Pads and Centric Rotors on my cars and my customer's cars, and they are really nice, and no issues. They even have a coating on the rotors that prevent the ever famous rusting on these cars."
FWIW. I just searched for "Centric." And maybe the guy quoted above knows squat. Still more info than you'll find here. Might be more about them, might not. Don't have an Impala, don't want one.
I registered on that forum just for kicks to do the search. Didn't even require a link-back from email.
Looks like they still cover the old RWD Impalas too, so you have to drill to W-body or 7th-gen or whatever it is. Might be better Impala forums - or not.
A quick browse seems to not show the technical weight found in the Bonneville forum, but I didn't look close.
One thing for sure, you won't run across any jim beams there, or any bullshit about 20 year old Hondas.
> "I put Centric Posi Quiet Pads and Centric Rotors on my cars and my > customer's cars, and they are really nice, and no issues. They even > have a coating on the rotors that prevent the ever famous rusting on > these cars."
It's actually not for the Impala - I wouldn't be working on that, it's Frowned Upon - but for a Cherokee that I just picked up. I didn't see a LOT of reviews, but I did see enough positive that I feel reasonably comfortable ordering them. I tend to stick with known brands like Raybestos or Bendix so I have some assurance of quality and up until a few years ago I'd never heard the name Centric. And I do brake jobs so seldom (I'm easy on brakes) and most of those are for collector type cars where you really only have one or two choices for parts that fit, so other than the big names I'm not real up on who's good and who's not. It seems to be especially important to get good brakes on an XJ as the general consensus seems to be that the brakes are barely adequate, and mine does seem to require a healthy shove compared to most other vehicles (haven't had to panic stop it yet, but no sense tempting fate, especially when the inspector told me they were thin.)
Now to outside and pull a rotor so I can see which one to order... I'm a couple hours behind as my roommate's jack (which he actually just bought and I was the first person to use) didn't actually jack, so I had to return it and get another one... I've actually got a good shop jack, but it's farther away than the store...
My Lumina had rotors that you have to measure the diameter to be sure of the part. I hate when they do that! I've bought rotors on eBay and it's cheaper than getting it locally if the seller is smart and uses a flat-rate box. Boy, my mailman hates that! I installed a set of cross drilled rotors on my brother's Lumina. I can't tell you how they worked but my brother said he was happy with them. I think it was less than $140 for the rotors, disks, and shipping. Gosh, that's cheap!
Sounds good for drilled rotors. I just go to local O'Reilly's and pick them up for $15-20 each. Not drilled, just plain rotors. They gave me the right ones for the Lumina Only put on a few sets or rotors on cars, and they held up and were never replaced. Slight scores on rotors don't bother me. When they get where they dig up the pads too fast I replace them. Ever since I picked up rotors the FLAPS said fit my Celebrity, but didn't, I bring the old ones in to match. Try to do that with most parts. The Celebrity had heavy-duty rotors for some reason. They had them at the same store, but didn't ask me if that's what I needed. And I didn't know squat. Hell, it was a different bolt pattern.
Pfft. Your bullshit detector is apparently inoperable.
Good luck finding a forum with unlimited tolerance for functionally illiterate Googletards.
Yeah? How hard was that...?
Shoulda searched some more. You might have come across this gem:
"how to organize stuff in trunk?"
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Or this condemnation of his Impala:
"It's actually my company car, so I practically live in it. I'm trying to maintain this one properly, as by the time I'm due for a new company car, I'll likely need a new personal vehicle as well, and I'm gambling that the buyout on this one will be within my budget, and that there won't be anything more appealing on the used market for the same price."
I tried to stay on the rotor topic. Basically killing time, and I enjoy car banter. I know Nate is often full of shit. Saw that back in '95 or '96 when he thought an old Dodge Dart he was fixing was almost a "classic." Pure kid. I unloaded my '74 Swinger on my father-in-law. Always felt guilty about that. I cried at his funeral mostly thinking about how I did him wrong. Didn't matter the 225 was solid, the rest was junk.
Then Nate was complaining about the Impala steering wheel covering coming off. I told him that happens mainly because some drivers can't resist gripping and twisting on the wheel like they did hard wheels. You can't do that with covered wheels. Think he just went away that time.
Not long ago he was trying to tutor me on Chevy lifter noise. Tutor me on Chevy lifter noise. That time I just went away. Too silly.
Now he posts asking about Centric rotors, but doesn't mention they're for a CJ. And I go the Impala forum to look and he doesn't mention he's been there.
Anyway, I forgive him all that, because bad as he is, he still talks cars, even if I don't agree with him much. No sense holding a grudge. And jb is No 1 asshole here, and a Hondahead to boot. Makes Nate look good to me. All just part of usenet.
I changed my front pads yesterday on my Hyundai Sonata. I wanted to change the rotors but the darn things are held on with a couple of screws so I need to dig up an impact wrench. If I can't find one, I'll drill those suckers out. I don't intend to replace them either. :-)
I like the ceramic pads that I installed though. I anticipate not ever hearing a peep or a squeak out of them. They were bought off from eBay and they're pre-scorched. I don't know what that means but I hope that's a good thing. :-)
That was before I discovered the chronically warped brake rotors, inability to maintain alignment, etc. My opinion of the car has changed from "well, it's boring as dirt but I suppose it's tolerable" to "wow, it's shit."
well, '74 was a bad year. '71 and earlier can be built to be fun if you start with a rust-free example and build it right.
nobody ever came up with a reasonable solution to the problem. And I don't think you can blame it all on "gripping and twisting" as the plastic actually wore through to the foam. Lesson learned - first thing I bought when I got a new company car was a leather steering wheel cover. Apparently new GM steering wheels are shit.
really? you sure you're talking about me? I don't remember discussing Chevy lifters with anyone at any time in the recent past.
XJ, not CJ. And hopefully they don't make different quality grades for different vehicle brands...?
Why would I? I wasn't talking about an Impala... this time. I gave up on the Impala forums long ago as being full of people who while well intentioned don't really know anything about the cars they're driving.
I think that the theory that I developed long ago which I don't know if I ever bothered to share or not (but will now) still holds true. If you are buying a car that you plan on maintaining yourself, pick one with a rabid enthusiast base. Doesn't matter what it is, just that it's out there. That way there'll be a forum somewhere that searching will answer 75% of your questions and someone will be willing to help with another 20% leaving the last 5% for you to puzzle out yourself... as opposed to a "normal" car where you end up haunting eBay for the FSM (which sometimes is useless anyway... as I found when I needed to replace the wiper motor on my F-150. I never did figure out how one was supposed to pull the cowl cover without removing the hood and/or bending the shit out of it while it's covered with tape to keep the hood corners from scratching it.)
The good news is that Jeep owners seem to be just as enthusiastic about their vehicles as the owners of other vehicles that I've owned in the past, so I am for the most part finding good info. Doesn't look like a lot of people have tried the Centrics on Jeeps yet but at least one vendor of brake pads recommends them which makes me feel a little better (found his site while looking for info. on the mid-99 model year hub/rotor change.)
A brand that works on one platform might be crap on another. Why find out the hard way?
That's all true, and I didn't realize it until we started doing work on my daughter's Eclipse. Very little info, and you have to look hard. Chevy always has "enthusiasts" and where they lack in that, it's made up by volume. Don't know about Impala though. Bonneville has plenty of enthusiasts out there. Never knew that until we did my son's LIM gaskets and plenum. I never cared for Pontiac. Too high-class for me. I did have a '61 Ventura that I totaled. Only thing I remember about it is the trans leaked.
I buy no-name rotors and haven't had a problem with them. But I'm not what you would call an "enthusiast."
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