FJ Cruisers of Northern California

Brakes

So i'm at 91K and just got the 90K service done and the stealership says that my brakes need replacing and will gladly do it for me (just pads) for around $400. I said no way. So now I'm in the market for new brakes! I have 3mm on front pads and 5mm on rears and the rotors are not too far behind so I might as well replace them all at once. Does anyone recommend anything aftermarket? I do a lot of combination highway/city driving and try to get out and wheel at least once a month and will be more once I finish school.

Thanks for the help!

Max

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Maximus (Max) on January 24, 2014 at 10:46am

What do you run on your FJ? They seem very intriguing and the price seems more than fair!

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Permalink Reply by PhoS on January 24, 2014 at 10:59am

My FJ is only @ 45k haven't had to go there yet. :)

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Permalink Reply by Maximus (Max) on January 24, 2014 at 11:13am

Haha lucky you! Well when the time comes what will you go with?

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Permalink Reply by PhoS on January 24, 2014 at 12:59pm

Well, that depends on circumstance. I'll check the rotor runout , if they're good I will resurface them and slap in some akebono ceramic pads. If they're bad enough to need to be turned down they'll go in the the garbage i'll go with the powerstop kit.

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Permalink Reply by NestahEdition on January 24, 2014 at 8:30pm

I have the EBC dimpled/slotted rotors and the pads are the Akebono (Performance) ceramic.

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Permalink Reply by Cowboy on January 24, 2014 at 10:52pm

Fancy!

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Permalink Reply by Maximus (Max) on January 26, 2014 at 3:00pm

What is the minimum on the rotors to get them turned/replaced?

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Permalink Reply by PhoS on January 27, 2014 at 8:01am

Front Disk Thickness = 28mm standard - 26mm min.
Rear Disk Thickness = 18mm standard - 16mm min.

Fun times 7am this morning. Lady in a caddy blows an intersection and I had to slam on the stomper to not t-bone her. Confirmed again the stock FJ brakes are quite good.

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Permalink Reply by Maximus (Max) on January 27, 2014 at 2:26pm

God damn be safe!! Thanks for the information, might just resurface my rotors and get new pads.. now which pads to get

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Permalink Reply by Slow on February 8, 2014 at 9:29pm

I am just curious why some people are using cross drilled rotors with all the drawbacks that they have especially in an offroad situation?

Anyhow I have had great success with power slot and centric premium rotors (both centric) and hawk pads for autoX.

For me when the time comes to do the fj brakes i will probably go with plane jane centric premium rotors with hawk or possibly try the TRD pads. combo has never let me down

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Permalink Reply by Mike Oliver on February 8, 2014 at 9:38pm

My reason for the drilled and slotted is for "on road" use. My FJ is really heavy and I'm not impressed with the braking distance using stock. I've done a lot of reading on rotors and pads and it really seems that drilled/slotted with ceramic pads offer the shortest stopping distance, they also dissipate heat well enough to allow continued braking in short bursts without a lot of performance loss.

As for off road, I hear they are only a problem in mud. I dislike mud, avoid it as much as I can, and stick to rocks. So, I'm not anticipating much of an issue

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Permalink Reply by Slow on February 8, 2014 at 10:33pm

From my experiences i would stick with standard or slotted with good pads... IMO Drilled rotors are for gas/dust dissipation which is negated with today's pads and really have no affect or were designed to on heat dissipation or fade when used in any other situation than prolonged track use even then most now use solid or slotted. Outside of that realm they actually dissipate less heat to the the loss of surface area also this loss of surface area reduces pad to rotor contact reducing overall power not to mention They are also prone to cracking.

This is pretty much the consensus of friends who race and the hallowed halls of the interwebs. But alas to each his own and we all have our preferences!