do you only need to buy the front pairs? is it necessary to replace the rears? btw, im probably going to go with porterfields.. any comments or suggestions? thanks

 

You don't need to replace all the brakes if the rear ones are okay. However, if the porterfields have a high friction coeficient... then the rear might feel as it doesn't want to stop. The front brakes wear out faster than the rear brakes because there's more stress there. However, it might wear out even faster if you have bad rear brakes that doesn't do it's job.

 

It's not mandatory to replace both sets of pads at the same time, but it's probably in your best interest to do so. Also make sure you turn your rotors as well so you get the most out of your porterfields.
-hype

 

Well, if it were me i would replace the front and back pads at the same time. Also you MUST have all the rotors cut anytime you change the pads. As for the "ceramic" pads i reccomend buying them for the front. I have "united" ceramic pads up front and i love them. Very smooth braking and extremely strong grip when i hit them. I installed semi-metallics in the rear.
Paid $70 for the ceramics (front) and $30 semi-metallic (rear) plus $40 for front/back rotors cut and $60 labor to have all put in.
Any other questions e-mail me.

Ant

 

I want to preface this post by emphasizing that this is a matter of opinion and reasonable people may reach different conclusions even with identical facts.

I would replace the rear pads only if they were close to being worn out. In my experience rear brakes last about twice as long as front brakes. I don't like to throw away good parts. I don't like to fix something which isn't broken.

I would resurface the rotors only if there is a clear reason for doing so. If they are warped or glazed or have prominent wear ridges, they I would have them cut. Otherwise, I'd leave them alone.

 

Replacing the rear brakes along with the fronts is optional indeed. Most of the time, you would have to replace the fronts more ofter because the front brakes do more of the stopping than the rear. This can be seen just by how the front brakes are designed to be bigger than the rear. If you pay attention, the front wheels also produces more brake dust meaning it wears out faster. I would suggest changing the pads yourself because its not too hard, that's if you have time. I would take it to the shop only if my rotors needed to be resurfaced.

 

If _DRU_ were switching to regular brake pads I would say just change the pads and resurface the rotors if they are grooved, but he's getting performance pads. So, wouldn't he want to get the most out of them that he can? I've never dealt with Porterfields, but I imagine that only changing the fronts would make the back pads seem weak. That's speculation on my part though. Besides, if you take the rotors off yourself O'Reileys will resurface them for pretty cheap. I think its around $7 a rotor. The $28 you spend on the rotors isn't all that much compared to the ~$120 for the pads.
-hype