I just replaced my brake pads in the front twice. Each pad, (autozone pads: Duralast, Morse) whenever i would brake from a higher speed, it would start smoking. Does this mean i need to put on OEM? Are my rotors bad? Any help would be helpful. By the way, when i had the Duralast on, people told me they saw sparks coming from my brakes. Now with the Morse, at first they were good, but now it takes a lot of pressure for me to push if i have to stop short.

 

damn this is scary... im curious too. so im taggin..

 

Slow doooown dude!!! But really look at some other brake threads and see what pads they use, I personally wouldn't get anything from autozone unless they carry high quality, I bought pads from there once, never again, they were garbage. It's also best to get your rotors turned by a professional if you can't remember when they were done last so you have an even braking surface. Brakes can mean your life, it's best not to go cheap on them.

 

Oh yeah, the recommended pads autozone had only lasted about 6 months and you can tell how cheap they are by the high amount of brake dust they put out.

 

Check calipers and make sure your guide pins aren't sticking?

 

How are your rotors? Thin?

 

I bought pads from autozone. There is a lot of dust generated by them. At first i had a bad burning smell from the brakes. after a couple weeks, it went away. Now they're fine.

 

no AZ brake parts, bad news!

 

I agree! This may well be the cause of your problem.

 

what pads do you recommend, the ones i got when i bought the car such, they screech and so much brake dust. whats the best to get?

 

i got my brakes here and never had any issues with them

http://www.courtesyparts.com/index.html

 

I've had autozone rotors and pads on my car for over a year now without any problems.

AZ parts are made for normal drivers.

It all depends on how you drive.

I tend to keep braking to a minimum when I drive so my pads tend to last for years. Just gotta know when to take the foot off the gas pedal.

If you're gonna speed and stop fast a lot then you're gonna need higher grade brake parts and wear them out a lot faster.

 

yeah, mine are **** though, and i dont know how many miles are on them, so i wanna change as much as possible

 

JATAN what the hell happened to your car? it got owned!

 

I got Stillen rotors and pads. works great.

 

Does anyone bother to properly bed-in their pads and/or rotors first before making hard stops?

 

You might want to invest in some cross drilled rotors. Stillen has them for reletivly cheap. I just put the rear on and it made a world of difference.

 

Do not get crossdrilled rotors, they will end up cracking on you. The rears might be alright because they don't have to disipate as much heat as the fronts.

 

niss. oem im guessing. but actually what is a good guage to change rotors? when they actually warp???

i mean, i dont wanan change something that doesn't ened to be changed.

 

Was in a parking lot, making a right turn and an old guy was heading towards me. Turned left to try and get away, but I guess he hit the gas instead of the brakes and rammed into me - car spun 90 degrees and the speed limit was like 15 so he must have hit the gas... The old guy has Farmers and the person assigned to my case from Farmers went on vacation and I only have liability so I have to wait and be car-less for a while...

 

There are measuring devices you can buy to check your rotor thickness, but if you take them off Checker, or some place that turns rotors, should measure them before they turn them to see if they need to be replaced. It is really hard to see if they need to be replaced visually. The difference in my old ones and my new ones was not visible. I just got plain flats and new pads and the difference in stopping is very noticeable, I don't have to press near as hard to stop fast or slow. I would spring for slotted rotors for the front if you have the money, the back if you have lots of money
but not really necessary.

It is important to bed your breaks correctly as well. This involves accelerating and breaking quite hard (60mph down to 20 pretty fast) but not to a full stop, do this a few times (4-5) then go as long as you can without applying the breaks. There is a write up some where that explains this further but that is the basics. If you do this and have to stop for some reason the brakes will smoke! Shouldn't be a big problem.

 

holaatchaoi, you definetely need to put some synthetic lube on those glide pins. They are the "bolts" with the funny rubber boots. i just had this exact problem. This past week it was all a mystery but once i did this my brakes are way better plus im getting better mpg.

 

mobil synthetic multi purpose grease?? keke..

been trying to find that. they should slide in and out w/o any trouble right?

 

This doesn't sound like a simple pad problem if you're generating that much heat or a rotor problem, sounds like your calipers are seized, you could try lubing your slide pins, also try to compress the caliper piston, remove your brake master cylinder lid, using a c-clamp the caliper piston should compress fairly easily, but I'm thinking you may want to prepare for new or rebuilt calipers unless you want to go the 300ZX BBk route:

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=410021

 

Thanks for noticing my comment. The recommended procedure is to drive at 60mph, then gently, but firmly apply the brakes until the car slows down to 20mph (don't stop), and then to accelerate back up to 60mph. Do this for 4 to six times. This warms up the pads and rotors. After that do 4 stops from 60 to 20 using fairly hard pressure -- enough to activate the ABS (if you have one). Again, don't stop completely. Lastly, drive for at least 15 minutes to cool down the brakes, and then do three panic stops from 60 to 20. Drive for at least another 15 minutes without using the brakes, to cool them down.

The purpose of this process is to lay down an even layer of pad material onto the surface of the rotor, which will improve brake life and performance, promote even wear, reduce or eliminate brake squealing and chatter, and prevent rotor warping.

 

exactly what'lll be a good place. im sure it'll be hard for some to do exact procedures, but any other alternatives?

 

i just got stock break pads work good =D

 

whats the torque specs on the caliper bolts???

motorvate doens't have specs i dont thik.

 

where have u guys found rear caliper rebuild kits, i cant find them at autozone, where have u guys gotten them