Looking to replace my front rotors. I tow a 14' fishing boat.

I was looking on Rock Auto

Power Stop, Centric, or some other brand? Drilled, Slotted, both? Or Cryo treated?

Thanks for your input/feedback.

 

My OEM rotors are finally giving up the ghost...will change them out at an even 200k miles. Need 2k more miles to go...they are pulsing heavily...I want the bragging rights.

That being said, I'm going to be replacing them with Wagner BD126509E for front, BD180048E for rear, Wagner ThermoQuiet pads, and new caliper pins. I've been pad slapping Wagners since the OEM pads were replaced around 65k miles... They've done pretty well.

 

Drilled/Slotted only dissipate the heat faster (useful for coming down a mountain, but then you should be using your gears anyway), they will not increase stopping power or reduce stopping distance. The only way to do that is to increase the size of the rotor and/or pad surface - more metal = more stop.

The first time I did a pad slap like ccernst, but the factory had incorrectly installed the pins so my wear was incredibly uneven. At 60,000 miles I changed the pads and rotors using local chain store parts. Bad idea. They were warped within a few months.

I drove around mad at myself till I had enough and bought some nice Raysbestos Advanced Tech Rotors and Wagner Super Quiet Pads (probably the same ones already mentioned). I could not be happier with the rotors, I did the back ones a few months later with the same brands. 45,000 miles since and there is a lot a material left on the pads and the rotors are parallel with not a hint of vibration, or pull, when jamming on the brakes at 90 mph.

I have amazon prime so I got them online with the shipping for free, which was good because they mis-shipped me twice. The first time, I had the wheels and rotors off before noticing the difference. Duh.

Good luck and cheers

 

Problem is my current rotors have warped. I suspect in part to towing my boat. Would something that helps dissipate heat not be better for heavier duty applications like towing? I am relatively new to the Outlander - so I am not using the paddle shifters to engine break.

 

The only time I use those things is when coming down a steep incline or when the car is loaded up (I have a roof rack and a trailer hitch rack for camping gear). For the most part, the paddles won't let you go too low and after a while, I notice in regular driving the transmission engine brakes itself, pulling downshifts before I get to (it's a 'learning' engine/trans setup).

You have a point that the cooling in racing style brakes is increased, but they should not heat up that bad in the first place. Personally, I'd go with sturdy over flashy, the best quality metal that is milled to perfection.

One other thing, if you're using your paddles, just pull the plus + for three seconds and you're back in auto. I'd be more curious to find out if you're plugged into the factory harness and if that changes the anti-lock AWC profile.

 

Any part number in the caliper pins? That would probably be smart to replace as well.

How hard is a front DIY brake job on an Outlander?

 

MB699264 is the part # for the rubber ends on the upper pins, they are supposed to allow the caliper to swing up for an "on the car rotor turning" - from the factory mine were in the bottom and the pads wore out like this \ || \ - so since putting the rubber tipped pin in the top, everything has been fine. I like the Raybestos Advanced Technology. I've never seen such nice quality rotors. The Wagner Pads are highly recommended from about everyone. But I really do need perfect rotors up front because I drive too fast on the freeway and need my stopping power to be square and free of any vibrations. So far so good, knock on wood.

The brake job itself is not difficult, you need a long breaker bar or cheater to get the caliper bolts and the caliper mounting bracket bolts loose. And you will need a good amount of torque to put them back right, the manual says 74 ft lbs for the bracket bolts and 32 ft lbs for the caliper pins. I get under there a week later and re-tighten just to be sure because you never know. The bolts are metric sockets and I don't remember if the rotors have the little threaded holes to keep you from bashing them off with a mallad. I do use one lugnut to hold the caliper in place while putting the bracket back on, else it falls on my shin leaving a nice mark.

I hope that answers most of the questions. There is nothing tricky about the front setup. The backs are a pain. Cheers

 

Thanks to all for the recommendations.

Update - I ended up going with the Raybestos Advanced Tech Rotors and Wagner OEX pads.

So far quite pleased with the choice. Thanks to all for the input !!!