brakes Brakes Brakes
 

Hi Guys,
I have '10 outlander XLS with roughly around 35k miles and I can feel the brakes need attention in the near future. My mechanic said the pads still have about 30% life in it, but when stopping, it doesn't have the confidence anymore - too much pedal travel and there is slight shudder. No leaks or anything.

I'm thinking of getting new rotors and ceramic pads (definitely for front and may be for back too just so everything is at the same level and I don't have to worry about rear later)

I was reading our forums and thought I will go with power stop brake kit (drilled/slotted rotors with ceramic pads). When I called my mechanic to get a quote for install labor, I told him the brand I was thinking of getting and he immediately mentioned that those are the cheapest ones and they always use AC Delco or Acebono. Looking at various sites/reviews, every one seem to give very positive feedback about Powerstop brake kit.

Now I do not know if should get it or not. Or If I should get other brands like EBC rotors/pads or StopTech rotors+Akebono ceramic pads (from tirerack) or just have my mechanic put "premium" pads/rotors and be done with it.

I don't mind paying a little extra for quality product. Please advice.

Wagner ThermoQuiets have worked very well for me. I'm about 45k miles into my pads after about 75k miles on the OEM...still stop very well. I kept the OEM rotors. I read somewhere that Akebono pads were OEM for our vehicles.

What shuddering are you getting??? pulsing in the brake pedal? entire vehicle doing something?

When applying brakes, I get vibration in the steering. If I want to use the existing rotors, I will have to reface them when changing pads. That's why I'm trying to see if changing both rotors and pads would help. If so, go with a good quality rotor/pads

IMO, I'd try to get the OEM rotors turned and get some good pads. I don't think you'll go wrong with ThermoQuiets, Akebono, EBC, or other higher end pads.

when I did mine, I didn't even scuff up the rotors. Rotors looked great, so just slapped new pads on. it worked just fine.

Brakes still suck
 

Hi,
Sorry to dust up an old topic..

(2010 Outlander XLS - 49000 mi)

So, 6 months back, I had my mechanic change the pads and rotors on all 4 corners (i asked them if I can get specific brands like EBC and they said they cannot install customer parts due to liability blah blah and assured they use premium parts).

So, 6 months into it, I still don't like how the brakes feel (it doesn't have a good bite /no confidence/not enough stopping power - so I had the same mechanic check it - pad/rotors checked ok - no abnormal wear and no leaks/fluid levels ok).

My outtie is in the body shop (a good friend of mine) due to a fender bender and he said he can change the pads while the car is there. I want to install EBC green supreme or Hawk LTS (atleast on the front to see if there is any improvement).

Should I go for it? Also, I was looking at installing braided brake lines to see if I can eliminate spongy brake pedal feel - I looked at sites like tirerack/autoanythin, but couldn't find anyone offering for outtie. Has anyone installed one - if so, where did you get it and is it worth it?

if you are saying you have spongy brakes, perhaps the lines need to be bled? have you ever flushed the lines with fresh fluid? if not, you might have a buildup of water in your lines (which happens naturally over time), which has a lower boiling point than brake fluid...bubbles causing things to be spongy.

I flush mine every other year. I'm still on my OEM rotors and 3rd set of ThermoQuiets. Romping on the brakes works amazingly well. Luckily I don't have to do it often, but thankfull when I do.

I have used
 

I have used Power Stop Rotors and Brakes, EBC Brake pads and Rotors and Bosch Brake Pads and Rotors. I would recommend Bosch over all others because of the price and quality. You can get them cheap on Amazon and just install them or have a shop do it.

Thanks for the feedback guys. I bit the bullet and ordered a set of EBC green supremes for the front. I will have them bleed the brakes (I can't recall when I did it last) and install these pads. The vehicle is still in body shop and I will only get it around the 1st week of Jan. I will post back with an update.

Update
 

Hi Guys,
Got the car back from bodyshop. Only bled the brakes as 2 mechanics mentioned that the brake pads/rotors are still brand new and no need to change it and in their opinion , the brakes are fine.

I'm thinking(convincing myself :) ) it may be just in my mind as my other car is a '13 fusion hybrid - the brakes in it, with regenerative braking, is a bit touchy (which I like) and switching between cars, the pedal feel is a totally different.

I didn't install the EBCs in outtie, will save it for next time.