which brake pads to buy

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kimiga@gmail.com - 26 Feb 2009 18:41 GMT

i was wondering, i have heard a lot of good and bad things about semi
metallic and ceramic brake pads. Semi metallic wears faster and
ceramic wears the rotors faster. Which one should i buy? and which
brand to buy?
I have a 96 toyota corolla and camry

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C. E. White - 26 Feb 2009 18:52 GMT

----- Original Message -----
From: <kimiga@gmail.com>
Newsgroups: alt.autos.toyota
Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2009 1:41 PM
Subject: which brake pads to buy

>i was wondering, i have heard a lot of good and bad things about semi
> metallic and ceramic brake pads. Semi metallic wears faster and
> ceramic wears the rotors faster. Which one should i buy? and which
> brand to buy?
> I have a 96 toyota corolla and camry

Why not buy OE from Toyota? They designed the car. They did extensive
testing on the brakes. You would think they made the best compromise.
I've enver understood the facinastion with buy brake pads from non-OE
sources. Do you really think the aftermarket parts on the shelf at the
local discount parts store area as good as Toyota OE? In some cases
they may be, but I think it is a crap shoot. Some advertising copy
that implies brand X pads are really good doesn't make it true.

I always get OE pads from the dealerships parts department. For US
brands, you cannot even trust "Motorcraft" or "ACDelco" aftermarket
pads to be the same as the OE pads. I know the pads from the
dealership parts departement cost more, but I believe in most cases
they are worth it.

Ed

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Ray O - 26 Feb 2009 21:38 GMT

Ed White's advice is right on the mark.

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Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

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badgolferman - 27 Feb 2009 12:35 GMT

>...
>>i was wondering, i have heard a lot of good and bad things about
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
>Ed White's advice is right on the mark.

I need rear brake shoes for my 2000 Sienna. The cheap ones at Advance
Auto cost $16. That's right, SIXTEEN DOLLARS! Is there any reason to
not get them since the rear brakes don't get that much action? The van
has 130K miles on it but I bought it with 78K miles so I'm guessing the
current ones are original.

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Scott in Florida - 27 Feb 2009 13:47 GMT

>>...
>>>i was wondering, i have heard a lot of good and bad things about
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>has 130K miles on it but I bought it with 78K miles so I'm guessing the
>current ones are original.

I'd buy the OEM. Your family is too important.

You won't have to shell it out for another 130K....

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Scott in Florida

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Ray O - 27 Feb 2009 17:54 GMT

>>...
>>>i was wondering, i have heard a lot of good and bad things about
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> has 130K miles on it but I bought it with 78K miles so I'm guessing the
> current ones are original.

The cheap ones might be fine, or they might have poor performance, short
life, cause more drum wear, make noise, or may be difficult to install. If
you're willing to risk one or more of the above, then aftermarket cheap
stuff may be the way to go.

OEM shoes probably lasted around 130K miles, so you know how long they'll
last and how they will perform. In other words, you know what you're
getting.

Even though the front brakes do most of the work, the rear brakes are there
for a reason.

Signature

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

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Jeff - 28 Feb 2009 03:10 GMT

On Feb 27, 12:54 pm, "Ray O" <rokig...@NOSPAMtristarassociates.com>
wrote:

> >><kim...@gmail.com> wrote in message
> >>news:987cd0df-a6e2-44f1-84e1-6a7c0cb56716@b16g2000yqb.googlegroups.com
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
> Ray O
> (correct punctuation to reply)

If the OEM pads cost twice as much, that comes to way less than $1 per
thousand miles.

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badgolferman - 28 Feb 2009 14:07 GMT

> On Feb 27, 12:54 pm, "Ray O" <rokig...@NOSPAMtristarassociates.com>
> wrote:
[quoted text clipped - 34 lines]
> If the OEM pads cost twice as much, that comes to way less than $1 per
> thousand miles.

The dealer who did my state inspection passed the vehicle but gave
suggestions for things to be fixed. The rear brakes were quoted at
$246 -- shoes and resurface of drums.

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Ray O - 28 Feb 2009 23:57 GMT

>> On Feb 27, 12:54 pm, "Ray O" <rokig...@NOSPAMtristarassociates.com>
>> wrote:
[quoted text clipped - 38 lines]
> suggestions for things to be fixed. The rear brakes were quoted at
> $246 -- shoes and resurface of drums.

If the drums are not scored, I'd just scuff the inside with a Scotch Brite
pad, wash it down with brake cleaner, and give the opening for the hub a
thin coating of Anti-Seize where the drum contacts the hub. Use the brake
cleaner to wash out the rest of the braking mechanism, replace the shoes
with OEM, and be on your way.

Signature

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

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