Front Brakes Recommendation

[WolframManta]

Soliciting some feedback with respect to front brakes. The basics: I'm at 37,000 miles and about to install Eibach springs. I dont have a brake problem yet, but figure since the tires are off and I got the tools out, I might as well change the front pads while I'm at it. The car is my daily driver and my drive profile is 80% normal driving, 19% aggressive driving, and 1% Max performance driving.

My question is this: for those of you in the know, what are the brake pad brands that you prefer? Cost isn't necessarily a factor, what I'm looking for is value (does the cost justify the performance improvement). I must say I'm pretty happy with the OEM pads at 37k in without a peep out of the yet, but is there something better out there? Or maybe I should just hold off until they start making noise and not mess with a good thing?

A third option would be dumping the entire stock setup and a putting in a DDM or ZZP setup (Brembo would be great, but there's no way to justify the cost). I'm not against this in principle, but is the benefit for everyday street driving there?

Also taking opinions whether to replace the rotors or not. They appear to be in good shape at this point so I'm not inclined to unless there's good reason to.

 

[Italianjoe1]

I've always had good luck with Hawk products for a performance pad, I've run their HPS pads on my Cobalt and Z, my dad has them in his truck and a buddy of mine followed my recommend and put them on his E36 M3 and liked them. Don't know if they offer them for a Sonic though and they are really a bit aggressive for a calmly driven car.

Raybestos has always made quality parts, I've used their premium pads sourced from RockAuto.com for all my normal replacement use.

 

[mitdr774]

At almost 55k miles I am probably around 50% pad life still. I have no complaints about how they perform. They work to an acceptable level at autocross and have performed great in day to day driving.

When I replace them eventually I will probably look for some road friendly Hawk pads.

 

[WolframManta]

Sounds like the most prudent thing to do is check if if they need replacement first, then decide what to do. Hawk makes pads for about $110. I've also heard good things about Raybestos who offers a ceramic pad for about $33.

mitdr774, I think you live near me. I think I remember seeing videos of you driving up M53 and 26 Mile.

 

[94383Z71]

When I put pads on my car they will be Wagner Thermoquiets. While I have a more aggressive driving profile than OP, my car will most likely never see a track (except maybe a drag strip)

I would never swap pads without at least refinishing the rotors.

 

[mitdr774]

Sounds like the most prudent thing to do is check if if they need replacement first, then decide what to do. Hawk makes pads for about $110. I've also heard good things about Raybestos who offers a ceramic pad for about $33.

mitdr774, I think you live near me. I think I remember seeing videos of you driving up M53 and 26 Mile.

Would have been the 18 1/2 mile/ Van **** roundabout to M-53 if it was me.

Honestly, the front brakes have a more than enough ability if you use the correct pads. I drove $ub$onics car with Hawk HP+pads (I am sure he will correct me if I have the wrong pad listed) and it had more braking ability that I would want for daily use. Very grippy front pads that would require careful selection what rear pad you use (disk swap).

 

[ahtoxa]

I'd think that using a more aggressive pad in the front would also alter brake bias to some extent. You might find yourself with more front bias than before. Not sure how significant it would be.

 

[mitdr774]

Even with stock front pads the back end gets light under hard braking. I have not had a chance to play with things but I am thinking of running a more aggressive rear pad than front. Right now the car will rotate a lot if even moderate braking is applied in a corner. Round abouts are a lot of fun as long as people pay attention when they enter them. Nothing like ending up sideways from a quick brake apply because someone came flying in without looking.

 

[WolframManta]

Would have been the 18 1/2 mile/ Van **** roundabout to M-53 if it was me.

You're probably right. I assumed it was the 53/26 roundabout, but it could have been then 18 1/2 one too.

Thanks for the discussion. I think I'm going to try Raybestos (got a good price on them) and go from there. It's not a huge loss if I want to try something different in the future.

 

[Larrymer]

After driving cars with more aggressive pads, it's a breath of fresh air to have clean wheels for longer than a day. I don't think I'll make that trade off again. If you're fine with the stock pads, why upgrade?

I wouldn't touch them unless they were nearly gone either.

 

[$ub$onic]

After driving cars with more aggressive pads, it's a breath of fresh air to have clean wheels for longer than a day. I don't think I'll make that trade off again. If you're fine with the stock pads, why upgrade?

I wouldn't touch them unless they were nearly gone either.

My hp+ pads quickly become more (MORE!!!) then what is needed on the street. I swap back to stock pads when not racing. Sooo much brake dust. I am a fan of the oem pads for there intended purpose

 

[cndctrdj]

Ebc pads and Zzp slotted rotors, great at the track and on the street they grab hard initially ... And hold well. I would reccomend this setup to everyone

 

[$ub$onic]

Ebc pads and Zzp slotted rotors, great at the track and on the street they grab hard initially ... And hold well. I would reccomend this setup to everyone

I went with r1 rotors. Really good quality.

 

[Italianjoe1]

My hp+ pads quickly become more (MORE!!!) then what is needed on the street. I swap back to stock pads when not racing. Sooo much brake dust. I am a fan of the oem pads for there intended purpose

The HP+ is a bit much for a street car, I find the HPS is just about borderline without going too far. I like a good aggressive street pad, yes the dusting sucks but I had heat cracked and charcoal'd the stock pads in my Z in under 5K miles of street driving. I'm somewhat hard on my brakes

 

[xupthree60]

EBC green stuff all the way. best street/agressive pad ever! no warm up with instant bite and awesome modulation, never had fade with them on small cars even after over an hr on track. its a pad thats just as good on the on the street, autox and track. The only draw back is they are not wisper quite, they are not the loudest pad for sure but they are not silent either. also low dust that cleans off easy.

I've only used hp+ pads from hawk and my experience with them was as if i had replaced my brakes with toggle switch, on or off. This was on a saturn so its was less than 2300lbs. I threw them in the trash after one autox becuase the car i was using them on didnt have abs, i had other people drive my car that day too and everyone said it was the dumbest thing they had ever driven. that was the only race i got 2nd in that season.


as far as rotors go...

stock smooth rotors will give the most braking power since they have the most surface area to use. this is best for almost all aplications.

slotted or drilled will allow the brakes to cool more, not a major thing for the street or autox but if you are doing track time and notice some fade then they might help. you will loose some, power though because the brakes have less surface area.

slotted and drilled. are for long track use when you need maximum cooling of the brakes, you are willing to give up some power to make sure they dont fade after hours on track. however with a decent pad slotted and drilled are most never needed on small cars because they don't have as much weight.

however all that comes down to what you want, if you have a good pad and what slotted and or drilled rotors because of how they look it wont make your car dangerous or anything but as far as performance its almost best to stay with smooth rotors unless you have a reason to need more cooling.

 

[Larrymer]

I stay away from slotted/drilled rotors because of the crack potential. I don't think they're really necessary on this car (it's fairly light and probably isn't too hard on brakes), either.

 

[94383Z71]

The rotors are one of the things keeping me away from the zzp rear swap. I'd prefer a non drilled option

 

[Larrymer]

Yep, I hear ya. If I ever swap to rear discs it won't be with those rotors either.