quick brake Q

[jri4]

Found this thread, LOL. To make the answer clear, I do believe that you need to order (1) front set and (1) rear set. Ceramic pads are probably going to be your best bet for noise and dust. However, it is my personal opinion and taste that for the price, you can find a better performing pad. But I spend a little time each year on the track and autocross course...

Please let me know what you decide to do for rotors. A link would be helpful! I find those to be more confusing, because I'm afraid of buying ones online that don't fit--or going to AutoZone and having them get me regular Mazda 3 rotors. Good luck with your braking adventure!

 

[oaklandopen]

Yea I just ordered some hawk ceramics. But I'm only doing the fronts, rears are still at like 10/32

Can't remember the rotors I got from tirerack, but they were normal vented fronts. No special slots or drilled. After inputting the make and model it only came up with 2 different rotors that were solid-faced. I think I picked the ones that were more expensive

We shall see. But I'm having trouble finding brake fluid in regular stores. I knda wanted to see how much they were charging for that blue stuff, but ill probably just end up picking any old dot3

 

[WillD]

Please let me know what you decide to do for rotors. A link would be helpful! I find those to be more confusing, because I'm afraid of buying ones online that don't fit--or going to AutoZone and having them get me regular Mazda 3 rotors. Good luck with your braking adventure!

I changed my Miata brake pads/rotors twice last summer and never got the wrong parts. You will be alright with the cheapest rotors from NAPA or AutoZone with a nice set of pads like Hawk HPS or EBC YellowStuff.

AutoZone:
$52.99 /ea front: http://www.autozone.com/autozone/pa...ring=search&itemIdentifier=89998_172993_2708_
$32.99 /ea rear: http://www.autozone.com/autozone/pa...?counter=0&itemIdentifier=877060_172993_2708_

 

[jri4]

Boom! Thanks for that. Although I looked at the tirerack Centric premium rotors--they look pretty nice, with better vents (?). I just have to compare prices, I guess. No real hurry, but I want to get this done sometime this summer. Thanks for all the help!

 

[WillD]

Those look nice too...I like how they are painted so they won't rust where the pad never contacts them.

 

[solidtrance]

We shall see. But I'm having trouble finding brake fluid in regular stores. I knda wanted to see how much they were charging for that blue stuff, but ill probably just end up picking any old dot3

Seems like you have everyting except the fluid figured out. IMHO, you made a good call on what to get based on what you use the car for. As far as fluid goes i don't think you need to get ATE blue. Any DOT 3 or DOT 4 will suit your needs just fine and be a little bit cheaper. The only advantage the ATE fluid would provide for you is that it actually comes in two colors (Blue, and gold'ish). The advantage of this is you can alternate using the different collors and be sure you have a complete flush each time. you just have to watch the fluid coming out of the bleed screw and watch for it to change colors. Not needed on 99% of the cars here, mine included, just provides nice piece of mind.

ATE Super Blue Racing*
ATE Type 200 (Amber)*
*Note: Both ATE fluids have identical properties. The only difference is the color, which is useful if you want to alternate and be sure that you have fully flushed your brake system.

Warning: DOT5 Brake Fluid is NOT compatible with any other brake fluid. If DOT5 is mixed with ANY amount of any other brake fluid it will cause severe brake problems immediately. DO NOT MIX.

Either should be $10-12 shipped or less.

 

[oaklandopen]

Sweet

 

[Russm]

Anyone know how much brake fluid it takes to completely flush our system in a MS3, I read one place 1 Lt would do the job?

 

[meicalnissyen]

I changed my Miata brake pads/rotors twice last summer and never got the wrong parts. You will be alright with the cheapest rotors from NAPA or AutoZone with a nice set of pads like Hawk HPS or EBC YellowStuff.

AutoZone:
$52.99 /ea front: http://www.autozone.com/autozone/pa...ring=search&itemIdentifier=89998_172993_2708_
$32.99 /ea rear: http://www.autozone.com/autozone/pa...?counter=0&itemIdentifier=877060_172993_2708_

that looks like the correct front
the trouble is many places list the reg3 front brakes as fitting a speed. the rears are the same, and some databases don't differentiate. autoparts wharehouse for example will sell the correct and incorrect part, all identified as speed3

Look for the rotor dia if its listed, 320 is right, 290 is not

 

[jri4]

Look for the rotor dia if its listed, 320 is right, 290 is not

Thanks, I wasn't sure the numbers, but I do the diameter would tell the difference!

 

[meicalnissyen]

Seems like you have everyting except the fluid figured out. .

Has anyone tried that expensive stuff that is super low viscosity? supposed to improve ABS responsiveness

 

[DemianMoscow]

Why anyone don`t use ferodo racing pads?
Im sure that it`s better than any EBC... Im use ferodo racing ds2500 for cityuse, but I made order for ds1.11 for me and my guys! but it`s for "Race-track use only"
I think the reason of dusting is brakepads, I am almost sure about it.

 

[oaklandopen]

So I did the brakes yesterday, to include the "bedding" as per instructions on hawk's box. I didn't mention it before, but I mated the hawk ceramic pads with "centric premium" rotors. Those were $68 each

The fluid I used was just whatever dot3 I found at pepboys. It might have been valvoline, $8 for a pint or whatever the larger size is. And it took a good amount of that large bottle to finally start getting the new stuff bled up to each wheel

As far as performance...I still think there is more bedding to be had. However, if the brake feel tends to stay just as it is now, I may have to change my braking habits

With the ceramics, I already knew that they don't reach maximum braking ability unless they are at a higher temp, and so far it shows. It doesn't have the initial "bite" of the oem's, but I can tell during braking that they gradually create more grab during the stop

So far that has been a slightly uneasy feeling, but that's it. During initial grab there is a tendancy to feel like I'm not slowing as I once used to, but that quickly comes back after they warm up. The whole thing happens in a fraction of a second, so its not relly like you have to go and literally warm up the brakes before your commute, it happens during each individual braking event

As for pedal feel, its actually a little better than it used to be. Initially, there felt like a small gap from the top to when it applied the brakes, kind of like the "on/off" feel of the clutch. But now, there is an initial feel to the pedal, which I like better

So that's about it for now. Original brakes were right at 2/32 when I tossed them. That may or may not be good for having 50k miles on the oe's. The rears are still at like 10/32 so they will stay on

 

[WillD]

Thanks for reporting back, and glad to hear everything went well with the change.

My OEM's have 75k miles on them (eek2) but I do a lot of highway driving.

 

[oaklandopen]

^^^oh damn...so how much pad is left?

 

[WillD]

The fronts are just a little bit thicker than the backing plate so it is definitely time for a change. I didn't even look at the rears.

 

[squidmotion]

DO NOT use the 'thermo-quiet' ceramic pads from wagner... i don't know where they came up with that name, but these are the noisiest brake pads i have ever put on a vehicle...