FYI to all: Centric Premium & Centric Ceramics are waaaay outperforming oem brakes

FYI to all: Centric Premium & Centric Ceramics are waaaay outperforming oem brakes

Just a quick word to the wise for those who will listen. I've had my new front brakes on for a few days now, and while I'm still taking it pretty easy on them, it is a world of difference from the oem front brakes. With the Centric rotors & Centric Posiquiet ceramic pads, I actually don't have to "push" the brake pedal to get the car to stop...just have to nudge it and it stops real easy now. I wouldn't classify them as "performace" by any means, but they are a world of difference from the oem. And I'm not just talking about the shaking going away. Talking about less effort on the brake pedal, much better response and easier stopping. VERY HIGHLY recommend these brakes to everyone, along with a brake flush. I used to have alot of VW's, and oem rotors would go 80k miles for me vibration free, and then I'd buy aftermarket rotors which were very equivalent to oem. VW's just came with really good brakes in general. But in this case, these Centric's far exceed the Mazda oem rotor & pad setup, in my opinion folks. And they aren't even cross drilled or sloted. Glad my 6 hours of sweat on Saturday paid off.
 
Since you mentioned that they produce a lot less dust on the wheels my question is are the oem brake pads semi-metalic. That is what the dealer told me when i had the pads replaced. He got upset because i wouldn't let him charge me 110 dollars to cut the rotors. I told him that i could do it myself for under 20 bucks. I also told him that the reason i bought it to the dealer was because i was feeling lazy. He probably got pissed at that too.
 
Nope, the stealer told me that the original pads that came with the vehicle are semi-metallic. I would like to know if this is really true? The value pads that he put on are doing well. He tried to scam me out of 110 dollars for cutting two rotors. What a joke.
 
Nope, the stealer told me that the original pads that came with the vehicle are semi-metallic. I would like to know if this is really true? The value pads that he put on are doing well. He tried to scam me out of 110 dollars for cutting two rotors. What a joke.

Especially when you can buy new ones, not OEM, for less. Mazda wants $110 just for one new front OEM rotor, at least they did a year ago.
 
110 is not bad, but when you are talking about inferior rotors (in my opinion anyhow) its just not worth it. I know people on here have said they have not had problems with their factory rotors, but the ones who have outweigh the ones who have not. (although you hear more negativity online than positive remarks in general). We will see how long these last. My company vehicle (09 Escape, which, Escapes have drums in the back strangely enough) had to have the front rotors turned at about 20k something miles. Perhaps suv rotors just don't last as long as sedan rotors. (Although wouldn't the laws of physics state that if you have an equally larger proportioned rotor on an suv, that it would last the same duration. So perhaps the rotors are just not big enough?) Now of course rotors on a Cayenne likely would last the life of the dang vehicle as they are like 2 feet in diameter.
 
I have about 25k on my centric rotors. E coated rotors with posiquiet ceramic pads. They are starting to shimmy a little., ever so slightly. Time for turning the rotors soon. I guess I should have gotten the slotted or cross drilled rotors for better heat disapation. The rotors are just too small on the cx9. Too bad Mazda scaled back on the brakes.
 
I have 45k on my centric rotors and pads and still have zero issues with them. Reggie, I am not familiar with the evolution pads/rotors
 
Thanks to all here for clarifying the correct Centric parts number. I had the front rotors and pads changed out last July with these:


AKEBONO ACT1258 Brake Pad $ 60.79 1 $ 60.79
CENTRIC 12045080 Rotor $ 65.79 2 $ 131.58
Discount $ -9.62
Shipping Ground $ 18.69
Order Total $ 201.44

after around 6 thousand miles, they feel very good with no shimmy or vibration. I would like a more firm peddle feel, like on the Ford Eedge we rented a few months ago in Florida,.
 
I have seen stainless brake hoses and that would likely improve brake sponginess a little. Also Ford Edge is lighter and braking will be easier if it has the same brake set up.
 
There's a lot of assumptions being thrown around in this thread.

Warped rotors on your average family street car, truck or SUV is 95% of the time caused by over torqued lug nuts and/or dirty mounting surfaces. If you're getting your tires rotated regularly, there's a good chance someone at the shop just grabbed the impact wrench and pounded those lug nuts on 1-by-1 without even cleaning off the backside of the wheel or the rotor. The uneven pressure against the rotor over many miles causes uneven wear which manifests itself as vibrations. The proper method of mounting a wheel involves using a torque wrench and increasing the torque of the lugs incrementally (while following the proper sequence) until you have reached the desired torque on all lugs.

The remaining 5%? Well I reserve that for the times the pads are not properly bedded. Follow the manufacturer's instructions for proper bedding. It usually involves several hard stops without coming to a complete stop followed by a cool down period. Find an open highway and drive 60-5-60-5-60-5-60-5-60-5-60... then cruise for a while to let the pads cool. DO NOT stop completely because this will cause uneven transfer to the rotors.

Excessive heat will never cause a rotor to warp but excessive heat does go hand in hand with excessive wear which only accelerates the warping caused by improperly torqued lug nuts and or poor bedding. The faster you go through pads, the faster you'll end up with warped rotors if your wheels weren't installed correctly. Sometimes people that spend a lot of time in traffic end up with warped rotors not because of the heat from stopping but because of the pad material transferred after a hard stop followed by not moving (see bedding procedure above). Its always good practice to keep your car rolling as much as possible in traffic.

Drilled and slotted rotors are actually MORE prone to warping over time. The worst part? Most shops will not turn them for you.

Now with all that said. I've used centric rotors and pads in the past and they work great! I always get the non slotted rotors so if I have to I can turn them. However I usually go through two sets of pads before bothering to turn the rotors.
 
I absolutely agree. First thing I do if a shop needs to remove a wheel is re - tighten with a torque wrench to about 85lbs or so
 
Well stated chuyler1!! (thumb)

You just reminded me to check if the dealer overtorqued my wheels. They rotated my wheels during my first visit.
 

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