Long Term Review - PowerStop Z17 Evolution Plus Ceramic Brake pads - 2nd Gen CX-9

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Pele2048

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2018 Mazda CX-9 GT
Virginia has an annual state safety inspection and while the CX-9 was under warranty, I was taking it into the dealership for oil changes.

June 2020 at 40K miles, I had been notified that the rear brakes were reaching the end of their life. I decided to order some upgraded brake pads for the CX-9.
https://www.powerstop.com/product/p...placement-brake-pads/#y=2018&mk=MAZDA&mo=CX-9

Yesterday (April 2021) at 55K miles, they came off the car; the rear brakes were at the end of their life again. I was notified that they were at their end of life, as I had the car in for a transmission flush and rear differential service.

While they did have similar stopping power as compared to the stock OE pads, 15K miles is a VERY short life for brake pads. I believe the short lifespan is due to their low-dust compound.

I did NOT buy again.

I upgraded to the Z23 Evolution Sport brake pads. We'll see how well these pads wear.

I'm still on the OE rotors. I don't believe that upgrading to crossdrilled/slotted rotors will gain me anything. The brakes can already lock up on dry pavement with the Michelin Defender LTX M/S tires that I have on the CX-9. If I need to replace the rotors on the next go-around, I'll be using blank rotors from a reputable source such as "Raybestos" branded ones from RockAuto.com.


NOTE: The CX-9 is VERY hard on rear brakes for an AWD vehicle. Both times I did brakes, the rear brakes were at end of life while the fronts were still at half life.

I decided to do front and rear brakes at the same time both times to match the brake pad compound as well as for convenience. Owing to the electronic parking brake, it takes about 15 minutes per wheel to do brakes on the 2nd gen CX-9.
 
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Pele2048 said:
I decided to do front and rear brakes at the same time both times to match the brake pad compound as well as for convenience. Owing to the electronic parking brake, it takes about 15 minutes per wheel to do brakes on the 2nd gen CX-9.
Click to expand...

If you're up for it, writing up a quick DIY on brake service for the 2nd gen CX-9 would be a valuable resource for others (y)

Strange, I've got 55k kms (~35k mi) on my 2018 Signature and the original rear brake pads look like they could go another 50k. I'm not that easy on my brakes either.
 
Pele2048 said:
Dealership parts are expensive, but I'm thinking you're right.

I'll try a few more pad compounds before going back though.
Click to expand...
It's true. With BMW/Audi/VW (and probably other makes as well), there are aftermarket options that are actually higher quality than factory. Sadly, few few aftermarket options for the Mazda.
 
There are 10+ options on RockAuto.com alone for rear brake pads and even more for the front.
 
jal142 said:
There are 10+ options on RockAuto.com alone for rear brake pads and even more for the front.
Click to expand...
I usually skip the "Economy" and "Daily Driver" class pads and go straight to the "Premium" and "Heavy Duty" class pads on my vehicles.

Up until recently, Akebono has been my supplier of choice. However those pads lack the squeaker tabs that let you know the pad is at end of life. That coupled with a stuck caliper on my Ford Excursion meant that I ran metal to metal on my pads and rotors and trashed my brakes. I decided to try a new supplier, hence the PowerStops.

Also, Akebono does not make a rear pad for the CX-9, and I like to keep the brake bias consistent with similar pads front and rear. I like the heavy rear brake bias. It reminds me more of a RWD vehicle.

Keeping to the same manufacturer/compound front and rear narrows it down quite a bit.
 
My 1996 Volvo 850T fwd car also wore the rears out first. That was a surprise to me then.

Good idea to keep the same pad compound on all 4 corners.

Did the shop tell you the actual thickness of the remaining pad material, or just "end of life?" I'm OK wearing the pad material down to 2 or 3 mm or so, as long as it is wearing evenly.
 
I got 36k from the OEM rear pads. Changed to the Centric ceramic pads and premium rotors for the rear. Planning to use Centric for the front soon as well.
 
PTguy said:
My 1996 Volvo 850T fwd car also wore the rears out first. That was a surprise to me then.

Good idea to keep the same pad compound on all 4 corners.

Did the shop tell you the actual thickness of the remaining pad material, or just "end of life?" I'm OK wearing the pad material down to 2 or 3 mm or so, as long as it is wearing evenly.
Click to expand...
They told me 2mm.

The dealership has a little feeler gauge that goes in behind the caliper to get the back pad that you can't see.
 
Thanks for sharing your long term experience with the 2nd Gen CX-9.

As for the rear brakes going out faster, my Mazda 3 also does this. From what I understand it is a tuning preference that Mazda does, supposedly by applying more force to the rear they achieve a more flatter braking experience(reduces/mitigates nose dives). I've had my car for 16+ plus years, changed the rear brake pads twice... and to be honest I probably could have kept my front pads but I changed them out just to start fresh when I put new front rotors(original ones were rusting out pretty bad).
 
I have had good luck on a 1st gen CX-9 (2009) by going to premium drilled / slotted rotors all around. Previously we had been plagued with shaking pulsations on braking within a few thousand miles of normal pad or even normal rotor replacement.
 
https://centricparts.com/getmedia/b..._Whitepaper_B1-Warped-Brake-Disc-8-2018_1.pdf

BLS, you overheated the brake pad friction material. The overheated material then deposited unevenly on the rotors. This is commonly called warped discs, but the discs are not warped, and they measure no more unevenly than when they came out of the factory--none are perfect. Brake pads with a higher heat rating are needed for the way you drive. The drilled & slotted rotors helped cool the pads you had, so that was a big help for you. (My preference is for slotted, not drilled rotors, for increased rotor strength.)
 
Hi everyone, I'm brand new to this forum
Spring of 2021 we bought a Certified Preowned 2018 CX-9 Grand Touring with 28K miles. I now has 43K miles and we are pleased overall.
I read the above posts about break upgrades and am looking to do that because the rotors are shot (serious vibration for at least 10K miles) stopping at any speed with light to hard peddle pressure. So this is a survey:
a: Go with Raybestos Slotted rotors and performance pads?
b: Go with Centric Slotted rotors and performance pads?
c: Can a regular car mechanic do the work, given the electric parking brake issue discussed above? My doing this myself is not an option and I don't want to reinstall rotors that have not had a long life by going to the dealer.
Thanks,
Rich
 
Where did you find the slotted rotors? I checked their online catalogs and they only offer blanks.

In terms of bringing to mechanics.. as long as you provide the mechanic the exact steps for the maintenance mode, I don't see an issue (assuming the mechanic is competent)
 
I was getting that from the above posts, I guess I need to reread. I went to the Rockauto site, Raybestos does not even come up. They have PowerStop Z23's that are drilled and slotted, but I can't put in the cart. Also looked at the Centrics at TireRack and was told that they don't make an upgrade for the CX-9
So I guess it's OEM equivalent??
Thanks for getting back to me and if you have any final recommendations on what I should buy, I'm all ears.....
 
**UPDATE**
I contacted PowerStop and got the reply below; I can wait like he suggests

Hi Richard!

Thank you for your interest in PowerStop products!

We do offer a kit for your 2018 CX-9, P/N# K7609. This includes our carbon-ceramic low dust Z23 brake pads, and our zinc-plated drilled and slotted rotors. (Front and rear) No modification is necessary to your stock system for installation, everything is included, and this should provide a nice increase in braking performance for you, while keeping your wheels cleaner. Be sure to break the pads in properly after installation for best performance!

That said, we are currently out of stock on the rotors, fresh inventory should arrive January 29. Some stocking distributors may have inventory, but you may have difficulty sourcing the kit until then (or a couple of days afterwards).

Amazon is fine, but it's usually better to search Amazon by "PowerStop K7609" rather than trying to find it by application. Amazon's automotive parts lookup can be goofy sometimes.

Let me know if I can offer any further assistance!



Thank you,

Eric Schneider
Product Manager
Power Stop, LLC


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You don't want power stop rotors or pads especially drilled and slotted. Those rotors are much weaker than standard OEM or equivalent rotors and will warp faster and can actually fracture due to the material removed from their structure and the repeated heat the brakes generate into the rotor. They will also make noises when stopping because the brake pads are being worn over the slots causing noise and scraping issues and will wear the pads down faster. Power stop rotors don't have the greatest brand recognition or track record and I have previous experience using them and they sucked. Just look at their warranty for them. Pitiful. our vehicles are not race cars and don't need these enhancements as if you were racing them on a track where rotors and pads get changed out every race in the real world if it was a real racing vehicle. They are more for cosmetic looks on our vehicles. Get yourself some coated raybestos rotors or any major brand name rotor and good set of pads like akebono or similar and you will not have any issues. Stay away from the AutoZone and advance Auto and pep boy special rotors and pads they are made cheaply.
 
Oh boy!! All I want to do is have better rotors because it's my wife's car that I occasionally drive. She drives like the grandma that she is (in a nice way). The OEM on the CX-9 vibrates soooo badly and started doing that at 35K miles so I'm reluctant to replace with Mazda OEM rotors. Hollandog above said that Centric is good; agree?
Thanks for the input!!
 
hollandog said:
I got 36k from the OEM rear pads. Changed to the Centric ceramic pads and premium rotors for the rear. Planning to use Centric for the front soon as well.
Click to expand...
that is what i put on my car. Dealer is saying it is the reason for the e brake module failure and is refusing to replace.
 
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