Looking for brake recommendations

Mustang Matt

Member
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2001 Mazda Protege MP3
My wife's mp3 has pulsing rotors. I flushed the brakes fluid which helped but didn't completely solve it so I'm guessing it's the rotors. They have 132,000 miles on them so I don't feel too bad about replacing them.

Any recommendation on pad/rotor combos for all four corners? Looking for quality bang for the buck. Longevity over performance. Any part numbers, prices and links to reputable sellers is most appreciated.

Thanks!
 
Just in case anyone is interested. I ordered powerstop pads/rotors for all four corners from brakemotive76 on ebay for $188.65 delivered.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...0026809748&sspagename=STRK:MEWNX:IT&viewitem=

The quality, fit and finish was excellent. My only complaint is that there was no manufacturer provided break-in instructions so I did a series of stops to try and heat them up slowly until I got up to doing a couple 60-5 stops and then parked it for the night. My brake wobble is gone and these seem to stop as good or better than the stock rotors/duralast pads I had.

Disclaimer: They've been installed for 1 day. :)

For future reference if anyone decides to replace their brakes, here are some notes. The rear rotors have a small bolt on the back that's hiding a hex bolt underneath, untighten it to compress the caliper. Then when you reassemble it, tighten it to the point it starts to grab and then back it off 1/8 turn.

On the fronts, I stuck a large socket inside the caliper and used a caliper compressor. There's no turning involved, so channel locks or anything should work fine.

On all four calipers, there's a single bolt to release the bracket from the caliper. Then you pivot it on the other pin and you'll have full access to replace the pads easily. Front hardware was 17mm and rear was 14mm if I remember right.

Really a pretty simple job. Once the car is up, takes about 15 minutes per corner. My rotors had a bit of rust to the hub so I hit them all with penetrating oil and on one of the rears I had to touch the hat with a torch for a few seconds followed by a couple of taps from a 2 lb sledge.

I installed the AXR clunk fix bracket too. Very nice quality setup and easily installed. I'm going to get some new front sway bar bushings and I should be good to go for a while.
 
You have 132,000 miles on the ORIGINAL rotors?? Must all be highway miles with engine braking all the time because that is just nuts...

Cheap blanks will be fine, and if you want great stopping power with them, go with Hawk HPS...Crazy good stopping power :)
 
Yep original rotors, 90% highway and I do engine brake a lot.
Up to 135000+ on original clutch so far. Maybe I ought to stop engine braking at this point to prolong the clutch life. I'd rather change brake pads than the clutch.
 
Ive ordered stop tech slotted rotors ( from tri-point) all the way around with axxis pads (from PG) and im awaiting Goodridge SS line from PG, ill let you know how it works out.
 

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