Brakes General Question

[sin1505]

I recently change my tires and was told I needed to change my breaks. When I asked how much life was left, he basically told me it was almost metal to metal.
I asked the guy how much he thought it would cost and he his rough estimate without checking or calling was about 200-300$ (front breaks) (Labor is about 70$/Hour). Since I didn't have time I decided that I would go there another day.

Out of curiosity I called a mechanic whose my mothers childhood friend and also happens to be the cheapest mechanic in town, and he estimated for me; the break pad would be 50$. Now i know this guy does not mark up part for me. He usually only charges me his labor. However, I am wondering if the break pads kit at 50$ is wayyy too cheap.

Should I tell him to find me a better break? Or is the same 50$ break the same that some random mechanic would have installed for me for 200-300$ when including the markup and labor.

Now for those of you wondering why I wouldn't always go to this cheaper mechanic, its simply because hes very far, from my place and he is pretty messy. -My car is cream leather inside...

Thanks in Advance!

[wideopn11]

You don't want to get over charged for sure but also keep in mind that you get what you pay for sometimes. Do you have sport brakes or stock? Do you only need pads, are your rotors ok?

[svard75]

I recently change my tires and was told I needed to change my breaks. When I asked how much life was left, he basically told me it was almost metal to metal.
I asked the guy how much he thought it would cost and he his rough estimate without checking or calling was about 200-300$ (front breaks) (Labor is about 70$/Hour). Since I didn't have time I decided that I would go there another day.

Out of curiosity I called a mechanic whose my mothers childhood friend and also happens to be the cheapest mechanic in town, and he estimated for me; the break pad would be 50$. Now i know this guy does not mark up part for me. He usually only charges me his labor. However, I am wondering if the break pads kit at 50$ is wayyy too cheap.

Should I tell him to find me a better break? Or is the same 50$ break the same that some random mechanic would have installed for me for 200-300$ when including the markup and labor.

Now for those of you wondering why I wouldn't always go to this cheaper mechanic, its simply because hes very far, from my place and he is pretty messy. -My car is cream leather inside...

Thanks in Advance!

You can buy 140 pads or 50 pads. Ive used high end ceramic pads and they chewed into my disks. Im now sporting $50 canadian tire monroe pads. Turned my discs and they are the best pads ever. Dont fall for the braggable ceramic or race compound advertisements bs. Its for people who like to think ceramic pads are necessary when driving tothe grocery store for milk.

[Larz]

I am a firm believer in the Brakemotive 'kit' that so many other members here use. You get brand new rotors, AND brand new pads on ALL 4 wheels for about $200 and the shop I go to installed them for $125. My total bill to buy and install was a little over $300. That means I got all 4 wheels upgraded to new rotors and pads for the price of a brake job on one axle.

Before the negative peeps start chiming in about 'qaulity'. This kit could NEVER be mistaken for a Brembo kist casting thousands. Having said that: My brakes NEVER sqeak, never fade, and they stop VERY smoothly and with perfect control even from near 100mph. The rotors are drilled / slotted so even after driving through the deepest of Florida roadway puddles (water coming over the sides of the hood and against the windscreen), they stop on a dime on the first try.
No need to wonder if your rotors are in need of being turned or if they are slightly out-of-round. Just pitch them and all 4 pads and for $300 you have all brand new brakes!

Here is the link on Ebay where most of us got ours - and they are on offer for 21% off price right now:
$160.00 for all 4 wheels! For you that means 4 new brakes / rotors installed for around $250.00

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-FRONT-2-REAR- ... 033wt_1194

[sin1505]

Thanks for the replies

My car has stock breaks, and I do not want to go the cheapest rout, but also would not want to spend more than I needed. I

would consider taking the entire set as Larz suggested, however since my rotors are good ill avoid doing that.

I guess my question should be more, what is the price of stock like brake pads?

[kmiles]

Has Brakemotive quit making the complete brake set that we've all been buying? I went to there site tonight and all they have are front brakes.

[Minus (-)]

Has Brakemotive quit making the complete brake set that we've all been buying? I went to there site tonight and all they have are front brakes.

No, Larz just posted a link to the complete set....I too stand by the brakemotive kit, I've been purchasing their sets for almost 4 years now. Started with my Avalon, now my M. I have a few friends that get it for their bmw and G37....and depending on which mechanic I go to, I'll pay $80-120 for the install

[svard75]

Thanks for the replies

My car has stock breaks, and I do not want to go the cheapest rout, but also would not want to spend more than I needed. I

would consider taking the entire set as Larz suggested, however since my rotors are good ill avoid doing that.

I guess my question should be more, what is the price of stock like brake pads?

I understand your concern but trust me monroe pads are not cheap quality. I've had them for 2 years now and they are by far the quietest set. I have not had the opportunity to test brake fade as I don't live in the mountains and tracking a car like ours is like tracking an elephant that wants to be a cheetah. I stop without issue with minimal dust. I've used japanese oem pads these were the worst by far. Nothing I tried made the squealing go away, stock infiniti pads with brand new shim kit they were okay but occasionally sqealed when hot, hawk ceramics with high end dba discs and they chewed their way into the discs in less than a year. This was done in a 2 year timeframe so I finally got sick of all this stupid childish slotted/drilled rotor idea and used the stock rotors with a semi metalic pad (monroe). No warped feeling after 2 years and plenty of pad left plus not one bit of sqeal. Folks let's not kid ourselves. The v6 powered version of our car is seriously underpowered for the size and weight. Its a cruiser and why do you need drilled or slotted rotors for a car that does not belong on a track? If its for looks, unless your car is VIP class and a show car with the BBK who's going to notice the drilled/slotted discs? Also standard non drilled slotted rotors will stop a car sooner because there's more material for the pad to adhere to. Btw I'm a no BS guy so if I've offended anyone here with my experience and frankness too bad

[pedsemdoc]

I think there a lot of opinions/facts regarding drilled/slotted, drilled not slotted, slotted not drilled, frozen treated, etc. so I figured I just give you one more opinion as well....

I think the wear you have on your brakes is certainly affected by the design/composition of your rotors/pads, but also by the manner by which you brake, and if you bedded in the brakes properly once they are initially installed.
There are certainly other factors that play in too, like stuck caliper pins/warped rotors, etc.

I have had good success and others have too (although not everyone) with the Brakemotive kit (drilled and slotted) rotors and pads for all 4 wheels for about $170!!
Only my front pads needed to be changed after about 45k miles (I drive spirited and brake very hard at times, but usually not too crazy since my M is my daily driver) but I went ahead and changed everything since the entire kit is so cheap and it's not too technically difficult a job to do yourself.

Good luck with whatever you decide to go with, and let us know how they hold up.

Craig

[sin1505]

Again, thanks for the replies.

I've decided that I would buy the standard brake pads for both front and rear. Because it is the quickest method at this moment.

I am planning on doing a road trip in about 10 days, for a full two weeks across the states. While im there I am considering picking up these brakes since I wont need to pay for shipping (120$ to my house). And they look pretty nice and sporty, I do drive hard at times but not enough to need extreme high performance brakes; so as long as it is as good as standard I wouldnt mind.

Does Brakemotive have a store or website that operates outside of ebay? Because I was considering a picking up just like tirerack since its much cheaper than here in montreal.

[Larz]

I don't know if Brakemotive has retail shops, but they ship for free, so no expense there. The guy who installed mine was gob-smacked at the quality of both the rotors and the pads. He could not belive the price I paid.

[Trendwho205]

I hit my breaks last night and heard a scrubbing sound I quickly jumped out to inspected my pads and from what I see I have pad left keep in mind that these are new pads they were new when's I get the car new rotors too I don't understand how they are scrubbing I'm gonna take the tire of to see if the other side is low which I think is will keep y'all posted

[GQM45s]

i like my akebono brake pads, you can get them for fairly cheap now these days check FCP website they have them for our cars for a good deal

[Wangtang408]

My next set of brakes "Durablast" like Chuck says, they stop anything!



[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTli_J65p6w[/youtube]

[Double E]

Another + for the brakemotive kit. Put mine on last night (why does anyone pay to do that?) Good stuff for cheap.

[vasekvi]

Ive had a good run with a set of eBay slotted and drilled rotors. The brakemotive kit should do the trick as others have good experience with it on their M's. For the last 4 years I've been using Duralast CMax on every car I work on for myself, friends and family. Always with excellent results. Comes with all the hardware and lubricant too.