I just ordered some new brake pads since I can wash my car and drive 5 miles and have dirty wheels. I was looking at the options and have seen you guys here like the Rotex Gold and I have had good experience with EBC Greens. What low dust pads have in common is they are ceramic or ceramic/kevlar.

While looking for these I came across Posi Quiet Ceramic which I believe must be pretty decent since they are made by the people who own Centric and StopTech. I found these on Ebay for $89 -$99 for front and rear. I have ordered them and will let you guys know how they perform. If you the two companies on Ebay R1 and iRotors are both good companies. I have bought a ton of rotors from them when I was building big brake kits.

 

Are the pads you bought ready for the brake wear sensors, or do you have to drill them?

 

I haven't received them yet but will let you all know. If they are not drilled I may just delete them as I am used to checking my pads.

 

Any idea if the car is intelligent/stupid enough to realise you don't have the sensors attached, and it illuminates the light all the time?

 

The '04 does not have an indicator light on with the brake sensor wires disconnected.

 

Most sensors like these work by grounding themselves when they come in contact with the rotor. I haven't taken a close look at mine since I have only had the car a few weeks. When I was building big brake kits for the Mini Coopers, we always zipped tied these sensor wires out of the way.

 

Please give us an update after you install them. Also Andrew turned me on to the rotex gold and they are a great pad. I've had them for over a year with no problems or brake dust.

 

~ once proven ... stick with it.

 

Installed on all four wheels. Clean as a whistle and still stops on a dime.

I'll use these pads for the life of the car.

 

From what I understand, ceramic pads are not good for the street due to them needing to heat up to give full stopping potential.

Steve

 

Not true, it depends on the heat range the pad is designed to work in.

 

I received the Posi Quiet pads and have them on the car now. These pads are made exactly like the OEM pads including having the tiny hole drilled for the sensors. They are perfectly quiet but I did use brake pad grease on the backing plates. The car stops just it did with the OEM pads. With stock pads just a few stop and go miles and I had a black film on my wheels. With the new pads I have driven many stop and go miles today and I can rub my finger on the wheel without getting my finger dirty at all. I highly recommend these pads.

 

It's good to hear there is an alternative!

I just put the Rotex pads on my SRT tonight - seems to actually stop a little bit better than before. No update on dust yet as I have only gone a few miles, and the wheels are still dirty.

SQ

 

Four days of driving all over Dallas and the wheels still look perfectly clean.

These Posi Quiet pads are awesome! Great stopping, and perfectly quiet.

 

Thanks for the advise! I just ordered mine from Rotorworks (eBay) @ $106 w/shipping.
I too am tired of dirty fingers and rims after 10 mile trips.
My car has 11,000 miles and the rotors seem a bit worn. By contrast, those on my '03 Tahoe have 79,000 and look like new.
Does anyone else have this problem?

 

You are going to love them! I been driving around all week and my wheels still look like I just washed them. The old pads had a black film after just a short drive to the store. Are going to put them on yourself? If you have any questions let me know. They are pretty easy to do. Thank goodness the rear pistons don't have to be screwed back in like most rear calipers that have an integral E brake. Don't forget the pad grease on the backing plates. Let us know how you like them!

 

I'll put them on myself, but want to take a real close look at the condition of the rotors. I'm not impressed with the wear shown after such a short in-service time. I might have to take them to a good tech in town to take a shave off them if they show any deviation from flat, or surface roughness is not to my liking. What kind of shape were your rotors in? How many miles? All your miles or someone else's too? Do you remember the thread posted here showing R&R for the pads? It was a really nice thing for the fella' to do for the rest of us.
Thanks again!

 

ROTEX BRAKE PAD INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS:

Tools Required:

flathead screw driver
needle nose pliers
3/8 ratchet w/ extension
7 mm allen wrench
7 mm allen socket
17 mm socket w/ extension (for easy of removing lug bolts)
floor jack
torque wrench

Steps to follow:

1.) Use a floor jack and tools to loose lug nuts. (suggestion: use electrical tape around exterior lug wrench bore for added protection from scratches to your rims)

2.) Use a floor jack to lift vehicle so the tire is 2" off the ground.

3.) Remove loosened lug nuts with 17 mm socket and extension. (use electrical tape on this socket as well)

3.) Use flat screw driver to push piston clip to compressed position. Place screw driver in the back side of caliper between rotor and inboard pad. Twist screw driver against pad and rotor to move piston.

4.) Remove front caliper clip with screw driver or pliers.

5.) Remove sensors gently by pulling on sensor to unplug.

6.) Remove black plastic caps on backside of caliper.

7.) Use 7 mm allen socket and/or 7 mm allen wrench to remove both long allen bolts.

8.) Remove caliper from rotor (do not allow caliper to hang by brake lines). Set caliper on top of rotor, securely.

9.) Remove factory brake pads. Install inbound "Rotex" pad into caliper (no clip is used for piston). Install outboard pad onto rotor bracket housing.

10.) Side caliper over rotor. Secure caliper by inserting caliper allen bolts into the rear of caliper. Make sure bolts are in place correctly. Then tighten 7 mm allen bolts firmly. (*Note: Caliper will seem semi-loose, but this is normal).

11.) Reinstall sensor wire.

12.) Reinstall plastic caps on backside of caliper.

13.) Reinstall front caliper clip.


14.) Reinstall wheel and tire. Hand tighten lug nuts with 17mm socket. The tighten securely with lug wrench. Lower vehicle with floor jack and retighten lug nuts when vehicle is on the pavement. Torque lugs to 81 ft lbs.

15.) Start car and apply brake pedal repeatedly until pressure has built up. Drive as normal.



ROTEX BRAKE PAD INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS: (rears)

Tools Required:

small hammer
small punch
flathead screw driver
17 mm socket w/ extension (for easy of removing lug bolts)
floor jack
torque wrench
anti squeal lube
brake grease
rubber gloves

Steps to follow:

Before you start add "anti squeal lube" to the backside of the new pads... allow to dry overnight.

1.) Use a floor jack and tools to loose lug nuts. (suggestion: use electrical tape around exterior lug wrench bore for added protection from scratches to your rims)

2.) Use a floor jack to lift vehicle so the tire is 2" off the ground.

3.) Remove loosened lug nuts with 17 mm socket and extension. (use electrical tape on this socket as well).

4.) Use flat screw driver to compress caliper piston. Place screw driver in the back side of caliper between rotor and inboard pad. Twist screw driver against pad and rotor to move piston back.

5.) Remove sensor gently by pulling on sensor to unplug.

6.) Remove pin at rear of the caliper (will require a small punch and hammer) to tap out pin. Remove to 2 silver brackets that hold pads in place.

7.) Remove/slide out the factory brake pads from the rear of the caliper. (No need to remove calipers). Add brake grease to backside of new inboard pad where it makes contact with the pistion and any other contact points. Then install "Rotex" pads into caliper.

8.) Reinstall brackets and tap pin back in place to secure pads.

9.) Reinstall sensor wire.

Once car is on the ground... start the car and pump the brake slowly until pressure is built up... drive as normal.

 

Thanks Andrew, I need all the help I can get.

Two other things:

A neat little pictorial of pad replacement.

http://www.dfwsbr.com/crossfire/faq/porterfield/


Has anyone else suffered early wear of their rotors? Or shouldn't I be concerned?

 

I have 41,000 miles and my rotors had plenty of wear. They looked very good but you can tell the wear from the ridge on the outer edge. I don't know how the car has been driven in the past since I have only had the car for a month. I am planning to change rotors when I put my home grown big brake kit on.

I did the install a little different in that I removed the two big bolts that hold the whole caliper on. Since I used to sell a big brake kit, I was used to removing the caliper at this location. Just make sure to push the old pads/pistons all the way back before removing the caliper.