Replacing the brakes and rotors on my Crossfire. Deciding to do a little better than OEM. Gonna go with the Rotex Golds and Bremo Rotors from Brake World.

I was pretty sure it's only front wheel braking but I could be wrong. When I select my vehicle, year, make, etc. from Brake World, they give me prices for both the front and rear brakes. The same with the rotors.

Like I said, stupid question....How many pairs of brake pads and rotors do I exactly need to buy?

 

Are you serious ??
All cars have 4 wheel braking !!! You will need 4 rotors and 2 sets of pads.

1 set(4 pads) for front and 1 set (4 pads) for rear

Rotex Golds are a good choice. I have them and they are excellent !!

 

Like I said...Stupid Question

I assumed that it was only the front tires that had brakes because I never see brake dust on my rear wheels, only the front.

I'm in my early 20's. I didn't have the Dad that took me out to the garage to show me how to change my tires. Cars are completely foreign to me. The Crossfire is the first car that I have ever cared about (hard to care about a 1995 salvaged Jeep Cherokee with 150,000 miles on it and a water pump that goes out once a month). I'm learning as much as I can, and thanks to this forum I have increased my knowledge about cars exponentially.

 

Try these at Brake World, they are the New ones out(to replace Rotex Golds), better & less in Non SRT & the Same Prices for the SRT6s, as Rotex Gold.

I just ordered & got them today for my SRT6 Roadster!
(BTW you have to get on a wait list as they are Selling them faster than they can get them!)

More Bang for your Buck, less dust & wears longer & stops better.

What more can you ask?

SF

Items found for Disc Italia Titanium Kevlar (Material: Titanium Kevlar )

Location:Front Rear Price:$75.00 (Axle Set) $60.00 (Axle Set)

 

im hoping, for your own safety, that someone will be helping you change these brakes and rotors --

 

Yeah my wife will be assisting me by handing me the duct tape.

 

Hey,
LOL
You're too Funny!

 

No problem with the question. I guess I take it for granted that I grew up around cars and had an uncle who did all his own work on his cars. As a kid growing up I spent a lot of time watching him and getting him tools from the toolbox. I am glad you are showing an interest in learning about stuff.
As for no brake dust in the rears it's because they only do about 30% of the braking and don't produce nearly as much dust as the fronts. Best of luck with all your upgrades and maintenance on your Crossfire and enjoy the car.

Gary

 

From a young guy who went through changing his own brake pads this past summer (rotex golds) without having much prior knowledge I know the spot you're in. The haters on the forum will say it can't be done, but it can! Make sure you have plenty of time and use the DIY on this forum, do a search. I didn't replace my rotors however but after you get through doing it once, it becomes a piece of cake afterwards.

 

SilverFox, Did you put those nice DiscItalia rotors on too?? If yes, what do you think of them? Pretty pricey though.

MikeR

 

to change the rotors its just 1 more philips head screw! lol make sure to get an 8 inch c clamp not a six!

 

Hey Mike,
They go on Wednesday at the 'StealerShip'! Boy, for just pads the Fronts weigh a ton, like a full size Bowling Ball.
They are the Same price as the Rotex Golds, so it's an easy decision (& They are Not Made in Italy, but US or Canada)!

Will follow up with a Full Report once I start some Serious Driving with them thru the Dragon, & other cool roads around here!

Later................. SF

 

Hey Silver Fox,

Thanks for the advice, just picked up the Disc Italia Titanium Kevlar brake pads from Brake World. I'm going to have one of my clients, who owns a body shop that repairs only MBZ's, put them on for me.

Now, who wants to explain what a rotor is, what it does, and the differences between the OEM rotors, the slotted rotors, the drilled rotors, etc. Thanks!

 

Your Welcome, I hope they work well for the Both of Us! SF

 

The rotors are the metal discs you see when you look between the spokes in your wheels. Simplistically, the rotors are attached to the wheels and so spin with the wheel. The calipers (which hold the brake pads) are attached to the vehicle and so do not spin with the wheel. The caliper pinches the spinning rotor in order to slow/stop it from spinning (and thus the wheel attached to the rotor.) Same principle as used by hand brakes on bicycles when you were a kid. That pinching forces the brake pads to rub the rotor on both sides, creating a lot of heat from friction, hence the reason you see slotted/drilled aftermarket rotors: the slots/holes are supposed to increase the surface area and/or enhance the airflow through the rotor in order to help it cool faster. Brake "fade" is what happens when the brake components get too hot, they stop working as efficiently and the brakes take longer to do their job.

FYI, according to what I've read and experience with my own, the xfire has some of the best factory brakes on the road, brake fade is not an issue with this vehicle. Updrading the pads is a no-brainer due to the dust issue alone, but the rotors are a different story, I'd guess you would have a tough time justifying that upgrade unless you take your xfire to the track or just want the bragging rights.

 

Aftermarket rotors are NOT necessary for everyday driving... PERIOD. If you like the look of cross drilled and or slotted rotors... be my guest.

You can do better for brake pads and I believe the members here have already pointed you in the right direction.

Welcome to the best Crossfire forums on the planet!

The rest is below...

 

Thanks for the info guys. Ok I'll make the rotors a non-essential upgrade. I wasn't aware of exactly what they did. Now, where can a guy get some nice shiny red calipers then ;-)

 

Most have painted their calipers with heat resistant engine paint.
You need to be sure not to get any paint on the rotors or brake pads.
See this THREAD for some discussion on the topic.

 

You see alot more brake dust on the front wheels because the front brakes do more of the braking than do the rears. On most rear wheel drive vehicles like your Crossfire, about 60% of the braking is engineered to be performed by the front brakes. On most front wheel drive vehicles, about 80% of the braking is engineered to be performed by the front brakes. The front brake pads on the front of just about any vehicle have a larger friction material surface area. More braking in a larger area...more dust. Many people never bother to rotate their tires either. It's recommended by tire manufacturers to be performed every 5,000 to 6,000 miles (even Chrysler recommends that the tires be rotated from side to side in the owner's handbook, though most Crossfire owners probably never go to this expense as many have directional tires that would require dismounting & remounting...a big expense in time, money, & wear to the wheels if performed this often). When rotations are not performed & they don't clean their wheels, then the front wheels end up with lots of hard to remove brake dust stains. Don't let it happen to you & keep those wheels clean.

 

iDriveX, I've got to ask. Since the Crossfire is one of the fastest stopping cars you can buy "stock". If you're not road racing it, why would you even want to spend your money to try to improve its braking?
If you simply want those "red" calipers, just paint the stock ones.