Its time to replace my brake pads. I am hearing grinding noises coming out of them so Im guessing they are done. What brand and from where should I buy them? Autozone or advanced autoparts. I am no street racer but its been 37k and my brakes are done lol. So I want something good.

Also, I hope this isn't the case but lets say when I look behind the wheel the rotors have gone bad, what kind and from where should I buy some rotors?

One more thing, as you can obviously tell Im not a mechanic. What is the difference between the back brakes which have brake shoes and the fronts? How will I know if they need to be replaced or not?

Also, some pads I can buy at a local store would be nice. Thanks.

 

I suggest...

Centric OEM Rotors

and

HAWK HPS pads.

 

You have three main kinds of brake pads. Organic, ceramic, semi metallic; organic is the cheapest and doesn't last as long. Semi metallic last the longest but can be harder on the rotor over time and need to be warmed up to operate optimally. Ceramic last longer than organic and performs better than semi mettalic. So the choice would be really what are you looking for.

The rear brakes on our cars are drums. Drum shoes last a long time because most of the braking is done with the front. I would doubt they need to be changed unless you drive around with the emergency make my car smell funny lever, on.

 

I would personally suggest Ceramics at your local parts store and for the rotors you can actually get them resurfaced without much trouble if you are mechanically inclined to remove them. Not sure if Autozone is a parts store near you're location but they actually offer a lifetime warranty on brakes so if you choose to buy it from there you can always take out your pads and get new ones free of charge (as long as its not worn down 100%), as far as I remember.

Semi metallic are prone to squeal as far as I know so I always try to get ceramics.

 

You can try TireRack. They have a list of preferred installers, and will ship the product to them. You just pay for labor/installation. I did that with my tires. Got a pretty good deal on them! You can also read reviews on what you're looking at before you purchase.

 

I'm running the TRD brake pads. They're ceramic/Kevlar, and I'm really happy with them.

 

i got TRD pads and rotors from autozone and OMG ITS DUSTY AS HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! gotta wash the rims every week or it turns to black

 

I didn't know they had TRD rotors. Are you sure?

 

im sorry.. trd pads from online and the rotors from autozone...

 

Since I tow so often with my xD, I was thinking about replacing my pads with something better... But at 56,000 miles, my pads look like they still have a lot of meat left on them. The Padang on my Golf lasted almost 130,000 miles. You can tell I don't have a heavy foot... especially since about 15% of those miles were with a trailer in tow.

I guess the OEM brakes are good enough that I won't change them early. I did just change out to ATE SuperBlue Racing brake fluid.

 

EBC Gold rotors + EBC Redstuff Pads