Yet another brake pad question

chuck47

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Feb 26, 2021
Messages
136
Location
central PA
So my TJ is getting due for a front brake job (just passed PA inspection in May, but pad depth was close and I'd like to get this done in the warm weather). Since I'm running an SE on 30s and haven't had any stopping issues I can't really justify dropping the coin on BMB. I have no idea how to chose from the available pad/rotor kits on RockAuto though. Being in the PA I'm thinking coated rotors might be important (but I pretty much keep the TJ in the garage all winter). I also only put maybe 3k miles on it a year, so I'm guessing I would be more likely to hit rust issues before I even come close to wearing out the pads.

I was thinking of going with the Power Stop coated, but I'd love to hear from some folks who actually know about this stuff first. Thanks!

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I've had great luck with the Raybestos Element3 kits on other vehicles (midsize trucks). I believe the hybrid term means they are part ceramic and part semi metallic, mainly meaning best of both worlds. You get a nice quiet pad that bites well, doesn't eat rotors for lunch and what dust it leaves behind is not super visible and certainly does not turn rusty brown like many semi metallics do.

When my current truck needs brakes they are my plan. The coated rotors are a nice touch, they look a lot better for a lot longer.

I've had BMBs in multiple forms as well (Jeeps in both the Jeep and Ford pad (BBK application), and used the Ford pad also on my Ford) - they are excellent pads. But I can understanding not really wanting to justify them on small tires.
 
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Buy the cheapest stuff you can, with your situation. AM-Autoparts.com has good prices, free shipping and a 10 year warranty on ALL PARTS. I drive my car 100 miles daily/365 days a year, for a living. The warranty has saved me tons of money in the past 33 years that I've had this job.
p.s. Damn, I'm old and need a better job. :unsure:
 
I've had great luck with the Raybestos Element3 kits on other vehicles (midsize trucks). I believe the hybrid term means they are part ceramic and part semi metallic, mainly meaning best of both worlds. You get a nice quiet pad that bites well, doesn't eat rotors for lunch and what dust it leaves behind is not super visible and certainly does not turn rusty brown like many semi metallics do.

When my current truck needs brakes they are my plan. The coated rotors are a nice touch, they look a lot better for a lot longer.

I've had BMBs in multiple forms as well (Jeeps in both the Jeep and Ford pad (BBK application), and used the Ford pad also on my Ford) - they are excellent pads. But I can understanding not really wanting to justify them on small tires.

Thanks, I appreciate the info. Honestly it's a stupid reason but I see the name Raybestos and associate it with asbestos and it makes me want to say away :ROFLMAO:. The set is $103 shipped from Rock Auto, so I really can't argue that. I'll go ahead and try them out.

Buy the cheapest stuff you can, with your situation. AM-Autoparts.com has good prices, free shipping and a 10 year warranty on ALL PARTS. I drive my car 100 miles daily/365 days a year, for a living. The warranty has saved me tons of money in the past 33 years that I've had this job.
p.s. Damn, I'm old and need a better job. :unsure:

:ROFLMAO: Thanks for the suggestion. Looks like even accounting for shipping their cheapest set of pads and rotors is about the same as Rock Auto. I'm currently a grad student so money is definitely tighter than I would like. My TJ build is pretty much dead in the water due to financials for now. Hopefully someday I'll be able to set aside more money for the TJ (ideally enough to buy a 4.0), but for now I'm still enjoying my mostly stock SE and trying not to look too hard over fence.
 
Thanks, I appreciate the info. Honestly it's a stupid reason but I see the name Raybestos and associate it with asbestos and it makes me want to say away :ROFLMAO:. The set is $103 shipped from Rock Auto, so I really can't argue that. I'll go ahead and try them out.



:ROFLMAO: Thanks for the suggestion. Looks like even accounting for shipping their cheapest set of pads and rotors is about the same as Rock Auto. I'm currently a grad student so money is definitely tighter than I would like. My TJ build is pretty much dead in the water due to financials for now. Hopefully someday I'll be able to set aside more money for the TJ (ideally enough to buy a 4.0), but for now I'm still enjoying my mostly stock SE and trying not to look too hard over fence.

Lol, for whatever reason I didn't use anything by them for a long time either, but I didn't really have a reason. Everything I've used has been great though. Centric used to be my go to and they still are good, but for actual stopping parts so far I have liked Raybestos better, and their lineup is more simple. Centric has a lot of different applications with pros and cons and it can be easy to get overwhelmed or lost in the weeds trying to decide what to use.
 
I run the powerstop, non-slotted, coated rotors all around (although in a slightly larger size 🙂), and I’ve been happy with them. I bought them for the coating, which has held up well, but other than that they are just a normal set of rotors.