Replacement brake pads

I have 33s on 2004 LJ and I'm running Black Magic pads that the PO put on. Personally I'm not impressed at all with these pads and they were bedded in properly. I will eventually be going with Pro Stop which is Centric's performance line. I have them on another vehicle and they are great. I would recommend getting new rotors as well. RockAuto would be a great place to get all of this.
DON'T FORGET you need to bed your new pads in...
Get your Jeep up to around 60 MPH then put the breaks on hard to get your speed down to 15 MPH. Do this 4 to 5 times right in a row without stopping completely. If you've done it right you will smell the brakes. Once done DO NOT COME TO A COMPLETE STOP, continue to drive for at least 15-20 (the longer the better) mins using the brakes as little as possible (a highway is a good place to get on). Once done come to a gentle stop at home and let the Jeep sit over night for the rotors to cool completely. There are varients of this procedure but they are all similar. Been doing this and it's amazing how well it beds the pad, which means imparting pad material onto the rotor. Black Magic require this too.
 
Why does tire size matter for brake pads?

The larger the tire diameter, the more stopping power required to be able to safely and quickly stop in the event of an emergency. To increase the stopping power in simple terms, you need to increase the friction between the pads and rotor. Usually done with a higher quality pad and rotor, larger surface area for the pads contact with the rotor, or a combination of both.
 
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Yes, but I don't usually buy brake parts that have the least bite for the job. If they are good for 33s they will be even better with 31s. It just takes less pedal effort.
 
I have 33s on 2004 LJ and I'm running Black Magic pads that the PO put on. Personally I'm not impressed at all with these pads and they were bedded in properly. I will eventually be going with Pro Stop which is Centric's performance line. I have them on another vehicle and they are great. I would recommend getting new rotors as well. RockAuto would be a great place to get all of this.
DON'T FORGET you need to bed your new pads in...
Get your Jeep up to around 60 MPH then put the breaks on hard to get your speed down to 15 MPH. Do this 4 to 5 times right in a row without stopping completely. If you've done it right you will smell the brakes. Once done DO NOT COME TO A COMPLETE STOP, continue to drive for at least 15-20 (the longer the better) mins using the brakes as little as possible (a highway is a good place to get on). Once done come to a gentle stop at home and let the Jeep sit over night for the rotors to cool completely. There are varients of this procedure but they are all similar. Been doing this and it's amazing how well it beds the pad, which means imparting pad material onto the rotor. Black Magic require this too.
If you aren't fully impressed with them, they are in fact not bedded and broken in properly. Go do that break in process you just described but do it 2 times after a cool down period driving around and then do it again. If they don't wake right up and impress you as being the best stopping pad you've ever owned, get in touch and I'll send you another set that you can break in properly. I never want anyone to be less than fully satisfied with our stuff. Ever.
 
Also, if you could provide a link to the Centric Pro Stop pads, that would be great. I'm an Authorized Centric Dealer and I'm not familiar with that part number.
 
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I have 33s on 2004 LJ and I'm running Black Magic pads that the PO put on. Personally I'm not impressed at all with these pads and they were bedded in properly.

Far from my experience. Broken in properly and they are fantastic brakes. Take Blaine up on his offer if you break them in again and still dont like them.

They locked up my 35s a few weeks ago in an emergency situation. I have noticed though, that if I am light on them that they lose their ability to stop well. A simple re-break in process gets them right back to where they operate best.
 
I've had BMB pads in mine for over 3 years of daily driving and have been very happy with them. I can still lock up my 33s if I wanted to.
 
If you aren't fully impressed with them, they are in fact not bedded and broken in properly. Go do that break in process you just described but do it 2 times after a cool down period driving around and then do it again. If they don't wake right up and impress you as being the best stopping pad you've ever owned, get in touch and I'll send you another set that you can break in properly. I never want anyone to be less than fully satisfied with our stuff. Ever.

Hi Blaine, BTW... I meant no disrespect, just sharing my experience with them. It seems like it takes a fair amount of pressure to have them bite where as the POWER STOP take very little effort, all be it on a much newer vehicle.
So you are saying do the 60-15mph procedure, drive around until cooled down, and then do it all again?

Sorry I meant POWER STOP and I am incorrect, they are not associated with Centric, STOPTECH is (I got them confused). I get my pads and rotors off of RockAuto because of the crazy low price. Here is the pic of the RA link. I have used Centric pads and rotors many times in the past and like them a lot too.
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I will try to do the re-bed-in this weekend and see how it goes. On a side note I get a light squeal out of the pads when I first apply them with gentle pressure then it goes away immediately with more pressure. Could that be an indicator of improper bed-in? The previous owner gave me his purchase info and the invoice was 0000009764. There are about 10-12k miles on them.
 
I have 33s on 2004 LJ and I'm running Black Magic pads that the PO put on. Personally I'm not impressed at all with these pads and they were bedded in properly.
As Blaine said above, no doubt either they weren't broken in properly or after they were, you did not use them aggressively enough on occasion. They won't remain awesome with nothing but normal braking. If you continually brake gently and never really haul the Jeep down from a fast speed with them they will lose that awesome stopping power they are capable of.

When I notice my Black Magic brakes are not working quite as well as I have become used to, I just do a quick mini-breakin by multiple aggressive stops hard enough to heat them up again and they then return to their former awesomeness. I don't consider the break-in process is being done properly until I can smell the brakes getting hot.
 
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I’ve had my Black Magic Brakes front and rear on for about 2 weeks. Night and day difference so far with 33s.


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Hi Blaine, BTW... I meant no disrespect, just sharing my experience with them. It seems like it takes a fair amount of pressure to have them bite where as the POWER STOP take very little effort, all be it on a much newer vehicle.
So you are saying do the 60-15mph procedure, drive around until cooled down, and then do it all again?

Sorry I meant POWER STOP and I am incorrect, they are not associated with Centric, STOPTECH is (I got them confused). I get my pads and rotors off of RockAuto because of the crazy low price. Here is the pic of the RA link. I have used Centric pads and rotors many times in the past and like them a lot too.
View attachment 71798
View attachment 71799

I will try to do the re-bed-in this weekend and see how it goes. On a side note I get a light squeal out of the pads when I first apply them with gentle pressure then it goes away immediately with more pressure. Could that be an indicator of improper bed-in? The previous owner gave me his purchase info and the invoice was 0000009764. There are about 10-12k miles on them.
Yes, do your bedding procedure, cool, again, cool long time, repeat all one more time.

9764 is 2850 invoices ago.

Light squeal means they were never broken in. These pads are dead silent.
 
Yes, do your bedding procedure, cool, again, cool long time, repeat all one more time.

9764 is 2850 invoices ago.

Light squeal means they were never broken in. These pads are dead silent.

OK, so you are saying do two bed-ins back to back with a regular cool between them, then do a third later in the day after the rotors have completely cooled? I just want to make sure I don't screw this up.

I didn't know if the invoice would help you. He bought all 4 pads and rotors. Who knows what the guy did, I just want to get them right.