Powerstop drilled/slotted + Wagner OEx

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Just a quick update on a combo I have been running on my Silverado the last couple of years...

I replaced the pads and rotors around the end of of 2016 with the subject parts. I did it mostly to handle towing a F27PC Formula cruiser...which I only did twice a year here in Iowa for about 50 miles. I only made this trip twice.

Environment:
My truck is driven once a week to make sure everything is working, brakes don't rust, etc. (in winter I drive it more often due to snow)
My truck is normally used to haul stuff to/from home improvement stores, trailers, take our new smaller (25') boat to the lake, etc.
My truck maybe gets 7000 miles per year...most of it on vacation (yearly oil changes with 0w-40 and oversized oil filter for my BITOG friends)
I drive my truck to the mountains where I know how to use the manual shift, and almost never use the brakes on the mountains...

Condition:
I was towing the boat to our local lake (~50 miles, and we have downgraded to a roughly 25' Bowrider two years ago)...I left home and everything seemed fine. Mostly highway trip, but when I got to the lake, I felt grinding enough that my wife even asked what was wrong. I knew right away what it was, launched the boat, enjoyed the day, and then parked the truck to have a brake replacement.

Observations:
Rear brakes were non-drilled, non-slotted premium rotors with the same pads. They are less than 50% worn (yes, I know rears wear slower than fronts)
Front Rotors on the inside were worn to the point you could almost not feel the slots anymore, outside looked ok
Left side inboard pad was worn to the point that the backing material was my braking surface (even wear) - this was source of noise
Right side inboard pad was almost to the same point...
outside pads were 75% worn

Thoughts:
Shortest living rotor/pad combo I have ever run.
Nice to have fade free performance, but not at this much of an expense to life
Odd to have no warning of impending failure...expected squeeking, or SOMETHING to warn me I needed to service my brakes
Odd the inside rotors wore so badly
Braking performance was good...but not stellar. Just meh...but without fade.

Actions:
New pads and rotors
Pads: Autozone Duralast MAX ceramic
Rotors: Autozone Duralast Gold coated rotors (wow, these were new to me...black coating you don't clean off before using?!?!?!?!) - any feedback/comments on these would be great!!!!

Reactions:
I didn't realize how poorly my braking performance had deteriorated until I took it out for the first test drive. Bedded them in with several 60-5 mph stops without stopping, and they feel great! Excited to tow the boat this weekend and see how they do!
 
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Even though the drilled/slotted rotors on the front wore the pads SUPER fast, and they were in a VERY poor condition on the inside, there was ZERO cracking or otherwise sign of rotor failure. I did learn my lesson and won't use drilled/slotted rotors again...as I believe that is the primary cause of such short brake life in these conditions.
 
Most drilled rotors are bought for cosmetic reasons but yours wearing on one side point to a possible caliper issue. Can't blame the pads or rotors for that? And don't expect premium quality parts from the chain stores. Who even makes Duralast? Probably the lowest bidder from China.
 
Originally Posted by atikovi
Most drilled rotors are bought for cosmetic reasons but yours wearing on one side point to a possible caliper issue. Can't blame the pads or rotors for that? And don't expect premium quality parts from the chain stores. Who even makes Duralast? Probably the lowest bidder from China.


I'm only a shade tree mechanic, but every single brake pad assembly I have ever pulled off of a vehicle shows the inboard pads wearing slightly faster than the outboard pads. This is not a concern to me.

I had OEM pads and rotors and towed my Formula several times with noted brake fade. When I made the change, there was none...so maybe the drilled/slotted rotors helped here?

When renewing the brakes, the caliper slides, and all components slid perfectly, everything seemed healthy, and I just did a normal brake pack R&R. Really, the braking components are in great shape...I believe it is just a pad/rotor combo discussion.
 
"High performance" often means a trade-off of shorter life. But whatever pads / rotors you use they should be wearing at the same rate on the inside and the outside. The inside pad wearing more generally means that the caliper is not sliding freely on its mounts (if it is a single-acting caliper with the piston(s) only on the inside).
 
I'm going to guess your pads were mostly the issue. I just got done with 2 years and 45k miles on cross drilled and slotted PowerStops matched up with Hawk LTS pads, doing 30% towing of heavier boats.

Rotors had barely been taken in. This was surprising for such an aggressive pad.

Been using no-name cross drilled and slotted rotors for years without excess wear issues.
 
Excessive inboard pad wear is an indication of a bad caliper that wont release pressure or a slide pin issue causing the caliper to not recenter.
 
Leave the slotted/drilled rotors to the track guys or the fast and furious types ...‚

Stick with coated solid, vented rotors, premium pads and good gripping tires.. that's a winning combo. Maybe a larger rotor if your dimensions allows for it.
 
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I was a doubter too until the first time I tried a set and found them impervious to the usual braking issues caused by ridiculously wet weather.

CD and slotting adds nothing to the braking experience itself, but they evacuate water extremely well. Since towing big loads in torrential downpours is a given in Florida, I'll take it.
 
Originally Posted by 64bawagon
The pads must also be free in the caliper bracket. If the shims are rust jacked or crusty the pad will bind in the bracket, especially the inboard.

Watch at the 6 minute mark for this issue. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqQ6ElP87Jg


Pads popped right out, no problem...not my first brake job and everything truly seemed to be on the up and up.

Honestly, my only thought is the inboard splash shield would capture snow/ice in the winter and encourage the inside to rust faster than the outside. Since it can sit for a week or so between operating, there are several times I can feel/hear the pads removing a light rust layer on the initial few brake applications. Guessing this encouraged the inboard side to wear faster.

Even if this is the case, the set wore MUCH faster than the OEM pads/rotors I started with.
 
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Originally Posted by DriveHard

Reactions:
I didn't realize how poorly my braking performance had deteriorated until I took it out for the first test drive. Bedded them in with several 60-5 mph stops without stopping, and they feel great! Excited to tow the boat this weekend and see how they do!


Seriously you just bedded them in, haven't even worn them in fully and are going to tow a load? Bedded just means the start of good performance, nowhere near normal.

I guess it beats how bad yours were previously but that's nuts to take a risk with new brakes, unless there are no hills. Otherwise you risk glazing them, too much heat over too small a contact area.
 
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Originally Posted by Dave9
Originally Posted by DriveHard

Reactions:
I didn't realize how poorly my braking performance had deteriorated until I took it out for the first test drive. Bedded them in with several 60-5 mph stops without stopping, and they feel great! Excited to tow the boat this weekend and see how they do!


Seriously you just bedded them in, haven't even worn them in fully and are going to tow a load? Bedded just means the start of good performance, nowhere near normal.

I guess it beats how bad yours were previously but that's nuts to take a risk with new brakes, unless there are no hills. Otherwise you risk glazing them, too much heat over too small a contact area.



Thank you for being concerned with me and my fellow motorist' safety...

I am driving my truck to and from work both today and tomorrow, and making sure I give my brakes a full workout while I do it...trying both hard and soft stops to make sure things are working correctly.

What is full brake wear in? Do I need 500 miles, 1000 miles? 10 hard stops or 100? Are you doubting I don't have the ability to fully actuate ABS until I bring my truck and trailer to a stop? Concerned I might have to push on the pedal just a bit harder to get the braking effort I need?

I would not tow my boat and family to the lake if I doubted anything regarding our safety.
 
Full wear in takes a minimum of a couple hundred miles, unless you are a bad driver who constantly has to stomp on the brakes, -OR- does so deliberately to break them in faster.

Being able to activate ABS only tells you breakaway force of tires unloaded, not the performance hauling a larger load, and not the heat density on the smaller area making contact.

It's not doubt that matters. Doubt is subjective. Breaking in brake pads is objective.

You're doing it wrong and if you win that gamble, again it's better than the prior state of the brakes but going from bad to mediocre brakes, is not as good a solution as most have which is going from mediocre to good, before towing.
 
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Originally Posted by Dave9
Full wear in takes a minimum of a couple hundred miles, unless you are a bad driver who constantly has to stomp on the brakes, -OR- does so deliberately to break them in faster.

Being able to activate ABS only tells you breakaway force of tires unloaded, not the performance hauling a larger load, and not the heat density on the smaller area making contact.

It's not doubt that matters. Doubt is subjective. Breaking in brake pads is objective.

You're doing it wrong and if you win that gamble, again it's better than the prior state of the brakes but going from bad to mediocre brakes, is not as good a solution as most have which is going from mediocre to good, before towing.


By your own definition "couple hundred miles" they will be broken in then. Thank you for the concern. I'll probably have nearly 300 miles on them before Sat.

I think a smarter definition is a number of stops from XX speed in XX feet. With proper cool down in between...of which I will also be doing, but like I asked for that - I don't have, nor can I find a specification for this. I can tell you they already have 10+ stops from 60+ mph at a moderate to aggressive rate, and will probably have double that before I hook my boat up on Saturday. I can also assure you they are experiencing a harder workout than what the average driver would be giving them for the first "couple hundred miles".
 
Are the calipers a sliding 1/2 piston or a fixed 4/6/8 piston? A sliding caliper with the pistons just on one side will show more wear on the inboard pads as a nature of their operation. A fixed caliper with pistons on both sides like a Brembo, Willwood, Stoptech, or AP will wear them evenly.
 
Originally Posted by bdcardinal
Are the calipers a sliding 1/2 piston or a fixed 4/6/8 piston? A sliding caliper with the pistons just on one side will show more wear on the inboard pads as a nature of their operation. A fixed caliper with pistons on both sides like a Brembo, Willwood, Stoptech, or AP will wear them evenly.


They are a sliding half piston arrangement. Two pistons total per side, both on the inboard side. Which, from my experience always shows a higher wear rate on the piston side. My main concerns were not the un-even wear, as I expect that, it was the lack of any indication they were worn, and just how quickly they did wear out.
 
most rotors regardless of brand are cast in china + drilling + slotting is a waste on a daily driver IMO i got smooth higher carbon EBC rotors cast in UK + yellow pads made in us or uk, they work great on my 2011 nissan frontier, but i don't drive a lot so i can't comment on wear as prolly only 5 thou so far.
 
Thanks DriveHard. We learn through sharing experiences with each other. You handled the BITOG crowd quite well. Kudos.
 
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