Brake recommendations in general

Fairly soon I'm going to have to do a brake job on the white Caprice, it's overdue...the pedal is real low, I wouldn't be surprised if the rotors are as old as the car (there is a rust line around the braking surface that may be a crack forming, and it's stopping like crap!

For now, I just want to focus on the front pads and rotors, not too sure about the rears for now.

I've looked around online and on different sites, but I'd like to hear you guys' experiences with stuff for the B-bodies overall, brands, best bang for the buck etc. Should I just go with the Delco "Advantage" rotors and some kind of ceramic pads, or....

I'm looking at the big board right now for info...

I'm really looking to keep the costs down and get something that has a nice balance of performance and value, not some bargain basement pads that fall apart, but I'm also not sure I want to blow a bunch of money on Powerslot rotors and EBC pads and all that (unless they're not much more incredibly expensive)...

Also, I'm assuming I should replace the wheel bearings when I have the rotors off, right? I've done this whole job before on another car (a B-body) with no issues but it was years ago...

Autozone Duralast Gold pads and rotors with Timpken bearings up front.

Thanks for the input Billy- I used the Timkens last time. The reason I mentioned the Delco "Advantage" rotors was because I got them for the Tahoe and they seemed to be of very good quality even though the Durastops cost more. I swear I've heard people say the AZ high end rotors were good before.

From what I'm seeing there aren't any real brake upgrades (being that this is a civi Caprice) that just bolt in I can do without changing calipers and everything, which I don't want to do right now, just pads and rotors.

Matt Trakker wrote:

Thanks for the input Billy- I used the Timkens last time. The reason I mentioned the Delco "Advantage" rotors was because I got them for the Tahoe and they seemed to be of very good quality even though the Durastops cost more. I swear I've heard people say the AZ high end rotors were good before.

From what I'm seeing there aren't any real brake upgrades (being that this is a civi Caprice) that just bolt in I can do without changing calipers and everything, which I don't want to do right now, just pads and rotors.

If I was just doing pads and rotors AZ brand is the way to go. If you were upgrading or needed calipers and all of that, I'd go with the best you could find. Maybe not to excess like the slotted and cross drilled rotors lol but something closer to that end than well....Valuecraft!

I've been having problems with the front rotors on all Caprices in general. Anything that is not ACDelco will not stand up to German Autobahn Speeds.

Whatever the Brand, be it Wagner, Raybestos, Q-Brand or whatever, their rotors simply do NOT last as long as the Delcos. I've tried different brands many, many times, and it is the same outcome every time. I get around 15.000 miles or more out of a Delco rotor, most aftermarket brands average HALF of that, some very cheap brands won't survive the first hard stop from 100 mph. Problem is always runout, never wear.

And yes, this is from the 100 mph average speed viewpoint. Under less severe conditions, you'll probably be fine with oter brands, but over here, I would definitely advise strongly against using anything than Delco components. Having said that, no need for drilled & slotted rotors or ceramic pads. The standard stuff will do, again even under German Autobahn conditions.

Yeah, all the cheap rotors warp. Bad... Get good ones. NAPA gold, Delco, maybe the Duralasts... Don't get made in China crap!

Someone told me all rotors are now made in China, which sucks, but who knows...lol.

Anyway, even though I won't be on the Autobahn anytime soon, I did order the Delco rotors and pads. I got everything on Amazon pretty cheap with free shipping, the rotors were under 43 bucks each shipped, the ceramic Durastop pads were 39 bucks shipped, and I also got the SET3 and SET6 Timken wheel bearings on there for about the same price or cheaper than AZ and free shipping...wooo hah! I still need to get the oil seals for the backs of the new rotors, which I'll probably just get at Auto Zone in N. Reading up the road there...also have to grab a couple cotter pins, some new synthetic grease (I can't find mine), may try to buy a bearing packer at Hahhhbah Freight, maybe the slide kits for the brake calipers...can't think of anything else...

I was pissed at first but then again I just realized I've driven this car 30,000 miles and all I've done to it is change the oil, check fluids, tires, alternator, front end parts, swap tires around for fun when I didn't really have to, clean it, do a brake line, tune-up, BADASS-coerced mini-mods, and a few other things...not all that bad really...but I'll still have work to do after this...

Sounds like a good list. But you probably didn't need bearings. That style very rarely wear out. Just clean out all the old grease and re-pack 'em and they are usually good to go!

I know, but I figured since I was pulling the rotors off, I could just plop new ones in the new rotors and not have to worry about them. I doubt the rotors on the car have ever been off for the bearings to be repacked and sometimes the car feels a little funny on corners like they are grinding a bit (very slight)...

If the old ones look good, I will save them.

The last time I did this was on my green Impala. That thing still had the old-ass brake rotors with the groove around the rotor face that the key molded into the pad surface material fit into! I replaced those bearings, because I figured the rotors may have been as old as the car.