• đź’ˇ Fun fact. Whenever you start a thread, TCG Mechanic 5000 (our AI bot) will reply to you to start helping. It doesn't know everything and it will struggle with more complex questions but it can get the thread going and provide valuable information. You can choose to disable it prior to submitting a thread.

Need advice selecting brake rotor/pad/fluid combo for my 5.0

SleeperLS

TCG Elite Member
TCG Premium
Oct 19, 2008
14,352
8,177
West of the Mississippi
I am looking to upgrade my brake rotors, pads, and fluid on my 5.0 and need some advice. I have read a lot about the subject, and have had great luck in the past with cermaic pads and blank rotors on FWD cars. What I am looking for is a rotor/pad/fluid combo that will fit my needs/use. I don't need the most expensive crap out there, but I don't mind paying for something if it will work better for what I need.

I will not be road racing the car at all. The main performance driving I will be doing is more straight line driving and will very rarely drive in a road race type fashion. I mainly use this car for more of a DD, but when I go to the 1/2 mile event I want some brakes that are going to work well slowing this pig down.

I am leaning toward some blank Centric rotors that have the black coating to reduce visible rust, and some Hawk Ceramic pads. The brake fluid I bought is the ATE Super Blue DOT 4 brake fluid. This sound like a combo that would work well for my application and needs?

I have read that the slotted rotors are pretty much just for show and don't really provide any better performance. Though I wouldn't mind the brakes looking good, are they even worth the cost difference? If I did get some, I would be looking at the TPS slotted rotors.

Post up what you guys think. All opinions on this specific application and use are welcome. Thanks for the help!
 

Chester Copperpot

Unvaxxed Untermensch
TCG Premium
May 7, 2010
39,409
40,177
Blanco el Norte
Slotted rotors are actually functional and can be used for daily while still improving braking. The drilled ones improve braking too but they crack easily. For daily use, drilled are usually avoided. You can never go wrong with Hawk pads. Only thing is you have to do a "bed-in" regiment(Bed-In Instructions) with them when you first put them on but that's it.

I'd honestly get Hawk rotors and pads.

Fluid, I've seen everyone switch to the Brembo/Track-Pack fluid which is the hi-temp DOT-4 stuff.
 
For brakes, I'd suggest actually Hawk HP+
The Ceramics are decent, but better for highway and light cars (like my civic)
If you want/need more bite w/o going to a race pad, get the HP+
The only drawback is they squeek every once in a while on super light use.

The ATE blue is good, but you'll need to bleed your brakes a bit more often (especially after the 1/2 mi event), but you'll have no fade at the event (at least not from having that fluid)

Only other reasons to have fade is: shitty brake lines, bubble somewhere in lines, shitty pads.

As for rotors: get blanks. Slotted rotors will eat away at your pads BIG time. If you're not circuit racing, you dont need slotted.
Stay away from drilled rotors

Get stoptech rotors or brembo blanks.

Hope that helps!

PS: Tires have the VETO power to all things stop and go. Just remember that. You can have the best brakes/calipers/rotors in the world, but if your tires can't handle it, then all those upgrades are worthless.
 

sickmint79

I Drink Your Milkshake
Mar 2, 2008
26,878
16,581
grayslake
I am asking about brakes. If you wanted to know what tires i had all you had to do was ask. Continental extreme DWS

these are the all seasons i recommend when people ask. good set of tires.

as far as brakes/rotors, if you are not road racing it doesn't matter. what gives you a shorter stopping distance is tire compound, but at the end of a straight line you have more straight line so who cares, at least in terms of braking? and you need the fluid for getting really hot, which isn't a 110 to 60 at the end of a drag strip with fairly normal braking, it's 100-75, 80-60, 70-40, 80-60, all within 30 seconds at 95% braking. different rotors and pads and fluid aren't worth it, save your money if you're not going to a track day.
 

Turk

Lt. Ron "Slider" Kerner
TCG Premium
Jan 21, 2008
28,482
7,872
I have always thought slotted and drilled rotors offer worse performance UNLESS you are really beating on your brakes. They are made to dissipate heat at the cost of less surface area. I like brembo big brake kits but damn they are expensive!
 

ldyzluvdis06

Supercharged C5
Sep 30, 2008
6,349
1,896
Jacksonville, IL
Real Name
Danny
as far as brakes/rotors, if you are not road racing it doesn't matter. what gives you a shorter stopping distance is tire compound, but at the end of a straight line you have more straight line so who cares, at least in terms of braking? and you need the fluid for getting really hot, which isn't a 110 to 60 at the end of a drag strip with fairly normal braking, it's 100-75, 80-60, 70-40, 80-60, all within 30 seconds at 95% braking. different rotors and pads and fluid aren't worth it, save your money if you're not going to a track day.

x2
 

SleeperLS

TCG Elite Member
TCG Premium
Oct 19, 2008
14,352
8,177
West of the Mississippi
these are the all seasons i recommend when people ask. good set of tires.

as far as brakes/rotors, if you are not road racing it doesn't matter. what gives you a shorter stopping distance is tire compound, but at the end of a straight line you have more straight line so who cares, at least in terms of braking? and you need the fluid for getting really hot, which isn't a 110 to 60 at the end of a drag strip with fairly normal braking, it's 100-75, 80-60, 70-40, 80-60, all within 30 seconds at 95% braking. different rotors and pads and fluid aren't worth it, save your money if you're not going to a track day.

I have had nothing but good luck with these tires in the past and that is what i would recommend as well. Thanks for the feedback, but it does matter what kind of combo i go with and that is why i am asking. I have read people having issues with certain brands or types of brakes and right now i need new ones. Any thoughts on certain brands or combos? I am not putting stock stuff back on the car
 

SinisterSHO

Tame Racing Driver
Jul 20, 2007
8,675
20
What types of issues? How they fit or how they perform?

When I ran cobra brakes on my SHO, I always bought solid stock rotors. I ended up using ebc yellow stuff as a street/track pad, but have also heard good things about their other lines of pads. If you're not upgrading the size, solid stockers will probably be fine for what you want. If you want to spend the cash, get the slotted, but on a mostly street driven care, I wouldn't think it was worth it.

I always think of his often they will be replaced, do I want to spend more for slotted every time? Is it worth it at that point.
 

Pressure Ratio

....
TCG Premium
Nov 11, 2005
20,302
11,724
Glen Ellyn
And as far as that goes, how big are the stock brakes? Is there an OEM upgrade that might be worth it? Something you could spend a little more on and get a lot more performance, which will usually have more options for pads/rotors.

The two piston set up is like 13.2". The Brembo 14" kit new is $1,150 including upgraded hoses. You can buy used kits for $600-$700.

Ceramic pads will have less dust but will not help braking. I run the Hawk HPS pads on my Brembo set up. They have much less brake dust than stock. And they work great.
 

SleeperLS

TCG Elite Member
TCG Premium
Oct 19, 2008
14,352
8,177
West of the Mississippi
What types of issues? How they fit or how they perform?

When I ran cobra brakes on my SHO, I always bought solid stock rotors. I ended up using ebc yellow stuff as a street/track pad, but have also heard good things about their other lines of pads. If you're not upgrading the size, solid stockers will probably be fine for what you want. If you want to spend the cash, get the slotted, but on a mostly street driven care, I wouldn't think it was worth it.

I always think of his often they will be replaced, do I want to spend more for slotted every time? Is it worth it at that point.

I guess issues is a pretty general term. Mainly it has been warping from too much heat build up, excessive brake dust, and some people claim certain pads didnt feel any different and felt a bit sloppier.

Seems like the blanks are a better choice from feedback. I will be upgrading the brake system down the road to a brembo or similar set up. For now i would prefer to not have to change rotors/pads often.
 

SleeperLS

TCG Elite Member
TCG Premium
Oct 19, 2008
14,352
8,177
West of the Mississippi
The two piston set up is like 13.2". The Brembo 14" kit new is $1,150 including upgraded hoses. You can buy used kits for $600-$700.

Ceramic pads will have less dust but will not help braking. I run the Hawk HPS pads on my Brembo set up. They have much less brake dust than stock. And they work great.

I have been hearing positive things about HPS pads. Dusting was one concern but if they dust less than stock i am good with that.

I was considering the brembo upgrade, but i figured that extra money could be put toward a PHB, and x/h pipe for now. Probably be a better route for street use at this time. I will however need a serious brake upgrade when my car gets some twins down the road and i start to drive it harder.
 

sickmint79

I Drink Your Milkshake
Mar 2, 2008
26,878
16,581
grayslake
I have had nothing but good luck with these tires in the past and that is what i would recommend as well. Thanks for the feedback, but it does matter what kind of combo i go with and that is why i am asking. I have read people having issues with certain brands or types of brakes and right now i need new ones. Any thoughts on certain brands or combos? I am not putting stock stuff back on the car

i am curious as to what issues? i think most people's brake upgrades only change pedal feel (whether 'better' or not i think is kind of arbitrary - simply that it is different) - certainly i don't believe it is stopping them any quicker although some people do think this is happening, any evidence be damned.

i did think the feel of the brz was odd when i first got it, it really did feel a little strange to me vs. other cars stock or not. i drove a friends before mine got here and always planned on tracking mine, i put in the new fluid and swapped out the pads before i ever filled the tank for the first time. the new stuff feels as i expect or i'll just say 'normal'.

i don't see a reason to stray from blanks even oem ones. maybe i will look for a cryo treated one some day but i've never done it.

i like carbotech pads, i have xp8 in the front and ax6 in the rear. i didn't use any spray stuff and they squeal like hell. not sure of the dust level vs. other stuff. bad news is having all that cook into the nooks and crannies of the wheels on a track day it is a pain to get out.

i am pretty sure the fluid i bought was way overpriced and also misrepresented, not happy about that. past super blue there is motul rbf 600 and 660, i think the latter is newer? i've used the former and so have a lot of people.

i'd really just stick with fairly cheap normal stuff. hps is probably not much more than oem and if you want to try them go for it. down the line i wouldn't expect you to need brembos for drag racing, even on the track you don't hit fade for 5 10 15 minutes and you're just being ruthless on the brakes then. i think half the time i'm in it it is even due to my poor braking techniques really. now my car is quite light i'm hoping i don't see fade for some time, although i'll find out this summer!
 
Old Thread: Hello . There have been no replies in this thread for 90 days.
Content in this thread may no longer be relevant. Consider starting a new thread to get fresh replies.

Thread Info