Autozone Brake Pads
- Thread starter Lextreme II
- Start date
The 1UZFE EGR Delete Kit is available for sale here.
Porterfield R4S's on both my Supras. They still produce some dust, but I've had no reason to change. Until someone comes up with a dustless pad that doesn't need any warm up, grips right away, doesn't fade, doesn't squeal, and lasts for 25K miles, then I think all the current pads are a compromise of some sort.
If you still have the receipt, I would get my money back.
I speak from experience, having put the Duralast pads on my LS400 brakes out of the shoot to simply get the car on the road as cheaply as possible. The dust is bad. The fade is able to be felt after just a couple hard stops, and the stopping power is less than the EBC pads.
I can not speak for pad life with the EBC. I am uncertain of this, having never talked with an EBC rep, although I can say that the Duralast pads seemed to have good longevity. I suggested getting your money back because I have my gently used Duralast pads sitting on the bench downstairs with 95% of their life remaining. I would ship them to you for free if you were interested.
For my purposes, I am more pleased with the EBC pads because -while they cost three times more- they are less resistant to fade, better at gripping, and the dust is non-corrossive. Dust is a product of braking: it is impossible to eliminate. But, I am happy to have non-corrossive dust to save the wheels while stopping better than the Duralast at the same time. I assume I am sacrificing pad longevity for this.
EBC Greenstuff pads are more wheel-savers than anything. A true performance pad, like Porterfield, will stop better (and cost more: ~$150). Even OEM pads (~$50 from Carson) would resist fade better and still be long lasting like the Duralast pads. For the LS400 calipers, pad selection is not very plentiful, and I do not have much experience investigating the market. When I got the good deal on the EBC pads, I took them since they are more ideal for my circumstance.
Ultimately, the Duralast pads will stop sufficiently so long as you are not repeatedly braking hard. They will probably outlast most performance pads. If you are willing to clean the wheels (or allow them to corrode from the dust), the Duralast pads will do the trick. For a recreational pad, they are more than sufficient...just don't expect significant performance from them, as they will disappoint.
Thermactor
Member
caveat emptor, i've heard bad things about them....
Lextreme II
Active Member
They are Duralast or something like that. I just got them....
Oh Dave...
They gonna squeek on you... I hope you got the lexus anti-squeek potion to apply to the pads before installation.. That may save you... More brake dust with those pads too, which makes for more rim cleaning... Sorry bro, you should of bought OEM's...
Good luck anyway with the Matalics...
They gonna squeek on you... I hope you got the lexus anti-squeek potion to apply to the pads before installation.. That may save you... More brake dust with those pads too, which makes for more rim cleaning... Sorry bro, you should of bought OEM's...
Good luck anyway with the Matalics...
sniper
Super Moderator
You get what you pay for, period. For normal driving it should be ok however, under hard emergency stop type braking, they will be unpredictable to the point that on our SC430, the ABS has a hard time stopping the car smoothly as the pads dont quite have the sharp bite of better quality pads. Also, under hard race type braking, they will quickly glaze over and stop performing after only 2 or 3 braking runs. But for just light city type driving, they should be ok, and yes the SC430 with its Autozone pads does squeak 
Lextreme II
Active Member
Gang,
Which brand did u guys got? Duralast is what I got. Its the cheapest and life warrentte. So I say... why not?
Which brand did u guys got? Duralast is what I got. Its the cheapest and life warrentte. So I say... why not?
You will be dealing with three variables on the Duralast pads:
(1) Dust
The semi-metallic pads will leave behind lots of dust...lots of corrossive dust. Check out the front wheels of half of the older cars on the roadways: this is because of the semi-metallic pads from a cheap brake job ate away the finish on the wheels.
A lot of very impressive performance pads also contain metallic substrates to some degree, so the corrossive dust issue is certainly not easy to get around. However, the the fade and frictional force values are serious concerns.
(2) Fade
The bargain bin pads will also fade. This means that as they get hot, they will reach the point where the pads are rendered essentially useless from heat soak quicker than other, mor reliable, pads. This is a serious safety concern if you are ever pumping the brakes hard.
Most good performance street brake pads will start to fade above 650*F-700*F. With a bragin bin pad, you are talking up to a 200+*F difference in fade tolerance. This is a serious safety issue if you are ever caught flooring the brake pedals more than a couple times consecutively. You will be reaching for the e-brake to save your life.
(3) Performance
Easily calculation is a "mu" value for any friction material. This "coefficient of sliding friction" is the ratio of the caliper's braking power that is actually being applied as frictional force to chomp down on the rotor and stop the car. This neutralizes the effect of the LS400 brake upgrade.
Most good performance brake pads have "mu" values at or above 0.5, meaning half of the caliper's force is actually being applied as frictional force. Bragain bin pads have "mu" values often in the 0.3 range or worse. This has obvious negative implications on stopping distance, even if you are not encountering fade.
In summary:
I would rather have stock calipers on amazing brake pads than LS400 calipers on Duralast pads. For a performance enthusiast, the bargain bin pads present serious safety and performance issues.
For my LS400 calipers, I am running EBC Greenstuff Pads. I got them from TM Engineering for $76 - retail is ~$100 (In fact, I believe he still has a set for the LS400 fronts sitting around for the clearance). The Greenstuff pads are non-metallic so they will not corrode my wheels. They have a 550*F fade point, and their friction coefficient is in the vicinity of 0.5.
Considering how much money, blood, sweat, and tears will be being poured into this SC470TT project, I would hate to see a $25 pad come between you and an enjoyable ride...more importantly, you and your life if you ever had an issue with brake fade. For $50 more, you can increase the quality of the pad you are buying significantly.
If you don't want to spend a lot of money on brakes for your SC470TT, you should just buy some serious Hawk performance pads for the stock calipers and call it a day. They will stop faster and be safer than the LS400 brakes.
Although, I would favor the LS400 calipers with good pads, as you will have the best of both worlds: a car whose braking system can perform, and a car whose braking system is safe when you push the car hard every now and then.
(1) Dust
The semi-metallic pads will leave behind lots of dust...lots of corrossive dust. Check out the front wheels of half of the older cars on the roadways: this is because of the semi-metallic pads from a cheap brake job ate away the finish on the wheels.
A lot of very impressive performance pads also contain metallic substrates to some degree, so the corrossive dust issue is certainly not easy to get around. However, the the fade and frictional force values are serious concerns.
(2) Fade
The bargain bin pads will also fade. This means that as they get hot, they will reach the point where the pads are rendered essentially useless from heat soak quicker than other, mor reliable, pads. This is a serious safety concern if you are ever pumping the brakes hard.
Most good performance street brake pads will start to fade above 650*F-700*F. With a bragin bin pad, you are talking up to a 200+*F difference in fade tolerance. This is a serious safety issue if you are ever caught flooring the brake pedals more than a couple times consecutively. You will be reaching for the e-brake to save your life.
(3) Performance
Easily calculation is a "mu" value for any friction material. This "coefficient of sliding friction" is the ratio of the caliper's braking power that is actually being applied as frictional force to chomp down on the rotor and stop the car. This neutralizes the effect of the LS400 brake upgrade.
Most good performance brake pads have "mu" values at or above 0.5, meaning half of the caliper's force is actually being applied as frictional force. Bragain bin pads have "mu" values often in the 0.3 range or worse. This has obvious negative implications on stopping distance, even if you are not encountering fade.
In summary:
I would rather have stock calipers on amazing brake pads than LS400 calipers on Duralast pads. For a performance enthusiast, the bargain bin pads present serious safety and performance issues.
For my LS400 calipers, I am running EBC Greenstuff Pads. I got them from TM Engineering for $76 - retail is ~$100 (In fact, I believe he still has a set for the LS400 fronts sitting around for the clearance). The Greenstuff pads are non-metallic so they will not corrode my wheels. They have a 550*F fade point, and their friction coefficient is in the vicinity of 0.5.
Considering how much money, blood, sweat, and tears will be being poured into this SC470TT project, I would hate to see a $25 pad come between you and an enjoyable ride...more importantly, you and your life if you ever had an issue with brake fade. For $50 more, you can increase the quality of the pad you are buying significantly.
If you don't want to spend a lot of money on brakes for your SC470TT, you should just buy some serious Hawk performance pads for the stock calipers and call it a day. They will stop faster and be safer than the LS400 brakes.
Although, I would favor the LS400 calipers with good pads, as you will have the best of both worlds: a car whose braking system can perform, and a car whose braking system is safe when you push the car hard every now and then.
Porterfield R4S's on both my Supras. They still produce some dust, but I've had no reason to change. Until someone comes up with a dustless pad that doesn't need any warm up, grips right away, doesn't fade, doesn't squeal, and lasts for 25K miles, then I think all the current pads are a compromise of some sort.
Lextreme II
Active Member
Thanks Blizzy for the details explaination. Perhaps I should get my money back. Questions for you. Doesnt the non metalic pads wear out faster? I think my MDX has Duralast and for a her driving (3 miles to work LOL) and around town it is working ok.
EBC... How long do they last?
EBC... How long do they last?
If you still have the receipt, I would get my money back.
I speak from experience, having put the Duralast pads on my LS400 brakes out of the shoot to simply get the car on the road as cheaply as possible. The dust is bad. The fade is able to be felt after just a couple hard stops, and the stopping power is less than the EBC pads.
I can not speak for pad life with the EBC. I am uncertain of this, having never talked with an EBC rep, although I can say that the Duralast pads seemed to have good longevity. I suggested getting your money back because I have my gently used Duralast pads sitting on the bench downstairs with 95% of their life remaining. I would ship them to you for free if you were interested.
For my purposes, I am more pleased with the EBC pads because -while they cost three times more- they are less resistant to fade, better at gripping, and the dust is non-corrossive. Dust is a product of braking: it is impossible to eliminate. But, I am happy to have non-corrossive dust to save the wheels while stopping better than the Duralast at the same time. I assume I am sacrificing pad longevity for this.
EBC Greenstuff pads are more wheel-savers than anything. A true performance pad, like Porterfield, will stop better (and cost more: ~$150). Even OEM pads (~$50 from Carson) would resist fade better and still be long lasting like the Duralast pads. For the LS400 calipers, pad selection is not very plentiful, and I do not have much experience investigating the market. When I got the good deal on the EBC pads, I took them since they are more ideal for my circumstance.
Ultimately, the Duralast pads will stop sufficiently so long as you are not repeatedly braking hard. They will probably outlast most performance pads. If you are willing to clean the wheels (or allow them to corrode from the dust), the Duralast pads will do the trick. For a recreational pad, they are more than sufficient...just don't expect significant performance from them, as they will disappoint.
Theres nothing more boring and time consuming like cleaning the black brake dust off your rims almost daily from cheap brake pads... What's worse is that embarrassing slow rolling brake stop to a red light in traffic and you then get that SQEEEEEEEKKKK.... So you just try and brake harder just to quicken the noise from stopping...All the while your looking over and see a beautiful girl in the next car over looking at your ride and wheels in discust from the chilling mind bending squeeking noise which is created from the vibrating matalic brake pads you just installed on your Lexus.....
We all learn from our mistakes...
We all learn from our mistakes...
Lextreme II
Active Member
Hey John,
She might be disgust with the sound.. but you got her attention... LOL
She might be disgust with the sound.. but you got her attention... LOL
Similar threads
