Pads and Rotors

[pingber]

[:I]Well, I have 36K on my PT and its time for pads and rotors ... oddly enough, the left rear rotor has a groove cut in it, but no noise coming from it .. the pads look ok externally, but I'm assuming that something is very wrong to cut that deep a groove ... anyway ... I don't see alot of discussion as to what kind of pads to get and if to replace the stock rotors with something cross-drilled and/or slotted. I've pried those beauties and they are about $90 - $100 each, so a little pricey for the commuting driving that I do (about 100 miles per day) .. unless someone knows of a cheaper supplier.

Anyway ... someone give me their opinion and a website to goto to order the goodies I need.

Thanks

[GTSteve]

http://www.pt-tuning.com/performance...es_Rotors.html

This might get you started. You also might want to check with Tire Rack. I hear good things about both companies.

http://www.tirerack.com/index.jsp

Keep us posted on your progress. Thanks

[GTSteve]

BTW, I wanted to add this. You may want to simply turn your stock rotors and buy ceramic pads. I'm sure you have enough metal on your stock rotors to turn them at least once. Then, you can buy new rotors next time. Also, I hear raybestos (sp?) has ceramic pads for the PT.

Just my 2 cents.

[GTSteve]

http://www.jcwhitney.com/catsubpic.j...=364185&BQ=ptc

found this too

[GTSteve]

http://www.jcwhitney.com/catsubpic.j...=364185&BQ=ptc

see this too

[Grouch]

GT Steve is right about the Raybestos ceramic Pads. I had them on about a month and guess what NO DUST not to mention better stoppng power. I went to Powerslot rotors on mine ( No more rusty rotors ) Best price on rotors was these folks who had them to me in one day

You have to shop thru this link to get the PTE discount



http://www.ptuning.com/html/discount...ubid=ptptenthu

As far as the pads any good auto parts store should be able to get them for you

[2sb]

Is the groove wide or narrow? If it's wide the park brake may be dragging. Check to see if the cables move freely with no rust or dirt build up on them. If one is "draggy", put some dry (graphite) lubricant on it. Also check caliper action.

[Stephen R.]

http://www.ptcruiserlinks.com/forum/...?TOPIC_ID=3851

I'd refrain from resurfacing the stock rotors. Do a search through this forum and you'll see people's comments on them. Fortunately, there are several aftermarket discs to choose from such as Brembo and EBC. After doing researching for awhile, my front runner is the EBC rotor for several reasons:

1. They claim to have their own alloy. OEM metal is too soft.

2. They are "black" coated. I don't care for cad or zinc.

3. They are not cross-drilled, rather "dimple slotted" for disc integrity (no spider cracking).

4. EBC (European Brake Company) makes brake upgrades for a variety of 2 & 4 wheeled vehicles: http://www.ebcbrakes.com/

For EBC, checkout http://www.brakesrus.com/ as they are a USA-based dealer. For Brembo: http://www.nopionline.com/

Let us know your final decision, and find a good performance shop to do the install if you don't want to yourself.

[wheelguner]

I replaced my front rotors/pads on my '02 with the EBC products. I am extremely pleased with their increased performance and the Greenstuff pads are virtually dust free. After the pads seat and the black coating wears off the contact surfaces, the remaining black coating in the grooves and dimples contrasts nicely with the polished surfaces. To my suprise and pleasure these rotors don't rust overniight after a rain as the OEM Rotors often did.
One warning though, I am getting some noise during braking. I believe this moaning resonace is partly due to the Goodyear Aquatread III tires I installed at the same time. I do not find the sound to be objectionable.

[pingber]

Well, thanks for all of your help and suggestions .. here's what I did ... I could not find ANY of the ceramic pads in my area, NAPA didn;t have any listing for their own ceramic pad .. they said the number was too new and was being test marketed. No one around here carried the Raybestos either ... and I absolutely could not wait. The grinding was a total lack of pad on the outside-right passenger so that the backing plate of the pad was rubbing on the outer edge of the rotor. In fact, I'm quite annoyed that no warning was given, to wear-indicator sound, nothing at all, because the rotor might have been saved. So after looking around for two days, I opeted for the Wagner Thermo-Quiet semi-metallic pads and another set of OEM rotors. The OEM rotors were nicely crosshatched, but still made from that wonderful (LOL) Mexican steel that rusts in 10% humidity! But the Cruiser now stops with its old authority again, which overal, wasn;t too bad to begin with!