FAQ: Brake Rotors and Pads

If you buy the PowerStop package, you could use the included pads with your exisiting rotors until you get your F-body calipers and pads, then swap in the new rotors.

I just put those on my 95! wow what a difference!

heres the whole set for 160 bucks on ebay. ive ordered them
http://www.ebay.com/itm/290701374188?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Thanks, Josh. Might go with that set now. They look like they are USA based too. That's nice. I like that.

If I wanted to put these rotors and pads on my 96, what would I need to change? I know the rotors on the 97-99 are an inch bigger in diameter, but shouldn't it be a direct swap?

AA wrote:

If you buy the PowerStop package, you could use the included pads with your exisiting rotors until you get your F-body calipers and pads, then swap in the new rotors.

I just now realized the idea here. I am getting a really mild, barely noticeable, vibration right now when i come to a stop. Rotors are pretty rusty right now too. I will probably do a full replace before Fbods.

joshuadalegrimes wrote:

heres the whole set for 160 bucks on ebay. ive ordered them
http://www.ebay.com/itm/290701374188?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Have you installed yet?

ya know,call me cheap but those EBC's are expensive.My autozone's will never cost me anything and haul my ride down pretty damn good! jus sayin

robotennis61 wrote:

ya know,call me cheap but those EBC's are expensive.My autozone's will never cost me anything and haul my ride down pretty damn good! jus sayin

Expensive but needed if you have the HP to reach high speeds quickly

I personally wont ever use a set of off the shelf (autozone) pads again. i would go out and slam into the back of someone coming off the highway thinking my stopping distance is 60 ft when its more like 130 ft.

And FWIW i have found the addiction to acceleration mods is very similar to that of deceleration. I am constantly trying to make my car go 0-100-0 faster.

I've tried most, including Duralast. They're decent. Probably one of the better pads for the money. But they do have their limit, and that's where the EBCs make a difference. Blue stuff is probably the only true race compound that is street-friendly on a bigger car. I'm one of those who puts a lot of stock in pads. Really, the main reason to change to F-Body calipers is so you can run better pads.

Credit to Mr.Riviera for finding them first. Without a doubt EBC Blue stuff are the best high-performance pad for a heavy car like the Riv, imo. Quiet, clean, really good feel, and they last. You can beat the piss out them for an hour and they'll stop even better than before. Other pads have a more aggressive bit, but they won't last, make noise, eat rotors, and will dirty up your wheels.

I can understand Mr.Riviera's addiction to decel mods. Our Rivs can really stop! Pads are key to braking, like tires are key to handling. Everything else in the brake system is there to enable the pads to do their thing, and to absorb heat.

Now off to shave some zinc coating from the Brembos...

Mr.Riviera wrote:

robotennis61 wrote:

ya know,call me cheap but those EBC's are expensive.My autozone's will never cost me anything and haul my ride down pretty damn good! jus sayin

Expensive but needed if you have the HP to reach high speeds quickly

I personally wont ever use a set of off the shelf (autozone) pads again. i would go out and slam into the back of someone coming off the highway thinking my stopping distance is 60 ft when its more like 130 ft.

And FWIW i have found the addiction to acceleration mods is very similar to that of deceleration. I am constantly trying to make my car go 0-100-0 faster.

Wait, what???

Mr.Riviera wrote:

I personally wont ever use a set of off the shelf (autozone) pads again.

Duralast is the worst brand on the market. I won't install anything that comes from a Duralast box anymore.

Quote :

Duralast is the worst brand on the market.

Do you mean the brand in general, or do you feel their brake pads are no exception? I've never had a problem with their mid/high level pads.

The brand in generel, IMHO, stinks. The cheap Duralast give you a mushy brake pedal, and a terrible braking feel. The mid-high pads stop the car yes, but the pads are noisy as hell. They transfer the rotor-to-pad noise throughout the car and is audible. I had a TON of customers come back whenever I installed Duralast pads on their vehicles (when I was at the aftermarket shop). They usually lasted about 3-4 months until they came back for noise concerns.

I'd rather use the cheap NAPA pads than the good Duralast. I haven't had one complaint about NAPA's pads. They're quiet, and they stop the car.

AA wrote:

Quote :

Duralast is the worst brand on the market.

Do you mean the brand in general, or do you feel their brake pads are no exception? I've never had a problem with their mid/high level pads.

I am generalizing the entire brand, not just their brake pads, sorry. I have had to repeat too much other work because of faulty parts that I refuse to look at any duralast part anymore. In fact I completely switched stores and now drive right past Autozone to Advance where the counterpeople are more knowledgeble and professional, and the parts available don't have me repeating my work.

...speaking of autozone,I hate it when I drop into one asking for a gasket for a Supercharger only to be asked," supercharger gasket!? wats dat??"

robotennis61 wrote:

...speaking of autozone,I hate it when I drop into one asking for a gasket for a Supercharger only to be asked," supercharger gasket!? wats dat??"

Ask for Upper Intake Manifold Gasket or Intake Plenum Gasket. Our manifold just happens to be a supercharger

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/1996-Buick-Riviera/Intake-Plenum-Gasket/_/N-j4u2mZ93yj2

I will say that the autozones around me are MUCH better than the Advanced Auto's. Staff knows more and they are more helpful. I can give numerous personal accounts of failed parts from both their brand names (durolast, valucraft, autocraft, wearever, etc.). I stay away from then unless there is no other option.

Mr.Riviera wrote:

robotennis61 wrote:

...speaking of autozone,I hate it when I drop into one asking for a gasket for a Supercharger only to be asked," supercharger gasket!? wats dat??"

Ask for Upper Intake Manifold Gasket or Intake Plenum Gasket. Our manifold just happens to be a supercharger

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/1996-Buick-Riviera/Intake-Plenum-Gasket/_/N-j4u2mZ93yj2

I will say that the autozones around me are MUCH better than the Advanced Auto's. Staff knows more and they are more helpful. I can give numerous personal accounts of failed parts from both their brand names (durolast, valucraft, autocraft, wearever, etc.). I stay away from then unless there is no other option.

..uh yeah,but the "Upper Intake Manifold Gasket " got the poor counter person into such a hysterical mumbling fit that I concised my question.

Sounds like your Autozone sucks, Robo.

They all kind of suck, but it's varying degrees of suckage.

charlieRobinson wrote:

joshuadalegrimes wrote:

heres the whole set for 160 bucks on ebay. ive ordered them
http://www.ebay.com/itm/290701374188?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Have you installed yet?

nope charlie im ordering them this friday and wont be home for at least a month more so they will be waiting for me patiently along with the rear hubs, abs/traction unit, and a few other small things like finishing my custom covered dash panel and door stuff with the carbon fiber vinal wrap im doin hopefully i can get some headers too

Just ordered a new set of rear rotors and pads. Went with EBC USR slotted rotors because of how well the front set i had lasted. Also went with Hawk HP+ rear pads.
I used a new vendor and so far i have been most pleased. They were the cheapest around. www.autoplicity.com
i used discount code 30offshipping to save 30% of shipping cost.

Ultimax USR Sport rotor kit (2pieces)
SKU: EBC-USR7193 $101.39
Hawk Autocross & Track Compound Brake Pads
SKU: HAW-HB359N543 $59.48
Sub-Total $160.87
Shipping $11.14
Order Total $172.01


Next will be a set of EBC blue front pads...for the 3rd set

BTW the rear slotted rotors im replacing have 40k on them and plenty of life left, but they are causing a vibration at even light braking so im tossing them(they were on the cheaper side). The pads i have back there are good quality and barely even used. got them from rockauto and will sell them to a member if anyone is interested. will have to look up the brand

Just put on a new front set of EBC Bluestuff a couple weeks ago with new Brembo rotors. I forgot how awesome it is to have a fresh set of these pads. Car stops straight, smooth, and fast!

AA wrote:

I've had good results with multiple pairs Brake Performance brand rotors. They're selling at an even lower price now than when I bought them 2 years ago (no tax or shipping to OH), plus they offered an additional $5 off during checkout. $235 total for all 4 rotors.

The reason I'm buying new discs: the pads I used over the past few years (HP+/DTC-30/EBC BlueStuff compounds) are abrasive, and tend to slowly wear down the disc surfaces. Rear rotors are still good, but I can see the slots are getting shallow and will need replacing in spring. More than 40k miles so far, and no warping or cracking. Very happy with these for the price (cost ~1/4 cent/mile)

The front rotors wear a bit faster. Got about 25k miles out of the current set, which are ready to change very soon. Still happy with a cost of ~1/2 cent/mile. Keep in mind these numbers factor in an often aggressive 75 mile daily commute, an Autocross day, and 110 miles of high speed road course laps.

Front pads are pretty new, rear pads will get replaced after a very long life.

For the first time I have have a brake pad/rotor combo I feel comfortable using for as long as I own this car. This combo results in superior braking performance in any weather, for all applications, with almost no noise, and a very low amount of brake dust. The combo requires the F-Body front brake mod:

Brake Performance Front Rotors Slotted - $135.19
Brake Performance Rear Rotors Slotted - $105.17
EBC BlueStuff Front Pads - $146.51 (F-Body fit, thanks Mr.Riviera)
Hawk HP Plus Rear Pads- $76.00

Do you still recommend the Brake Performance brand rotors? Should I go with slotted only, drilled and slotted or dimpled and slotted? Probably going to go with HPS pads.

I think they're a solid rotor for the price. They warranty them against warping or cracking for the life of the rotor, so that's good. Most of the finish details are about looks. Dimpled rotors make a little noise, but you might like it. It's sort of a whirring as you decelerate, not squeal or anything annoying. Drilled are more showy. If you like the look, they're fine. I prefer plain or slotted, opting for slotted because they function as a wear indicator for disc wear.

HPS are a decent pad for "normal" driving, but I once warped a set of EBC discs with HPS while driving like a crazy person, pushing them into fade multiple times. I don't think you'll experience this unless you are braking from 80 mph over and over just for fun.

AA wrote:

I think they're a solid rotor for the price. They warranty them against warping or cracking for the life of the rotor, so that's good. Most of the finish details are about looks. Dimpled rotors make a little noise, but you might like it. It's sort of a whirring as you decelerate, not squeal or anything annoying. Drilled are more showy. If you like the look, they're fine. I prefer plain or slotted, opting for slotted because they function as a wear indicator for disc wear.

HPS are a decent pad for "normal" driving, but I once warped a set of EBC discs with HPS while driving like a crazy person, pushing them into fade multiple times. I don't think you'll experience this unless you are braking from 80 mph over and over just for fun.

How are these rotors? http://www.shopebcbrakes.com/EBC-USR-Slotted-Rotors/p99680?sku=

I will probably stay away from the dimpled rotors as I would like the brakes to be somewhat quiet.

How do the EBC redstuff pads compare to the HPS? I have the HPS on my car now and haven't had any issues with them.