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Looking for brakes

nj pheonix

nj pheonix

Lunatic Member
Hi,
I have a 2019 cadillac cts. ( Luxury 3.6, not a v or vsport , 2wd) A little over 70k
Original brakes which are still good but clearly I can't be too far off needing replacements ( within next 10-15k)
Obviously, I'm not hard on brakes. So , I could go to gm (cadillac) and go oem. I could go to any # of parts sources for aftermarket rotors and pads. Also there's a bunch of vendors selling vented/slotted rotors. Various pad compounds.
The brakes were /are very good. Pretty sure factory calipers are made by Brembo.
I'm not a street or track racer and I don't need the end all in stopping power and fade resistance.
Quiet is good, low dust is a plus. Any suggestions on things you've been happy or to avoid if you were unhappy? Thanks in advance
 
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I bought pads and rotors from autozone for my 4500lb enclave which also uses gm 3.6L.

I believe they were duralast gold. Weren’t cheap but have been happy with them.
 
Wow! 80-85k miles on brakes and rotors is unheard of. I always recommend new parts professionally installed for greatest peace of mind.

On a side note, I do not follow my own recommendation. My cars are older and therefore plentiful at the junkyards. I have installed junkyard pads and rotors more than I care to admit and have gotten excellent results. As long as there is no vibration, I can get away with pad only job. I usually replace pads when at 1/3 life left. This keeps the rotors in good condition and prevents warping. If there is any vibration present, I replace rotors and pads.
 
Last I used was Delco silver advantage from Amazon. Good price, near zero dust, quiet.
 
I can't say I remember getting 70000+ on brakes before . That said it's been dealer serviced and they check brakes. So far I'm within good wear range and no vibration. I moved less than a year ago and don't like the local dealer as much as one I left. Plus they were a little douchey ( if that's a real word) about a known bulletin issue and resolving in a fair manor. I would've let the dealer in Jersey I used and paid the premium. The one's here ( GA n. of Atlanta) left a bad taste in my mouth. So far seems like duralast is popular. Thanks
 
I just put Bosch Quiet Cast pads on my '05 530i. Great pads but of course, they're semi metallic. Also available in ceramic which would be correct for your car. Relatively inexpensive.

Take a look at Rock Auto.

Murray
 
The 2002 VW Passat still had the original brakes when I traded it in with 96,000 miles and with a 3rd of the pads still left. Have had similar results with quite a few cars. Neither the wife or I was/are hard on brakes. On the VW forms some complained about the brakes not lasting. That'll happen if you do a lot of city driving or have poor driving habits. Guy at work complained about how he had to replace brakes on his wife's car every 25,000. Said she'd come up on stop signs and lights and wait to the last second and lay on the brakes instead of coasting in. We I did do brake jobs usually used a mid grade Duralast.
 
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My 94 Mazda Protege is only on its third set of front brake pads and second set of rear pads now, with 225K miler on it. And just had to change all the rotors for the first time.

My 95 Nissan pickup had 165K on it before the factory brake pads and rear shoes had to be changed. And, though we changed the rear drums, the original front rotors are still on it. It's got 202K on it now.

I will look to see what brand we used on the Mazda recently. I went with the recommendation of a friend of mine, who works for a specialty Mazda shop (works on mostly Miatas) Went with something a bit better than standard parts store, for the rotors and front pads, and normal parts-store grade for the rear pads (since the rears seem to last forever, anyway).

Regards,
Gordon.
 
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Akebono ceramic pads offer superb stopping power and almost zero dust, and they're made in the USA. I put them on my Infiniti when I had it, and have them on my Audi now. I have absolutely no complaints.
 
Roadrash said:
Akebono ceramic pads offer superb stopping power and almost zero dust, and they're made in the USA. I put them on my Infiniti when I had it, and have them on my Audi now. I have absolutely no complaints.
Click to expand...

I think ceramic pads must have advanced a lot in drive-ability over the last two decades. I put an early set on one of my Proteges, and man- it was white-knuckle until they had a LOT of heat in them. Both feet on the brake pedal on the first cold stop of the day. I pulled them off, and put an organic/metallic hybrid on there.

In any case- make sure that any ceramic pads you get are SPECIFICALLY for street use, and NOT racing or autosport. I think that was part of my problem, in retrospect...

Regards,
Gordon.
 
GordonW said:
I think ceramic pads must have advanced a lot in drive-ability over the last two decades. I put an early set on one of my Proteges, and man- it was white-knuckle until they had a LOT of heat in them. Both feet on the brake pedal on the first cold stop of the day. I pulled them off, and put an organic/metallic hybrid on there.

In any case- make sure that any ceramic pads you get are SPECIFICALLY for street use, and NOT racing or autosport. I think that was part of my problem, in retrospect...

Regards,
Gordon.
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They definitely have to he bedded in properly before they reach their full potential, or you might need a change of underwear.
 
GordonW said:
I think ceramic pads must have advanced a lot in drive-ability over the last two decades. I put an early set on one of my Proteges, and man- it was white-knuckle until they had a LOT of heat in them. Both feet on the brake pedal on the first cold stop of the day. I pulled them off, and put an organic/metallic hybrid on there.

In any case- make sure that any ceramic pads you get are SPECIFICALLY for street use, and NOT racing or autosport. I think that was part of my problem, in retrospect...

Regards,
Gordon.
Click to expand...
After dealing with some nasty black brake dust on my '00 Mountaineer, I decided to give some ceramic pads a try. Wagner. Sitting at a red light with my foot mashed on the brake pedal, the suv would creep forward. Just general driving around was no fun as I had to push on the brake pedal around twice as hard to get it to stop. After around 1,000 miles or so I took the ceramic pads off and put semi-metallic back on. Much better.

Ceramic pads are not always the right choice for vehicles that were originally equipped with semi metallic pads.

Murray
 
I had a set of cheap ceramic on my S10, they got tossed for some mid grade parts store semi metallic. It just didn't stop for crap.

All else failing, if you are happy with what it has now, GM can sell you another set of the same things.
 
Interesting. I have Wagner Ceramic pads on the front of the Ranger they have no problem locking things up. On the grabby side. Nice not having the rims turning black. Put them on with new rotors maybe 90-100k or more ago. Usually scuff rotor surface using green Scotch-Brite scrub pad. Replaced front bearings and cleaned and lubed caliper pins recently and the pads looked only about half worn. Quick stab does not have to be very hard to get the front tires locking up.

Remember getting them through Amazon. Looking up my order history there that was back in 2014. They were the Thermoquiet Ceramic (QC part number). I do remember them having a cheaper Quickstop line of ceramic.
 
dly66 said:
Interesting. I have Wagner Ceramic pads on the front of the Ranger they have no problem locking things up. On the grabby side. Nice not having the rims turning black. Put them on with new rotors maybe 90-100k or more ago. Usually scuff rotor surface using green Scotch-Brite scrub pad. Replaced front bearings and cleaned and lubed caliper pins recently and the pads looked only about half worn. Quick stab does not have to be very hard to get the front tires locking up.

Remember getting them through Amazon. Looking up my order history there that was back in 2014. They were the Thermoquiet Ceramic (QC part number). I do remember them having a cheaper Quickstop line of ceramic.
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The key is replacing the rotors at the same time like you did. If you just slap ceramic pads on in place of semi metallics the deposits from the old pads on the rotors will prevent them from bedding in properly.
 
If your Caddy has brembos then the pads are ceramics, they do last a long time with almost zero dust.

I have them on my Cadillac ATS and love them.
 
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