04 RA Brakes/ Rotors

rstep21 · Oct 29, 2009, 12:26 PM

I had to put my RA in the shop because when i was heavily braking my car starts freaking out and shaking like no other. I think it's the brakes/rotors but I wanted to see what you guys thought.

I think it's time for me to change them anyway so i wanted to see if anyone knew of any deals for brakes/rotors, front and back. I've never changed them but wanted to know exactly what i should be looking for. I don't want to pay my mechanic to get the parts cause it'll be way more expensive. I searched on eBay for "04 Ralliart brakes and rotors" and there were some postings that came up for a package for what they said was everything. I just don't want to buy something and have it not be the right thing and be without my car for another 2 weeks.

Any insight would be awesome. Thanks

rrd · Oct 29, 2009, 12:41 PM

road race have some nice rotors, pricey though...

fronts: http://www.roadracemotorsports.com/s...roducts_id=121

rears: http://www.roadracemotorsports.com/s...roducts_id=120

rstep21 · Oct 29, 2009, 12:48 PM

So i need front and rear rotors? The way my buddy was talking was that i only needed fronts so i'm not sure. I found a pair of front EBC sport rotors on craigslist:

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/pts/1402450127.html

It says they work for my car and i e-mailed the guy but do i only need the fronts and not the rears?

Raikiri · Oct 29, 2009, 03:13 PM

most of the braking power is done by the front rotors. if you dont want to spend an arm and a leg for the rrm rotors you can always check out the r1concept rotors on ebay as i've heard some decent things about them for the price. that or you can check out the brembo rotors for our car as i believe that SOME fit. for brake pads you only really need to worry about upgrading the fronts as like 70-90% of the braking power comes from the fronts anyway. oem pads on the back shouldn't cause much problems. pads that i've heard people use are ebc green and reds or hawk hps pads

MadPatter · Oct 29, 2009, 03:17 PM

Easiest thing to do is simply ask the mechanic if you need to replace both front and back. The only way to know for sure is by looking at them and seeing how much life is left. Depending on how you drive and how many miles you have on the car, you may only need to replace the fronts.

Raikiri · Oct 29, 2009, 03:21 PM

yes best thing first to do woudl be ask the mechanic liek MadPatter said. you may not even need to replace them but probably get them resurfaced as you may just have deposits of the brake pad that has collected on top of the rotor which may cause the shaking when you brake hard

rstep21 · Oct 29, 2009, 03:40 PM

Yeah, I might be trading for another RA so i wanted to make sure everything runs well so i'm just gonna get new ones because that's what the owner of the other RA is doing. The car is already at the shop because i had new tires being put on and balanced and the whole nine. I looked at his quote for new brakes and rotors and then looked at it when i supply the parts and there is a difference of $355 so if I can get all the parts for under $300 at least i'll just do that and save the $55 ya know. I'm still looking as of right now though.

RalliartN · Oct 30, 2009, 11:08 AM

If the pads are not worn down to bare metal, what you are probably experiencing is one of the caliper guide pins/bushings are seized in place. Check both front brakes, trying to move the calipers sideways. If they don't rock back and forth easily, get at the offending pin/bushing and free it up by pushing with a clamp or something, clean and lube it, then re-install. Dollars to donuts this is the problem, NOT a warped rotor. I'll bet you can install all new pads+rotors and the pulsating/hammering will still be there.

cubenoob · Oct 30, 2009, 02:19 PM

I have Premium Rotors from R1Concepts. I use ECB GreenStuff for the pads and they are amazing. The bite is excellent. The only negative thing is that it produces more brake dust, so the rims get dirty really fast. Other than that, I've been very happy with them. If you plan to track your car, you may consider the ECB RedStuff, but for daily driving, the GreenStuff is perfect. It's worth looking into at least.

RalliartN · Nov 1, 2009, 07:27 AM

I've spoken to two different automotive techs, older guys with gray hair who have toiled in the bays at major dealerships. They advised me to buy the least expensive rotors you can find - cast iron is cast iron, and failures from environments like thermal shock affect all of them same. But they say spend the money for quality pads.

Of course every buying decision is individual choice, it's just interesting to find out what Class A mechanics who have done hundreds of brake overhauls are saying.