I'm not sure if it counts, but I put porsche brakes on the front and TTRS brakes on the rear.
Vehicle:
Audi A3
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Couldn't answer your first two questions, but the last question about Brembo being reliable is a very solid "yes".
Brembo directly supply Mercedes with their brakes.
Pros: Brembo is reliable
I prefer non-OEM pads (Akebono) so I go with my Indy for that, though the value service pricing is super competitive and honestly impossible for Indys to really match? $99 oil change is so low margin
Pros: value service pricing
Cons: non-OEM pads
If you're keeping the vehicle (make sure you're keeping it), then I second getting the raybestos from Rockauto. Make sure you get the raybestos element 3 fully coated rotor and pad sets.
Even if your friend's dad does it free, maybe drop him $100 or $200 for the labor.
So $200 total. And less dust than OEM with decent stopping power. I went with this combo cause it's balanced stopping power and rotor longevity.
Pros: less dust, decent stopping
Vehicle:
Mazda 5
I went with Raybestos rotors and Bosch QuietCast pads. Equal if not better than OEM and much much cheaper.
Pros: better than OEM, cheaper
I use Brembo rotors and Akebono pads.
Best combo I've found so far
Pros: best combo
I'm going with Akebono ProACT for less dust.
Pros: less dust
Vehicle:
Mazda 5
The OEM rotors wear very quickly. The OEM pads are Akebono semi organic which are actually pretty good. However the OEM pads create a ton of brake dust which makes the wheels look terrible. When I replaced mine about a year ago I went the aftermarket route and used Raybestos rotors and pads.
Pros: good performance, long lasting
Cons: lots of brake dust
Vehicle:
Mazda 5
I got pagid and they are decent.
Pros: decent
Rockauto carries Dynamic Friction kits. People will say "Rockauto is cheap shit" and then recommend R1 Concepts. But Dynamic Friction OWNS R1 Concepts and all of their pads and rotors are the same. Only difference is R1 does drilled and slotting while Dynamic are just blank rotors. So you really don't have to spend the extra money on R1 stuff. Also, you don't need slotted rotors for everyday driving. Heck, even some track guys still use blanks just fine. Only thing to worry about for track is pads, which I wouldn't recommend any of the R1 stuff for. Had one of their pads claiming both track and street but their pad material on one of their pads completely disintegrated on track.
Cons: pad material disintegrated
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