Brake pads Bosch or Duralast
So I followed their direction and jumped on the old interwebs to my retailer of choice, RockAuto, and ordered Bosch pads and rotors front and back. So I had nothing planned for the weekend figured I would do a little wrenching. Take the wheels off and start to unbolt the caliper, looked down and my rear pads still show about half life. Maybe they just meant the fronts, pop the wheel and they are showing even less wear. My question is it normal for the CX-5 to go 80000 miles on the original pads? I didn't think I drove like my grandmother but it is 70% highway/non city driving. For anyone that does your own maintenance the cost for 4 rotors and pads was less than $200 (Raybestos Element 3 rotors and Bosch Quiet Cast ceramic pads). It really a fairly easy job, and would not take more than 30 minutes per wheel.
Bosch quiet cast
I’ve had stock set up, powerstop rotors with Hawk LTS Truck/SUV pads, and my current set up is Bosch severe duty pads with Advics premium rotors. So far the current set up is my favorite. I really prefer the immediate “bite” of semi metallic pads.
Sure OEM pads and calipers can stop a loaded truck on the street, but what about when your loaded truck is on a long downhill rough trail? Your brakes get very hot and you can get brake fade and too much heat can damage components, warp rotors, etc (especially after hot brakes meet cool puddle or creek crossing). I went with Dynamic Friction Ultimate Duty pads and I am glad I did because i hit a bunch of those downhill trails the next trip and they got hot, could smell them, but no brake fade and no issues since.
In comparison to the stock setup, the Bosch QuietCast pads and rotors aren't as touchy or responsive. They do require a little bit more pedal travel for normal stopping power. However, they do offer more precise control over how much power is applied throughout the pedal stroke. They are also incredibly quiet and smooth.
My 2017 is a bone stock daily driver and I have no plans to do any major upgrades or track my car. That being said, I've never had an issue with duralast gold pads and rotors from autozone. Reasonably priced and the pads have a lifetime warranty, meaning you buy them once and can trade the used ones back in for a new set at any time, no questions asked. The rotors have a 3 year warranty and even though mine are only showing some very minor wear, I'm going to take advantage of the warranty and swap them out for a new set in the next few months befor my 3 years is up.
I'm using Dynamic Friction pads from RockAuto and they haven't let me down, grey performance and heat barely affects it.
Lasted through two track days and still have a ton of pad life left.
AutoZone Duralast Ceramics have basically lasted forever. They have a lifetime replacement for free, so I paid like $100 for front pads once, and gotten em free since. Easy DIY.
Bosch pads are fine. Trouble is when you buy from Amazon you don't know if you're getting Bosch or counterfeit Bosch and there's a real risk of counterfeits from Amazon.
I bought me some Bosch ceramic brake pads that are being advertised as low noise and low brake dust. Instead, I'm getting massive amounts of brake dust on my rims.
Write your review
Help others - share your experience with this part.