About the only hard braking I have to do is going down the mountain that's between where I live and where I work.

I have to slow from about 60 down to about 30 to negotiate a couple of curves, other than that it's a straight shot down the highway 20 miles to where I work, usually at 70-75mph.

I only go through 4 traffic lights, and seldom have to stop at more than 2 of them, so I don't use my brakes a lot compared to the miles I'm putting on the car.
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All of the recent advances in the composition of brake pads has left me confused. I know the web sites are selling high-performance pads for serious braking, but those aren't for me, I don't think. But you never know.

Should I just go with OEM pads? I hate brake dust, I hate having to clean my wheels every 3rd day, but I don't want a pad that will eat my rotors up, either.

You guys know so much about the Grand Prix, and I've only had mine less than 6 months, that I'd really appreciate your input. And I'm going to have to put pads on this winter, so now is the time to start asking.

Thanks in advance.

(Oh, sorry about the post with the picture of all the hay stacked up in my truck. I noticed it got locked, so I must've made a boo-boo. I won't do it again, I promise.)

A good ceramic brake is what you'll want. Me, Zuul, and Tbat run Duralast Golds from Autozone. If you want a more premium brand, I hear Hawk is good. For semi-metallic, I like Performance Friction.

A good ceramic brake pad? Ideal, since I go by an Autozone on my way to work every day.

Duralast Gold. I have that written down.

Is there any particular reason I should look at semi-metallic over ceramic, since you mentioned the Performance Friction?

Semi-metallics offer better braking performance, but dust is increased significantly. I'm running Morse Ceramics on my Stratus and I don't like those, they have squeaked ever since I installed them.

Hey Rook, what is the life span (even though drivers are different and so are routines) for like ceramic. I hear mine squeeling now. I put them on last year, and think between 15,000-18,000 miles. How much are the gold ones, just for the front pair?

i have hawk ceramic pads and i really like them ... i need new rotors though and a good fluid flush ... but here is how it goes


Organic pads... extreamly quiet ... extreamly dusty
Semi Metalic Squeek most of the time lower dust hard on the rotors because of the metal in the pad
ceramic pads low dust no noise

According to Autozone's website these Duralast Gold pads are only $31.97. I would've expected to pay much more for ceramic pads.

Shows you what I know.

Autozone\'s page for the pads.

Are these the ones I want to get?

Off topic: Good grief! I looked at their prices for O2 sensors and they are ALL up in the $81-82 range! Front or rear. What's up with that?

I think the rear sensor from ZZ was like $35 or so, right? Anyway, it was the same price as the "fooler", and it was less than $40.

i use autozone gold brake pads and i have friend whove used them and i have major problems with them. I mean it like a vilent vibration when you hit the brake and its on my buddys car too and i replaced my rotors with brade new ones and it was from day 1. So i just wanted to know if anyone else had problems with autozone pads.

I'm also using the duralast gold ,they have reasonable stopping power and low dust and a reasonable price whats not to like.Chico(pops)

Chico, is that a real Cobra in your photobucket collection?

Good grief, I remember going for a ride with a guy that had one of the original 427s back in 1969 or 1970, somewhere around there, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.

If he'd have let me drive it (which he wouldn't) I certainly would've died and gone to heaven.

There is no rule for how long pads last. People use brakes differently and it all depends on your driving habits. People who floor it and hit the brakes a lot (tailgaters) eat up more brake pads than someone who takes it easy. You also have to consider rim size (bigger = more rotation mass to stop = less brake pad life), vehicle weight, and so on.


Tips:
People typically don't know, but you replace pads and rotors at the same time. Rotors must be either replaced or turned, otherwise grooves and wear on the rotors will cause performance and life descrease of the pads. Vibration is usually the result of a warped rotor, look up break-in tips for brakes. You need to temper new rotors so they don't warp. Turning warped rotors will only result in the warping coming back eventually.

Always grease your slide pins with a good, synthetic grease prior to reassembly. Put some on your anti-rattle clips where the brake pads ride as well, this prevents uneven brake wear.

Luckily, I happen to know an honest guy that will turn my rotors without trying to sell me a new set with every brake job. Drop 'em off on my way to work, pick them up the next morning.

Good tip on greasing the slide pins prior to assembly, RooK. And on the anti-rattle clips, too. I made a note of that.

I may as well go ahead and replace the brake lines with those nice stainless lines from zz or somewhere like that. I haven't checked prices yet, I may not be able to afford them since I'm putting struts all around, too.

The GP will be up on jackstands for a few days, that's for sure. I've ordered a GM front strut tower brace from the Pontiac place, that'll go on, too. After it gets painted, that is.

Pics side pins and anit-rattle clips please!!

trust me i babied my car for the past 2000 miles and still does that. I mean if it was just my car id know i did something wrong but even my buddy and his sister who have regular rotors have the same problem. And so he dicided to buy a set from napa and the problem went away after the first drive with his car and he has a 4.6 thunderbird so its nuttin crappy. So i think ill return the pads and get a new set through autozone and see if that happens again then im going back to napa to buy my brake pads again cuz ive never had problems with their pads.