Brake rebuild kits/packages...

[roverX]

OK, did a little research...a little...and I am thoroughly confused.

This is what I need to do...replace all my rotors and brake pads. My calipers are fine...that I know of...but here is the deal: I want to buy a complete brake rebuild kit and replace as much as I can since I am in there anyway. Who has the best kits available at a reasonable price? I have heard about this rotor and that rotor and this brake pad and that brake pad...but in all reality...hell, I'm still confused and would appreciate any opinions out there. That also includes any...ahem..."facts"...to back up the opinions.

1996 D1 SE7 with a 2" OME lift...soon to be 3" BB lift.

[DISCO INCUBUS]

I bought a complete kit F & R from rovers north about eight months ago , it was a complete kit with rotors, pads ,brake hardware, hub seals, gaskets, etc..

I think the brand was brembo rotors, lockheed pads. They looked identical to the origanal's.

I would recommend replacing the bearings while your at it , they probably are
worn anyway.
Cheapest place i found wheel bearings were, www.rockauto.com

[keptin]

hmm...dont know of any whole kits, perhaps roversnorth or DAP sells them.

Anyhow, though similar research there seems to be two mainstream brands for aftermarket brake pads and rotors;

DBA, and EBC.

Ive never heard of DBA pads, so I assume they dont make them. Many people stick with the stock LR pads with DBA rotors.....ive also heard of them using kevar pads with them. Anyhow...DBA seem to be the Rolex of LR rotors, they are by far the most expensive, but they are awesome and I havent heard any problem with them. Expedition Exchange sells these....they are out of stock a lot of the time because they are hard to get (from australia) and are in high demand.

EBC is the other brand, they are much cheaper in price and are good rotors. They are the makers of "green stuff" and "red stuff" kevlar pads. They probably stop equally as well but I didnt buy them because I read a number of people saying that they warped, etc. etc. I think they are fine, many people use them and I think DAP sells a kit for a good price, pads and rotors.

I dont really have any facts on either of the pads...but I do run the DBA rotors on my DII....and they rock. I use them with stock pads, and they squeal when I am stopping around 15-0 mph. I havnt got around to using some anti-squeel goo yet.

[01001010]

Steve,

I'm doin the same thing...I'm goin with the other Steve on this one, from DAP...

P/N: PK082 for 94-99 D1s - 499.95

If you do the math, your getting the best quality brakes, for a FRACTION of the price EVERYONE else has them for.

[texasrover]

I bet Steve couuld chime in on this one and speak for DAP. I looked at some of the packages they were selling... looked pretty good.

BTW, I dont recall what year it was but Rover had some recalls on factory pads because the pad itself was manufactored in such a manner that it had a problem squeeling. Had something to do with the backing. Nothing wrong with the braking potential but noisy as hell. If I am recalling this correctly the OEM Lockheed???

Have you looked at Atlantic British?

[roverX]

Even though I like the guys at AB and Rovers North, I can usually find what I need at a better price elsewhere. To me, it's like this: why go to Macy's when I can get the same damn shirt for 1/2 the price at Target? Not knocking them at AB and RN but I'm a single dad and money doesn't grow on trees for me so I try to get the biggest bang for my buck.

[roverX]

Originally Posted by 01001010

Steve,

I'm doin the same thing...I'm goin with the other Steve on this one, from DAP...

P/N: PK082 for 94-99 D1s - 499.95

If you do the math, your getting the best quality brakes, for a FRACTION of the price EVERYONE else has them for.

Do you think the upgraded rotors/pads is worth the almost double the price as the kit below that? Not trying to start anything, I would really like to know if the extra cost is worth it. How much more braking power will I get? Will the rotors last longer? I mean, how long do the regular rotors last anyways? I have put on over 70,000 miles in 3 years on my truck since I bought it and this is the first time I am having to replace the rotors. If I only have to touch them every 70,000 miles, it isn't worth it to me to pay double for the upgrade. Just trying to figure out what's in my budget and why. If it is really worth it to do the upgrade, I'll save up some more and do it. Yeah, maybe I need to have Steve post some info!

[DISCO INCUBUS]

Originally Posted by roverX

Even though I like the guys at AB and Rovers North, I can usually find what I need at a better price elsewhere. To me, it's like this: why go to Macy's when I can get the same damn shirt for 1/2 the price at Target? Not knocking them at AB and RN but I'm a single dad and money doesn't grow on trees for me so I try to get the biggest bang for my buck.

When i bought my kit from RN it was because they were selling a complete kit at a discount special price, i remember it was the best price around at the time that's why i bought it. You definitely have to shop around to see who's offering the best package, prices.

[01001010]

true...I'm doin mine only because the cross drilled is good to have when you go into mud and water as much as I do. If the edges on the holes arent beveled, (Brembo) they will eventually crack, but the rounded edge on the DBAs is their secret to a longer lasting rotor

[apbtpetey]

When I redid my brakes I went with the following,

Item #9985 from AB for $290

It came with factory rotors (front & rear), 4 set of pads, and all the seals, pins, washers, and other hardware.

I had aftermartket Brembo rotors and I forget which pads, but they were from the local Autozone. When I had them they sounded like a city bus when it stopped.

Once I went with the stuff from AB the sound went away and I have 24,000 miles on them without a single problem.

[bernardmann]

X,

I recently replaced all my rotors/pads with the DBA kit from DAP ($599 for a D2, $499 for a D1). I've had them on for almost two months and can say my stopping power/distance is much better than it was with the stock rotors/pads. Plus, with the EBC kevlar pads, there is little to no brake dust even after driving for over two weeks after washing the rig.

[keptin]

I say do that....DBA from DAP....looks real good. DBA is very high quality, they also have a very unique "kangaroo paw" venting pattern;



sry for huge pic.

[Muddy Oval]

We're short on supply on the DBA's right now- I think we have some left. You're right that they are hard to get, they come in waves....
We package the kits with the kevlar pads that DBA provides and I've heard a lot of happy stories about people who use those rotors.
However...
Obviously I have access to DBA's and I also have a 95 Disco that needed ALL new brakes all around. Personally, I went with OEM stuff. I used Genuine brake pads (could tell they were Ferodo by the pad surface) and OEM (Lockheed/Delphi) rotors. Of course, I used new hardware kits and all that. Why? Because the brakes worked just fine for the first 85K miles and I didn't see that they needed improvement. I ran DBA's on a Freelander and noticed GREAT stopping power, but when I played in the mud- the mud would fill the inside of the rotor and bake itself solid. A few times, large sand would get between the pad and rotor and score it slightly. The slots would eventually whisk it away, but they seemed to show some wear. I measured the thickness after 10K miles and the rotor didn't show as any thinner, but the face of the rotor was scored. Overall, they'll outlast probably 3 or 4 stock rotors (on a Freelander, mind you- they eat rotors at 20K intervals).
I think when the time comes, I'll stay with OEM on both of my 2004 Discos. If I still lived in DC with all the stop and go and avoidance maneuvers, I'd go DBAs.

[roverX]

Yeah, I am concerned about mud, sand, and small rocks getting into the slots of the rotors. I have put on over 70K miles the last 3 year with my truck being my DD. Now that I am opening up my own foster family agency and will be having social workers working for me, I no longer put that many miles on my truck. So it will see less street miles and more offroad miles. And as long as the OEM rotors can last me around 70 - 85K miles, I think I will go that route. Thanks for the input everyone!

[01001010]

Hmm, good point about the cloggin. ANd that kangaroo pattern doesnt make it much easier to clean. I'll run them, get'em dirty, try to clean them, and report back. I'll take one for the team!