My brakes are worn, I need to replace pads and rotors on my 2004 F150 4x4. I am running 35x12.50/17 rubber and tend to tow / haul with my truck. I am thinking slotted / dimpled rotors and ceramic pads. Looking for recommendations that won't cost me any body parts. What are you guys and gals using and how spendy are they?

 

I haven't needed new rotors yet, but will in the near future, so I've been occasionally searching for the same info. A few people have suggested using OEM rotors and upgrading the pads. The problem with aftermarket rotors like slotted and drilled ones, like you're wondering about, seems to be that they are prone to warping unless you get really good (and of course body part expensive) ones. I apologize for not being able to remember some of the pads that guys were recommending right now. But this seems to be an effective way to go from a couple of things I've read, but I have no experience with any setup other than OEM rotors and OEM pads.

Hope this helped a little bit, and I'm sure others will chime in with their recommendations and experiences with different set ups

 

oem rotors with wagner semi metallic thermoquiet pads. done

 

Okay the problem I am trying to avoid, and I should have stated this in the first post of this thread, My OEM rotors warped, on me soon after they were turned when I had brakes done at 50K miles... I want rotors that will resist warping. I have heard good things about PowerSlot Cryo Slotted rotors resisting warpage.

As far as pads go. Wagner TQ ceramics are fine.

I guess my question should have been, where are folks getting decent deals on these because between tires, and breaks I am looking at plopping down $2K on an almost 10 year old pickup truck.... I was hoping to get that number down a bit...

 

cheap to do if you're using factory replacement parts from.rockauto, amazon, eBay etc. that and dojngnit yourself.

 

x2 I tow several days a week and this combo works great.

 

were the rotors oem or oe? had they been done before? the turning may have had something to do with it. i also know that dealership parts department stock "factory service replacement parts" and "genuine parts". as for if there is a difference between the two i do not know, but i do know one is cheaper than the other.

i know for a fact i have this set up on my truck and i have literally stood on the brakes before with no warping.

the slotted stuff obviously burns through pads quicker (and if youre trying to save money like you say that is going to cost you). the drilled rotors are prone to cracking for multiple reasons (not trying to bring up this discussion again).

 

Okay, not sure which rotors in particular are the best, but from the looks of it. I am finding the following at Rockauto...

Raybestos 680182R Professional Grade Disc Brake Rotor - Drum in Hat (Rear) $40.79 each x2
Raybestos 680180R Professional Grade Disc Brake Rotor (Front) $41.79 each x2
Wagner MX1012 Semi-Metallic Disc Brake Pad Set (Rear) $24.79
Wagner MX1013 Semi-Metallic Disc Brake Pad Set (front) $26.79
Assuming these don't ship with the anti squeal and slide lube, add another say $10.00 to that.
So before shipping and taxes I am looking at a grand total of $226.74

Not too shabby considering the shop down the street wants to charge me $1,200.00 to slap brakes on this thing... I can do that myself no problem...

Now the bigger question, why the TQ's? They seem to be popular, but why? How are they for dust?

 

those rotors are too cheap and are not oem ford. those are more like oe and will warp on you.

 

Okay so that would be Motocraft BRR120 (Front) at $65.79 x2, and Motocraft BRR121 (Rear) $61.79 x2. Difference in price isn't that big of a deal if they are that much better in quality... I am concerned with the OE / OEM quality though. What Ford put on my truck I felt warped WAY too early on...

 

what ford put on your truck at 0 miles is the best rotor i have ever used. when you had the brakes done at 50k miles and they were turned i think that had something to do with it. ive always been a fan of doing rotors and pads at the same time. were your brakes fine 10k miles before you had them turned? if the rotors are turned they are losing mass and therefore their ability to dissipate heat, therefore warping. others might have suggestions for you, but imo using oem genuine rotors is the best route aside from swapping the brake system from a super duty

 

If you are towing, get ceramics, not semi-metallics.

 

^ just be aware that ceramics will absorb less heat, and therefore transfer more heat to the rotors, causing worse warping than he is experiencing

 

^^^this^^^

 

The pads were replaced at the same time the rotors were turned. I admit to being somewhat leery of the OEM rotors but am willing to go back with them to give them another shot. Just seemed like there wasn't much mass to them to begin with. Mine you. I got the truck at 16K miles, and it was a fleet owned vehicle (gas company). No telling if they had the OE brakes done before I got the truck. Would be kind of excessive, but if say the foreman that drove this thing for the 16K miles rode the brakes, I can see that happening. Or worse, the dealer that I got the truck from... The pads did seem like there was too little wear for 16K when I looked..

The cost differential between the OEM and the Raybestos is minimal though. Might be worth a shot just to see how much life I can actually eke out of OEM rotors...