I have an '03 6MT Coupe with the Brembos and the dealership inspected my brakes and is telling me I need pads on the rear axle. They said the rotors can be turned once, but the pads and related hardware for the axle will cost $100. Two questions:

Is there anything unusual with the Brembos that I should be aware of? I'm planning on doing the labor myself.

Is there a cheaper place to get OEM parts? Online maybe?

I have no plans at this time to upgrade my pads...they dust enough and wear out fast enough at is its...I don't need to spend the money on street/track pads for half the service life. Plus the OEMs aren't too bad with fade or stopping power. But for $100 I *could* get upgraded pads, which is why I'm looking for a cheaper OEM solution. My fronts are well within specs, so I won't be touching those and I don't want mismatched pads.

TIA,
M

 

Tirerack.com sells an assortment of pads for the Brembos.

Did your rear pads wear out before than the fronts? Isn't that pretty unusual, or is that a side effect of the traction control?

JimboG

 

You know, I thought that was a little weird too. I was on my second set of front pads on my WRX before I had to replace the rear pads. I asked the service guy the same question. He said maybe the previous owner had the front pads replaced at one point. He didn't show any maintenance records to that effect, but the guy could have done them himself or gone to a third party brake shop.

So other than tire rack, does anyone else have recommendations for where I can buy OEM parts other than a dealership?

 

http://www.grubbsperformance.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc

http://infinitipa.zoovy.com/category/maintenanceparts

http://www.performancenissanparts.co...07047e40f26425

 

Front brakes are larger on all cars to apply more force due to the weight transfer during stopping/slowing. Thus you will notice how brake hardware is larger on the front wheels. Front pads are changed more often than rears. Get EBC Green or Hawk HPS brake pads.

 

Are EBC Greens or Hawk HPS noisier than stock pads? Do they dust more? If yes to either question, I'll stick with the stock pads.

Besides, wouldn't I be inadvertantly changing my brake bias (shifting it front to rear) if I put higher performance pads on the rears, but left the fronts alone?