GX brake upgrade - great results

[hartster Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close hartster]

Vehicle had standard OEM brakes with 60000km. No ABS. Second set of OEM pads from what the log book says. Front rotors were slightly warped, little bit of steering shudder braking from cruising speed thru’ to about 80kmh. Soft pedal, no feel, very easy to lock up on the dirt. Towing the camper, the brakes were really poor, more than one hard stop in a few kms (e.g. for roos) and the pedal would get very soft, lot of fade, poor brake feel. Front rotors had blue tinge of overheating.

Changed out front and rear rotors for DBA heavy duty slotted with Bendix 4x4 pads, plus brake fluid replacement. Bedded them in properly as per instructions. Huge improvement all round. Nice firm pedal, none of the cold brakes problems reported on the interweb. Hard stop performance hugely improved, much better pedal feel and can use threshold braking much better on the seal and cadence on the dirt (because of no ABS…). Can’t really estimate how much shorter the braking distance is from 100kmh when towing the camper, but it feels much, much better. Repeated hard stops feels so easy, no soft pedal, heat dissipation is very good.

Very happy with this outcome. Even the wife can feel the difference…

[D4D Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4D]

I'm putting the same on mine when it is due. The trick is the bedding in.

[PradOz Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close PradOz]

hartster - i have all the problems and symptoms you mention, only difference is mine is a grande. can you foresee any issues or things to be concerned about if i follow your setup?

[barcode Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close barcode]

Yea slotted discs alone make a good difference. Only hope they work as good on the gxl. Will fit some next pad change

[samo Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close samo]

well i must say i have never had these problems on my gx, i have the bendix 4x4 pads on and still have std rotors, has always pulled up well, doesnt matter if your towing or not still pulls up well, ive got abs on mine and it kicks in when needed, mines also a maual so it helps with braking as well. cheers samo

[hartster Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close hartster]

No I can't foresee any problems PradoOz. Just bed the pads in properly and take it easy for the first few kms. Brake fluid change is also a must.

talkthroo is right though, brakes are somewhat important so get it done right. Make sure the wheel nuts are torqued correctly, you'd be amazed how many wheels fall of 4x4s after they've been to the shop.... we use wheel nut indicators now due to the remarkable ability of the tyre contractors to forget to tighten studs...

[hartster Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close hartster]

Samo, roughly what is the split between town & country driving on your vehicle? I've never had this problem before but then I've never had a 4x4 that had done majority in town / short distance kms. Stop start stop start stop start doesn't do rotors much good. Or being suddenly quenched when hot which would have happened a fair bit.

[waltec Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close waltec]

Hi PradOz
I concur, I fitted slotted DBA rotors to the front of my Grande, and Bendix 4x4 pads, (had a couple of scares with the OEMs). I was very happy with the improvement, but did have the cold brake performance noted, and also found the Bendix pads to be filthy!! 40k later they needed replacement, this time I chose TRW pads. Much happier with the TRWs, no cold issues, no where near as dirty, and overall feel is even better!!

Well worth it!

Matt

[Dueler120 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dueler120]

Where abouts did you pick the rotors and pads up from?

[samo Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close samo]

Hey hartster I drive about 90km 4 days a week, that's country driving, and probably about 200 k. Of a weekend around the town, the 4 days I drive to work is mainly country drivin do it's a mix of 100 and 80 km zones. Cheers samo

[hartster Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close hartster]

Dueler120, they were supplied & fitted by Kalgoorlie Brake & Aircon