funks

iTrader: (4)

Just a quick review on the pads I'm now using for the daily drive which I found more than adequate..

Current Suspension / Brake Mods

Performance Friction 2-Piece Rotors up Front
RRE Poor Man Rotors on the Rear (aka RRE Stock Brake Rotors, not sure who makes em though)
Valvoline Synthetic Brake Fluid
Gruppe-S SS Brake Lines



I bought the following from Autozone

Autozone Duralast Gold CMAX (Ceramic) for the Front - DGC1001 for 59$
Autozone Duralast Gold for the Rear (Semi Metallic) for the Rear - DG961 - 35$

For the pics

WTH? Pretty pictures on the box?



Let's look inside and see what we got here..

a) Front Ceramic Brake Pads
b) New Caliper Spring Clip
c) Pahmplet stating why these brake pads are supposedly pimp.

The pahmplet states words / phrases like

"Maximum Ceramic Formulation" - formulated to handle high braking temperatures with less brake fade, to generate less dust and wear on both the pads and rotors, and to provide substantially quieter braking.
"Revolutionary Multi-Layer Rubber Shim Technology"



here's a closer look at the included spring clip compared to stock



and here's the new pads and clip installed on the stock caliper



Installation Notes:

Used Scotch Brite and scuffed the rotors just to make I've evacuated the old pad material as much as possible. The fronts fit perfectly without issues - I didn't have to reuse the stock brembo shims because these already come with supposedly "revolutionary multi-layer rubber shim technology - TM." Moreover, I used the new spring clip that comes in the package, although I'm quite sure there's no problem re-using the stock spring clip. NOTE: the CMAX pads only have one tapered side, make sure when installing the pads that the tapered sides are pointing upwards as the wheel normal turns counter clock wise.

Now for the rears, they also fit properly without issues. I did not reuse the stock shims on the rear because they come pre-shimmed (SS shim). Just to make sure I don't get noise, I pulled off the included shim, sprayed the shims back w/ Permatex Disc Brake Quiet (blue - tacky spray on stuff that acts like a cushion to dampen vibrations) then re-clipped it (the blue tacky stuff will be sandwiched between the back of the pad, and the shim).

After the install, went out and did the standard brake bedding in procedure listed in stoptech's website (10 - 60->15 mph hard braking but not hard enough to engage the ABS).

First Impression, car stopped and the dvd's in the back seat almost killed me flying in the air like little shurikens. Word to the wise, don't have anything unstrapped in the back seat when performing hard braking - lol.

Next thing I did was to hop-on the 210 heading east, then CA-330N, then CA-18 (aka, Big Bear Lake). The drive up-hill was uneventful brake wise, the car stopped when I wanted it to stop. Was worried more about what was going to happen going downhill - lol.

Reached Big Bear lake, turned around and drove downhill - at first, I was going grandma slow because I did not want to become a permanent part of the San Bernardino Mountain Range. The car stopped when I wanted it to stop, and kept pushing on. Kept increasing my speed to test out downhill braking. After a while, I noticed that I was already in the foothills nearing the 30/210 freeway and I'm still alive - seems like the brakes do a perfectly reasonable job stopping the car, didn't notice any brake fade either.

For daily driving, I'm quite sure these pads are perfectly capable - thank gawd these pads are more than adequate for going downhill.

Pro(s)

Affordable, 59$ for the Front, 35$ for the Rear, and never have to buy street pads ever again.
No Noise - crossing my fingers it remains that way. I don't like my brakes squealing.
Comes w/ new spring clips on the front just in case you lose / break your old ones.
Stops the Car / didn't really feel anything different compared to the stock brembo pads.
Definitely not as dusty as the stock Brembo pads.
I'll be able to afford the Performance Friction 97's for the HPDE

Con(s)

They are AutoZone Duralast and they don't have some cool / futuristic sounding Japanese Product Name Like Project Mu - B-Force.
Rear CMAX Pads not available, the current Duralast Golds are Semi-Metallic, they might squeal and make noise for some people.

I'll update in a couple of months to see if I see increased rotor wear.

Smike

iTrader: (8)

Do they have a country of origin?

They look/sound strangely like the Satisfied Ceramic Pads (I run their GS5 pads). They are based out of Canada. And that 20081001 part number is close to the PR1001-C Satisfied number. 1001 could just mean the front pad...all Evo fitments have that number.

http://www.satisfiedbrakes.com/brakes/index.html#

funks

iTrader: (4)

Looked on the box, the CMAX ones are made in India, while the Semi-Metallic ones are made in the US.

Smike

iTrader: (8)

Interesting.

BTW, I know that drive well. Family lived in Fontana and Huntington Beach - we played hockey in Arrowhead and had a cabin there. That can be a fun drive.

Mike01gsr

iTrader: (33)

Thanks for the review, I need a DD pad and for 59 bucks if they are truley quiet that's a steal!!!

bluebanana23

iTrader: (26)

i have 15K on my duralast golds and haven't caused a problem yet. Even had a track session with them...

funks

iTrader: (4)

Yep, it's a fun drive - especially when there's no snow (which is almost all year round) :] The drive up Mt Baldy is pretty decent too.

Nice quick fix - and unlike some of the SoCal canyon roads, no dumbasses thinking they are reliving an Initial-D episode.

funks

iTrader: (4)

I think Autozone is currently running a promotional TV spot showing a car using these brakes stopping in a room full of fake babies (to to signify how quiet it's supposed to be)

Perfectly quiet up the front, the rears are semi-metallics (so they might squeal sooner or later - a common compliant). At least for now, no noise yet..

NVmySKILS

Nice Review.....Good work!

Evoryder

iTrader: (55)

Those pads will eventually stop when they want to ...lol

tnt1106

LOL +1 ^^

I am trying these as my "fill in" street pad. ( At the track almost each weekend)

So far they ARE very quiet, 0 dust. Much softer (spongy pedal feel, longer stopping, pad doesnt bite much, but is linear) than what I am used to.

My track pad is PFC01, so keep in mind big difference in what I'm used to. For %60 good pad..

funks

iTrader: (4)

Further Squeal/Noise Info

In regards to noise, the rear Duralast Golds are Semi-Metallic, so they might squeal sooner or later. Even the Girodisc Magic Pads (also Semi-Metallics) squeal in light braking for some people (although when I had the rear Girodisc MagicPads installed for around 300 miles, they didn't make any noise). For people wanting to also go Ceramic based pads on the rears - might want to swing by your local Kragen Store, they sell the Satisifed Brake Products - Pro Ceramic VS (PR-C) for around 42$. Limited lifetime warrany but no free replacements though. I believe Pep Boys also sells the same pads rebranded as their ProStop Ceramics for even cheaper, but I don't believe their stores have em in stock. Make note that the Satisfied Brakes Products Pro Ceramic VS part numbers for the rear is PR-961-C (else you might be given the wrong one - I believe Pep Boys also rebrands these as ProStop Ceramic Brake pads or something like that)

Smike

iTrader: (8)

Satisfied makes a great product. Very happy with them. Also run their other pads on other family cars.

funks

iTrader: (4)

Are you running the GSS6's (Carbon Ceramic) as your street pads? Those are damned cheap at amazon.com - 56.66$ w/ free shipping - lol (For anybody Searching - type in GS6-D1001)

The rears are PR961-C and costs only 21.66$ (Ceramic).

03bbyevo

i'm curious how the autozone pads hold up to some spirited driving in the mountains or curvy roads..... i like to do the occasional mountain run and have been considering these pads but don't wanna end up kissin a boulder