Chevrolet Malibu Brakes?

Question

I have 2001 Malibu with 65000 miles on it and I need to get my Brake Rotors and Brake Pads replaced. Few Questions:

Which one wears out faster? Pads or Rotors?
Does it worth paying lot of money for a rotor or a pad? Or should i just get the standard?
Also, has anyone used or know anything about ceramic brake pads? Is there a much difference? Thank You In Advance!

Answer 1

Pads wear out faster. Rotors don't really wear out, they can get damaged or warped, or get too thin after resurfacing them once or twice, depending on the rotor.
With this mileage you can probably get away with just replacing pads, maybe resurfacing the rotors. Replacing them isn't a bad idea either, but it does cost quite a bit extra so I wouldn't if they are still in good shape.

When it comes to the price, I absolutly think it is worth paying more for good parts. A quick story: my car has very badly designed brakes. I used to use what I thought was a very good brand, carquest, top of their line, pads. I was replacing pads and rotors every 6 to 8 months. I switched to centric posiquiet pads and centric rotors. A year and a half later I have them, no problems. (my car was a 99 galant, do a quick search and you will see they had horrible brake problems.) So it's not just the price (those carquest ones were like 75, lifetime warranty-which btw was useless since I was always replacing them- the posiquiets were somewhere around the same price but much much better) but the quality of the pads is important. Thermoquiets from wagner are also good.

I wouldn't use anything but ceramic pads either. There are a few other choices, but it's not much more for the ceramics and they seem to last a very long time. Semi metallics are ok too, I just prefer the ceramics I have had very good luck. I don't have a bunch of brake dust either, I don't know if that is because of the brand of pad, or the type of pad. We install them on all customer cars (the posiquiets) and have never had one complaint about noise, wear, anything.

PS. it could be true that ceramics wear rotors out faster than other pads, but my husband inspected my brakes just a week or so ago, the rotors are fine. We also recently replaced the pads on a customers car (that we orignally installed over 31 months ago) and their rotors were fine as well.

Answer 2

Pads will wear out, rotors should never wear out. Rotors need to be replaced when they are either too rusty on the braking surface to get a good finish or the minimum thickness of the rotor has been passed due to numerous resurfacing. I have found that the standard pad for the car are just fine, but there are improved pads out there. Just be aware that using something unfamiliar might lead to squeaking brakes or an unthought of problem that relates to the way the pad was made or even its dimensions. Buying anything for brakes is risky at best as this is a major safety concern and if you play around you might be assumng liability for something that you don't know about. Good luck.

Answer 3

Unless you are very hard on your brakes, the pads will generally wear out faster than the rotors, however if you don't drive your car much, the rotors will rust out and have to be replaced. With 65000 miles on your car, you probably need pads and rotors. As far as buying parts goes, I would recommend buying value rotors and good quality pads Raybestos PG plus pads are what generally use-they are O.E. quality and I have had the least amount of problems or complaints from customers when using these pads. As far as ceramics go, if your car doesn't have ceramics from the factory don't put them on. In my experience when you put ceramics on a car that wasn't designed for them they produce too much heat while stopping, causing the rotors to warp, and creating a pulsation while braking. If you buy the Raybestos PG plus pads they come with O.E. specified friction material so you should not have any problems. Good luck!!!!

Answer 4

OK first things first.
The pads will wear faster as this is made to wear out as you drive.
You will not need new rotors just get them resurfaced.
As to ceramic pads are hard and sometime squeak when you stop. The will last a long time but have a tendency to Ware the rotors.
Get the pads you car called for most of the time semi metallic is best.

Answer 5

Pads wear out before rotors.With your type of car,just use what it calls for.If you were racing or had a sport car you would want to up grade.So just use standard rotors and pads.
Ceramic pads will stand up to more heat and stop faster.But you will pay the price because they will wear out rotors faster.

Leslie