Modding my CX-5

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Unobtanium

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RDX Aspec Adv.
Going to do the brakes in another 10-15K miles. These are obviously warped, and I refuse to turn rotors. I just replace them.

I want a low-dust brake pad and the most durable rotors known to man...within a sensible budget. I am not trying to turn my CX-5 into a Viper, but I would like to improve upon the factory hardware if it's a no-cost option to do so.

I am also curious if there is any rubber in the brake lines that can be easily replaced by braided SS lines. I know some vehicles have 12" of rubber or so near the caliper that is easily replaced during a brake job. I have not looked at my CX-5 close enough to determine the viability of this, but I am sure someone here knows.

Option 1:

Rock Auto "Raybestos" brand OEM style rotors. These are re-branded 50% discounted NAPA Gold parts. with ceramic Raybestos pads. This is a cheap OEM equivalent with better fit/finish in my experience with Raybestos.

Option #2:
https://www.carid.com/ebc-brakes/stage-11-brake-kit.html

This is probably my cheapest option, and will be my default. I did this for my Grand Jeep cherokee and it was a great call. Brakes were solid until I sold it.

*2015 AWD 2.5L w/17" rims.
 
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EBC Brakes are great. A cheaper option that I have installed on dozens of cars is Brake Motive through eBay. The pads I would upgrade to maybe EBC but the rotors are fine for every day use. I've put their slotted rotors on everything to 2500 series trucks to Supercharged Mustang. R1 Concepts is another company that I believe is a bit better quality and have used them as well.


EBC Dot4 Fluid is also a good upgrade over lines and much cheaper. Just remember the entire system must be flushed in order to see benefit.
 
I got stoptech front pad rotor for a good price and the pads are thicker than oem. Actually thicker enough that the oem wear bar is too long so it squeaks if you use it. Also the rotor is painted on the non braking surfaces to keep rust down.
 
Also you can get ss lines, corksport sells some as part of their front BBC. They might sell them seperate
 
Why do you refuse to get rotors resurfaced? I've been getting rotors resurfaced for the past 15+ years, never been an issue. I always keep a 2nd set of rotors on the shelf, freshly surfaced and ready to go, so I can just throw them on at the next brake service instead of having downtime by taking the rotors off and taking them somewhere to get resurfaced.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with a resurfaced brake rotor, as long as it wasn't too terrible to begin with.
 
Am I the only one a bit disappointed that a modding my cx5 thread made by Unobtanium is just oem brake replacment? Lol tbh I was expecting something big. Maybe next time ;p
 
Haha, sorry guys. This is the most boring aspect of my life. It's just transportation. I'm into other stuff. Class 3 firearms, etc.etc.

Why do I refuse to resurface? Because it doesn't fix warped. 99.99% of the issue on street brakes is warping. Not pad deposits, and grooves don't matter. I once replaced brake pads on a 2002 g20 infiniti. The rotors were grooved as hell, but not warped. I didn't touch them. I broke the car in driving home through the Boston mountains smoking the hell out of them. Byt the time I was home, the pads had matched the rotors, and it went another 30k miles just fine before I sold it, and I still keep up with that car, years later, and have yet to hear of brake issues.
 
Always resurface (or replace) rotors and pads at the same time. New pads on old rotors will not brake as well as new pads on fresh machined rotor surfaces. Maybe you won't have problems, but they still won't be as good as new pads on new machined rotor surfaces.

And yes, resurfacing will fix warped if the warping is only slight. And if you follow good practices like always torquing lug nuts evenly with a torque wrench, not spraying water onto hot brakes, and always bedding in new pads and rotors before normal driving, your brake rotors will NOT warp.

I have 15.5 years, 270K miles and multiple brake jobs on my Integra, and those brakes DO NOT get warped, ever.
 
Chris_Top_Her said:
Am I the only one a bit disappointed that a modding my cx5 thread made by Unobtanium is just oem brake replacment? Lol tbh I was expecting something big. Maybe next time ;p
Click to expand...


well he had to get people to come in and look haha
 
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Unobtanium said:
I want a low-dust brake pad and the most durable rotors known to man.
Click to expand...

A low dust pad suggests a Ceramic one which is naturally soft on rotors in the first place. Perhaps some cyro-treated blank slots from Centric (parent company of StopTech) could provide an upgrade within your budget. A metallic pad like the OEM one has better initial bite but produces more dust. A ceramic one may loss that bite but produce less dust. I'd look into some of the reviews for ceramic pads that give you the best of both worlds. Also I would upgrade to DOT4 Fluid.

Edit: Oh and look into painting your calipers. Minimizes 60-0 distances by 3 feet.
 
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I just installed the rear rotor/brakes I posted and they fit well and are thicker than oem just like the fronts.
 
No updates yet. I will probably do the brakes in a few months. I am thinking around March, or so. Then sometime later in the year, I'll do the 75K mile service, and right before winter, I'll do tires. That should spread the expenses of it out over the course of the year. Christmas was semi-expensive for me this year considering I took some time off from work, and if I don't work, I don't get paid, so...that was a hit, plus the gifts I bought for people during the latter part of the year. Thus, the brakes will wait until I see some Mazda Spring Coupons in my inbox and can get the work done on the cheap (comparatively). The pads have some life in 'em, and the rotors are not shot, just kindof annoying if I get them warm.
 
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