Rear brakes - help me decide

[GerGa]

Hey,
I have owned my 2004 buick lesabre (H-body)(hoping bonneville owners can chime in) for a year now and put 10k miles on it so far. The previous owner had just put new pads and rotors on the front. I think they are OEM ACDelco because of how smooth they feel and I think they had their work done at a dealer or some good mechanic GM mechanic.

I just took a look at my rear brakes and the pads are pretty much shot so it's time. I have already done a lot of research into brakes and heard a lot about Akebono pro ACT brake pads, but I don't think I should go with those this time because I already have the OEM brakes on the front and wouldn't want pair that with a really strong rear pad. Do the Akebono Pro ACT have a lot more power?
What other rear pads should I look at to pair with my OEM fronts? I would easily go with the OEM ACDelco (# 19152665) for the rear - but they cost 58$ as opposed to $40 for the high end aftermarket.

I am also on the edge about getting the rotors turned or replacing them. They are at 0.425" & 0.426" thickness left and right and the minimum after resurfacing is 0.404", and throw away thickness is spec'd at 0.354". In my experience turning rotors means pulsating brakes on GM cars of the era, but not sure if that happens with rear rotors since they do less braking than the front.

Thanks

[MikeKerr]

I keep it simple. I purchase Wagner rotors and Wagner thermoquiet ceramic pads from RockAuto everytime I need, no matter the vehicle. Always quality, always fits, never any braking issue- and never have squeaks braking. If you want quality and piece of mind, consider Wagner.

[Bob1G2HX]

Just purchased some Wagner Rotors & Thermo quiet ceramic pads from Rock Auto for the front of my 2004 Bonneville SE. Less than $100 total with shipping. Will probably have them put in this week. Will report on satisfaction after break in.

Bob

[GerGa]

I went with Wagner rotors and thermoquiet semi-metallic pads for my rear brakes. Been driving several thousand miles, they are working fine. I'm sure ceramic would be better but I just stuck with how the car comes from the factory.

[1oldman]

I went with PowerStop all four corners, carbon/ceramic pads and the CD/Slotted rotors. I can definitely tell the difference, so can the boss lady. Now I don't have to worry about the brakes any more. IIRC, $227 delivered. - BC

[MattStrike]

Check out Rockauto.com. I would recommend the AC Delco 171642, it's the OE pad. But anything in the parts bin that's more than $25 for the rear is going to work fine as long as it's not the economy parts bin. Same goes for the rotor, AC Delco 177867 is OE.

I've also had good performance from Autozones current line of Duralast Gold ceramic pads. They don't dust and as far as I can tell they are nice and quiet.

[nos4blood70]

I've also had good performance from Autozones current line of Duralast Gold ceramic pads. They don't dust and as far as I can tell they are nice and quiet.

Same here. I have them up front. I went from a very dusty pad to these and am very happy.

[GerGa]

Fyi i created this thread several months ago but it's good to hear other's experiences.

[Bob1G2HX]

Finally had my Wagner Rotors and Thermo quiet brake pads installed at my local Gearheads International in Warwick, RI. Wow, what nice quiet, quick, & smooth stopping rotors. My old ones were slightly warped. The Wagner's which I purchased from Rock Auto had the center painted with a semi gloss black which looks great and should not show any ugly rust.

[MKMike]

It's amazing how different the stopping can be with new pads and rotors, isn't it?

I just did pads and rotors all around on a recently acquired Bonneville.
The PO knew little about cars and had a terrible mechanic. As a result, there were warped rotors and very unevenly worn pads on every axle.
The shaking was so bad when you hit the brakes, you couldn't tell whether the rotors were warped, the ABS was kicking in or the front end was falling apart--or all 3.
Fortunately, the new rotors and pads solved the problem.

[96 SSEi]

you can get 2 new first line rotors for about 60 bucks so why turn them?
also, whatever pads you go with, make sure its 1st line and I personally go semi-metalic - better hot and wet performance - I find ceramic tends to fade under hard braking and sloppy in wet.

whatever you choose, be sure to torque all lug nuts on wheel to spec - should be around 100ft/lbs

failure to do so will warp the rotors under moderate to hard braking.

[Arrowhead]

I order these from Amazon for both Pontiacs, best I've ever used. Not the cheapest, though.

http://ebcbrakes.com/product/redstuff-brake-pads/

[00Beast]

Semi-Metallic gives the best braking performance, at the expense of a lot of dust. Most people are willing to give a little bit of performance up for better looks and easier cleaning.

And yeah, turning modern rotors is a sham. Most of them are made so thin anymore that they can't be turned. That and turning a rotor removes the material it uses to disperse heat, therefore making it more prone to warp. I've never had rotors turned, always replaced them.