brakes what's good?

[dscowell]

Before I head out to Montana the last thing that I need to do on my truck is brakes. Not knowing what is old or new I figured I'd replace most of the necessary parts right now while I can. For the front I wanted to replace the Rotors and Pads for the rear I was just thinking Shoes. I wanna know whats good and what is not for both disks and drums. Should I get slotted and dimpled rotors? Ceramic pads? What are good Shoes? Any other parts for the Drums? Brakes are something I'm ok spending a good chunk of change on since they are a necessary part but I don't wanna be over paying anything or buying unnecessary parts. And yeah yeah I know get disk brakes for the rear but my drums work fine for the time being and disk brake conversions are a lot of money I don't need to be spending at the moment. What should I get, What should I avoid?

[Robert B]

okay if this is for the jeep in your profile pic here is how i run my brakes on my heavier truck ..... pads and shoes yes buy at least mid grade if possible...... i am not a fan of ceramic since they take a TON of heat to get them to set in and i can not get them to seat when i tried them on my truck so unless you are towing a few thousand pounds alot or have a 1 ton truck you tow with i am not a fan of them ...and i have semi metalic pads on my front pads now and they do squeak some here and there no matter what i do ( its just part of how it works)... when you look at the rotors and drums check the mating surface of the pads and see if they have grooves or damage on them .....or if on the edge of that contact area there is a big lip of metal ( lots of normal wear) ..... then go ahead and buy new ones as usually turning them costs about the same or in a few cases more than new ones.... as for the slotted and/or crossdrilled rotors i dont use them as i dont have breaking needs that are cause by the aforementioned towing scenarios or racing conditions so i just run the plain old rotors and drums ......... that is my opinion and how i run my big stationwagon :)

[Patrolman]

Basically, I always buy whatever is cheapest at the local shop. I have never had any issues with pads. Typically, I make sure there is no scoring on the rotors/drums, and measure them to make sure they are within spec. If so, I just toss in pads in the front. The rear shoes/drums go a LOT longer than you might expect. I check them from time to time, but they have a long life, and I don't replace them if they don't need it.