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420A Help with good brake pads/rotors replacements

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Raider_831

Proven Member
32
8
Mar 2, 2024
Greenfield, California
Hello, I have a stock 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse RS that I need to replace the front brakes. The ones I bought from Orillys are junk they’re brakebest ceramics brand and their rotors just squeak even when not pressing the brakes and they’re only a month old. My mechanic removed them and saw one of the shims was making contact and he fixed it. The issue went away for exactly a week but now back to the same annoying noise. The splash shield is also not the issue.

Is there any solid brake pad brands you guys recommend along with some good rotors? I do daily the car in a curvy road so the car/brakes take their abuse but I don’t plan on racing or anything like that. I do have brake drums in the rear, but those are good. I’ve previously had the Import direct ceramics from Orillys in the past and those seem to be better noise wise than compared to the Orillys brakebest brand. But at this point I rather avoid those two pad brands at this point.

Thanks in advance
 
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If youd like to take it a step further, you could get the GSX calipers, which is a dual piston compared to your single piston, with Outlander brackets which would allow you to use the larger Outlander rotor.

www.dsmtuners.com

05/06 Outlander "BIGGer brake upgrade"

There are several good threads on this topic, but I thought I would put this into a Tech Article with focus on weight and add some of my own photos.One of the problems with upgrading your brakes, is that such upgrade is usually accompanied with increase in weight. Some aftermarket brake...
www.dsmtuners.com www.dsmtuners.com

But you have to have at least the stock 16" wheels 5 spoke wheel, 17" GSX stock wheel or larger aftermarket wheel.

This wont work with these stock RS wheels.
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luv2rallye said:
I've used PowerStop brand and loved them (disks slotted/drilled and great pads):
Street daily:
OR
Street performance:
Click to expand...
Thanks for the suggestions, those have been good for you in the noise department as well?

SixBolt_16G said:
If youd like to take it a step further, you could get the GSX calipers, which is a dual piston compared to your single piston, with Outlander brackets which would allow you to use the larger Outlander rotor.

www.dsmtuners.com

05/06 Outlander "BIGGer brake upgrade"

There are several good threads on this topic, but I thought I would put this into a Tech Article with focus on weight and add some of my own photos.One of the problems with upgrading your brakes, is that such upgrade is usually accompanied with increase in weight. Some aftermarket brake...
www.dsmtuners.com www.dsmtuners.com

But you have to have at least the stock 16" wheels 5 spoke wheel, 17" GSX stock wheel or larger aftermarket wheel.

This wont work with these stock RS wheels.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
Click to expand...

I did upgrade to stock 5 spoke oem Eclipse rims, but no I don’t plan on doing any swaps to GSX or outlander brakes. I just wanted to get some solid pads/rotors. I saw other threads but a lot of older ones. I wanted to see if there’s other suggestions seeing how some brands get discontinued and new brands show up on the scene as well. Thanks for the suggestions
 
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I was happy with Powerstop pads... I currently have Porterfield RS-4 that i had in my garage forever. Probably the least amount of brake dust ive ever had, but havent been able to get on it enough to give you a solid review of them. Im pretty sure theres some reviews around here, they use to be an old school dsm favorite from what i remember.
 
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I tried the Porterfield pads when I upgraded to dual piston calipers a long time ago and they worked great but I thought they made a lot of dust and didn't last very long. They weren't cheap and when they wore out I dropped in some inexpensive semi-metallic AutoZone pads to carry me over until I found something better.

What I found was they were just as dusty, stopped just as well for street use and wore pretty much the same speed. The big difference was cost, I paid maybe a third for a set once and they replaced them every time they wore out. Once I put on SS brake lines the feel was perfect, easy to modulate, and I could lock them up even with wider grippy tires so the brake wasn't the limiting factor anymore. I'm sure if I was tracking the car they wouldn't be able to handle the heat but on the street I don't think I'd need more that this.

Braking performance with the single piston calipers was scary at times and I was warping rotors at least once a year but Mitsubishi was replacing them for free while I was under the original factory warranty. I wouldn't spend a dime on doing anything with the single piston calipers, pay a little more to get the calipers and stock brackets the pads and rotors are about the same cost and you'll be glad you did. I can fit my original 16" wheels using the 1G/2G/3000GT SL brackets which I doubt I could do with the Outlander ones.
 
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SixBolt_16G said:
I was happy with Powerstop pads... I currently have Porterfield RS-4 that i had in my garage forever. Probably the least amount of brake dust ive ever had, but havent been able to get on it enough to give you a solid review of them. Im pretty sure theres some reviews around here, they use to be an old school dsm favorite from what i remember.
Click to expand...

Any particular model for the power stop pads? And what about any recommendations for rotors?

Thanks

steve said:
I tried the Porterfield pads when I upgraded to dual piston calipers a long time ago and they worked great but I thought they made a lot of dust and didn't last very long. They weren't cheap and when they wore out I dropped in some inexpensive semi-metallic AutoZone pads to carry me over until I found something better.

What I found was they were just as dusty, stopped just as well for street use and wore pretty much the same speed. The big difference was cost, I paid maybe a third for a set once and they replaced them every time they wore out. Once I put on SS brake lines the feel was perfect, easy to modulate, and I could lock them up even with wider grippy tires so the brake wasn't the limiting factor anymore. I'm sure if I was tracking the car they wouldn't be able to handle the heat but on the street I don't think I'd need more that this.

Braking performance with the single piston calipers was scary at times and I was warping rotors at least once a year but Mitsubishi was replacing them for free while I was under the original factory warranty. I wouldn't spend a dime on doing anything with the single piston calipers, pay a little more to get the calipers and stock brackets the pads and rotors are about the same cost and you'll be glad you did. I can fit my original 16" wheels using the 1G/2G/3000GT SL brackets which I doubt I could do with the Outlander ones.
Click to expand...

I wasn’t planning on doing the GSX or outlander upgrade swap. I was just hoping to get some solid pads/rotors that are better than the average junk at orillys. Yeah I’ve had issues with my brakes/rotors lasting a year or so due to warping and pads wanting to crack.
 
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Raider_831 said:
I wasn’t planning on doing the GSX or outlander upgrade swap.
Click to expand...
I read that earlier. Since you are experiencing the issues I mentioned I'm only suggesting you rethink your plans and giving you some idea why I upgraded. I'm not offended if you do something different.
 
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steve said:
I read that earlier. Since you are experiencing the issues I mentioned I'm only suggesting you rethink your plans and giving you some idea why I upgraded. I'm not offended if you do something different.
Click to expand...

For sure I’m going to look into the power stop brand that’s been suggested, but I’ll also look into doing the swap your mentioning.

Can you explain exactly which parts i need from which cars to make the setup work? I know you mentioned the calipers and brackets.

My car is a 99 RS all stock aside from the higher trim 5 spoke oem 16” rims. The rear is brake drums.

Thanks
 
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Just FYI: The most dust free and quiet pads I've ever had (and I mean hands down) are "Wagner Thermo Quiet Ceramic" ones. And very inexpensive too. But if you do any spirited driving, I wouldn't put them on an Eclipse. They worked great for my wife's Corolla who just drives to the grocery store and friends.
 
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luv2rallye said:
Just FYI: The most dust free and quiet pads I've ever had (and I mean hands down) are "Wagner Thermo Quiet Ceramic" ones. And very inexpensive too. But if you do any spirited driving, I wouldn't put them on an Eclipse. They worked great for my wife's Corolla who just drives to the grocery store and friends.
Click to expand...
I do want quiet. The current orillys brakebest ceramics are terrible with weird noises when not even pressing the brakes. Dust doesn’t bother me as much as noise does. Just because noise makes you wonder if it’s other suspension parts that are the issue. What about on rotors any specific you recommend?

Thanks
 
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Raider_831 said:
What about on rotors any specific you recommend?
Click to expand...
Skip the drill or slotted marketing unless all you're interested in is looks. Coatings tend to vary but do help to hold the rust back but I don't think that's as much an issue in the central valley as it is here in the rust belt. I try and stick to the major brands like Brembo, ATE, TRW, etc. StopTech, Raybestos and Centric all got hosed by the First Brands fraud.
 
Upvote0
Try to stay away from rotors made in China (ask where made). Their steel is so inferior they all easily warp with temperature. I realize you can't always find out but made in Germany or Canada are good choices.

I suggest you stay away from Porterfield R4-S brake pads unless you are racing. They are high performance carbon kevlar composite designed for track and autocross. I had them on my performance stage rally car where they were perfect - the hotter they got, the stickier and more stopping power they had - just the opposite of normal brake pads. They also are very expensive and they eat rotors.
 
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Upvote0
steve said:
Skip the drill or slotted marketing unless all you're interested in is looks. Coatings tend to vary but do help to hold the rust back but I don't think that's as much an issue in the central valley as it is here in the rust belt. I try and stick to the major brands like Brembo, ATE, TRW, etc. StopTech, Raybestos and Centric all got hosed by the First Brands fraud.
Click to expand...
I’m in central California rust isn’t a huge issue, I haven’t heard of those brands so I’ll have to look them up aside from Brembo. I did read older threads and seems like most people didn’t recommend drilled/slotted rotors. I don’t mind normal ones as long as they don’t become noisy or warped too fast.

Thanks

luv2rallye said:
Try to stay away from rotors made in China (ask where made). Their steel is so inferior they all easily warp with temperature. I realize you can't always find out but made in Germany or Canada are good choices.

I suggest you stay away from Porterfield R4-S brake pads unless you are racing. They are high performance carbon kevlar composite designed for track and autocross. I had them on my performance stage rally car where they were perfect - the hotter they got, the stickier and more stopping power they had - just the opposite of normal brake pads. Very expensive though.
Click to expand...

I’ll keep that in mind to try and avoid China parts. I will skip on that brand as you mentioned. I won’t be racing. I’m not a huge speeder either. I do daily drive a curvy road that definitely takes its toll on the car/brakes. I just want some solid non noise brake pads and rotors that are better than the Orillys/Autozone store brands. I want something average or above average just because the road I drive does wear on the brakes.

Thanks
 
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Speaking of brakes this is what I almost finished this afternoon, I still need to have the wife come out tomorrow and pump the brakes while I bleed both rears. I did the fronts last year before my back and the weather got bad and I'm finally well enough to finish up. The rears are bigger than the original DSM front brakes and the fronts are big heavy chunks that I should have swapped for some light 4 piston Brembo what I could easily change pads on without pulling the calipers every time. They are not shown in these pictures but the silly front anti-rattle springs took me months to figure out how to get back on without destroying the paint.

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I have a stock brake setup and drive a GS, so single piston disk brakes front and rear. I went with Dynamic Friction coated for brake discs (or rotors) to minimize rust, as for pads I went with Brembo ceramic. Do be advised the shims for the Brembo pads aren’t the right size so you may need to reuse your old shims.

As for experience definitely great for everyday driving, no noise a couple months in, recently i drove from The Bronx New York to Green Brook New Jersey for Mitsubishi Owners Day East, and drove around 40 to 60 mph on an hour long trip to and from. I would comment that occasionally I’d feel some feedback from the brakes when braking lightly at speed, but that’s the only thing I noticed and it was really only on that particular drive, any other highway driving wasn’t as long and never had brake feedback that noticeable, it could be the brakes expanding due to heat, other than that in the normal stop and go traffic they’ve given me no issue. The rotors are not slotted or crossdrilled. The Brembo pads are the same as the Akebono pads if you inspect both on RockAuto.

Since you have an RS you may want to look into whatever would be needed for your rear drum brakes unless you decide to swap over to disc brakes in the rear. I'm sure there’s plenty of guides and threads on how to do so on this forum.
 
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steve said:
Speaking of brakes this is what I almost finished this afternoon
Looks good nice and painted. I thought of painting mine at one point but to be honest I just want the pads/rotors to function and no weird noises. Years ago I did paint my steel oem wheels but couple years ago I found the 5 spoke oem 16” wheels.
Click to expand...

GzusEclipse98 said:
I have a stock brake setup and drive a GS, so single piston disk brakes front and rear. I went with Dynamic Friction coated for brake discs (or rotors) to minimize rust, as for pads I went with Brembo ceramic. Do be advised the shims for the Brembo pads aren’t the right size so you may need to reuse your old shims.

As for experience definitely great for everyday driving, no noise a couple months in, recently i drove from The Bronx New York to Green Brook New Jersey for Mitsubishi Owners Day East, and drove around 40 to 60 mph on an hour long trip to and from. I would comment that occasionally I’d feel some feedback from the brakes when braking lightly at speed, but that’s the only thing I noticed and it was really only on that particular drive, any other highway driving wasn’t as long and never had brake feedback that noticeable, it could be the brakes expanding due to heat, other than that in the normal stop and go traffic they’ve given me no issue. The rotors are not slotted or crossdrilled. The Brembo pads are the same as the Akebono pads if you inspect both on RockAuto.

Since you have an RS you may want to look into whatever would be needed for your rear drum brakes unless you decide to swap over to disc brakes in the rear. I'm sure there’s plenty of guides and threads on how to do so on this forum.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback I was thinking of Brembos, good to know the shims don’t fit. I really want to avoid stuff like that. That’s currently one of the issues I had to deal with the junky ones I got from Orillys brakebest select ceramic pads. The shims didn’t fit right so my mechanic shaved them a bit and the issue did go away but 1 week exactly and brakes are causing noise.

Thanks
 
Upvote0
In my opinion I wouldn't spend more money on any crazy brake systems or high performance pads/rotors etc .. it's a 99 RS with drum brakes in the back, any over the counter brakes would work from the big parts stores.

To me it sounds like the shims/hardware kit is the problem not the brakes itself. I've seen hundred of time people coming to our shop thinking the brakes are bad etc... after they or a shop already changed them. Many time especially in the Midwest rust belt states tech don't clean the caliper brackets enough for the pads to go in smoothly without binding, they just jam them in there and push out or damage the Shims/hardware where noise begin not long after. Many also don't clean and lubricate guide pins, having the pads wear unequally front to back or top to bottom. Many techs also over torque the lug nuts to heck and cause rotors to warp after a few hundred miles and heat cycles .

What I would do is order a new hardware kit, which is usually under $10. Clean or sandblast (if possible) the caliper seats/mating surfaces where they make contact with the pads.. Lubricate the new shims and caliper seats with proper brake grease, clean and lube the guide pins, buy new boots (also under $10) if necessary. Take a brake cleaner and wash off all the dust off of the rotors and calipers and put everything back properly, you'll be surprised how many times the noises go away.


Of course there is always gonna be a chance that the pads are just crappy but it's always smaller chance than human error, especially that you said you took it back to them and the noise went away for couple days. I think the craftsmanship is not there, also maybe you have a wheel bearing that is starting to go and it occasionally makes the rotor scratch the shims of the pads etc... many shops don't even take a second to check any play on they hub/ wheel bearing.

Putting brembos on an RS is pretty insane and unnecessary. Might as well go with a full carbon ceramic brake rotors and 8 piston fixed brake calipers... possible? Yes. Necessary.....I can't justify. ))
 
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I'll chime in. As with any part/mod what do you need it to do? Are you repeating 120mph stops on track? No? Then you don't need large brakes. Can you do them anyway? Sure. Is your car primarily a driver and you dont exceed 75mph? Likely any stock brakes would work fine.
Read this.
www.dsmtuners.com

Project management and building a dsm

I wrote this for another board some time ago and wanted to share it here.Project management.......Over the years we keep hearing opinions of this or that, how to build something etc but we rarely see something broken down (no pun intended) to more basic terms. I have been dealing with...
www.dsmtuners.com www.dsmtuners.com
 
Upvote0
steve said:
Perhaps we are being confusing, I think the Brembo parts being considered are pads or rotors not some BBK.
Click to expand...
Fair point. I knew you were talking about a brand.

I run stock size brembo rotor blanks. Theyre coated and wear well. I picked a brand name non organic pad. Works fine for what I do. If I tracked the car i would pick something different. I also change brake fluid every few years. I will guess only car guys or racers ever do this. Everybody should but they dont.
 
Upvote0
Vladimir said:
In my opinion I wouldn't spend more money on any crazy brake systems or high performance pads/rotors etc .. it's a 99 RS with drum brakes in the back, any over the counter brakes would work from the big parts stores.

To me it sounds like the shims/hardware kit is the problem not the brakes itself. I've seen hundred of time people coming to our shop thinking the brakes are bad etc... after they or a shop already changed them. Many time especially in the Midwest rust belt states tech don't clean the caliper brackets enough for the pads to go in smoothly without binding, they just jam them in there and push out or damage the Shims/hardware where noise begin not long after. Many also don't clean and lubricate guide pins, having the pads wear unequally front to back or top to bottom. Many techs also over torque the lug nuts to heck and cause rotors to warp after a few hundred miles and heat cycles .

What I would do is order a new hardware kit, which is usually under $10. Clean or sandblast (if possible) the caliper seats/mating surfaces where they make contact with the pads.. Lubricate the new shims and caliper seats with proper brake grease, clean and lube the guide pins, buy new boots (also under $10) if necessary. Take a brake cleaner and wash off all the dust off of the rotors and calipers and put everything back properly, you'll be surprised how many times the noises go away.


Of course there is always gonna be a chance that the pads are just crappy but it's always smaller chance than human error, especially that you said you took it back to them and the noise went away for couple days. I think the craftsmanship is not there, also maybe you have a wheel bearing that is starting to go and it occasionally makes the rotor scratch the shims of the pads etc... many shops don't even take a second to check any play on they hub/ wheel bearing.

Putting brembos on an RS is pretty insane and unnecessary. Might as well go with a full carbon ceramic brake rotors and 8 piston fixed brake calipers... possible? Yes. Necessary.....I can't justify. ))
Click to expand...

I really like your idea, I kind of tried it once we re did the job and lubricated the necessary parts even shaved the shims to fit better. My mechanic did look for wheel hub bearing but he said it wasn’t needed on my left side. My right side wheel bearing was recently replaced. The noise seems to come from the left side where the shim was in question, but maybe it is the bearing giving out potentially. I’ll have to reconsider just taking it all apart and rechecking and at least replacing the shims as you mentioned

Thanks

pauleyman said:
I'll chime in. As with any part/mod what do you need it to do? Are you repeating 120mph stops on track? No? Then you don't need large brakes. Can you do them anyway? Sure. Is your car primarily a driver and you dont exceed 75mph? Likely any stock brakes would work fine.
Read this.
www.dsmtuners.com

Project management and building a dsm

I wrote this for another board some time ago and wanted to share it here.Project management.......Over the years we keep hearing opinions of this or that, how to build something etc but we rarely see something broken down (no pun intended) to more basic terms. I have been dealing with...
www.dsmtuners.com www.dsmtuners.com
Click to expand...

Yeah I’m just looking for solid over the counter brakes that aren’t known to be complete junk. I wasn’t planning on getting big brakes although it would be cool. I do have drums on the rear. I usually hit no more than 60 on the road it’s very curvy and there’s pot holes I learned and avoid. But the road does wear on the brakes. I was hoping not to spend crazy money but I also wouldn’t mind spending a little above average if it means no noisy pads. An over the counter part is fine but I can buy online as well.

Thanks
 
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