BRAKES...What to buy?

[Pigpen29]

Looking at new brakes for my 2013 GMC 3500hd Denali Diesel


Anyone running the Power Stop Z36 Performance brakes from Advance Auto?


I use the truck for towing only...40' fifth wheel at about 15000 pounds.

[JPin AZ]

I have not used the z36 but I hear they are great and have been thinking about putting them on my Chevy when the time comes. I have used 17s on my kids car and they are good pads.

[pilotpip]

I had them on my last F-150 when the OEM rotors warped at 30,000 miles. I didn't use their vented/slotted rotors but went with heavy duty service ones from carquest. When my current truck needs new brakes, I'll do the same. They looked great when I traded the truck in with 80,000 miles on it. Next to no dust. No fade under heavy braking. My only gripe is they need a little heat to really do a good job so when you're slowing in traffic for that first stop they can be a little grabby.

Follow their bedding procedure and you'll be happy with them.

[The Evil Twin]

I am not, but there are quite a few fans of them over at the Powerstroke forum. Some heavy haulers seem to be very happy with them.

[NMWildcat]

The brakes on my 2007 2500HD are still the originals at 160k and have over 50% left. I have talked to others that have 250k on the originals. Never had a problem stopping anything.
Why would you replace them with anything other than true OEM parts? Every mechanic I've talked to (while they are checking them) tells me the same thing.
A friend of mine replaced his HD pads with some new fancy pad advertised to be the best thing out there, and while he liked them, he didn't notice a lot of difference and they only lasted 30k.

[aeblank]

I don't know about trucks, but our charger oem brakes suck. It warps them repeatedly. Performance drilled and slotted are the only ones that'll last. Dang car.

The Civic and Sierra are no problem though (with the same drivers, driving mostly the same...except the noisy pedal).

[NMWildcat]

OEM GM brakes for HDs are an entirely different animal.

Originally Posted by aeblank

I don't know about trucks, but our charger oem brakes suck. It warps them repeatedly. Performance drilled and slotted are the only ones that'll last. Dang car.

The Civic and Sierra are no problem though (with the same drivers, driving mostly the same...except the noisy pedal).

[babock]

I would stick with OEM brake pads or something like Akebono ceramics who are OEM suppliers for many vehicles. Stay away from slotted and drilled rotors(cracks). Waste of money and you can't turn them when/if the need arises.

[aeblank]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

OEM GM brakes for HDs are an entirely different animal.

I have one, I agree.

There are cases to NOT use OEM, that's all.

[pilotpip]

Originally Posted by aeblank

I have one, I agree.

There are cases to NOT use OEM, that's all.

The F-150 is one of them. My dad has had 3 over the last 30 years. Each one needed new brake rotors with 30-40,000 miles on the odometer. Aftermarket (usually wagner or another quality brand) will easily go another 100,000. I had the same experience with my 13. We'll see if the 18 does the same. The brakes were my only issue on that 13 in 5 years of ownership and the powerstops with the upgraded rotors took care of the issues.

[russhd1997]

As a master/expert certified technician I would never put anything but OEM brakes on my vehicles. The automotive manufacturers spend a lot of money designing brake systems that give the vehicles the stopping characteristics that they want. This also includes noise and dust control and rotor warpage prevention. Throughout my career I have seen many problems with aftermarket brakes.

Proper wheel torquing with solve most rotor warpage issues. As an example when I bought a Silverado 1500 new in 2014 it came with 4 free services. I let the dealership do the services which included tire rotation too. I never retorqued the wheels and the front rotors were warped before it had 20,000 miles on it. I traded that one for a 2017 and have retorqued the wheels after every rotation, even the ones done by the dealer. It now has 33,000 miles on it with no rotor warpage or other brake issues.

[JPin AZ]

My brake pads out lived my engine and transmission, 250,000 miles. I have tried and still believe you can not buy the "OE" brake pads for my 2003 Avalanche. Delco pads are Raybestos and not OE. Akebono are said to be OE but I am skeptical. As far as OE GM pads from the dealer no one can confirm they are truly OE parts and are expensive. I have 100,000 miles on my Akebone replacement pads now, I feel they are not stopping as well as the OE pads with 100K on them. probably will try the Z36 pads but it might be another 100K before I need them.