Brakes — Rock Auto vs. Slee (1 Viewer)

[OREGON85]

It is time for brakes on my ‘96 Cruiser. I’ve got two directions I can go with sourcing parts: Rock Auto or Slee.

At Slee I can get:
DBA front rotors
DBA XP pads and calipers front/rear
Total: $1,003. Plus I will have the rear rotors turned locally.

With Rock Auto I can have:
Power Stop drilled/slotted rotors front AND rear.
Power Stop carbon fiber/ceramic brake pads F/R
Dynamic Friction zinc coated calipers (new, not remanufactured)
Total: $569

Are Slee’s parts worth the extra $434? Anyone have experience with any of the above manufacturers?

 

[ppc]

Power Stop drilled/slotted rotors front AND rear.

Drilled on slotted rotors should not be used on a vehicle driven off-road. Mud and small rocks can find there way into the holes and slots causing a lot of problems. On a street driven vehicle carbon fiber/ceramic have poor braking performance when cold and can make a lot of noise. If your spending all the money your planning why have a rear rotor turned. Spend the money and replace them. Dynamic Friction zinc coated calipers sounds like a gimmick. If the Slee calipers are bare just degrease them paint them with a high temp paint.

 

[robnicko]

plus 1 on slotted / drilled rotors & off road use

whats wrong with your OEM calipers?

 

[mrsleeve]

Exit off-road, has power stop big break kits on sale this month! Just saying is all

I have gotten reman calipers from rock auto for 2 different 80s. And it hit and miss if you get good ones. Rotors don’t make that big a deal but as stated above if your using your rig off road or even on lots of dirt roads drilled and slotted are normally a non option. I just use OEM pads, though myself and most others use the 100 series pads up front.

 

[jonheld]

100% OEM 80 Series brake parts. There were ridiculously cheap prices for OEM reman calipers a few months back. It's worth looking into.
100 Series pads on an 80 Series caliper has been proven to make zero difference in stopping distance over the last 20 years. They overhang the rotors and do not fit properly.
SS braided lines are a marketing gimmick.

 

[CharlieS]

You identified two of innumerable options. Stock rotors are a surprisingly good deal for the quality. Stock pads are great for the street. I like the EBC greenstuff pads for a built offroad leaning rig. Don't forget to replace brake clips, etc.

Turning rotors decreases their mass reducing efficacy. Rotors are cheap and last a long time. Spend the coin and replace them.

 

[Rednexus]

PowerStop parts are junk. Look at their D- rating and 1.3/5 stars on the BBB. I had a horrible experience where one of their SS braided lines sprung a leak and I had to fight with them for 6 months to get a refund on it, which culminated in filing a BBB complaint against them. Their online reviews are more of the same (2.9 stars on Google) - if there is a problem with the parts, they will leave you hanging. Not good for a company selling safety-critical components.

 

[mudgudgeon]

I like the DBA rotors.

I'll disagree with above and say I run slotte, but NOT drilled rotors on the front.
I've never had an issue with rocks getting caught with slotted rotors on any of the three cruisers I've owned. All have seen plenty of time offroad.

I have seen ordinary, vented rotors chock-a-block full of mud many times.

I agree on replace rather than machine rotors.
I took a set of used cruiset rotors to a shop to have then machined. They did their best to talk me out of it, and said " the only way its worth machining them is if you're on a really tight budget, trying to keep the vehicle on the road. "
Me: "and that is why I am here!"

 

[raisinhell2]

I have run drilled and slotted rotors on all my offroad rigs for years with out issues. They might clog in mud and then perform just as a solid rotor. The mud unclogs in a a few hours of reg driving then your back to drilled and slotted. I love the power stop brand from rock auto . It is one of the few rock auto parts I will install on my or customers rigs. I have found the ceramic pads stop better and last longer than OEM. They might squeak for the 1st few stops on a cold or humid morning. I mean we are driving 30 yr old rigs they squeak.

Just so you know power stop and DBA rotors are made in the same place. I have ran both on my rigs over the years I couldn't tell the difference.

I have installed the rock auto brake kits you are thinking about along with the Dynamic Friction new calipers On well over a dozen rigs just this year .Not one customer complaint . Plus they have been on my own rig for over 3 years. I put 100 series pads on mine though helps with my larger tires.

Make sure you click on the rebate link Last I saw power stop had $100 rebate on that kit

 

[Squeegee]

I like something with a lot of initial bite for wheeling. I’ve run akebonos, green stuffs, power stops z32 or whatever’s and the only thing I’ve actually liked are ebc yellows

 

[cruisermatt]

Slee and Rock Auto are the only places to buy brake parts for an 80? Weird, I wonder what all these parts on my shelf are

 

[mudgudgeon]

Slee and Rock Auto are the only places to buy brake parts for an 80? Weird, I wonder what all these parts on my shelf are

Clearly junk! You shoukd send it all to me.

 

[mudgudgeon]

Just so you know power stop and DBA rotors are made in the same place

Got a source for this tidbit?

Powerstop are Illinois based. Unsure where they manufacture.

DBA is Disc Brakes Australia.
I believe they are, or at least were manufactured in Australia. Their website doesn't state where they are made though.

 

[OREGON85]

Slee and Rock Auto are the only places to buy brake parts for an 80? Weird, I wonder what all these parts on my shelf are

I never said they were the only. Just a couple of examples that I had looked at.

Perhaps you would like to tell me what you have, why it is better, and what it would cost.

 

[OREGON85]

Wow, I’m surprised by the diversity of opinions here. Lots of good insight to sort through.

Just to be clear, I am not considering having the front rotors turned. They clearly need to be replaced. The rears look nearly new so I’m not going to replace them. Besides, the rear contributes, what is it, something like 30% of the braking power.

 

[Mdej3]

PowerBrake up front, OEM on rear. No other way.

 

[lt1fire]

Slee and Rock Auto are the only places to buy brake parts for an 80?

Came to say the same thing

 

[BTLSHP]

100% OEM 80 Series brake parts. There were ridiculously cheap prices for OEM reman calipers a few months back. It's worth looking into.
100 Series pads on an 80 Series caliper has been proven to make zero difference in stopping distance over the last 20 years. They overhang the rotors and do not fit properly.
SS braided lines are a marketing gimmick.

The prices were still ridiculously cheap on reman calipers at Ourisman out of Richmond four weeks ago. Shipping was downright reasonable. We have replaced everything - hoses/rotors/calipers/pads recently. I ended up all Toyota except front pads which are Akebono. I started with Akebono pads at the rear, but was steered towards a better fit with the Toyotas. The hoses came out of Amayana and were on the order of $15x7.

I am not a performance guy, but the stopping is as confident as our Lexus and a bit under the Audi.

 

[jht3]

none of those options?

new OEM calipers. bought 4 new ones from Ourisman Richmond VA
Napa rotors, or your favorite local parts store solid rotors
80 series pads. I chose EBC Greenstuff but Duralast have been great for me too on many diff vehicles.

i redid my brakes a couple years ago and this is what I did. new calipers cost $146/ea back then; not sure the current pricing. also bought all new mounting bolts. cycled the ABS when i bled the brakes and i have no complaints on the braking. follow a bed-in procedure.

find a pad which leaves an acceptable amount of dust on your wheels. Ceramic ran clean but didn't brake as well as organic, in my experience. metallic can be very loud/annoying.

replace the rear rotors. i tried to save a buck, and cracked both rear rotors during the bedding in process.

fwiw, i'm not new to performance brakes. i'm very active w/ both track and race cars, in professional road race applications. slotted/drilled rotors never lasted as long or performed better than standard solid rotors on a OEM floating caliper setup w/ standard size rotors. and when they eventually crack, the replacement cost was cheap.

 

[TXMeatball]

I did DBA on my 200 series, honestly the money would've been better spent upgrading it to 2016+ calipers.
No issues with the centric (stoptech) rotors/pads on the 80. Got the painted ones. Also no issues with the slee SS hoses.