My S60 needs new pads and maybe rotors. Do I need Volvo parts or can I got with aftermarket ? And any good recommendations for mail order parts ?

Thanks.

 

Does anyone know anything about a setup like this? Does this look like a worthwhile purcahse ?

Thanks.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/New-V...Q5fAccessories

ebay item #250345411873

 

What type of driving do you do? Are you more into cruising on the highway and such, or do you drive your car a little harder then normal drivers?

Let me know, I'd recommend one of the pads that we carry for your car. Or depending on your driving style you could probably get away with going with OEM pads.

 

OEM is Brembo, but they are now manufactured in China. The last set I got didn't last very long. Also, I got OEM pads and one of them was machined wrong, causing it to ruin the rotor. They are also very dusty and wear the rotors down fast. I now have Akebono Euro Ceramic pads all around with Brake Performance (www.brakeperformance.com) drilled, slotted and nickel plated rotors. I got the pads on Amazon for less than the OEM pad price.

 

I live in central CA, no snow, rain in winters, dry the rest of the year. I commute ~250 miles a week for work, over a twisty windy mountain pass, a lot of breaking on the down side. My S60 has 83K miles, current pads and rotors lasted ~50K miles.

Thanks,

Mark.

 

Just had mine done. Bought the OEM Brembo rotors front and rear, plus the Akebono Euro pads and a tube of lubricant from FCP. Had them all installed by mechanic. No squeaking from the pads and more importantly NO DUST! YIPPEE!

 

I have also been thinking about getting this setup besides the low dust being better, how is the stopping distance is it improved or about the same.

 

Duralast premium works pretty great - squeaks are very minimal for the first 2000-3000 miles, then it disappears. I paid for front brakes and rotors, and rear pads - 170$. Brake Dust is very very little - alot less then OEM. The warranty system for these is great too, life time guaranteed. The guy next to me brought his old pads and rotors, they wore down in 2.5 years and autozone gave him new pads and rotors for free!... I think that is amazing they can guarantee there brakes and rotors for life..

 

I just ordered the Brembo rotors and Akebono Euro pads from FCP, seems like a good deal, much cheaper than stuff locally. Dont have time to get them in for a couple of weeks, but I'll try anf take photos/notes to document the process. I have replaced brakes on previous Hondas, Mazda and VWs, haven't done a Volvo yet but seems easy enough.

I

 

Stopping distance seems to be the same, but then I don't really do that many stomp on the pedal stops. However, 9 days and STILL NO DUST! I LOVE THESE PADS!

 

I just had my front rotors and pads replaced by an Indy mechanic for $332.94. He used genuine volvo parts and gave me an 8 month warranty. I think the price was great. everyone though is raving about the akebono euro pad brake pads which i asked my mechanic to put on. Unfortunately his supplier was out of them and i needed my car right away so he just used genuine volvo.

 

$332 was parts AND LABOR.

 

No dust?! YAY!

 

I put the front pads and rotors in about 6 weeks ago and the rears about 3 weeks ago.

The fronts took me about 2 hours, 1 1/2 hours for the first wheel and 1/2 an hour for the second. The rears took me less than 1 hour total.

So far so good, brakes stop great and there is no dust, the wheels look great. Total cost was $300 shipped and ~3 hours of time.

Mark.

 

This is one of the best things i found here Akebono Euro pads.I changed my front pads about 1 year ago with OME and the dust is just out of control with them.I changed them to akebono euro pads and i could not be more pleased.No more Black front rims every 5-7 days.Great find.

 

OEM’s spend millions of dollars developing and validating friction material for a vehicle. They basically rank performance, noise, and dust. Europeans rank performance as the most important and dust as the least. Americans tend to do the opposite as long as they pass FMVSS testing. I like the stock pads on my S60R and I would not put after market pads on my vehicles.

 

The OEM Volvo pads work well on an 06 V70 2.5t. But they are as dusty as any mid 80's Mercedes Benz OEM pad ever used to be. And my wife, who drives the car, doesn't like that. So guess who cleans the wheels?

She's not a hard braking type, either.

Do the Akebono's work well with OEM rotors? I'd prefer to replace the OEM pads earlier to "save" the rotors if I can.

Thanks.

 

I worked for a brake manufacturer, but we did not make friction material. My only experience with Akebono was on a Ford program where we switched from Akebono to Federal Mogul. Federal Mogul has a very good formula. Doubled the expected mileage and increased the heat capability. Note, it did require a change to brake system, pedal length, booster, etc.

My wife’s 2004 Navigator had Jurid linings which would tear up the rotors and cause the chrome wheels to peel from a reaction with the iron filings from the rotors. In 2005 Ford switched to Federal Mogul and I updated mine with the newer OEM pads. Although I know my brake capabilities were reduced, I can’t perceive it.

Enough people have said they like the Akebono’s, so it’s worth a try. You can always switch back if you start having problems.

 

I have tough commute, for anyone in the San Jose area, I commute Hwy 17, it's sea level to 2000' then down again to sea level in about 20 miles distance, very twisty winding road with a lot of accidents on the winter (Californians can't drive in the rain). Total commute is about 26 miles each way, but not a mellow commute.

We'll see how the pads do, so far so good, I don't notice any difference from my previous OEM pads, other than the lack of dust, but I'll give an update in 6 months or so.

Mark.

 

Does anyone have experience with Mintex Redbox pads? I had good luck with them on my VW before i started tracking it. They did have some dust but much less than the OEM pads and it was lighter in color so it wasn't nearly as obvious.