nice good to see someone with a GXP putting these on..

I am Prepping for my GXP Brake Upgrade and these might be the way i decide to go. X. you mentioned that they make rear Rotors that match the front correct?

Yep, that is correct. The rears are a little under $100 shipped for the pair. I'm going to order them tomorrow. I already have the same friction master ceramic pads bought, also for $42. So for the whole car, the braking upgrade cost me about $350. Not bad for this car, especially considering they're drilled, slotted, and zinc coated rotors.

eBay Motors: PONTIAC BONNEVILLE 04 GXP Rear Drill Slot Brake Rotors (item 320300438650 end time Oct-16-08 13:29:30 PDT)

i have these same rotors with ceramics and ss brake lines. an improvement over stock yes but nothing compared to a bbk. yes it'* better but its not mind blowing imo. if you do need to replace the rotors then i definitely suggest hopping on this. for 320 shipped for 4 rotz and 9 pads, 4 ss lines, and 2 super blue brake fluids it was a great deal. remember that you need to install them the CORRECT WAY! even though your rotors are only slotted and not veined it'* still important. im surprised no one has mentioned this already...

so who knows which way they are supposed to go on your car, that is slotted rotors?

Also! don't forget every 3 years you should be flushing your brake fluid guys, not changing FLUSHING. i recommend super blue as it comes in gold and blue colors so you know when you have done a full flush. also it exceeds the 'stock' brake fluid by miles.

I'm just going by what I had with stock breaks. IMO it was a pretty drastic improvement, especially considering they're cheaper than the OEM rotors. Their pads, as I mentioned previously though, suck pretty bad. Going with ceramics, I noticed much better braking power. I'll look into SS brake lines when I have some cash laying around, as those seem to be intact so far. Also, I believe I installed the rotors correctly, especially since the other guy here had them set up the same way.

As far as flushing brake fluid, I'm not sure if that'* absolutely necessary or if its just another marketing scam to get you to buy more brake fluid. My 95 regal never had a brake fluid flush (aside from when I change rotors and need to compress the pistons, where disconnecting the lines makes it easier to push them in). Still, that would be a slight bleeding of the fluid, not a complete flush. The car now has 185,000 miles and I have no braking problems whatsoever. Every 3 years? That'* a bit much for a car that'* labeled as no maintenance for 100,000 miles aside from oil changes.

maybe this will change your mind?
StopTech : Balanced Brake Upgrades

or this?
Home | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(NHTSA) | U.*. Department of Transportation
Why the heck do we use brake fluids that absorb water in the first place?

Believe it or not, one of a brake fluid’* most vital characteristics is its ability to absorb water.brake fluids absorb water by design and that is really a good thing. Whether we like it or not, water is everywhere and finds its way into everything. That’* just the nature of the beast. Even our brand-new sealed brake system will absorb water. The magic of diffusion allows moisture in the air to permeate microscopic pores in the rubber brake hoses, the nylon master cylinder reservoir, and the various rubber seals in the hydraulic system. Sadly, there is nothing we can do about it and if left unchecked the water would sit in our brake system and rot it away from the inside out.
Hence the need for brake fluid to absorb this unwanted house guest. Because brake fluid absorbs water into solution, the local concentration levels are typically low enough that corrosion is slowed dramatically. As an added benefit, when exposed to low temperatures, the solution state prevents the water from pooling and freezing on its own. While water in brake fluid will certainly increase the solution viscosity at low temperatures, this is much more desirable than having little chunks of ice plugging up the system!
So, the next time you are bleeding your brakes to remove the water-contaminated fluid, don’t curse the fluid was only doing its job.
the fluid absorbs water. it must be changed eventually. 15 bucks every 3 years for a piece of mind is well enough for me!

Interesting reads on both of those. I'm wondering if its still necessary for 3 years. I know of plenty of people who drive 1st gen w-bodies with over 200,000 miles on the clock and haven't ever bled their brake fluid. They say water gets into everything, but with a completely closed high-pressure system and a brake fluid cap that isn't dry rotted, I'm having a hard time believing that the problem is as big as they make it out to be.

So how would one go about bleeding their brake fluid if it did indeed need to be done?

The amount of moisture in brake fluid definitely affects its performance imo. The big problem is it is absorbs moisture quickly. Over a relatively short period of time brake fluid will absorb moisture from the air. SAE field tests have shown that the average one year old car has 2% moisture in the fluid. A random test of vehicles in the U.*. showed an average water content of 2.6% for vehicles with an average age of 8 years. And 25% of these vehicles had water content greater than 4%.

As water content in brake fluid increases over time, the boiling point decreases. Fluid with a reduced boiling point (or high water content) can create vapor by boiling in the caliper, or wheel cylinder. The result is sudden brake failure. And water in the brake fluid can contribute to corrosion of parts such as steel pistons and ABS modulators.

The end result is even though DOT 3 fluid is "rated" at greater than 401oF, in the typical 3 to 4 year old car with 3 to 4% moisture content, it could boil under 300oF. And if it has got more than 4% moisture, you may as well be running straight water!

Moral: Flush your brake fluid!.

Technical data courtesy of Leica Refractometers. www.leica-ead.com.


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StopTech : Balanced Brake Upgrades
StopTech : Balanced Brake Upgrades
The term "bleeding the brakes" refers to the process in which a small valve is opened at the caliper (or wheel cylinder) to allow controlled amounts of brake fluid to escape the system.

We bleed the brakes to release air that sometimes becomes trapped within the lines. Technically, "air" only enters the lines if there is a compromise of the system'* sealing (as when flex lines are removed or replaced), because when fluid boils, it will instead create "fluid vapor." Vapor in the brake fluid, like air, will create an efficiency loss in the braking system. However, for the sake of simplicity we use the term "air" throughout this article to describe both air and fluid vapor.

When air (or vapor) becomes present within the lines, it creates inefficiencies within the system because, unlike liquid, air can be compressed. So when enough air fills the lines, input at the pedal merely causes the air to compress instead of creating pressure at the brake corners. In other words, when air is present within the system, the efficiency and effectiveness of the braking system is reduced. Usually, a small amount of air within the brake system will contribute to a "mushy" or "soft" pedal (since less energy is required to compress the air than is required to move fluid throughout the brake lines.) If enough air enters the brake system, it can result in complete brake failure.

So how does air enter the lines in the first place? Sometimes, it can be the result of a service procedure or an upgrade – such as replacing the stock flex lines with stainless steel braided lines. But often it is the result of high temperatures that cause brake fluid components to boil, thus releasing gasses from the boiling fluid into the brake hydraulic system.
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hope any of this helps!

Nice read all the way through guys, I will definitely be going that route when the present set of pads go. Wont be long, halfway through second set @ 36k miles.

when venom is happy i am happy.

Alright, got the rears in and they're on the car. I'll post up pics soon. I'm very happy with their look and performance.