I have a 1995 Pontiac Bonneville SLE. When I got the car around 122k, it had brakes on the wear indicators, naturally the dealer that sold it to me replaced the pads for me, with autozone lifetime (yuck)...the rotors also were not cut or looked at. Right now I am around 129k and have a bad pulsation when stopping at TIMES, it comes and goes. I have heard that the rotors could have already been cut and are too thin and warping back and forth? Something to that effect, it'* been a while since I talked to my mechanic, i'm not too technical with brakes. What I was wondering was if putting new ceramic pads on would be good with my car, I've heard with certain cars ceramic pads aren't a good idea. I also want to get new rotors for the front, NOT from Autozone, unless someone on here really knows them to be good, so maybe someone could suggest a set of "decent" to "better" rotors for my car.

By the way the reason for the Ceramic pads idea is that right now with these pads, I have never felt more horrible braking in my life, don't get me wrong I can stop when need be, but the feel in the brakes, it'* just horrible, I cannot describe it really other than smacking a pillow against the rotors to make the car stop. My brake system otherwise is fine, no air in the lines, etc. I am just looking for a better stopping distance and feel, which is why I posted in "performance" as nothing is per say "broke" if any moderator feels the need, move this thread by all means...

So if anyone has any rotor/ceramic pads suggestions (or experience)..please let me know!

i have the Bendix Ceramic (found at advance) and they are awesome

im running GM rotors so i cant comment there BUT i believe that the Bendix Rotors are awesome as well, BillBoost is running the Bendix combo i believe, and that things stops reall well

I've had ceramic pads on my 86 Grand National. Stops on a dime. I really liked them.

Rotors - They can be cut too thin...and anyone that does so is NOT a shop you want to deal with. There is a min. thickness spec right on the rotor. It can't be missed. Any good shop will check min thickness before sending you on your way. If you think the rotor is damaged, get now ones. They're not too expensive.

Lug Nuts - Here'* something IMPORTANT to know. The lugs MUST be torqued to the right spec to prevent premature rotor warping. Using an impact gun and just running the lugs down tight is the WORST thing you can do for the life of your rotors. That will result in lugs at different torque settings and that will result in warping as the rotor heats and cools and is allowed to expand and contract at different rates due to the different torque settings of the lugs. With all lugs torqued properly, the expansion and contracting of the rotor is even across the surfaces and the rotor won't warp. This gives a much longer life for the rotor. Many shops don't like using the torque wrench because it takes time, and time is lost profits for them. I personally use a split-beam torque wrench that I leave set for my wheel torque. Takes only a minute to properly torque each wheel since the wrench is pre-set to the right torque. It'* easy to do and good insurance.


Dan McCann
2000 SSEi

I hope this helps.

Here'* some info with comparision pictures etc. It'* good stuff to read up on before spending the money

http://www.bonnevilleclub.com/forum/...unhappy+brakes